Facebook - Blogs - Tripatini2024-03-28T16:19:56Zhttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/FacebookOf Twitter, Burgers and Hotelshttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/of-twitter-burgers-and-hotels2010-10-23T00:00:00.000Z2010-10-23T00:00:00.000ZKaleel Sakakeenyhttps://tripatini.com/members/KaleelSakakeeny<div><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6FnR_DitcWogfZTOSS14EA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_AnBusKXSA8o/TL825yFbVuI/AAAAAAAACEI/uVR6X9njyew/s288/bombers.jpg" height="262" width="288" alt="bombers.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;text-align:right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/travel.video/NMTImages?feat=embedwebsite">NMT Images</a></td></tr></table>Of Twitter, Burgers and Hotels<br /><br />I don't much like case studies. The ones that business school students labor through. <br /><br />I prefer the kinds of quick case studies I get in <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/">Entrepreneur</a> magazine.<br /><br />In his “Talk of the Town” column in this month’s magazine small business “thought leader,” <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/">Chris Brogan</a>, talks about Joe Sorge who runs <a href="http://www.ajbombers.com/">AJ Bombers</a>, a burger place in Milwaukee.<br /><br />Sorge does with Twitter something close to what we <a href="http://technorati.com/blogging/article/foursquare-takes-aim-at-travel-and/">reported</a> Chicago and other cities are doing with Foursquare.<br /><br />He trolls Twitter and identifies travelers headed to Milwaukee. He gives them tips on what to do and see in his city..and of course invites them for a burger at his place.<br /><br />By listening and responding to the Milwaukee-oriented chatter on Facebook and Twitter, Sorge says he’s gotten “great business results.”<br /><br />How great?<br /><br />Brogan says Sorge’s revenue has doubled in six months, that’s a 5-year goal in one year.<br /><br />• He accomplished a one-day gross sales increase of 110% from a social-media only event promotion, and has spent zero on advertising.<br /><br />Brogan’s article also talks about social media impacts hotels and the quality of the services they provide, meaning how their brand is affected.<br /><br />He asks that the hotel industry to train their staffs with the “being on stage” effect. <br /><br />In other words, hotel staff, knowing their actions and attitudes are a key stroke away from being publicized “world wide” via a guest’s Facebook or Twitter account, will inevitably perform better. <br /><br />They are “on stage” all of the time for all of the guests.<br /><br />And If social media helps the guests know they can reach out and connect with management personally, they’ll do that, and stop yelling at the hotel or inn’s brand publicly.<br /><br /></div>Learn Social media Tricks at THETRADESHOW when you go to THETRAVELBLOGGERSSHOWhttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/learn-social-media-tricks-at2010-08-06T15:00:00.000Z2010-08-06T15:00:00.000ZASTAhttps://tripatini.com/members/ASTA<div><div>Social media continues to be the hot topic, and while many peoplehave jumped on the bandwagon, there are still those looking to learn more, especially when it comesto utilizing these new tools to grow their business. This year, <a href="http://www.thetradeshow.org">THETRADESHOW</a> (Orlando Sept. 12-14)has lined up a full array of seminars, covering everything from YouTube marketing to the <a href="http://www.thetradeshow.org/thetravelbloggershow.cfm">basics of blogging.</a></div><div><br /></div><div>“The growth of social media and evolution of technology provides new opportunities for travel agenciesto connect with their customers in an online environment,” said Brian Houser, vice president,Customer Marketing for Sabre Travel Network. “Social media communities can have a strong influenceon travel decisions, so agencies looking to stay relevant and competitive should explore how they canleverage these new tools to attract new customers, drive greater customer loyalty and differentiatetheir brand. Travel agencies can learn more about how to create and maintain a strong social mediapresence at THETRADESHOW sessions and by stopping by the Sabre Travel Network booth andvisiting with our experts.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Topics for training include:</div><div>Building Blocks for Facebook Fan Pages.</div><div>Presented by Chelle Yarbrough, CTC. This hands-on classwill provide attendees with the tools they need to turn Facebook into a powerful medium for attractingnew customers—even better than traditional Web sites. In this class attendees will learn how to: builda basic fan page; edit their profile photo; connect third-party applications such as Twitter, their blog orcalendars; and engage their visitors and fans to spread their message.(For maximum benefit, attendees should already be signed up for Facebook and bring their user nameand password to the class.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Advanced Facebook Tips and Tricks.