Five trends to watch out for marketing and social media in 2012

Travel suppliers are constantly looking for new ways to enable meaningful experiences with their target consumers. Ultimately suppliers try to ensure the customer gains more value by engaging with them directly.

Travel companies acknowledge that social, local, and mobile are huge areas of innovation and places to win.

The past year saw many new developments in online marketing. The factors that impact search results have changed drastically. The best search results are not just the ones which have the right content and meta-tags and relevant links pointing back to them. Hoteliers and other travel companies also need to focus on several ranking factors such as the ones that are related to your website, content, relevance of business in online world, social circle and online reviews, search categories saturation etc.

Technology is allowing for faster innovation, but it's also important for marketers to prioritise where they invest. They can’t afford to miss out on opportunities. For instance, according to findings from a global study initiated by TNS, businesses are wasting time and money trying to reach people online without realising many resent big brands invading their social networks. The online world undoubtedly presents massive opportunities for brands, however it is only through deploying precisely tailored marketing strategies that they will be able to realise this potential. Choosing the wrong channel, or simply adding to the cacophony of online noise, risks alienating potential customers and impacting business growth.

Predictions

Optify, a provider of online marketing software and services for the real time web, has listed its top five 2012 predictions. Excerpts:

1. Mainstream Organisations Adopt Marketing Automation & Social CRM

2011 witnessed the expansion of Social CRM, enabling another channel to reach and interact with customers and it has become one of the fastest growing segments within the CRM industry. In the next year, Social CRM will evolve from an early adopter strategy into a mainstream solution for organisations wanting to connect marketing operations from the top of the funnel, to online search, down through sales and customer management.

2. Social Media Becomes an Increasing Factor in Search Algorithms

Social media networks are growing. In 2011, Facebook's social signals were integrated into Bing search and Google+ emerged with native integration into Google search.

In 2012, Optify expects social media to become more of a key component of Search Engine Results Page (SERP) algorithms. For companies looking to preserve or improve their rankings, social marketing activities will no longer be optional; they will be a necessary element of traffic driving success.

3. Customers and employees become an extended part of companies' marketing teams

As social networks are used ever more frequently for aggregating and sharing interests, expect opinions, both positive and negative, about products and services to spread with lightening speed. As a result, businesses customer relationships will become increasingly focused on creating and managing perceptions.

In 2012, companies will need to proactively scale their marketing efforts by creating and sharing information with employees and influential customer evangelists to help define their brands, products and services from the ground up.

4. Mobile + Social Evolve Together to Create New User Scenarios

Customer interactions and purchases, in specific marketplaces such as travel, shopping and dining, will occur with increasing frequency on mobile devices.

5. Facebook platform grows and expands into new markets

With a large infusion of IPO cash and the potential to create social shopping experiences, Facebook will be well positioned to give online retailer Amazon a run for its money. While analysts have begun speculating Amazon will launch a smartphone in 2012, Facebook will likely do the same. These visionary companies see that the mobile phone is quickly becoming the portal to purchase; an opportunity to get in front of customers before they've even arrived online or a physical store.

http://www.eyefortravel.com

Three things to consider in hotel distribution and marketing in 2012

Today’s hotel marketing landscape is changing rapidly. The advent of new distribution channels has created more options to truly personalize a strategy to suit the needs of your property. With that in mind, it was no surprise when a recent survey of Sabre Hospitality customers revealed that understanding new distribution and marketing trends presented one of the top challenges to their business.

When planning their online strategies, hoteliers regularly look for guidance on choosing the top trends to follow. Mobile, social media conversion, and channel management are three key areas where some of the most significant trends for hotel marketers are emerging. This article intends to provide an overview of each and what to look for as you plan your 2012 strategy.

