Online Advertising and its effects on tourists

During my last semester as a European Tourism Management student in Faro, Portugal, I was able to investigate tourists perceptions towards advertising on the Internet in form of a survey. Two-hundred forty-eight travelers at the Faro airport participated and were questioned at the check-in queue. Subjects of the investigation were the level of Internet usage, perception towards ads on Search Engines, perception towards pop-ups and banners, usage of promotional e-mails and e-newsletters for tourism purposes as well as social networks.

Among the outcome was an increase of elderly people using the Internet for travel or tourism related purposes. Younger generations seem to depend on online bookings due to low cost carriers building up in the area of the Algarve and due to airlines as Ryanair and easyJet being a cheap alternative and offering a weekend getaway. It can be generalised that about 88% of the tourists in this region prefer the Internet as a medium to retrieve holiday or travel information and that 87% do or did book online.

To be continued...

Social Commerce - The new way to shop

What makes online shopping so dangerous and sometimes unattractive for customers?

Well, if you don't have someone to talk to you personally, give you advice and makes sure that you get what you want for the price that you want to pay, online shopping can be a risk. Today, problems like these are overcome by reviews, ratings and specialized online presentation. Without these extras consumers tend to not trust a website and probably search for one that gives them the security they need. As Shopper Approved summed it up in February this year Social Commerce is an advantage as well as necessity for websites that sell online.

Consumer Ratings help to sell, increase the conversion rate, improve the organic ranking through unique content and give the consumers the security they need. Social Commerce is definitely here to stay and will become a fundamental tool to increase sales.

Twitter as Knowledge Tool...

Over the past couple of months I have been using Twitter a lot. I did send the occasional Tweet but used the platform more as a tool to up-date as well as intensify knowledge on marketing,online trends and tourism. Further, Twitter represents a great tool for job-searching. Through keyword search I found relevant members or organisations worth following. Through that I found job advertising Twitter sites for almost every sector. 

Due to the real-time web up-dates knowledge can be refreshed and gained throughout the day. For me, better than reading a book or searching for information through Search Engines. So go on and try it...
www.twitter.com

Google TV

Finally...

the era of combined TV and Internet arrived yesterday, 20.05.2010 with the launch of Google TV at the Google I/O Developers Conference in San Francisco, USA. (Source: YouTube.com)

About 5000 people witnessed the event live and even more were connected via YouTube that night. Made possible by Sony, Logitech and Intel, Google TV will be available through set-top boxes and Blu-ray players, which enables interactive video from the Internet to be seen on home TVs. Also implemented are Google Ads and displays as we know it from the Search Engine. Advertising will be brought to a new level with interactive Internet TV powered by Google. Marketers see great potential and increasing marketing activities in  interactive video for the coming years. The only question remaining is, when will Google TV arrive in Europe and the rest of the world...??!

Germanwings Viral Marketing Campaign

Something happened on an easyJet plane the other day...

Six hired people from Germanwings went on board of an easyJet flight in Hamburg, Germany. Within their hand luggage were giant speech bubbles, which they displayed during the flight in front of the passengers and which in the end suggest a flight with Germanwings. The video was successfully posted on YouTube in April where currently about 80 000 people are counted to have watched it. (QuietGlover.com 2010)

The campaign was interviewed, posted on several social networks and microblogging sites and created a huge Buzz in the German travel market. Good for Germanwings, rather mortifying for easyJet...

Tweet...

Yesterday I had the fabulous idea to do something new. So I signed up at Twitter!

It is a very simple process, however I still don't know what it will give me. I am curious. So far I have added some tourism businesses that I follow, like here on blog-spot. I am able to see their tweets and can retweet (that is what sending messages is called on Twitter). Personally, I have a feeling that Twitter is mostly used by businesses to advertise products or special offers within the capacity of 3 text lines. But I also think that Chuck Norris seems to be the favorite topic of all Twitter users. What I noticed is that Google is very active in giving tips and inside infos on how to use their products as well as using certain applications to increase productivity and usability.

I think that for online marketing purposes and business relations it might be a good tool to stay updated, also in terms of competition. But if you don't have any friends or business partners it can get very lonely on Twitter. So I will find out and keep you updated on my Twitter experience. 

By the way...follow me and join ;) 

Join Jule Sass on Twitter!

Web 3.0

Web 2.0 is now and basically has done the preliminary work for the new and future product of Web 3.0. Social networks are the basement of this new intellectual idea as it is seen on YouTube or Facebook. It has shown that there is a need of customized and highly personalized information supply on the Web.  

...so whats this new thing called Web 3.0 promising to personalize all our requests from the Internet chaos world? This new browser will be able to give you personalized and ordered results to queries as 'short cheap weekend break in the Algarve, with rented car and amazing nightlife offers'. But that is not all yet, the browser will learn throughout the time you are using it which patterns of the Internet you are interested in and what products or services might be of use to you. It is an ever evolving and learning software, which in the end knows what you are looking for. A question that raises in me is how save this browser will be and how will it prevent the misuse of all the personal and highly expensive information about ourselves. Because, if already the browser knows what we want it is only a matter of time till highly personalized advertisement, pop ups and other spam haunts the web users. For me it is the first step towards artificial intelligence accessible for the commonality and if we are unprepared it might turn to abuse of privacy and information. 

If looking directly to tourism related products and services it might be possible that you own your very own private and virtual shop assistant, soon. She or he will update you on any offers that will interest you and will be able to operate the entire shopping process from selection till payment - all virtual of course. 

So enjoy your new intelligent Web 3.0 Browser with caution...

Online Marketing Show June 2010

In late June this year the Online Marketing Show is held in London, again. Exhibitors will contribute their new ideas and technology to several workshops and conferences held by the leading marketers in Europe and the US. Topics include Social Media, Optimization, Viral Marketing, Ecommerce, Direct Marketing as well as Analytics and Measurement. Workshops will show how to make best use of your website and how to drive traffic to it. New online marketing tools and ideas are presented in the Presentations Arena. The conference programme is available online and also the registration, which is for free, can be done at the website - www.onlinemarketingshow.co.uk .This is a great opportunity to broaden your network and to get to know the finest of UK's marketing world! I already got my ticket...

Location - The Grand Hall, Olympia, Hammersmith Road, London

Date        - 29.06 - 01.07. 2010

Registration is free

Book Recommendation

One of the best books for gaining the theory of online marketing and advertising is eMarketing eXcellence by Chaffey and Smith. The latest edition is from 2008 and looks into the future of marketing and the use of web 3.0 as well as the current issues as social networks and user generated content. What is very useful are the special tips and tricks boxes around the topic of website design and optimization. Also the use and meaning of Pay Per Click is very well explained, not just by the example of Google. 

Cost   - 45 Pounds

ISBN - 0750689455