Читать книгу The New Rules of Marketing and PR - David Meerman Scott, Kevin Nalty, Steve Garfield - Страница 54

The travel market is crowded. Consumers have lots of places to find information about places to visit. In this environment, the best content and the companies that are most engaged with social networks can win the day.

Canada Tourism engaged travelers with a terrific social networking program called “Upgrade to Canada.” Representatives from Canada Tourism intercepted travelers at the Frankfurt and Lyon airports and tried to persuade them to switch their holiday plans, on the spot, to visit Canada instead. People had only a few minutes to consider the offer. Fortunately, many of them were open to the serendipity of a real-time travel change, and they spontaneously changed their travel destinations.

Canada Tourism then created real-time social content about the travelers and their experiences once they arrived in Canada, and the tourists themselves eagerly shared on their own social networks, including Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

“The results were extraordinary,” says Siobhan Chrétien, regional managing director for Canada Tourism. “Not only were we able to share firsthand the travelers’ stories with the world, but online we received further upgrades from over 100 countries by travelers who switched to Canada.” Social networking drove awareness of Canada as a destination. Canada’s share among competitive destinations increased by a remarkable 21.5 percent.

I love the idea of requiring people to make a decision in just a few minutes. The real-time nature of how people then share their experience separates “Upgrade to Canada” from other social media campaigns from tourism organizations.

“No matter how sexy a destination is, promoting a country for tourism purposes has its challenges,” Chrétien says, “especially with the world now being a smaller place with many travel options and competing experiences and destinations. The traveler of today and of the future has a vast array of options. It is not enough to run slick ad campaigns or hope that price alone will drive a sale and convert a tourist. The traveler needs to be inspired, motivated, influenced, and in some cases convinced on the spot that the time is now to make the trip!”

Smart organizations understand this new world and build a buying process around the realities of independent research and the power of social networks. Instead of generic information dreamed up by an advertising agency, they tell authentic stories that interest their customers. Instead of selling, they educate through online content. Instead of ignoring those who have already made a purchase, they deliver information at precisely the moment customers need it.

It’s not just travel destinations that can benefit from social engagement. Every market is influenced by what people are saying on social networks: the good, the bad, and, in some cases, nothing.