1. MOBILE: This trend is number one for a reason: as computing and communications become increasingly personal and user-customized, the term refers to more than just smartphones with internet browsers. Obviously hoteliers must consider mobile as an important marketing channel, but must also be aware of the trend to expand on-property with the advent of NFC and other device-activated services. Below is a list of five tips to help maximize your mobile-marketing strategy:

• Start with an optimized mobile website and booking engine which considers user experience across multiple mobile devices, including tablets. Take advantage of this trend with an excellent mobile site designed to get your mobile visitors to the answers they are looking for quickly and efficiently, with the ability to book on every page.
• Think of mobile as its own channel so you can offer special rates, promotions, product descriptions as well as tracking specifically for this market.
• Take advantage of SMS/text message marketing programs. Guest can opt-in and receive messages pre- post- and during their stays at your property.
• Work with sites with geo-location services such as Foursquare, Facebook, Gowalla, and Yelp to offer promotions. Participate in the free marketing programs that many of these sites offer, such as adding links to your website and other social media accounts, uploading pictures or offering check-in deals and specials.
• Optimize your location for mapping and mobile search. Consider running a mobile targeted AdWords campaign with click to call and tailor your message to mobile users.

2. SOCIAL MEDIA: By now you have hopefully initiated conversations and established relationships with your customer base through various social media channels. If you’re a hotel or a hotel group, you will have an active presence on at least Facebook and Twitter, if not other channels, and use these to engage and retain fans of your brand. The next question is, are you using social media to convert?

In the past year, social media channels such as Facebook have created more and more opportunities for hotel marketers to use social media as an extension of their direct-to-consumer strategy.  Some areas to consider to help your business grow through your social media efforts:

• Leverage Facebook as an extended booking engine and include call to actions just as you would on your own website to prompt fans and new customers to book directly.
• Take advantage of push-marketing opportunities on Facebook and include a specially designed optimized landing page that encourages interaction and engagement.
• Update your own content with targeted tags for the channels that are right for your brand. Consider including new tags such as Facebook send and Google +1 to leverage your customers’ networks on the larger social networks.
• Plan your social media advertising campaigns with your marketing efforts on these channels, giving new fans and viewers the opportunity to easily convert and engage with your brand.
• Are you investing in remarketing to capture interested consumers? Remarketing is an advertising campaign directing users back to your website or social media profile after they have already viewed your content and clicked away, and can help you capture a segment that may not have otherwise converted using your channels.

3. CHANNEL MANAGEMENT: Even though hotels do not want to be dependent on third parties/OTAs, there is still a value to these partnerships in the overall marketing and distribution landscape. The Billboard Effect trend has been one that we have been telling customers to pay attention to throughout the year, and it is still relevant for 2012. Managing and maximizing your presence across channels, including OTAs, can help you use third-party relationships to drive business back to your own property website.

The Billboard Effect tells us that 23% more bookings direct to brand website when present on OTAs (Cornell study).

The average online travel consumer spends 10 searching sessions over and average of five weeks before a reservation is finally made, accessing at least 20 websites in total. Your strategy should embrace their research – but ensure that you offer rate parity across channels, and that your own property is optimized to convert and be the place that more customers choose to make their bookings.

http://www.webintravel.com

5 tendencias que pueden transformarán la distribución turística en los próximos años

El viernes pasado Mashable, una de las más prestigiosas webs de información tecnológica, anunciaba que Facebook adquiría Gowalla. Parece aún un simple avance o rumor porque no hay confirmación oficial, pero no deja ser una justificación para la argumentación que quiero compartir.

Gowalla es una aplicación de geolocalización que nació como la competidora de Foursquare, y que hace unos meses dio un giro estratégico para centrarse y posicionarse en los viajes.

Creo que son movimientos que, junto con los que de forma permanente nos está mostrando Google, ayudan a visualizar una posible tendencia de los probables escenarios que nos iremos encontrando. Y no es otra que la toma de posiciones de los líderes de contenidos y plataformas webs, en la distribución turística del futuro.

