Powerpoint presentation from the seminar given at the TourismTech09 conference in Christchurch, NZ

1. Social Media Phenomenon and Monitoring Social Eyes Consultancy

2. Overview Social Media Phenomenon Online Reviews and Bookings New Zealand Context Social Media Monitoring Freely Available Tools Automated Media Monitoring Conclusion/Questions

3. Social Media Phenomenon Social Media is everywhere! Brand Ownership Durable trends Hospitality and Tourism Sectors most effected by Social Media

4. Social Media Phenomenon Social Media is game changing Social Media is not just another form of media Social Media is more than just blogs Social media is decentralised and real time Social components drive business results

5. Online Reviews and Bookings Interpersonal influence and WOM most influential Guests and visitors are increasingly going online Reality of public involvement in traveller reviews Web reviews credibility

6. Social Network Popularity

7. Use of Social Network Sites

8. Blogging Software Popularity

9. Twitter Use

10. Online Reviews and Bookings WOM most important influencer Closed loop system no longer viable 88% of those reading reviews affected their decision Review higher credibility than brand Tripadvisor 32 million unique visitors per month 10 million members 20 million reviews

11. New Zealand Context Regional Visitor Monitor Travellers increasingly using the internet to book Online accommodation up from 42% to 57% since 2007 Online activity and attraction booking up from 55% to 62% since 2007. Pre-trip research increased by 39% since 2007 Mr Bassett - “these findings show that tourism operators in all areas of the industry needed to get their inventory web-ready and keep their web content fresh and relevant”.

12. New Zealand Context Yield-Relevant Tourist Decision Making LEAP, Lincoln University – Tourism Yield Research Identified social networks as having a vital role in tourism marketing in New Zealand, and should be an important focus for tourism operators International tourists leave many decisions ‘open’, which are best influenced through social mediums

13. PhD Research findings to date 90% visited review sites before travelling to NZ 67% searched microblogging sites before visiting NZ 73% post comments on a regular basis on a at least one social network site as they travel 67% stated that they were more likely to complain about a negative aspect of their trip via online mediums vs. directly with the business 78% used review and social network sites while travelling in NZ to either investigate there activity and accommodation options or to reduce their decision set.

14. Social Media Monitoring Media monitoring in its infancy while user generated content is well established Failure to monitor is a disadvantage that loses YOU business No more closed loop systems Are you listening? Are you responding?

15. Free Software Google Alerts and Blog Alerts Tweet Deck/Ping FM Yahoo Pipes Social Mention Technorati Blogpulse RSS feeds – general RSS feeds – OTA’s

16. Issues with Free Software Hidden costs Spam Subscription Data Overload Utilisation of this new information stream Identification of key sites, users, geographic and demographic data No analysis

17. Automated Monitoring Radian6 Techrigy Brandseye Viralheat Symosos Brandwatch

18. Automated Monitoring – must pass a few key tests Is it timely? Is the solution affordable? Are the essential points of sale sites delivered? Is your performance measured against competitors? Enabling and supportive tools? Effective filtering? Analysis features?

19. Conclusions Era when businesses controlled what was said about them is over. Social mediums are changing the way information gets reported online Tourism businesses utilising this new information are experiencing increasing and new revenue streams while reducing costs Need your finger on the pulse

20. Conclusions Free software solutions a good place to start YOU require the latest and best information to base your marketing and business decisions, strategies and evaluative tools. Automated monitoring becoming a necessity

21. Thank You Social Eyes Consultancy www.socialeyes.co.nz steve@socialeyes.co.nz steve.wilson@lincoln.ac.nz www.twitter.com/_socialeyes