</div><div>Presented by Chelle Yarbrough, CTC. Facebook's built-inprofiling system provides a marketing edge that no other system offers. Because every user who signsup for Facebook must provide demographic information, marketers are able to zero in on their targetmarket and hit them with the right offer at the right time. In this session, attendees will be introducedto the world of FBML - Facebook MarkUp Language - which allows for the addition to a Facebook pageof completely customized pages and features such as YouTube videos, calendars and booking engines.Participants will learn how to: add YouTube videos and other media to the page; customize a welcomepage, bypassing "The Wall" and making your page stand out; and connect advanced applications suchas booking engines to your page.(For maximum benefit, attendees should already be signed up for Facebook and bring their user nameand password to the class.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Turn Your Website into a Virtual Money Machine.</div><div>Presented by Tom Ogg. Interested in takingyour Web page to the next level? Learn how to build organic traffic, develop strong and uniquecontent, increase your standing on Google and close sales. Key discussion points include: ways toupdate your Web site; optimizing your Web site for search engines such as Google; quick and easycontent building; ten strategies to out-market the competition; turning “lookers” to “buyers;” andanalyzing your site’s performance and profitability.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Power of YouTube and Video Marketing.</div><div>Presented by Adam Lapsevich. Video is one of themost powerful marketing tools. Travel agents who attend this seminar will leave knowing how to: setup their own YouTube channel; add video content to their YouTube channel and other areas of theirmarketing mix; and use video as an e-mail marketing tool.</div><div><br /></div><div>Blogging 101 - How to Start a Blog and Use it for Your Business.</div><div>Presented by Bryan AlaspaThe phenomenon of blogging is still relatively new, however, it has pervaded nearly every part of theInternet and is here to stay. This session will provide attendees with the critical tools they need tocreate a blog that will work. Attendees will learn: why businesses should use a blog; what issues mustbe considered before writing that first sentence; how to select a topic as well as the right blogging format; write that first blog entry and build an audience. Alaspa will share success stories as well aspotential pitfalls and offer participants suggested next steps.</div><div><br /></div><div>Blogging 201 - So, You’ve Started to Blog, Now What?</div><div>Presented by Bryan Alaspa. Targeted atthose who have entered the world of blogging, this advanced-level course teaches attendees how tofind and keep their audience; what the savvy blogger can do to keep content fresh; how to build anarchive and add pages to a blog site.</div><div><br /></div><div>LinkedIn 101 - How to Create a Linked-In Profile.</div><div>Presented by Kate Koziol. When it comes tosocial media and its applications for business, the one word heard over again is LinkedIn. Those new tosocial and online networking will learn about LinkedIn and how it differs from other social media sites,as well as why joining is a smart move. Among the topics covered will be creating a LinkedIn profile,joining groups and participating in discussions.</div><div><br /></div><div>LinkedIn 201 - Advanced Linked-In Techniques.</div><div>Presented by Kate Koziol. This seminar takes adeeper journey into the heart of LinkedIn and examines how the site can be used to further one’sbusiness and expand their network. Those looking to up their LinkedIn skills will learn to expand theirnetwork; choose what discussions to participate in or start their own discussion; find the right group tojoin or create one of their own; add applications to their profile and more.</div><div><br /></div><div>To learn more: Visit THETRADESHOW and THETRAVELBLOGGERSSHOW. A variety of registration packages, ranging from $35 to the Best Value Package at $109 are available.For more information on these packages or to register, visit THETRADESHOW.org. The Best ValuePackage includes registration to THETRADESHOW, as well as the VIP Perks Package, eLearningCenter access and RTLS registration. If you are unable to attend THETRADESHOW, but who would like to experience THETRADESHOW educational program through the eLearning Center without the livenetworking opportunities or Best Value Package, can purchase a virtual-only registration for $99.</div></div>Carnival Cruise Lines Goes Facebook, Skips Web Sitehttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/carnival-cruise-lines-goes2011-01-11T18:15:29.000Z2011-01-11T18:15:29.000ZKaleel Sakakeenyhttps://tripatini.com/members/KaleelSakakeeny<div><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/l6sxpsMdv6EnzzPaV4sz0A?feat=embedwebsite"><img height="305" width="400" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_AnBusKXSA8o/TSqPlEZ-GrI/AAAAAAAACOE/a1L-qBgcqWk/s400/1195015417-31579_full.jpg" alt="1195015417-31579_full.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;text-align:right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/travel.video/NMTImages?feat=embedwebsite">NMT Images</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Carnival Cruise Lines Goes Facebook, Skips Web Site<br /><br />It’ a great video. It’s fun, alive, upbeat and touches a travel nerve: It’s Carnival Cruise Line’s new advertising campaign, <em>“Hey America, Didja Ever.”