Twitter and Tourism – are we following ourselves?
Twitter usage by DMOs and tourism organizations is clearly growing with the number of DMOs using Twitter in the US we could find doubling from 30 to over 60 within the last 4 weeks. The number of followers for most of the DMOs is however still very small (we will have a more in depth analysis on growth rates for the top “Twitters” in US tourism later this week) with the most successful organizations attracting only a couple of hundred followers so far.
The numbers become even smaller when you take into consideration that a lot of DMOs are following each other. Even the poster-child of Twitter usage in the travel industry – Southwest Airlines – has only 4,000 followers. Not much for an airline that transports over 90 million passengers a year.
So what is the point of spending time on Twitter and reaching only a couple of hundred people when one can send an email to 100,000-150,000 people? Especially as Twitter does not give you the analytics email (if done right) can give or does not allow you to use rich media and limits you to only to 140 characters (TwitWall might change that a bit).
The point is that tools like Twitter cannot be compared to other marketing vehicles like email, radio, TV etc. It is not about blasting out a message to as many people as possible. It is about one-to-one or one-to-few interactions in a highly relevant context. This can not be done if you talk to thousands of people.
I am going to say it one more time: Twitter offers huge opportunities for the travel industry. Not because millions and millions of travelers are using Twitter already but because it is the perfect tool to learn how to deal with “micro-interactions” that will soon replace a good chuck of what we call today “marketing”.
If you cannot figure out how to interact with 200 people that are following you today, how are you going to handle 20,000? It will take time to learn this, to set up the structure needed to manage it and to develop the tools needed to measure it. Better start today. And better follow your peers to quickly learn what works and what does not.
October 20th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Great post. First, a disclaimer: I’m a twitter newbie. Actually I got an account when Twitter first went live… but had no clue what it was or what it meant… until Martin and Arriana enlightened me on the recent plane ride into SFO for the eTourism Summit. (Thank you.)
While I commend the early adopting, twittering DMOs, most of the ones I see feel too advertisey/commercial to be have their desired effect..?
HINT 1: A DMO needs to figure out what a follower of it (”fan” of your destination or a prospective visitor, or both) would want to know that not many others are privy too? Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think a twitterer wants a slogan or a commercial. We don’t have to look for, or click on ads. They surround us throughout the day. Remember, we’re trying to get away from them…
How about best kept secret or a nugget of late-breaking news…(Example from my region: Steamboat Geyser, asleep for 50 years, is erupting every 2 hours. Check it out! Or” A grizzly and her 2 cubs are hanging out around West Thumb region of Yellowstone Lake.” Or, “It’s 30 below at Old Faithful, making this the coldest place on earth today… and our hot water heater is out.”)
HINT #2: Replace that thumbnail of your tourism division’s logo with a (more interesting) photo of something.
Again, I’m truly a twitter novice, but these are what I consider to be the most effective ways DMOs can capitalize on serving, converting and befriending twitter followers.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
As a DMO, we have used twitter to connect locally with tweeple. We’re just starting out, but we see great opportunity for expanding our local PR efforts about the economic value of tourism. Twitter opens another door for community members and businesses (as well as visitors) to interact and engage in our programs.
October 27th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Great post. The challenge I see is how to get the “right” users to follow you. In the tourism industry, our target market would be travelers who are either planning a trip or are already in the destination. Most travelers aren’t identifying themselves as “fans of LA,” for example, but they may join in a community like this because they’ve been thinking about going to LA. I’ve found it difficult to start a conversation with this audience, and I’d love to hear some ideas.
I think the key is either joining into the travel community around your destination or building the community yourself. The first way would be a lot easier, I think. The second way takes time, and it’s still tough to measure ROI for this if you’re planning to do it on your own.
But yes, I think Twitter in particular has great potential for CVBs and DMOs, and will eventually be a great service for visitors.