A few weeks past Google, the darling of Wall Street shocked many on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange when their reported earnings were significantly below analyst’s expectations. The culprit, a move towards more targeted marketing via unique niche distribution channels.
Fast forward to next week when Facebook may begin trading shares in an Initial Public Offering most traders assume is over-subscribed. Last week I tweeted four words associated with an article concerning the Facebook IPO which were “And the Bubble Re-inflates”.
When I guest lecture at New York University in the Marketing and PR class for the Tourism and Hospitality concentration, my opening question is “How many of you have heard of MySpace? Followed by, “Fast-fwd 10 years, will Facebook follow the path of MySpace?”
While I cannot answer that question, a study concerning social media generated by Conrad Advertising titled the Travel Mind - The Influence Of Social Media on Holiday Booking was most enlightening concerning the influence of social media and travel.
Some key findings include:
---A single negative review would only definitely stop 11% of people from booking a hotel of interest to them. An amazing 82% said they would investigate further. As a consultant have always preached, look at the overall review trend as fictitious reviews and worse have been known to be posted.
---Word-of-mouth (26%), a good easy-to-use website (24%) and holiday brochures (23%) are the most important influences on people’s decisions when planning and booking a holiday. For luxury properties, the printed hard-copy brochure continues to be an important aspect of a marketing program. If physicality were truly extinct, luxury retails such as Louis Vuitton and Cartier would be virtual. Of note, Cartier had a retail location within the Cherry Creek Mall a few years back.
---Holiday-goers using social media sites or services do not talk about prices and offers that much (only 20% of holiday makers mention this as a topic) whereas holiday destination and hotel are discussed over twice as frequently (43%). As prices fluctuate including flash-sales and opaque resellers, rack rates for guidance take on additional importance.
Most revealing "The role that Facebook and Twitter play in day-to-day social life does not appear to be replicated during the holiday planning and booking process," the study found and Travelers did say that they value the recommendations and advice of friends and family (61%) more than those of unknown web users or companies when using social media (19%)."
So the next time you are reading a review on TripAdvisor, seeing your friends "Like" an entity on Facebook or follow a celebrity's tweet, does it truly resonate and influence your decision?
Happy Travels
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