Now, more than ever, social media and digital technology is increasingly influencing the way travelers plan, book and share their trip. Your social media efforts, however, will be an uphill battle if you cannot justify it to your CEO. Learn the top trends to help you build the business case for investing time, resources and budget in social media marketing

1. 8 Things Your CEO Needs To Know Right Now
About Social Media Tourism Trends
Presented to:
2017 Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism
Prepared by:
Chad Wiebesick
Vice President Integrated Marketing Communications
Ann Arbor Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
March 20, 2017

2. Trust is in a crisis and at an all-time low.
• Source: 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer

3. People don’t trust brands.

4. People don’t trust government.

5. People don’t trust corporations.
Volkswagen designed the greatest scandal in automotive history

6. People don’t trust news on social
media, with the rise of ‘Fake News’.

7. How do we promote our destinations when
people don’t trust what we have to say?

8. For the first time ever, ‘a person like yourself’ is now as credible of a
source for information about a company as a technical or academic
expert.

9. #1. Utilize User Generated Content
Empower social media followers to share their stories of your destination
with their friends and family.

10. Tell authentic stories about your
destination through UGC.

12. Chute automates the process of getting
permission from users

13. Plus, feature your photos on
michigan.org through Chute’s integration.

14. #2. 2017 is the year of video.
Plus, Millennials love video content and are the most active video
viewers of any age group in the U.S. in 2016 and they're not likely to
slow down in 2017 (Source: eMarketer).

15. Our most popular piece of content in
2016 was a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM5AsqIVnso

16. Mobile live streaming is a LOT easier in 2017
Pure Michigan became the first destination in the U.S. to utilize mobile
live streaming to host a first-person, real-time interactive virtual tour of a
destination. Now, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter offer this capability.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrWaUQPBon0

17. Oops! Louisiana CVB Director had a
horrendous live-stream mistake
http://www.ksla.com/story/34110125/webster-parish-tourism-official-mistakenly-livestreams-nsfw-moment-social-media

18. If you haven’t seen 360-degree video
yet, your mind will be blown.

19. #3. Social media is now pay-to-play, as
organic reach continues to drop.
According to Adobe, social media ad spend is estimated to surpass $41
billion in 2017. And it’s not limited to just one channel or network.

20. Edge Rank is Facebook’s secret
algorithm.

21. Want real results from Facebook? Start paying.
Tip: Maximize your expenditure by participating in the Pure Michigan
Social Media Partnership Program.

22. #4. Don’t fall victim to the shiny
object syndrome in 2017.
Don’t get caught up in the tools. First, determine your strategy, and
whether the platform is a fit for your business.

23. Remember Pokémon Go?
Pokémon GO made history when it was downloaded 10 million times in
the first week after release and rocketed to #1 in the app charts faster
than any app before it.

24. RIP Google+
@Wiebesick

25. Questions to ask before you start a
presence on a social network
• Is your audience there?
• If you’re going to test a social network, have a plan for how you will
measure the success of your efforts.

26. #5. Facebook continues to dominate,
and Snapchat growth will slow.
There's no stopping Facebook. Engagement and usage of Facebook is
on the rise, with 79% of online Americans using Facebook, more
than double the share that uses Twitter (24%), Pinterest (31%),
Instagram (32%) or LinkedIn (29%). That's 68% of all U.S. adults.

27. “We've all moved to Instagram Stories. I never thought I'd do it, but
eventually, as I used it more, I found Instagram's rip-off of Snapchat to
be more authentic. Suddenly, instead of checking one app for
beautifully manicured photos, and the other for raw feeds, I could get
everything in one place’”

28. Why do people unfollow a brand on
Facebook?

29. Solution: Use an Editorial Calendar
Follow the 80/20 rule to attract and retain an engaged community: 80%
is your content, 20% is from thought leaders in your industry, like-
minded businesses, or relevant content.@Wiebesick

30. #6. Don’t get caught up in vanity metrics.
Choose metrics that align with your business objectives and help you make business decisions.
•Followers
•Likes
•Comments
•Shares
•Retweets
•Impressions
•Reach
•Engagement
•Post Likes
•Unlikes
•Clicks
•Etc.

