11 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketing Mavens | Travel Research Online

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11 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketing Mavens

As a travel and tourism professional, you know our industry and your clients.

But what ensures that you stand out in the noisy world of social marketing?

Did you know that over 50% of today’s travelers will rush to the keyboard, rather than the phone to make their travel bookings? (source: Hotel Executive) Creating the WOW in your social presence can be the difference between attracting their business or NOT!

Yet, for many in our industry finding the time to succeed is a challenge. What if you have a checklist of habits, like the famous “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Steven Covey?

Here are 11 essential habits as you grow your social presence:
1. Strategize

When you have a clear picture of where you want to go, getting there is so much easier. You’ll be able to tune into your strategy whenever you waiver on content, platforms or metrics. Your marketing plan and editorial calendar will be your roadmap. Clearly define your:

  • strategy
  • goals
  • outcomes
  • budget
  • talent pool

2. It’s more than dollars!

Knowing your strategy you’ll have the foundation to understand where to invest your time and talent.

  • Are your clients devouring your blog posts?
  • Do your fans value your videos?
  • Are your graphics gripping?
  • What garners you the most shares?
  • Do your ads accelerate your revenue stream?

Armed with these answers you’ll know where to invest your precious time and marketing dollars. With a clear strategy, you’ll be in a better place to assess if you need to farm out some projects or tactics to internal or external experts.

3. Consistency

Do you ever see marketers who change direction every day? One day they’re talking about luxury, the next day it’s all about budget pricing and sales. When you find your voice and style, your brand story will be even more memorable.

4. Clarity

Are your social posts so clear they rise above the clutter and stand out in the minds of your perfect clients? Do your posts, tweets, videos, and graphics ‘look like you’? Clarity is the best friend of consistency. Think about some top brands we all recognize. Can’t you just picture the exact color of green in the Starbucks logo? It’s not only about fonts, colors, and voice, it’s also about providing relevant content that appeals to your unique clients.

5. Curiosity

The love of learning is essential in social marketing. We all know that social platforms, trends, and mechanics change daily. Let’s get curious and learn:

These details will help shed some light on what to post, when to post, trends, and timing. Seek out the knowledge in your social analytics and graph search.

7. Platforms aren’t just shoes

Every day it seems there’s a HOT new social site. Snapchat, Periscope, Meerkat…what’s next? Everyone is keen to try out the newest, shiny object. But wait! Do you fully understand who’s using each platform and how to interact? Does it make sense for you to be there? When you have a clear path and understand your ‘perfect client’, that will be the guide to whether you jump on board or wait.

8. Converse & build relationships

Isn’t it fun when you actually meet some of your on-line friends and fans in person? The reverse is also true and that’s the power of social media… it’s social!  Social marketing gives you the chance to nurture relationships that potentially culminate in new business.

8. Tick, Tock

Finding the time to post, tweet, curate, measure, chat, and learn can be challenging. Consider these ideas to manage your precious time:

  • Work in time blocks
  • Allocate a certain time each day
  • Understand when to bring in extra help or expertise

9. Measure

How do you measure your success? Social marketing is filled with analytics tools; free and paid. When you dive into the details you’ll be able to:

  • Analyze your own audiences
  • Study your competition
  • Understand the impact of your work in shares, likes, repins, retweets, and ‘hearts’.
  • Measure your brand against similar brands
  • Calibrate your influence

10. Tweak & Adjust

Now that you’ve measured and understand your successes and shortcomings, it’s time to tweak your presence so that you optimize your performance. Sometimes making slight changes can have a huge impact. When you leverage your learning and apply it to your goals you’ll find your success sky rockets.

11. Fun!

Social marketing is all about sharing the fun and excitement that’s part of our industry. Adding humor to your posts, tweets, and graphics endears and elevates.
11 Habits
When you embrace these habits and best practices your fans, friends, and followers will show you their love by rewarding you with the all-important ‘like, comment & share’.

What other habits do you follow to elevate your social presence?


catherineheegCatherine Heeg, international speaker and trainer, focuses on social media marketing & communication for the travel and tourism industry. Join the conversation and connect with her at www.cmsspeaking.com and socially.
Connect online for access to free social media resources.
When you ‘like’ her Facebook page you’ll have access to the latest social media news just for travel pros!

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