social media (32)

What's So Great About Pinterest?

         

There are two common questions I hear often as a Social Media Consultant:

1 – What is Pinterest?

2 – What do I do with Pinterest?

Pinterest is actually not new. It was conceptualized by Ben Silberman and Paul Sciarra in 2009. They originally tested in on a College crowd and then in live form to the public shortly thereafter. Remarkably they now enjoy 11.7 million unique visitors and it is one of the fastest growing and most popular Social Media (listed in Top 10) Sites.

So on Pinterest, you

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For this year Tnooz shares a study done by Simpliflying where they analyzed the data from a recent EyeforTravel report understanding how travel companies are approaching social media in 2012.

Here are some interesting findings from the study, Social Media and Mobile Strategies for the Travel Industry 2011:

  • Location-based services such as Foursquare will be huge this year. Almost half of all the airlines surveyed wish to increase their presence in location-based social networks in 2012 (they’re goi
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There’s no doubt marketers and brand managers are spending lots of human and real capital to leverage the power of Social Sites, especially Facebook and Twitter. But does it do them any good? Meaning, do consumers promote brands via Social Media regardless of how hard those brands try to get in front of consumers?

eMarketer says very clearly that 57.8 % of US Facebook users had not mentioned a brand in their status updates as of October 2011.

Hotelmarketing.com reports the same figures in its

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Social Media Bullies Hold Hotels Hostage

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There is no doubt that hotels and retail will go to great lengths to avoid negative publicity.

It’s in their DNA.

In many instances, whether or not a guest or customer's complaint is legitimate or warranted, companies, and hotels in particular, will "buy" the guests good will or silence by providing an upgrade or some valued service at a discount.

But with the clout inherent in Social Media, many hotel guests and customers are playing pirate, holding managem
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Lately, I’ve been traveling a lot so I’ve had time to read those inflight magazines. The other day I was on an American Airlines flight and was able to read theAmerican Way magazine. To my surprise I found an article about the hospitality industry using social media, which obviously caught my attention.

I know there are many tools out there that focus on research and analytics but there is one research/analytic tool that is specific to the hospitality industry, it only works with hotels and it’s

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From NMT Images
Carnival Cruise Lines Goes Facebook, Skips Web Site

It’ a great video. It’s fun, alive, upbeat and touches a travel nerve: It’s Carnival Cruise Line’s new advertising campaign, “Hey America, Didja Ever.”

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.

It’s here where people can question, connect and participate with real people in
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Luxury Travel Bows to Social Media

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From NMT Images
Luxury Travel Bows to Social Media

In Cannes, France, members of the elite International Luxury Travel Market crowd (ILTM)
paid grudging respect to the power of the social media “crowd”.

The elite at the classy Riviera resort had to admit that the  power and wisdom of Face Book, Twitter, and “invite only” travel web sites was changing the face of luxury travel, for good.

Agence France Presse (AFP)  reported that Klara Glowczewska, editor of Conde Nast Traveler, a glossy, upscale trave
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Foursquare Takes On Travel and Tourism

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From NMT Images
Twitter Follow

Foursquare Takes On Travel and Tourism

I sat in on a Tweetchat (#lbschat) last week on how Location Based Services (LBS) affect Travel and Tourism.

I was of course impressed with the sharp, fast-thinking minds of the chatters, and especially impressed at how much of an impact LBS, especially Foursquare are having on the travel experience, and the entire Travel And Tourism industry.

I knew that Chicago’s Office of Tourism has a city-specific deal with Foursquare to get v
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Top Ten Travel Social Network Sites for 2010

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From NMT Images
Top Ten Travel Social Network Sites for 2010

It’s pretty common these days for someone to come up with a “top ten” best web sites list or air fare search engine list or applications, and it’s anyone’s guess how accurate or useful the list is since we all have different needs and preferences and use the sites differently.

But I’m always interested in who’s on top..and on the bottom.

I was particularly interested when Hotel Marketing.com announced that the travel social network site, T
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The Foul Mouth of YouTube Travel

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From NMT Images
The Foul Mouth of You Tube Travel

I’m absolutely convinced that comments on video sharing sites, especially You Tube, are more mean, potentially racists and more chaotic than comments posted to text-based blogs and sites.

And I’m sure there are many more comments posted to video sharing sites.

While I’m mostly talking about travel videos on You Tube, ( a large part of its inventory), I’ve seen the same kinds of responses in other categories on the site..

You Tube really is the wild,
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From From Kaleel

eBags Pushes Travel To Embrace Social Media

Charlene Li, co-author of the groundbreaking books, Groundswell, and Marketing in the Groundswell, (now CEO of Altimeter ) tells the story of Jim, a hard-traveling, hard-nosed computer security engineer whose key zipper on his laptop bag broke at a crucial meeting.

eBags replaced the bag, but they also listened to the review of the product Jim posted on their web site. They contacted him, and went on to improve the bag by getting the Hon
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