Insights January 2010
GOING SOCIAL
Are you on facebook? Have you tweeted yet?
Both questions now find their way into much social discourse because of the explosive growth in the use of “social media,” driven by what appears to be an almost insatiable desire to “stay connected.” But how have these new forms of staying connected influenced consumer choice when it comes to evaluating and purchasing travel services? The results may surprise you.
As revealed in our most recent travelhorizonsTM survey (which we co-author every 90 days with the U.S. Travel Association), almost 6 out of 10 (59%) of active travelers have visited a social networking site. Their most popular activities on these sites include uploading photos/videos (49%) and rating products or services (46%). Roughly one-quarter have visited a chat room and/or posted content to a blog. Nearly half (46%) check their sites at least once a day.
facebook enjoys the highest incidence of visitation (almost half of active travelers have visited, and fully one-third have posted a personal page), while roughly one-quarter of active travelers have visited MySpace. Both percentages are up significantly from just one year ago. And when it comes to searching social sites for content, the incidence of visiting YouTube eclipses that of TripAdvisor by a wide margin.
But to what extent does the content found on these sites influence consumer choice when it comes to the evaluation and selection of travel service suppliers? Right now, not much, because site visitation for travel planning purposes remains quite low. By way of illustration, only 1 in 10 facebook users seeks advice about either destinations or travel service suppliers, and just 1 in 20 has joined a community of users who share common travel interests:
|
%
|
Travel Applications on facebook
|
|
11
|
Ask advice about a destination |
|
8
|
Ask advice about a supplier |
|
6
|
Learn about travel deals |
|
5
|
Get updates on destinations and suppliers |
|
5
|
Join a community with like travel interests |
| Source: Ypartnership/US Travel travelhorizons™, n=1,610. | |
That’s today, however. How quickly this may change is a matter of considerable speculation given the remarkable rate of penetration these sites have achieved in such a short period of time. Yet, for now, consumers continue to seek and respond to information about travel services and suppliers from more established offline and online media sources.
For more information on how to subscribe to the quarterly travelhorizonsTM survey visit the Publications section of www.ypartnership.com.
January 28th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Peter:
The ARDA Symposium on Social Media was really enlightening. Getting started is the difficulty. I am working on convincing the President of the company of its value.
Lynn
January 28th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Question to help me connect the dots on these stats… I understand that 6 of 10 active travelers visit social sites, etc, I’m curious what other data was used to reach the conclusion that Facebook users conversely aren’t asking for destination or travel advice… the missing link seems to be what % of Facebook users are considered active travelers? If that number is, for example, 10%, then how does the average Facebook active traveler compare against the overall active traveler?
I guess my point or lingering question is, where do those stats lead us when asking the question of what is the best social network to reach active travelers based on their propensity to ask for travel advice?
January 28th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
[...] of internet, and more specifically “social media”, check out this article by Peter Yesawich on the [...]
January 28th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
We did a summer research survey in Bend, Oregon last summer and asked the following question “Do you use social networking websites and blogs such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. and if so for what purposes?” 13% responded that they use it for “Travel-related/gain insight on travel destinations, etc.” 15% said they use them to connect with other companies, businesses and products.
January 28th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
The post is interesting in that it shows that Facebook is probably not the best social media platform to pursue for travel companies, despite the size (if FB were a country, it would be the 4th largest based on population).
I’m curious as to the ‘why’ FB usage for travel research is so low. Is it because FB is primarily a connection platform (friends, family) rather than a research tool like TripAdvisor? Or, is there an issue in asking FB friends for travel advice; trust, status, privacy, etc.
Also curious to know how Twitter stands up. From my usage, I do see a lot of questions posted for travel advice.
January 28th, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Lynn, thanks for your compliments on the ARDA seminar, and do not hesitate to give me a call if we can assist with your plans to develop a social media campaign.
Sarah, the data referenced in the release are for “active travelers” (55% of all US households) only, and facebook would be the place to start given its higher incidence of visitation versus all other sites.
Lynette, your results are consistent with those we have reported in our national sample.
Bob, I think your assumption about the reason for the relatively low incidence of facebook usage for travel planning is correct: users see the medium primarily as a vehicle by which to stay connected, not plan travel experiences. And only 7% of active travelers are now tweeting.
January 31st, 2010 at 9:25 am
Peter: As always, it was good to see you/hear you again at the Social Media Symposium. I did have a number of follow up discussions about this topic and while it is true that Facebook and Twitter are not (yet?) the “go to sites” for travel information, the consensus was “let’s at least get in the game.”
