As providers of social media solutions and strategies for the global travel and leisure industry, the team at Digital Visitor have been the secret ingredient behind some of the industry's most innovative social media and online community solutions. Here is our presentation from the 2011 Travel Technology Europe forum where we revealed some essential tips and successful methods to help you maximise all the benefits of social media. Using a twist that is having a huge impact across the industry, Anthony Rawlins Managing Director of Digital Visitor, illustrates how we put our clients brands and objectives at the heart of social media campaigns. The session was titled "Social Media: Successful Strategies Revealed" Established as Europe's leading forum for bringing together technology and marketing suppliers with the travel industry, TTE 2011 offers visitors an opportunity to stay up to date with the latest innovations in the sector. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more about how you can make the most of social media... visit: www.digitalvisitor.co.uk , www.visitorereview.com call: +44(0)1179 055 195 email: info@digitalvisitor.co.uk

1. Successful social media strategies
onsite and offsite Anthony Rawlins
Managing Director
Digital Visitor
Travel Technology
Europe 2011

2. Introduction
Social media agency
Social media and social networking solutions and services to global leisure and
tourism industry
Applying strategy to new industries
We help our clients to gather and benefit from their own content
Created 200+ social media solutions globally
Deliver increased traffic, enquires, business, loyalty...

3. Agenda
Introduction to us
Our social media philosophy
offsite and onsite
Offsite social media best
practices, FB, Twitter etc... More
general
Communities
A few examples
Community do’s and dont’s

4. Our Philosophy
Successful social media strategies are made up of two elements
Onsite Offsite
Both need to be addressed with equal weighting
Most companies are really just focussing on offsite social media

5. Onsite Offsite
Your own content Facebook
Your reviews Twitter
Your own loyal community Youtube
Should maintain traffic, drive Flickr
bookings, build page ranking, drive Should be used to find new
new traffic audiences,
Drive people to your website – not
take them away

6. Offsite social media
Should primarily be to find new
visitors and customers,
Access to millions of new potential
customers
Some very successful Facebook
groups
Lonely planet grew by 80,000 ‘likes’
in 4 months.
Overall they have limitations
Facebook Competitions and ‘likes’
Led companies to ask how they can
do it better...

7. Top tips for your offsite social media
1. Choose your channels wisely. 500m+ on Facebook or 20m on WAYN – a travel
specific site?
2. Do not just create a Facebook group and call this your SM strategy
3. Don’t publish everything – people will leave you
4. Good content is imperative
5. Genuine content is required – don’t just publish your offers
6. Incentivise but obey the rules
7. Use these channels to get people back to your website and your brand

8. Onsite Social Media
Many companies are investing in
their own communities – onsite
social media.
Strategically, this is better longer
term.

13. What are the benefits of your own community?
1. You control the interaction
2. Maintaining and enhancing brand presence
3. Organic search engine traffic
4. Repeat business
5. Long term loyalty
6. Browsing time
7. Data capture
8. Deliver relevant content/ offers to them according to their interests
9. Your community should have better functionality than a Facebook Group
10. Future proof – your community can be applied to other offsite communities.
Facebook connect now - what in future?

14. Voyages Jules Verne
Group travel over 55s
Communicate post tour and drive
repeat bookings
Share reviews, videos, albums
online feedback and rating
Earn points
Direct to book another group tour
Staff profiles
Direct to booking pages
www.vjvlounge.com

15. Results so far
Shortlisted for ‘best community’
with CIMTG
Live for 5 months
250 experiences
1300 photos
50 videos
650 members
Browsing time of 3 minutes on
community and 1-2 mins on website
Over 55000 views of content

16. Another onsite strategy
The National Social Media Initiative
Visitor Review for Visit Britain
Gather reviews, photos. Videos
Drive organic search engine traffic
Connecting independent solutions
www.visitorreview.com/visitbritain
Almost 2000 reviews, 1000 photos,
50 videos

17. London Clubs International
Casinos, owned by Harrahs –
Caesars, best casinos and clubs in
Las Vegas
KPIs are repeat visits and visits to
new venues in the group
Staff
Staff update FB twice a week – at
10 clubs
1 year = 1000 reviews = 15,000
new organic visitors p.a
Content still goes on Facebook
group – but indexed on their own
site

18. No community is an island
The ultimate social media
strategy uses both onsite and
offsite social media
The next wave of communities
that will be coming to the
forefront will have significant
social media integration
Facebook connect, Twitter
Add this – 335 sites!

19. Top tips for your own community
1. Decide what you want to achieve and choose function around this – not the
other way around
2. Don’t overcomplicate it – do you need friends and groups?
3. Incentivise to get the content you want – its worth it
4. Make sure you get this content indexed under your brand and website – this will
drive new organic traffic
5. Use the content to capture visitors from other website such as FlickR, Facebook –
good content drives these communities back to your website
6. Get your staff to take part – they can add lots of content as well
7. Find your super users – a little personal communication from you to them can
go a long way

20. Thank you
Visit us at Stand C11
Anthony Rawlins
anthony@digitalvisitor.co.uk