When commissioned by the South West Tourism Skills Network to produce and deliver a social media and emarketing course I was faced with several approaches.

Of course I could have been simplistic e.g. here is Facebook/Twitter and this is how you use its functions, but in reality there is a mountain of how to’s and resources on how to use social media.

So I decided to take the business approach; to show whether there is value in social media and marketing, and how the business can evaluate or choose whether social media and emarketing is right for them. In addition to this I decided to show how to plan a social media and emarketing strategy, while optimising the content.

Then came the first day of delivery in Somerset and the first two hours was focusing on business. This in it self proved to be a very positive approach and responses seemed to move from ‘I’ve done a social media course before and I’m probably not going to learn anything new’ to ‘I’ve never seen it from that angle and didn’t realise that attitudes and social media optimisation played a large role’.

The day covered social media, blogs, email marketing, website optimisation, search engine optimisation and social media optimisation. All-in-all the course was an overwhelming success. And here are the testimonials to prove it:

Testimonials

“I came to the course thinking that it was going to tell me information that I already knew about the exponential growth in social media but I was really impressed with the added insight and hands on approach to getting to grips with this exciting marketing communications opportunity. I’d have no hesitation in recommending ADK to my colleagues whatever their level of on-line competence.”

Jon Jefferies - Head of Marketing – Fleet Air Arm Museum

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“I was very enthused to attend the course on Social Media and eMarketing having come from an IT background.  When asked what course I was attending many people said to me that they did not think there would be any content on the course that I didn’t already know, but this was not the case at all.  I found the whole day incredibly exciting and informative and could not wait to hear and learn what Andrew had to say next.  The content of the course was very useful and clever, covering many concepts that I had not even considered as a valuable marketing tool.  I have taken on board every aspect of the course and will soon be setting up our email marketing system and social media profiles to build our online presence.  Andrew also inspired me to consider the content of our new website which we are in the process of creating to increase the amount of traffic to the site and in turn increase our search engine rating.

Andrew is a very educated and articulate tutor, presenting the course content in a clear, fun and concise manner.  I found his approach to the subject innovative, informative and easy to retain the information conveyed.  The course was packed with very useful information and I now feel I have enough tools and knowledge to take on the role of creating an online presence for our Holiday Park.

I would recommend this course to any business looking to create a greater online presence with a view to cutting down on the cost of advertising”.

Marie Hudson - Bucklegrove Caravan & Camping Park

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“The course yesterday was very informative, and covered many things I didn’t know about that will be useful to us - you were very clear in what you said and you clearly know your subject inside out! ….and you have a good way of putting it over to a load - mainly -  of old codgers ( like me).  This Social Media thing is a whole new world to me out there but I’m delighted I have done the course…its the sort of thing that was asked for last time we did a Somerset Tourism course…..and I am very pleased with the whole day. Everything now needs to come together to get something to work this end. The day was very much appreciated.

Francis Thyer - Deputy Custodian - Glastonbury Abbey

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I have just returned from another course, I say another course because I have been on so many, but this one was different, Social Media and Marketing had so many great ideas and cutting edge information on how to market your business that I hardly knew were to begin.  I highly recommend Andrew Knutt’s workshop, generated by Somerset Tourism and Skills Network this is one course you don’t want to miss.

Jack Edgar – Blakehay Theatre
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‘My husband attended ADK’s search engine optimisation course and was so impressed by Andrew’s knowledge and easy to understand teaching that our manager and myself attended his Social Media and eMarketing course. This was an excellent course, very beneficial and informative. In fact, I was so impressed I have booked Andrew to provide the same course to other garden centre and nursery owners through the West of England and Wales Horticultural Trades Association Retail Business Improvements Scheme’.

Felicity Down – Cleeve Nursery
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About The Tutor and Course Writer (me)

This social media and emarketing workshop was written and delivered by Andrew Knutt who has 17 years experience in business, IT, the Internet and other related technologies. Andrew is an associate of the Institute of Business Consulting and runs his own design and media company in Somerset, ADK Ltd.

Over the years Andrew has delivered many workshops, seminars and courses on IT, ebusiness, ecommerce, design, the Internet, and business development; helping 100’s of small to medium sized businesses make the most of technology. As a qualified IT technician Andrew also brings a practical edge to his workshops.

Andrew’s reputation as a positive, upbeat and passionate presenter is also a great experience for all who attend his workshops; each going away with enthusiasm and confidence.

