Presentation for EyeforTravel Social Media Strategies 2011 conference on social media best practices for tourism destinations.

1. Social Media Strategies for Travel North America 2011 Spotlight on Social Media Best Practices for Destinations

2. Who Am I? Director of Social Media and Web Analytics at MMG Worldwide social media clients include Colorado Tourism Office, Barbados Tourism Authority, Branson and Myrtle Beach CVB over 10 years of digital marketing experience in the travel industry background in public relations, marketing communications and search marketing Follow Me on Twitter @RobertPatterson Tweet the presentation using #smtravel11

3. MMG Worldwide offices in New York, Kansas City, Denver and South Florida fully integrated advertising firm specializing exclusively in travel branding + design web + mobile development on + offline media social media + pr eCRM + field marketing

4. strategic approach

5. listen + evaluate monitor what is being said about your destination track volume of mentions qualify mentions by travel and tourism for relevancy monitor sentiment around your online conversations identify influencers and advocates review web analytics to see how social media is impacting your website select what metrics your organization will track create baseline metrics to measure against

6. listen + evaluate

7. strategy + creative determine your destination’s objectives and goals identify the voice of your destination segment your communications by consumer interests plan your communication frequency structure your communicationsand editorial calendars stay true to your brand in communications and creative strategically name your social media profiles include calls-to-action in your creative

8. strategy + creative

9. engage use your “voice” to speak to your audience ask for feedback from your audience crowd source your marketing initiatives respond to comments and communications empower your destination’s residence as advocates encourage destination industry partners to participate include calls-to-action to convert passive audience into actively inspired travelers

10. engage

11. measure results social media growth referral visits to website website visitor engagement goal conversion and leads generated online buzz generated consumer sentiment competitive analysis ROI (return on influence)

12. return on influence (ROI) ROI = (Calculated Investment Gain - Investment Cost)/Investment Cost calculated gains website referrals leads generated social media leads generated ad equivalency of communications research value share of voice content shared

13. competitive analysis

14. be innovative

15. innovate stay up-to-date with social media channel changes focus on “test and learn” approach to achieve maximum response and ROI embrace new technologies and platforms that make sense for you integrate social media efforts to leverage maximum exposure continually measure, monitor and optimize all channels based on goals and objectives try new ideas…some will fail, others will not

16. innovation opportunities harness the power of “local” integrate web, mobile and tablet with social media test QR codes to send offline ads to social media incorporate social media into rich media ads create social media co-op opportunities with industry partners understand the power of video and branded entertainment think big for big results

17. be resourceful

18. find efficiencies plan out your editorial calendar in advance provide industry partners with access to your messaging strategy rely on in-destination residents and past visitors as advocates schedule your targeted communications and focus your day-to-day efforts on becoming an invaluable travel resource find the tools that help you get the job done more efficiently conduct a semi-annual audit…can you be more efficient?

19. empower advocates

20. build ambassadors start with your office, industry partners and local advocates empower your advocates find local photographers willing to share their work for recognition use local experts who specialize in niche activities and attractions use monitoring tools to find word-of-mouth testimonials and share them integrate social media sharing across web, mobile, social, emails and media

21. boost seo

22. search engine optimization use relevant and highly utilized keywords in your communications search for those looking for travel inspiration through keywords use keywords in your photo/video titles, descriptions and tags create in-bound links to your website to increase link popularity integrate social media feeds and develop connect pages use PPC to drive visitors to your connect page link to your YouTube videos on your website using keywords

23. search engine optimization

24. presentation takeaways

25. top 5 dos plan, strategize and create goals innovate, test and optimize create efficiencies, then allocate financial and labor resources empower advocates work closely with your SEO professional

26. top 5 don’t let your intern be your social media strategic lead speak at your audience…create a conversation with them forget the importance of branding overlook justifying your social media expenditures think short term…think long term

27. discussion