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one big online community of 730 agents, communi- thing, via sites such as 12seconds.tv and YouTube, and he is
cating via message boards. Managing director Steve Byrne also looking at iPhone apps.
CONTACTS
feels social media methods are important to complement Getting youth on your side is a strategy employed by
existing relationships “but none of it can replace picking up James Beagrie, Meon Valley Travel managing director, who
Online marketing
the phone and talking to a customer”. had two undergraduates for six-month placements last
bgb.co.uk
summer, developing strategies to increase website traffic.
digital-drums.net
FACEBOOKINGS
edigitalresearch.com
Next up is podcasting so staff can share their experiences
freshnetworks.com
Travel Counsellor Saranna Murphy started a Facebook – with 30 countries visited in the past year, it’s another way
frommers.biz
group when she joined Travel Counsellors a year ago – now of demonstrating Meon’s expertise.
fortunecookie.co.uk
she has 364 members and estimates it generates 30% of genesys.net
her business. “Lots of friends are getting married so I am SEA AND BE SEEN
hitwise.co.uk
sorting their honeymoons,” she explains. Although traditionally older, cruisers are web-savvy
noporkpies.com
One schoolfriend’s Barbados honeymoon led to a New nonetheless, and the sector has taken social media
surfpr.co.uk
thetravelmarketingawards.com
York booking and a £10,000 ski holiday in Courchevel. After onboard, with communities such as CruiseCritic.co.uk, and
another friend’s honeymoon, recommendations led to a cruise lines using Facebook and Twitter for exclusive offers.
To search for travel blogs, try
cruise, a £4,500 Thailand trip and another £6,000 booking. Celebrity Cruises gave Twitter users the chance to win a
technorati.com or on Google
Meanwhile, Hays Travel aims to highlight its luxury preview of Celebrity Eclipse, and Princess Cruises hosted a (click on “more” category in the
portfolio by developing blogging and social media for Twitter press trip for well-known writers in the online travel
search bar, then “blogs”)
homeworkers and its own website. Web communications community – but with mixed results.
officer Emily Morris heads online strategy and is planning a With a purely web presence, upmarket agency White
Set up free blogs at:
Wordpress.com
blog to appeal to broadsheet readers and silver surfers. Star Cruises uses a wide range of online strategies to
Wordpress.org
Aged 27, social media techniques come naturally to attract customers – although online booking is not an
Travelblog.org
Morris, whose personal blog has won two awards. She option because it’s believed top-end clients still want to
Travelpod.com
suggests creating quirky, attention-grabbing names for speak to consultants. Globaltravelblog.com (part of
groups on Facebook – like her “Naughty Weekends” which White Star generates business via pay-per-click and
Flight Centre)
has more than 1,100 members. “Don’t write like a robot employs an SEO firm to ensure it appears first or second in
Getjealous.com
trying to get the right words for SEO terms, it must be Google searches for “luxury river cruise”. As well as fort-
...and link to the AddThis, Diggs,
Stumbled and Delicious of the
readable and reflect your personality,” she says. nightly e-shots and monthly postal mailings, it uses blogs,
online world to share content
Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter to communicate.
BRIDES AND BLOGS General manager Scott Anderson says: “You have to
For a full list of useful travel
One Hays agency, Perfect Weddings & Honeymoons, is keep blogs updated at least once a week, more if you can, blogs and other digital tips and
trialling an online forum to attract couples. Its challenge is to encourage repeat visitors and we add video clips and
to see more of this feature,
maintaining contact after initial enquiries – which can often photos from ship visits. I upload stories to our Cruise News
go to ttgluxury.com
be as much as 18 months before the wedding – and after section, tweet the URL and within 15 seconds I can see that
booking, which tends to be a year before the ceremony. news page has been accessed more than 50 times.”
“We get people to join the Facebook page once they’ve As the cruise sector shows, cyberspace is not just for
enquired. We keep them up to date and post photos from youngsters. Debbie Hindle, managing director of travel PR
our weddings to keep them interested,” says weddings firm BGB, says: “Luxury agents need to be seen as experts,
specialist Danny Waine. The new forum aims to be “group and if you’re being talked about, your SEO goes up.”
therapy for the brides” while keeping the agency “front of She suggests agents follow other luxury tweeters as
mind” and generating ancillary sales. research, and participate in online forums as practice.
With a quite young clientele, Black Tomato has “Set up an RSS feed on topics such as luxury, listen to
embraced social media wholeheartedly – yet also has conversations and then join in. Listen for a month before
offline ways to woo customers, such as its “back to reality” you start a blog,” she recommends.
post-trip service. Twitter, Facebook and blogs ensure Advertising, web design, SEO, PR and other marketing
dialogue with customers, while building content online, techniques are all converging, says Hindle, pointing to the
improving SEO and demonstrating insider knowledge – but social media phenomenon of Tourism Queensland’s
without overt sales messages, which are a “switch-off” says “Best Job in the World” campaign – which started life as
Tom Marchant, co-founder of Black Tomato. just an advertisement. Proof that an integrated strategy
Exclusive trips are featured via Twitter and Facebook can get more people talking about a brand than you
– but Black Tomato still relies on phone calls to make the ever thought possible…
booking as its holidays are bespoke. “The most important
thing is the tone: like our brand, it’s chatty, friendly and Visit ttgluxury.com for more expert advice and tips
informal,” adds Marchant. He tips video as the next big on how operators are developing online strategies
6
Keep up to date: “The worst thing is a digital ghost town. With no
updates, you could do more damage to your brand,” says
Steve Dunne of Digital Drums
Investing is best: Inside Japan Tours’ live news feed is “expensive but
effective”, bringing browsers to its site as it appears on Google news
Open approach: “Allow negative comments. Show TripAdvisor
reviews so customers can make up their own mind,” according to
TOP TIPS
Fortune Cookie International
FOR DIGITAL
SUCCESS
Think it through: Destinology says it is important to “plan blogs in
advance with editorial meetings”
Talk to your clients: Steppes Travel canvassed 100 clients and all said
no to classified ads
Be prepared: Online still needs excellent staff – Mr & Mrs Smith is a fan
of “employing genuinely knowledgeable and enthusiastic experts to
help customers, whether by email or phone”
52
how to...
spring 2010 ttgluxury.com
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