Tips from the T-List » Joe Buhler

The Case for Social Web Marketing

Joe Buhler — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:53:20 +0000

For the past few years, social media has developed from being a topic written about only by some early adopters and specialist media to one recognized by just about anyone and covered by main stream media. Organizations in any industry and sector have started to recognize that this is not a short term fad but rather an issue that needs to be addressed for its implications on the business. Social media has gone mainstream.

To read the full article I was asked to write for the latest edition of Hospitality Upgrade magazine, visit buhlerworks.com

The Real Cost of Social Media

Joe Buhler — Mon, 23 May 2011 20:34:25 +0000

via focus.com

This infographic contains some very useful data on social web engagement including cost estimates that seem reasonable based on the assumptions made. Each case will likely differ based on already existing resources and components. What is clear, is that social media campaigns are not free if planned and prepared well and sustained over an expanded period of time, which is essential for success.

Posted via email from JEBstream

Travelers turn back to travel agents

Joe Buhler — Mon, 09 May 2011 16:16:07 +0000

For years, it looked as though the travel agent had gone the way of the milkman. As online booking sites soared in popularity, travel agents became the butt of jokes. But the travel agent has been given a reprieve, as travelers are starting to need vacations from planning their vacations.

“Not only are customers confused and frustrated by new airline fees and events, but they are bombarded by social media,” said John Clifford, president of the luxury travel consultancy InternationalTravelManagement.com. “Everyone is trying to tell you where you should stay, where you should eat, what you should do.”

A study by Forrester Research found that the number of leisure travelers who enjoyed using the Web to plan and book their vacations dropped from 53 percent in 2007 to 47 percent in 2010. And in an American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) survey, 44 percent of agents said that they had more clients in 2010 than they’d had the previous year, with the strongest rebound in rail and hotel reservations.

Travelers “don’t have hours to spend on research to compare multiple flights, multiple cruises, multiple packages,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Forrester Research. “It’s not unlike doing your taxes. Depending on who you are, what your priorities are, there are some people who will choose to do it themselves or to use a professional.”

Get the full story at The Washington Post

via hotelmarketing.com

This has been an ongoing theme and somewhat bogus debate now for years. The original argument that travel agents will all disappear was made in the early days of the web, mostly by people not familiar with the travel industry.

While the vast number of order takers for airline tickets have indeed gone the way of the milkman, the remaining number are the ones who actually deserve the name travel agent or counselor.

What has helped spur this return is the evolution of online travel from being almost exclusively about air bookings to more involved transactions and ultimately trip planning. Those are much more complex functions that traditional OTA have not solved particularly well.

Now, that we are in the reality of web 2.0 travel intermediaries, be they traditional travel agents using web based tools or new online entrants offering trip planning tools integrated with social media will have a role to play in the marketplace.

Will there be a wholesale return to traditional travel agents by millions of web savvy travelers, I highly doubt it. Will those who master social web tools combined with specific knowledge of destinations and products thrive, sure they will.

How to Humanize Your Company and Get People to Share Your Story

Joe Buhler — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:27:37 +0000

This ties in very well with my earlier post today about storytelling. Excellent comments about the issue of talking in an authentic voice and not bland marketing speak.

In the context of destination marketing, I suggest to widen the definition of the internal audience to include local travel services suppliers with a passion about the destination as well as local residents who often are in a position to tell a convincing story about the place they live very effectively if only they are invited to do so.

By Michael Stelzner
Published April 25, 2011

In this video I interview Rohit Bhargava, senior vice president of digital strategy and marketing at Ogilvy and the author of the book Personality Not Included.

Rohit talks about how to put personality back into your company to tell a better story about what you do, get people to believe in your company and tell everyone about it.

Be sure to check out the takeaways below after you watch the video.

sme_bw2010_rohit_bhargava_v3 from Michael A. Stelzner on Vimeo.

Personality matters because people matter. Here are some of the things you’ll learn in this video about how to humanize your company:

What you can do get personality back

Where to focus your attention to humanize your company

How to identify the employees who are your “accidental spokespeople”

How to cultivate these people to become a voice for your company

Why Innocent Drinks has a great personality

How to find the right backstory model for your company

How to humanize your brand

Find out more about Ogilvy on their 360° Digital Influence blog. Connect with Rohit on his Influential Marketing blog and download a chapter of Rohit’s book at Personality Not Included.

How do you humanize your company? What tips do you have to share? Please share them in the comment section below.

inShare0

Tags: accidental spokesperson, company story, humanize, michael stelzner, ogilvy, personality, personality not included, rohit bhargava, save the cat, social media strategy

via socialmediaexaminer.com

Storytelling for businesses an essential communications tool

Joe Buhler — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:13:36 +0000

via holykaw.alltop.com

Especially for destinations the use of storytelling is a convincing way to communicate with your audience about your brand. The more compelling the story, the higher the chance of it going viral through active sharing. This infographic is an excellent primer on the topic.

Posted via email from JEBstream

How airlines use Twitter

Joe Buhler — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:29:51 +0000

via holykaw.alltop.com

Great infographic. Hat tip to Travel 2.0

Posted via email from JEBstream

The tie that binds: How social media strengthens companies

Joe Buhler — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:56:06 +0000

via holykaw.alltop.com

Informative visual presentation of the many internal and external benefits social web awareness brings to organizations. This transformation will ultimately result in an overall improved performance as well as ROI.

Posted via email from JEBstream

Facebook Infographic

Joe Buhler — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:11:39 +0000

Amazing growth rates, especially in the 65+ age group and Indonesia.

Posted via email from JEBstream

And here’s the size of the playing field.

Joe Buhler — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:36:57 +0000

Some Visual Insight into the $50 billion Behemoth

Joe Buhler — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:34:08 +0000