8 Things Your CEO Needs To Know Right Now About Social Media Tourism Trends

Presented to:2017 Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism

Prepared by:

Chad Wiebesick Vice President Integrated Marketing Communications

Ann Arbor Area Convention & Visitors BureauMarch 20, 2017

Trust is in a crisis and at an all-time low.

• Source: 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer

People don’t trust brands.

People don’t trust government.

People don’t trust corporations.

Volkswagen designed the greatest scandal in automotive history

People don’t trust news on social media, with the rise of ‘Fake News’.

How do we promote our destinations when people don’t trust what we have to say?

For the first time ever, ‘a person like yourself’ is now as credible of a source for information about a company as a technical or academic expert.

#1. Utilize User Generated Content

Empower social media followers to share their stories of your destination with their friends and family.

Tell authentic stories about your destination through UGC.

Chute automates the process of getting permission from users

Plus, feature your photos on michigan.org through Chute’s integration.

#2. 2017 is the year of video.

Plus, Millennials love video content and are the most active video viewers of any age group in the U.S. in 2016 and they're not likely to slow down in 2017 (Source: eMarketer).

Our most popular piece of content in 2016 was a video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM5AsqIVnso

Mobile live streaming is a LOT easier in 2017

Pure Michigan became the first destination in the U.S. to utilize mobile live streaming to host a first-person, real-time interactive virtual tour of a destination. Now, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter offer this capability.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrWaUQPBon0

Oops! Louisiana CVB Director had a horrendous live-stream mistake

http://www.ksla.com/story/34110125/webster-parish-tourism-official-mistakenly-livestreams-nsfw-moment-social-media

If you haven’t seen 360-degree video yet, your mind will be blown.

#3. Social media is now pay-to-play, as organic reach continues to drop.

According to Adobe, social media ad spend is estimated to surpass $41 billion in 2017. And it’s not limited to just one channel or network.

Edge Rank is Facebook’s secret algorithm.

Want real results from Facebook? Start paying.

Tip: Maximize your expenditure by participating in the Pure Michigan Social Media Partnership Program.

#4. Don’t fall victim to the shiny object syndrome in 2017.

Don’t get caught up in the tools. First, determine your strategy, and whether the platform is a fit for your business.

Remember Pokémon Go?

Pokémon GO made history when it was downloaded 10 million times in the first week after release and rocketed to #1 in the app charts faster than any app before it.

RIP Google+

@Wiebesick

Questions to ask before you start a presence on a social network

• Is your audience there?• If you’re going to test a social network, have a plan for how you will

measure the success of your efforts.

#5. Facebook continues to dominate, and Snapchat growth will slow.

There's no stopping Facebook. Engagement and usage of Facebook is on the rise, with 79% of online Americans using Facebook, more than double the share that uses Twitter (24%), Pinterest (31%), Instagram (32%) or LinkedIn (29%). That's 68% of all U.S. adults.

“We've all moved to Instagram Stories. I never thought I'd do it, but eventually, as I used it more, I found Instagram's rip-off of Snapchat to be more authentic. Suddenly, instead of checking one app for beautifully manicured photos, and the other for raw feeds, I could get everything in one place’”

Why do people unfollow a brand on Facebook?

Solution: Use an Editorial Calendar

Follow the 80/20 rule to attract and retain an engaged community: 80% is your content, 20% is from thought leaders in your industry, like-minded businesses, or relevant content.

@Wiebesick

#6. Don’t get caught up in vanity metrics.Choose metrics that align with your business objectives and help you make business decisions. •Followers•Likes•Comments•Shares•Retweets•Impressions•Reach•Engagement•Post Likes•Unlikes•Clicks•Etc.

“It’s quality, not quantity of fans that’s important.”

@Wiebesick

New York State Has The Largest Number of Facebook Fans

• Yet, only 0.9% of their fans are talking about the page.• The most popular age group are 13-17 year old teenagers.• Most of their fans live in New York City.

@Wiebesick

State of Florida Has Far Fewer Fans, But More Engaged

• Average age of fans are 35-54, a demographic more likely to have budget to travel.

• Most fans live in out-of-state, a more lucrative traveler.

@Wiebesick

Another Reason to Not Focus on Number of Fans

@Wiebesick

Make Fans The Hero: Engagement is Key

@Wiebesick

#7. Get back to basics: Know your audience.

What Single Post Caused People To Unlike the Pure Michigan Facebook Page?

@Wiebesick

What Should We Do?

Let Your Advocates Support You

@Wiebesick

#8. In 2017, more DMO’s and travel organizations will create social media

policies. Here’s why.

Mississippi city calls MLK Day “Great American Day” in tweet.

People were pissed!

Biloxi tries to defend itself…

Lesson learned: Don’t make a bad situation worse by being defensive.

Even smart, successful people can make big mistakes. And on social media, those mistakes

aren’t easy to fix.

@Wiebesick

She insults an entire continent of 50+ countries, people with AIDS, African-Americans, white people, the medical community, the international travel business, people with an actual sense of humor, and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc5NUSKRogI  

@Wiebesick

#HasJustineLandedYet trends worldwide

@Wiebesick

Brands, web celebrities join global mockery of Justine’s pro-AIDS tweet

@Wiebesick

She lands…and gets fired.

@Wiebesick

She’s not a bad person, just bad at Twitter.

“I lost my job, my reputation and I’m not able to date anymore.”

@Wiebesick

Some people get fired even before they begin their job.

@Wiebesick

@Wiebesick

Using emoji’s can get you fired

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What does this tweet mean?

@Wiebesick

He’s probably the first person fired for poor emoji use.

@Wiebesick

Lesson learned: In the heat of a moment, take time to think how others might view your tweet.

@Wiebesick

Evaluate how new hashtags might be construed.

@Wiebesick

#SusanAlbumParty

@Wiebesick

#susAnalBumParty

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US Airways sends NSFW graphic tweet

@Wiebesick

@Wiebesick

US Airways finally removes the tweet after nearly one hour and apologizes.

@Wiebesick

If you mess up, own it, say you’re sorry and then move on.

“Here’s how by reacting quickly to an obscure tweet, Pure Michigan generated

$17 million in PR buzz.”

@Wiebesick

Dec 6, 11:49 am

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TravelWisconsin.com

@Wiebesick

Dec 6, 2:45 pm

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Dec 6, 7:17 pm

@Wiebesick

What, If Anything, Do We Do?

• 1 tweet• 11 retweets• 1 story in Kalamazoo Gazette

@Wiebesick

Dec 7, 11:45 am WhoIsTheRealMittenState.com

@Wiebesick

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Dec 7, 4:43 pmStatewide News

@Wiebesick

Dec 7, 7:23 pmWisconsin Releases Another Mitten

Travel Wisconsin put up a new version of the mitten in the green and gold of the Green Bay Packers, boasting the football team's unbeaten record and ribbing their rivals, the 7-5 Detroit Lions.

@Wiebesick

“Is Michigan or Wisconsin the Mitten State?”Google AdWords

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Dec 7, 10:20 pmNational News

@Wiebesick

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Dec 13

@Wiebesick

The Mitten Drive Prompted More Conversations

@Wiebesick

Dec 14, 2:20 International News

Results:•Over 300 news stories from state, national and international radio, newspaper and TV •396 million media impressions•$17.7 million in earned media value@Wiebesick

Closing Thoughts• Incorporate the latest video technologies in your 2017 content

marketing strategy.

• Utilize user-generated content and empower advocates to spread the word about how great your destination is to their friends and family.

• Align your social strategy to your business objectives and allocate budget to social media.

• Create a social media policy for staff, the account administrator and the public.