As social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Orkut gain a huge following among netizens, travel companies have been quick to log on to this medium which gives them a peek into what consumers like and dislike.
From offering discounts and conducting contests to building fan networks and running viral ads, travel firms are active in this space where they see a good fit. “At a time when consumers are inundated with options, travel firms are increasingly realising the importance of tapping into a network where they can listen, learn and harness the power of personal recommendations and become part of the conversations online that influence the decisions people make,” says Ms Meenal Balar, International Marketing Manager, Facebook, which recently crossed the 300-million user mark.
Discounts
Mahindra Homestays, which has about 375 rooms over 150 homes across the country, targets the young, mobile and “evolved” traveller and hence Facebook is an ideal fit, says Ms Vimla Dorairaju, Business Head, Mahindra Homestays, which offers Facebook members a 15 per cent discount on its properties once they become a “fan” of a ‘page’ managed by the company on Facebook.
The ‘page’ essentially contains the company’s profile that gives regular feeds and updates to members, apart from a host of other interactive features such as user comments, travel recommendations, photographs and links to blogs. The seeding began with Mahindra putting up an advertisement on Facebook for a photo contest offering a £10 gift voucher from Amazon to one winner. To upload the photo, one had to sign up as a ‘fan’ of the Mahindra Homestays Page. The fan network subsequently grew with ‘fans’ sending out online invitations to friends to join the Mahindra circle.
Today, Mahindra Homestays’ Facebook Page already has over 1,200 “fans.”
The company is also active on Twitter with around 350 people following it. Apart from exposure to a wider user network, networking sites also “drive significant visitor traffic to our official Web site,” says Ms Dorairaju.
Taj Hotels also manages a Facebook Page where it is “able to share updates with customers, gain insights, and enable people to engage with their brand. Satisfied patrons are empowered to become ‘ambassadors’ for Taj Hotels via the company’s Facebook Page,” says Ms Balar of Facebook.
Cuts across barriers
Social media, which cuts across barriers of demography, is a boon to travel companies looking to offer customised solutions to travellers, says Mr Sanjar Imam, Director, Panache, a travel company specialising in customised solutions for “keen” travellers. Social media is a “convenient, inexpensive” marketing tool, which does not require great planning, he says.
While the success of this media is difficult to measure, one cannot ignore the following it has among Web-users.
Taj has 5,812 fans on Facebook. Online travel firm Travelocity has put up five viral ads featuring stand-up comedian Vir Das up on YouTube, Metacafe and other video sites; they have clocked over 80,000 hits so far. But it’s not about numbers alone.
“Social media helps us go beyond looking at our customers as pure numbers on our market information system, and see them as distinct people who shape opinions around our brand, and make a difference to us,” says Mr Himanshu Singh, Managing Director, Travelocity.
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