In addition to my blog on my site, I have a company Facebook page as well as a company Twitter site. All of them help to get the word out and together they increase the chances that consumers can “find” me.
I can understand larger companies being wary of these new mediums however and I hope that as time goes on, these companies take your valuable information and the information that Sree put forth and come up with a Social Media Networking plan that will allow them to reach the consumers in a new way.
Thanks again.
January 31st, 2010 at 9:30 am
You’re absolutely right on the “get in the game” sentiment, but the available data from our travelhorizons survey (now over two iterations) suggest that exposure through social media is still quite limited relative to more conventional media. But it will be interesting to observe how quickly this changes!
February 1st, 2010 at 9:33 am
The “get in the game” step is sound, but as your study makes clear, you shouldn’t expect to trace a lot of revenue from being in that game. FB visitors are there to see how fat or still good looking their old friends have become. Fan pages are flashes in the pan, and very few want a brand as a friend.
It’s probably wise to be on every social media platform you can find (and have the ability to maintain). Monitor talk of your brand and respond when you deem necessary, but don’t be surprised when a platform (MySpace wanes as we speak) suddenly becomes a complete waste of time. And, “How quickly this may change is a matter of considerable speculation,” must also be looked at from the point of declining popularity. Anybody remember Friendster?
Be versatile and everywhere, just in case.
February 1st, 2010 at 10:26 am
Based on what we have observed…good advice!
February 1st, 2010 at 11:04 am
I’ll be here all week. See here for a more fleshed-out version of this philosophy: http://tinyurl.com/yb8euc5
Took a drive yesterday while waiting for a kid’s football game to start at Lake Destiny and came across your building. I would like a corner office eventually, and that back deck looks like a great place for bratwurst and beer.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Love it!
February 1st, 2010 at 1:58 pm
What if you test this community by offering special deals with promotional codes that you can track?
February 1st, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Good plan, and that’s precisely what we’re doing here at Ypartnership now.
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Hi Peter,
Thanks for the post, a nice summary.
Completely agree with the evaluation of Facebook at this point. As you mention, we as marketers know we have to address the user base of the service, but are unsure of the best method.
Not surprising that 6 out of 10 travelers visit a social networking site. With 350 million people on Facebook, you are bound to find a few.
The real question is how these users want to be communicated with (on Facebook). Are they simply not interested in using the service beyond talking with friends or are we, as the travel industry, not creating the right type of environment to have a conversation…and ultimately, drive (web) traffic and travel to our destinations?
Time will tell.
- Troy
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:09 pm
[...] Facebook…. and if they aren’t interesting, maybe pay attention to the conversation. Some very interesting data and insights here… as well as the comment section (a part of blogs and papers that continues to amaze me with [...]
February 17th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
I have to disagree with Dave Wilkie. FB users DO attach themselves to fan pages–mostly so that they can make comments on the pages themselves or have access to content to share with their friends. Without “fanning up” you cannot make a comment on a fan page or snag any content on that page. And, without content you’ve got nothing snazzy to share on either your personal pages OR your business/fan pages! Remember, the whole point of FB is to share–YouTube clips, giveaways, tips, or quotes, etc.
Perhaps you could say specific demographics don’t like to fan up–but I don’t think you can make a blanket statement that, say, ages 18-22 college students or 27-40 mothers do not link themselves to fan pages of brands or businesses. It depends on the fan page and what you can get from it!
If you DO NOT create content on your fan site–no one will fan up, suggest your fan page to their friends or come back.
Content generation has been the “buzz word” for YEARS–it’s actually so 1999;-p But, very true–particulary in the case of FB.
Just look at the death of newspapers!? They all use bloggers to generate content that can be SHARED. It’s my belief that in the next 10 years FB will put pressure not just on traditional media–but most definitely on mail adverts and potentially television adverts.
The point I’m making is that FB or content sharing is here to stay–whether you use FB, Friendster, Digg, Orkut, or whatever! The trick is getting creative in targeting your fans and giving them a reason to fan up and a reason to buy your product, travel to your city, or attend your event.
I personally believe that it is a big mistake to ignore it. Whether it works for you or not–is a personal issue. But, ignoring it could be the difference between understanding how it works and the loss of a job, a promotion, a client–or in the case of the tourism industry–a tourist.
Happy status updates!
-Stephanie
April 12th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
I recently tried to build my own vinyl fencing and determined it’s not as simple as it looks! Now I need to retain a real pro to do the job. I can feel my bank account shrinking already.
April 21st, 2010 at 8:00 am
Nice post. Thanks