</em> <br /><br />But the video is not on the cruise line’s web site, confirming, once again, that searches for authentic travel experiences are not found on search engines or on web sites, but on social media networks.<br /><br />It’s here where people can question, connect and participate with real people in real time. <br /><br />Since a vast number of American have never taken a cruise, (probably 90%), Carnival’s chief marketing officer, Jim Berra, knows that the first time cruiser is a huge market.<br /><br />“How better to reassure those contemplating their first cruise than to let them experience on Facebook, the experience of other cruisers?” he asks.<br /><br />Berra understands Facebook’s power, and that of social media, when he says that interacting with the brand on Facebook, “ lends an environment where you can talk to experienced cruisers and get unbiased information on Carnival.”<br /><br />The video is on the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/Carnival">Carnival Facebook</a> page where their 455, 266 people who “Like” the page get a chance to see a video with real people, talking about the real things they’d like to do in life, from fly a plane to feed Llamas and deep sea dive or Parasail.<br /><br />The implication of course is, why wait. Do it now!<br /><br />Marketing messages? Do it on Carnival. <br /><br />And, make your own list, and enter the “Didja Ever” contest and possibly win a free cruise.<br /><br />Industry publication, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.travelweekly.com/cruise/article3_ektid226524.aspx">Travel Weekly</a>, says this is yet another example of a major cruise line “being dedicated to social media,” and reports that the Facebook campaign is doing very well viz a viz Carnival’s competitors. As of last week, the numbers tell the story:<br /><br />• Carnival Cruise Line has 455,266 “Likes”<br /><br />• Royal Caribbean International, 230,365<br />• Princess Cruises, 73,942<br />• Norwegian Cruise Line, 48,058<br /><br />It may be that these three lines are late to the social media table. <br /><br />Travel Weekly reports that Berra has seen traffic driven from their Facebook account to their booking web page triple in the last 12 months, allowing Facebook to pass Yahoo as the second largest source of traffic to <a target="_blank" href="http://http//www.carnival.com">carnival.com</a>.<br /><br />For now, Google is still the number 1 traffic driver, but Facebook allows potential cruise-buyers to create initial, human connections, which Google and a web site can’t do.<br /><br />The “Didja Ever” videos will appear on and off line, including Hulu, YouTube and Yahoo.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Cruise Ships Sail The Social Networking Seashttps://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/cruise-ships-sail-the-social2010-06-08T13:33:54.000Z2010-06-08T13:33:54.000ZKaleel Sakakeenyhttps://tripatini.com/members/KaleelSakakeeny<div><table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/G5xYaP7Uvq5gHTOou1u_xPof0dzRa7ymPcRZ9zZ0Nsc?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_AnBusKXSA8o/TA0r7uqNNmI/AAAAAAAAB3M/pJPpU916ATY/s400/10898-oasis-of-the-seas_eCNZr_48.jpg" alt="10898-oasis-of-the-seas_eCNZr_48.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;text-align:right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/travel.video/FromKaleel?authkey=Gv1sRgCIaWy9qJ5r_9WA&feat=embedwebsite">From Kaleel</a></td></tr></table><br /><br />Cruise Lines Sail the Social Media Seas<br /><br />The captain of the <a href="">Oasis of the Seas</a> may have driven the 5,400 passenger cruise ship into Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades last fall, but it was Social Media channels that drove the Royal Caribbean's cruise ship, the world's largest, onto Google's most-searched list. <br /><br />Travel trade publication <a href="http://www.travelweekly.com">Travel Weekly</a> reported that as of a couple of weeks ago, 10 million unique visitors made their way to <a href="http://www.OasisoftheSea.com">OasisoftheSea.com</a>, and a whopping 200,000 people in a 24-hour period tuned in to watch videos of the Oasis captain, more viewers, said TW, than Anderson Cooper drew on CNN in the same time period. <br /><br />It's an axiom in Social Media marketing and public relations campaigns that the social web has an enormous capacity to bring mainstream media into the marketing and PR loop by generating deep consumer involvement in creating an on-line buzz, so that off-line media has to take notice, when they might ordinarily not.<br /><br />And the cruise industry apparently is getting the message. <br /><br />New York's <a href="http://http//www.webershandwick.com">Weber Shandwick</a> agency which masterminded the Oasis media launch understands the social networking phenomenon well. According to Rene Mack, president of the lifestyle marketing department, Weber Shandwick wants their clients to be ahead of what he calls the dramatically changing media landscape.