A share of 6,3 percent in the branch buzz illustrates the good prospects for investing in this segment.
Despite the crisis-ridden year 2009, the tourism industry enjoys great popularity. In recent years, a growth of 7 percent could be registered and the sector hit a new record high. But this boom also has a drawback: popular destinations have to be prepared for increasing numbers of travellers while travel agencies face new challenges because of the consumers’ tight financial situation. Additionally, a growing environmental awareness causes the offers to change: sustainable tourism projects become increasingly popular while the offer itself is scrutinized more closely.
According to ethority’s “Brands in Social Media“ study, a share of 6,3 percent in the brand buzz can be attributed to the tourism industry. Travel agencies, hotels, trips and other services are described and reviewed in online forums. Moreover, related branches such as airlines are also in the focus of discussion.
Especially in the service industry, consumers will set great store by experiences and recommendations of other users, because their credibility is valued more than an advertisement of a travel agency. On the basis of these results, ethority has conducted a Word of Mouth campaign for a client in the tourism industry. The process of this campaign is illustrated below:
Case
Initial Situation:
In order to increase the profile of the own brand, products and subsidiary company, a travel agent commissioned the ethority social media marketing specialists with the raise of the general buzz about the company on the internet.
Objective:
Concerning the increase of awareness it was essential to find users in the relevant domains, provide information and enter into dialogue with them. So as to initiate the dialogue concerning the travel agent and the subsidiary, the users’ attention should be called to special offers and campaigns by means of links and discussions. Moreover, discussions should be initiated and supported.
Realisation:
In order to identify the channels of communication which are relevant for the field of tourism, a monitoring was conducted with the aid of the gridmaster® technology. The resulting data were the basis for further activities. The pre-defined links and discussion points of the travel agent were spread in the resulting dialogue-based online media as a source of information for the users. Furthermore, misrepresentations concerning the provider as well as the subsidiary could be contradicted or rectified.
Results:
The profile of the client’s brand, products and subsidiary company could be increased significantly. In the course of the campaign over 700.000 online contacts were achieved, which exceeded the predicted range by far.