No creo ni mucho menos que este escenario tenga lugar en la guerra de la distribución actual, sino en una nueva distribución que aún está por explotar. Porque mientras los actores tradicionales de la distribución turística andan en su día a día, estas empresas toman posiciones para lo que sería el nuevo mercado. A nivel de distribución, en el “pre” (del viaje) no hay mucho más margen de negocio de distribución (sí de tráfico), con lo cual hay que apostar por el “durante” (el viaje). Y ahí sí el móvil, la geolocalización y los contenidos sociales, parecen ser el mejor compañero.

Dinámicas digitales versus analógicas

Me gustaría reflejar cinco tendencias que llevan desarrollándose en caminos paralelos y que, quien las conecte en el momento adecuado, será quien lidere esa nueva distribución del “durante”: experiencias, móvil, geolocalización, redes sociales y micropagos.

La gran apuesta estratégica de vender experiencias requiere, a nivel de distribución, solucionar una brecha que actualmente existe: la oferta que no es alojamiento o vuelo, a menos que esté bien diseñada como “razón de viaje”, no se vende en el “pre” -que ya incorpora dinámicas digitales- sino en el “durante”-que aún se mantiene con dinámicas analógicas”.

El teléfono móvil será sin duda la herramienta clave de la distribución (y de muchas más cosas) en el “durante”. Ya está introducido social y culturalmente, así que su explosión como herramienta de viajes sólo está a la espera de solucionar el hándicap del coste del roaming.

La importancia de la geolocalización nos la ha mostrado Google con su apuesta agresiva por mapear el mundo. No es baladí. Sobre el mapa pivotarán los contenidos en un futuro móvil. Si unimos el componente de contenidos sociales a la anterior, tenemos la plataforma que da título al artículo. Poniéndolo en este contexto, creo que se entienden perfectamente los posibles escenarios que Facebook se puede estar barajando. De forma aún más clara podemos comprender estrategias como la de Google Places, que no es otra que la verdadera apuesta –cual hormiguita que va tejiendo una plataforma de contenidos imposible luego de copiar- de Google por la distribución local…y que no es más que el “durante en los viajes”.

Y comprendemos más cosas, si unimos la última tendencia de los micropagos, donde Facebook y Google llevan apostando claramente con sus propias monedas y sistemas de pago para pequeños comercios.

A 4-5 añios de superar la brecha

La conexión de estas tendencias al turismo sólo tiene una última brecha, que no está en manos de estas empresas por ahora, entre otros porque no es un problema tecnológico: ¿cómo conseguir que las empresas de experiencias “digitalicen su inventario” y lo puedan conectar?

Estamos aún 4-5 años lejos de que la distribución de experiencias y, especialmente la distribución en el “durante” del viaje, sea un actor principal, pero ya se empiezan a tomar las posiciones. Elquid de la cuestión es: ¿quién ofrecerá el inventario para convertir la conexión de estas tendencias en las nuevas máquinas de distribución?


Post Original: http://www.02b.com

Descripción de los usuarios móviles

Sus clientes están en el móvil. Como vendedor, usted necesita estar en el móvil, también....

Los Móviles por fin han cumplido su promesa y están transformando nuestras vidas en casi todos los sentidos, conectar nuestro mundo físico y digital. 

Pero el 79% de los grandes anunciantes en línea no tienen una página web optimizada para móviles.  Esto hace que sea muy difícil para los usuarios móviles para encontrar lo que estás buscando de manera - rápida y fácilmente. 

Vea este video y aprender las cinco tendencias que estamos viendo en el móvil. Como vendedores, tendremos que tomar medidas, así que permanezca con nosotros hasta el final y para llevar varios pasos para empezar.

¿Por qué es importante estar en los móviles?

1. 85% de los dispositivos móviles será habilitado para la web el próximo año.
2. La búsqueda móvil ha crecido 4 veces en el último año.
3. 1 de cada 3 búsquedas móviles tienen la intención local.
4. 30% de las búsquedas de restaurantes son de los dispositivos móviles.

Es tiempo de usar el móvil para su ventaja. Y no es demasiado tarde para ser primeros. 

http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com