Andrew also sits on the board of the South West Design Forum, chairman of the Somerset Design Enterprise Network, and advocate of Into Somerset. He is a member of the Somerset Chamber of Commerce, Taunton Chamber of Commerce, Blackdown Down Hill Business Association, UK Web Design Association, and a Microsoft Partner.

To learn more about ADK services visit http://www.adk.ltd.uk

Services include consultancy, web design, ecommerce, social media strategies, SEO, SMO, training, digital publications, graphic, print, media, animation, video, elearning and branding.

Hitwise and Experian Company published a chart that illustrates the percentage of all UK Internet visits accounted for by the largest and most significant online categories – and how this situation has changed over the last three years.

This data chimes nicely with the findings of the latest Ofcom Communications Market Report. It concluded that the communications market has not been particularly harmed by the recession, and that ‘the internet and TV is regarded as a higher priority than almost anything except food.’

Read the full report on the Hitwise blog

The ETC/UNWTO Handbook on E-Marketing for Tourism Destinations is the first comprehensive e-marketing handbook for tourism destinations. The all-new 300-page publication is a practical ‘how-to’-manual for tourism destination staff at national, regional and city tourism organisations, designed to help improve e-marketing skills and manage new projects.

The book covers all the basics including website design, search engine optimisation, email marketing, social networking, and e-commerce. It has advice on how to build better content, get distribution of it, use CRM, succeed with online PR, support the travel trade on-territory, and get into mobile marketing. Web analytics, online research methods, and performance measurement get full treatment, and new areas such as digital television are also covered. It also includes over 30 examples of e-marketing in action.

Find more information at http://www.etc-corporate.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=230

Recommendations by personal acquaintances and opinions posted by consumers online are the most trusted forms of advertising globally, according to the latest twice-yearly Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 internet consumers from 50 countries.

The Nielsen survey, the largest of its kind, shows that 9 in every 10 internet consumers worldwide trust recommendations from people they know, whilst 7 in every 10 trust consumer opinions posted online.

However, in this new age of consumer control, advertisers will be encouraged by the fact that brand websites - the most trusted form of advertiser-led advertising - are trusted by as many people (70%) as consumer opinions posted online. (Nielsen, July 2009)

Twihotels.com, a new Twitter application that helps users to tweet their hotel requirements, has been launched. According to hotelsmag.com, users input their request parameters on TwiHotels.com, and the site then tweets the room requests from @twihotels.

Several hoteliers are already monitoring the twihotels feed and would theoretically respond to the requesting person with relevant offers. It added the site is in beta mode right now.

Twihotels also includes a search feature on the site, according to a report filed by Inventorspot. To discover relevant hotel queries, one can do a specific keyword search or can also opt for advanced search that provides drop down results based on country and city names.

Twihotels.com is an incubation of MapXL, a division of Compare Infobase Limited.

The company mentioned that Twihotels is an OAuth based application. (It added that Twitter and other social networking sites such as Facebook recommend OAuth, which requires no registration. It does not involve sharing username details). OAuth is described as an open protocol to allow secure API authorisation in a simple and standard method from desktop and web applications. (EyeForTravel, August 2009)

Did you know that mobile broadband subscribers worldwide topped the 225 million mark at the end of March 2009, representing 93% year on year growth, according to Informa Telecoms & Media.

Around a third of young adults (those under 36) in the UK regularly access sites such as Facebook and Twitter from their mobile phones, according to a survey among more than 1,000 adults between 16 and 35 years old in the UK by CCS Insight. The research company noted that the 16 to 24 year-olds are often cited as the most vibrant segment of the market, but when it comes to buying mobile content, it’s those over 24 who are doing the spending.

Coincidentally, UK mobile operator O2 said that it has forged an agreement with Twitter allowing users to receive free SMS alerts from Twitter. The deal follows up existing agreements from Facebook and Bebo and takes effect from August 2009. As part of the deal, Twitter will be heavily promoted on O2’s Active portal and will likely be expanded to Telefonica’s other operations. O2 said that over a million customers per month now access social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook using O2 Active, bolstered by hundreds of thousands of iPhone users who have downloaded social networking applications. O2 believe that mobile will soon become the most popular way of accessing social networking sites, giving real time access to tweets and status updates wherever you are. (Telecoms.com, July 2009)

On another note BT willturn cash machines into Wi-Fi hotspots, in a five-year deal with ATM provider Cashbox. The BT Openzone wireless broadband service will initially be available in 10 locations, including sites in London, Manchester and Glasgow.

However Cashbox is looking to expand its connectivity to more of its 2,500 ATM sites. BT broadband customers with inclusive Wi-Fi minutes as well as O2 iPhone users will be able to use the service. (ITPRO, June 2009).