31. “It’s quality, not quantity of fans
that’s important.”
@Wiebesick

32. New York State Has The Largest Number of
Facebook Fans
• Yet, only 0.9% of their fans are talking about the page.
• The most popular age group are 13-17 year old teenagers.
• Most of their fans live in New York City.
@Wiebesick

33. State of Florida Has Far Fewer Fans, But
More Engaged
• Average age of fans are 35-54, a demographic more likely
to have budget to travel.
• Most fans live in out-of-state, a more lucrative traveler.
@Wiebesick

34. Another Reason to Not Focus on
Number of Fans
@Wiebesick

35. Make Fans The Hero:
Engagement is Key
@Wiebesick

36. #7. Get back to basics: Know your
audience.

37. What Single Post Caused People To Unlike the
Pure Michigan Facebook Page?
@Wiebesick

38. What Should We Do?

39. Let Your Advocates Support You
@Wiebesick

40. #8. In 2017, more DMO’s and travel
organizations will create social media
policies. Here’s why.

41. Mississippi city calls MLK Day “Great
American Day” in tweet.

42. People were pissed!

43. Biloxi tries to defend itself…
Lesson learned: Don’t make a bad situation worse by being defensive.

44. Even smart, successful people can make big
mistakes. And on social media, those mistakes
aren’t easy to fix.
@Wiebesick

45. She insults an entire
continent of 50+ countries,
people with AIDS, African-
Americans, white people,
the medical community, the
international travel
business, people with an
actual sense of humor, and
more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
@Wiebesick

46. #HasJustineLandedYet trends worldwide
@Wiebesick

47. Brands, web celebrities join global mockery
of Justine’s pro-AIDS tweet
@Wiebesick

48. She lands…and gets fired.
@Wiebesick

49. She’s not a bad person, just bad at Twitter.
“I lost my job, my reputation and I’m not able to date anymore.”
@Wiebesick

50. Some people get fired even before they
begin their job.
@Wiebesick

51. @Wiebesick

52. Using emoji’s can get you fired
@Wiebesick

53. What does this tweet mean?
@Wiebesick

54. He’s probably the first person fired for poor
emoji use.
@Wiebesick

55. Lesson learned: In the heat of a moment, take
time to think how others might view your tweet.
@Wiebesick

56. Evaluate how new hashtags might be
construed.
@Wiebesick

57. #SusanAlbumParty
@Wiebesick

58. #susAnalBumParty
@Wiebesick

59. US Airways sends NSFW graphic tweet
@Wiebesick

60. @Wiebesick

61. US Airways finally removes the tweet after
nearly one hour and apologizes.
@Wiebesick

62. If you mess up, own it, say you’re sorry
and then move on.

63. “Here’s how by reacting quickly to an
obscure tweet, Pure Michigan generated
$17 million in PR buzz.”
@Wiebesick

64. Dec 6, 11:49 am
@Wiebesick

65. TravelWisconsin.com
@Wiebesick

66. Dec 6, 2:45 pm
@Wiebesick

67. Dec 6, 7:17 pm
@Wiebesick

68. What, If Anything, Do We Do?
• 1 tweet
• 11 retweets
• 1 story in Kalamazoo Gazette
@Wiebesick

69. Dec 7, 11:45 am
WhoIsTheRealMittenState.com
@Wiebesick

70. @Wiebesick

71. @Wiebesick

72. @Wiebesick

73. Dec 7, 4:43 pm
Statewide News
@Wiebesick

74. Dec 7, 7:23 pm
Wisconsin Releases Another Mitten
Travel Wisconsin put up a new version of the mitten in the green and
gold of the Green Bay Packers, boasting the football team's unbeaten
record and ribbing their rivals, the 7-5 Detroit Lions.
@Wiebesick

75. “Is Michigan or Wisconsin the Mitten State?”
Google AdWords
@Wiebesick

76. Dec 7, 10:20 pm
National News
@Wiebesick

77. @Wiebesick

78. Dec 13
@Wiebesick

79. The Mitten Drive Prompted
More Conversations
@Wiebesick

80. Dec 14, 2:20 International News
Results:
•Over 300 news stories from state, national and
international radio, newspaper and TV
•396 million media impressions
•$17.7 million in earned media value@Wiebesick

81. Closing Thoughts
• Incorporate the latest video technologies in your 2017 content
marketing strategy.
• Utilize user-generated content and empower advocates to spread
the word about how great your destination is to their friends and
family.
• Align your social strategy to your business objectives and allocate
budget to social media.
• Create a social media policy for staff, the account administrator and
the public.