Social Media Explained

Interesting! Now I get it ;)

German Tourism Brands on Google+

Since the launch of Google+ Pages in November 2011 the platform developed further and sometimes I had the feeling, that actually not as much has happened in terms of usage or success. That's why I wanted to have a closer look at the tourism industry and on how all the new G+ Pages in Germany have developed over time. Here is a little list with all the touristic Google+ Pages in Germany with their current Follower and +1 count.

Ranking

1. sonnenklar.TV                         21.994
2. Fluege.de- Ihr Flugexperte       18.716
3. Opodo.de - Ihr Reiseexperte    14.632
4. Hotel? trivago                          14.040
5. Expedia.de                              13.924
6. Hotel.de                                  13.443
7. HRS - Das Hotelportal               7.766
8. lastminute.de                            5.019 
9. HolidayCheck                           2.132
   

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