The lack of user-friendly handsets contributed to a slow take-up of mobile Web services in the UK. But things may be changing. The launch of the 3G iPhone in the summer of 2008 gave the market a big boost, according to eMarketer. Nifty, practical iPhone applications such as maps, GPS services, games, news and social networking have caught consumers’ attention and are starting to build momentum.

Estimates of UK mobile internet users still range between just 7.2 million and 17.4 million, however.

Comparative estimates: UK mobile internet users, 2008:
- Mobile Data Association (MDA), February 2009: 17.4 million
- comScore M:Metrix, December 2008: 12.9 million
- Nielsen Online, November 2008: 7.2 million

According to the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), more mobile users in the UK are accessing the internet via computer than by handset.

UK adults who have accessed the internet via selected mobile devices, 2008 (as a % of respondents):
- Portable computer (laptop) via wireless connection: 23% (up from 18% in 2007)
- Mobile phone via GPRS: 15% (15%)
- Hanheld computer (PDA): 4% (4%)
- Mobile phone via UMTS (3G mobile): 4% (3%)

A majority of internet users not yet connected via phone would like Web access on their mobile, according to eMarketer. But compelling content and services are needed to attract more converts.

In fact, iPhones are not for everyone. In the short term, there is a lack of proven, affordable internet-ready handset alternatives that meet a range of consumer and professional needs.

The financial crisis has overtaken content providers and mobile developers too, slowing the migration of prime content to the mobile Internet. But the mobile Web is gaining ground in the UK, and soon the audience will be large and broad enough to interest mainstream advertisers. (eMarketer, March 2009)

Mobile marketing will take significant steps next year, albeit from a small base, as more UK advertisers, heartened by the growing number of high-specification (3G) mobile users, move to exploit this always-on medium.  Data from the Office for National Statistics suggested that 19% of adults ages 16 and older accessed the Web via their mobile phone in the three months prior to polling in early 2008, and this was before the highly successful UK launch of the 3G iPhone in July.

The 2009 mobile growth spurt will take two main forms: increasingly sophisticated usage of SMS, short codes and bar codes in direct-response campaigns, and microsites designed for mobile users. November 2008 research by mobile marketing agency Sponge found that 40% of UK e-retailers polled already had a transactional Website that was mobile-friendly. Another 50% said they planned to create such a site in the next 12 months. Moreover, one in five online retailers reported having used mobile microsites to drive promotions during 2008. (eMarketer, December 2008)

Travel companies should focus on using mobile phone technology to improve their customer service levels until the public is ready to start buying through their handset, delegates at World Travel Market were recently told.  

Gerry Samuels, founder and executive director at Mobile Travel Technologies, told delegates at an EyeforTravel seminar that right now it was only the developing countries, who had leapfrogged the PC, that were booking travel in large numbers on the mobile phone platform.

Mobile users in developed countries instead saw their phones as a means of emailing and searching only, with some responding well to promotional offers which meant they could react immediately to offers.  Generic booking will take a little longer in the developed markets.

Markets such as Japan, which is accepted as being a few years ahead of the UK, reached a tipping point in 2006 where there are more people accessing the internet through mobiles than PCs. This is because they have 3G networks everywhere and it is affordable.  In the UK mobile phone internet is seen as a means to check emails in dead time on the road, while the Japanese are out and about making travel bookings.

The need to improve access for mobile internet users was also highlighted.  Some travel sites have poor useability for mobile users, and it is important to optimise search engines as most users will use a search site such as Google or Yahoo, rather than going directly to the site. (TravelMole,  November 2008).

More from ADK will follow in in our next blog update.

Tourist destination VisitBrighton hopes to become the “First Photosynth City” as its use of Microsoft’s cutting-edge technology gathers pace.

New Mind, the destination management supplier for Brighton, has incorporated Photosynth, a new feature of Microsoft’s Bing Maps for Enterprise, into its Destination Management System (DMS). Photosynth allows users to take a selection of photos depicting a scene or object and ‘automagically’ ‘stitch’ them all together to make an interactive 3D experience to share on the web.

With visitors to the VisitBrighton site already exploring synths of popular landmarks including Brighton Pier and the Royal Pavilion - tourism bosses are now encouraging local accommodation providers, restaurants and attractions to seize the opportunity to create their own synths and ‘bring their businesses to life’. (TravelDailyNews, July 2009)

The online travel industry is lagging behind other sectors when it comes to website engagement and customer service, according to the first eTravel Benchmark survey by eDigitalResearch.

