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Social
media are social software which mediates human communication. When the
technologies are in place, social media is universally accessible, and enabled
by scalable communication techniques. In the year 2012, social media became one
of the most powerful sources for news updates through platforms such as
Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
According
to Text 100’s Digital Index: Travel and Tourism study travellers from Asia
Pacific countries are both the most enthusiastic about social media and the
most attached to their mobile devices in the world. Asia-Pacific consumers lead
the way in using social media to inspire, purchase and share their travel
experiences. 72% of travellers from Asia Pacific countries have used social media
to inspire at least one element of their recent holidays, compared to only 51%
of travellers globally. This trend is consistent with findings from Malaysia
where social has a deeper influence in shaping travel decisions. Malaysian
display greater propensity to using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media
platforms to get idea and inspiration for travel destinations, vacation
activities and attraction, hotels and restaurants. However, traditional travel
agents still help in planning for holidays. In Malaysia, peer experience and
digital reviews are coming ahead of travel agents while personal
recommendations from friends and family came in tops as the main source of
information for initial travel decisions. Text 100’s Digital Index: Travel and
Tourism study also found that Malaysian love sharing their travel experience on
social media. Over half of the respondents have shared travel video, photo,
blog or new story whilst on vacation. About 46% would likely create and share
more if the content is something their friends and family would enjoy to
seeing. An overwhelming 80% of respondents would be connected to social media
if free WiFi is available on vacation.
Travel
and tourism operators need to integrate their traditional and new
communications channels, but more importantly they need to focus on delivering
content which customers actually want to receive. The presence of the mobile device
is quietly but dramatically changing how people behave when they travel. These tech-savvy travelers feel the travel industry needs to do more to keep up with their
fasting growing reliance on the mobile device and social media as part of the
overall travel experience. While social media is a key influencer of travel
decisions for Malaysians, there are still many more valid touch points that
brands and their communications advisor should be cognisant of. Ultimately effective
travel campaigns must be based on market insights and incorporate an integrated
channel strategy. Travellers are demanding more informative and advice-based
content than ever before and delivering the most relevant content to them is
vital.
source: The Star, Monday 3 December 2012
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