Eye for Travel’s Social Media Strategies

I recently had the opportunity to go to Eye for Travel’s Social Media Strategies Conference in San Francisco (there’s another one coming up in June). The conference featured presentations from companies that included Disney, Priceline, Linkedin, Southwest Air, TripAdvisor, Bebo and more. Although the conference focused primarily on travel, it included social media strategies that everyone could take advantage of. The two-day event showed that there are many people who are positively using different social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and their own online communities to reach out to consumers, while bringing in a return on their investment.

If there was one principle that was emphasized more than any other, it was that of engaging people.

Few people care about superficial advertising that doesn’t connect to them on any level. They want a genuine experience that talks and feels like they do, without the advertising and corporate jargon. The following youtube video was referenced when discussing what consumers want.

It’s no surprise that user reviews are popular among consumers before buying into a product. Although consumers may still enjoy reading professional, editorial content; they really want to see what others have to say based on personal experience.

Another point that rang throughout the conference was that of offering consumers and users a reason to interact with you across social media outlets. If people don’t have a reason to follow you on Twitter, continually return to your fan page or interact on your discussion boards, then they’re going to move onto somewhere they can. This may mean offering  incentives, rewards, merit, or deals. With the economy like it is, users have never kept such an eye out for special deals and incentives. With how social media spreads so virally, there has never been a better time to develop social media campaigns that involve marking down products or doing giveaways.

Ultimately what the conference narrowed in on was the importance of using social media to connect and engage your audience. Social media isn’t a megaphone, where you shout things based on your agenda. Rather, social media is more like a CB radio, where you find a niche, and learn how to effectively talk and listen to the people in your niche. With websites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, it has never been easier (and cheaper) to reach out and connect with people. Although social media may not be for everyone, you’ll never know if it’s a success or failure  unless you dive in and try it.

I heard many success stories from major companies like Disney and Marriott, but also many smaller ones. Do you have a social media success story?