As part of this survey, eDigitalResearch compared 18 ferry, cruise and airline websites in seven key areas ranging from first impressions to the search and booking process.

When measured using the net promoter score to find out which are most likely to be recommended through word of mouth, travel companies achieved an average score of 5. In other recent eDigitalResearch benchmarking studies, the retail sector scored 27, finance 18 and car manufacturing 7.

The survey finds that the online travel sector is clearly lagging behind. Overall, ferry operators fared better in the survey with P&O Ferries emerging as the top performer and Stena Line second. Airlines, however, were let down by poor first impressions and disappointing customer service. When measured on telephone customer service, only British Airways made it into the top 10 rankings, rated seventh, and just two airlines (Virgin Atlantic and BA) scored highly enough to make the top 10 for email customer service.

The results indicate that online travel sites need to look beyond the ‘wow’ factor and work harder at improving the entire end-to-end website experience, according to eDigitalResearch. The company indicated that although there are clear leaders in certain categories, there is not one operator who has managed to tick all the boxes consistently.

Based on overall performance, the 18 websites were ranked as follows, with their overall score indicated:

- P&O Ferries: 86.1%
- StenaLine: 84.9%
- Princess Cruises: 84.7%
- Thomson Flights: 84.3%
- P&O Cruises: 84.1%
- Brittany Ferries: 83.3%
- British Airways: 81.8%
- SeaFrance: 81.3%
- Virgin Atlantic: 79.6%
- Royal Caribbean Cruises: 79.4%
- easyJet: 78.0%
- Cunard: 77.3%
- Fred Olsen Cruises: 77.0%
- Ryanair: 76.9%
- bmibaby: 76.3%
- Celebrity Cruises: 75.0%
- Monarch: 74.0%
- Eurotunnel: 68.2%

The eTravel Benchmark survey will be repeated in September. (Travelmole, July 2009)

ADK Ltd assists tourism and travel businesses to adopt engaging websites and to use design to their advantage. Once way they have done this is through their Design for Tourism Programme

Sat Navs are a great way to find places but if you want to find attractions, hotels or a Tourist Information Centre (TIC) then you need to download additional maps or services to your Sat Nav for this to work.

These places, attractions, hotels, etc in the Sat Nav world are known as Point of Interest (POI) so if you are searching the internet for such an addition for your Sat Nav then try using POI as part of your search term.

The good thing for TICs is that Enjoy England has created a downloadable application for use on TomTom Sat Navs. You can find the best route to over 17,000 quality assessed accommodation, ranging from B&Bs and hotels to campsites and holiday parks as well as 5,000 attractions and over 500 Tourist Information Centres.

Quick and simple to download to your TomTom device, it takes the arguments and wrong turns out of finding your way around England. It also comes with a step-by-step guide of how to download and use the application. You do, however, need TomTom Home installed which you can download for free.

The Enjoy England download can be downloaded here.

During January to March 2009 there was an increase of 2 per cent in the seasonally adjusted number of visits to the UK, when compared with the three months October to December 2008, according to the
latest figures released today by the Office for National Statistics. However, visits over the 12 month period to March 2009 were down by 7 per cent compared with a year earlier.

During January to March 2009, the seasonally adjusted number of visits to the UK by overseas residents increased 2 per cent to 7.5 million when compared with the previous three months. Associated spending by overseas residents on visits to the UK decreased by 3 per cent to £4.1 billion.

Over the same period, the seasonally adjusted number of visits abroad by UK residents decreased by 4 per cent to 15.4 million, while the associated spending decreased by 1 per cent to £8.5 billion.

During the 12 months to March 2009, the number of visits by overseas residents to the UK, not seasonally adjusted, decreased by 7 per cent when compared with the 12 months to March 2008, from
33.2 million to 31.0 million.

Visits from residents of Europe decreased by 5 per cent to 23.1 million, while visits from North America decreased by 17 per cent to 3.7 million. Visits from other parts of the world decreased by 7 per cent to 4.3 million.

In the 12-month period to March 2009, the number of visits abroad by UK residents, not seasonally adjusted, decreased by 6 per cent when compared with the 12 months to March 2008, from 70.2 to
66.0 million.

Visits by UK residents to Europe decreased by 6 per cent at 52.5 million while visits to North America decreased by 9 per cent to 4.2 million. Visits to other parts of the world decreased by 6 per cent to
9.3 million.

Provisional statistics are published on 14 May 2009 in the Overseas Travel and Tourism First Release www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/ott0509.pdf