<br /><br />The Norwegian Cruise Line is also fully engaged, using Facebook and Twitter in to launch its largest-ever ship, the <a href="http://www.epic.ncl.com">Norwegian Epic</a>, and Holland America is timing its Facebook and Twitter campaign to prepare for its July 4 advertising campaign on why to sail Holland America. <br /><br />The cruise industry industry is well aware that only 18% of Americans have taken cruises, and rather than rely on traditional approaches to reach the other 82% of non-cruising Americans, and the huge revenue stream they represent, they're embraced a progressive approach that starts by building an on-line "cruise buzz", leading to off-line media awareness, creating the perfect media storm of on-line, off-line conversion that Shandwick's Mack calls "in-line media."<br /><br /> In Royal Carib's case, "engaging the audience" actually extended to letting the public name the Oasis through a contest with USA Today, giving the public a chance to "own" the ship, generating an enthusiastic base of future cruisers and cementing the existing loyal client base.<br /><br />With 4,707 people following @oasisandallure on Twitter, and 500,000 video views from video sharing sites, the cruise industry is looking forward to smooth sailing and capturing a bigger market share through viral marketing. <br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Today's Innkeepers Embrace the Social Web. Will They Ever Be the Same?https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/todays-innkeepers-embrace-the2010-05-02T14:00:00.000Z2010-05-02T14:00:00.000ZKaleel Sakakeenyhttps://tripatini.com/members/KaleelSakakeeny<div>Innkeepers Meet the Social Web: Will They Ever Be The Same<br /><br />Brian and Leslie Mulcahy work very hard for their accolades and consistently outstanding reviews by always being there for their guests.<br />"It’s not easy,” say the innkeepers of the quintessential New England inn, <a href="http://www.RabbitHillInn.com">Rabbit Hill Inn</a>, in the Currier and Ives town of Lower Waterford, Vermont. <br />But Leslie is reading Groundswell ("winning in a world transformed by social technologies,"), which sounds the clarion call for a social tools-based mind set that baffles most of the travel world, and especially traditional innkeepers.<br /><br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Bnc48vociUYRnMtKnBatwgi09wEnzFu6bpKVxR1Yiok?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_AnBusKXSA8o/S92EZAbaN8I/AAAAAAAABwY/PAQrs-LYEfU/s400/RHIsmE.jpg" alt="RHIsmE.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:11px;text-align:right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/travel.video/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCMnkxoiQ96fjdQ&feat=embedwebsite">Blogger Pictures</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Rabbit Hill Inn<br />Credit: Wendie Hansen<br /><br />Today, Rabbit Hill posts videos on YouTube, Brian conducts advanced searches in Google to see how many web sites embedded their videos, and the couple is planning a new web site designed to foster community.<br />But they were quick to assure me that they are innkeepers first . <br />Their guests are what count.<br />Still, marketing through the social web is very time consuming and complex, so will they really have time to attend to the many demands of their guests?<br /><br />Marti Mayne a guru of inn-related web marketing <a href="http://www.BedandBreakfast.com">BedandBreakfast.com</a> says innkeepers will have to hire professionals to handle their social web marketing and PR, just as they hire electricians or other professionals, if they want to continue to provide high-quality guest services, the hallmark of their businesses.<br />A recent BedandBreakfast.com survey shows a dramatic increase by innkeepers in the use of social tools, especially blogs and Facebook, and a push toward buying ad words to drive search engine results, unthinkable a year ago.<br />Bookings from on-line sites like Expedia was the poorest performing indicator, and the simple transactional web sites of a few years ago are on the way out. <br /><br />Like many innkeepers, Dick and Diane Pabich of the <a href="http://www.saleminn.com">Salem Inn</a> (Salem, MA) bristled at the mere mention of Twitter or Facebook.<br />But at a recent meeting, Pabich proudly pointed to the increase in the inn's Facebook fan base… and they're embolden to stick their toe into the fast moving but time consuming Twitter stream. <br />With her purple hair and their serious commitment to social media, Tim and Amy Brady are the Gen-X owners of <a href="http://www.fortyputneyroad.com/">40 Putney Road B and B</a> in Brattleboro, Vermont, and the new face of innkeeping. "We are geeky and off beat and out to grab a new audience through social media," says Tim. "But we focus on our guests first."<br /><br />Tea times at these Norman Rockwell-type inns won't soon disappear, but building an on line buzz is ushering in a new breed of innkeepers. How will the inn experience change?<br /><br />What’s your experience with inns?<br /><br />Follow us on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/travelpostcard">http://twitter.com/travelpostcard</a><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>