1. Tourism Marketing for small businesses
Chapter 10 Digital and Social Media in Tourism

2. Chapter learning aims To enhance your understanding of:
the influence of digital and social media in tourism
how travellers are using digital and social media
opportunities for small businesses to use digital and social media

3. Key terms Digital media
Media content such as text, photos, graphics, audio and video, which are encoded into machine readable formats (digitised), and able to be transferred to other devices, sent across the internet, and used across a business’ various online promotional platforms.
Web 2.0
The internet platform facilitating content and applications to be continuously modified by all users in a collaborative way.
Social media
The activities of virtual communities who share information, knowledge and opinions, using Web-based applications that enable ease of creating and modifying content.

4. Digital and social media
The opportunity to digitise media content has transformed the way in which small tourism businesses’ promotional material can be made available across different internet-based platforms.
Over half of the world’s population are internet users, and we are now witnessing the most technologically savvy consumers in history.
The emergence of Web 2.0 in 2004 enabled co-creation of content on social media, which has democratised the internet.
User-generated content (UGC) on social media, related to tourism, has reached levels that now swamp the marketing communications of the global travel industry.

5. Table 10.1 – World internet users 2017
Internet users
Dec 2000
(Millions)
June 2017
Penetration of population
Growth
Asia
114,304
1,938,076
46.7%
1,595%
Europe
105,096
659,634
80.2%
528%
Latin America/ Caribbean
18,069
404,269
62.4%
2,137%
Africa
4,514
388,376
31.2%
8,501%
North America
108,096
320,059
88.1% 8%
Middle East
3,284
146,972
58.7%
4,374%
Oceania/ Australia
7,620
28,180
69.6% 1%
World Total
360,985
3,885,567
51.7%
976%

6. Consumer-traveller power
For complaints about United Airlines
Reviews on airlines and airports
Post a trip review or question
Read travellers’ reviews

7. Tourism industry forced to adapt quickly Source: Pike (2016)
The internet has emerged as a dominant medium for travel bookings, both through travel trade intermediaries and through disintermediation 
Many travel situations involve high levels of information seeking in the planning stages, with the internet a primary source
Tourism offerings are mostly intangible services with many types of risk, and UGC is regarded as credible form of word of mouth advice
Increasing influence of travellers’ online reviews of destinations and tourism services

8. Tourism industry forced to adapt quickly Source: Pike (2016)
Increasing use of mobile social media applications and portable navigation devices (PND) during travel
Increasing free Wi-Fi available for visitors and residents at destinations
High levels of brag value UGC in virtual social networks during travel
Unlike any other brand category, travellers are spoilt by choice of an almost unlimited number of destinations with an online presence

9. Digital and social media
For small tourism businesses, digital and social media offer the benefits of lower costs and greater efficiency than traditional marketing approaches
Digitised content can be used across different promotional platforms
Opportunities to enhance the visitor experience and relationships with customers.
The need to have a plan for engaging with consumers online.
What is required is a clear focus on social engagement, rather than simply media placement.

10. How travellers are using digital and social media
Travel planning
Majority of travellers now using online information sources
Increasing levels of online bookings
High credibility of social media recommendations versus traditional advertising

11. How travellers are using social and digital media
During travel
Onward planning and information seeking
Staying in touch with friends
Sharing experiences
Providing guest reviews
Travel blogs and journals
Online dating
Many deviate from original plans while travelling

12. How travellers are using digital and social media
After travel
Sharing information about holiday experiences
Guest reviews on community sites such as TripAdvisor
With friends on Facebook

13. Outsourcing digitisation and placement of media
Opportunities for small businesses to try to engage with travellers at each stage
Small businesses often lack resources to stay up to date with changing technologies
The key is to focus on developing clear and manageable objectives, rather than trying to stay technically proficient.
It can be efficient to outsource digitisation and placement of media, much in the way as for accounting services

14. Ten laws of social media marketing1
Listen
Learn how your customers and target consumers engage with social media type, and understand what is important to them 2
Focus
Focus on the social media of most relevance to the business, rather than attempt a presence on everything 3
Quality
Connect and engage with a small group of influential customers, rather than try to reach everyone 4
Patience
Ensure you make a long term commitment to the strategy 5
Compounding
Consumers share quality content, which will virally increase the reach 6
Influence
Identify those customers and target consumers who have the greatest influence in virtual communities 7
Value
Followers will value your content if it is interesting and trustworthy 8
Acknowledgement
Acknowledge those customers and consumers who reach out to establish a relationship with you 9
Accessibility
Always be available to respond to your followers 10
Reciprocity
Share content that has been published by others in your network

15. Website CSFs Minimalism Responsive design Modular design
High quality images
Updated content
Call to action

16. Using digital and social media to enhance the customer experience
‘Click and collect’ service on website
Eg admission tick to avoid queues
Digital digging
Many people post a lot of public information online
A little searching can find clues to enable a tailor-made treat for the guest
Supplying experiential devices
See Case MONA

17. Engaging with influencers
Online there can be a blurring between what is an organic image agent (eg word of mouth from friends, media editorial) and what is an induced source (eg advertising)
Paid celebrity endorsements have influence on followers
An influencer is anyone who wields “the ability to cause or contribute to another person taking action or changing opinion/behaviour” (WOMMA, 2017, p. 7).
Influencer marketing is identifying and engaging influencers to share information with their network, to achieve a business objective.
Most consumers trust recommendations from other consumers they respect and admire, over advertisements or content published by a business.

18. Engaging with influencers
Small businesses have opportunities to engage with local micro-influencers
Eg bloggers, instagrammers and YouTubers with 1,000 to 10,00o followers
Micro-influencers drive 87% of posting volume for hotels, bars and restaurants (see Hootsuite, 2017)
Micro-influencers are easier to contact, require less compensation, and are more amenable to a partnership
Also, opportunities to recruit customers as influencers, by asking for online reviews and sharing of their experience

19. Social media platforms
Most popular platforms used by businesses :Facebook (94%), Twitter (68%), LinkedIn (56%), Instagram (54%), YouTube (45%), Pinterest (30%), and Snapchat (7%)
Maximise engagement by using the following mix of posts:
30% about the business (eg What makes the business special?)
30% educational (eg local events, local hidden treasures)
30% entertaining or inspirational
And only 10% sales oriented (eg special offers with a sense of urgency)

20. Discussion questions
What are some of the key reasons why most small tourism businesses shouldn’t ignore the need to engage with consumers through digital and social media?
Why can it be a more efficient use of resources for a small tourism business to outsource digital and social media technical expertise?
What are two key ways in which satisfied customers could be recruited as online influencers for a small tourism business?