Prepare for "book now" on Instagram ! It's the social platform taking travel by storm.

photo source : www.freedigitalphotos.net

Since Facebook bought Instagram for a billion dollars in 2012, the number of users didn’t stop increasing. The famous social media which is a photo and video sharing app has known some evolutions. The developers of Instagram decided to bring a core renaissance to the emerging app by suggesting more functionalities, platforming and revitalizing it in order to improve and to differentiate Instagram from competitors.
Social medias becoming one of the main tools of companies’ marketing mix, the app is nowadays used as a real promotion tool. For example, industries introduce Instagram to increase their brand name visibility. It is a win-win situation. On the one hand, the company promotes its brand on Instagram. On the other hand, Instagram appears on the company’s website with a logo.

In the future, Instagram is going to launch a new app functionality which may be a real advantage for both «Instagramers» and companies.

First of all, what if we focused on users' advantages? Tourism is the main field which attracts Instagram’s users. Pictures and videos have a real power on the travellers’ decision-making. “47% have already been to a place after seeing a picture published by one of their friends”.

We think that Instagram is a « mass seduction » weapon. It inspires and gives several ideas in terms of travel destinations. Online videos are viewed before travellers’ decisions are made, during all the decision process. According to Google “2014 Travelers Road to Decision Research Studies”,  

-          66% watch videos when they are thinking about a trip,

-          65% watch videos to have an idea of the destination to choose,

-          54% watch videos to choose accommodations,

-          37% watch videos to find a website to book on.

Instagram users won't need to look anymore on several websites to book a flight or an accommodation. They will be directly directed to the brand page. Instagram will become an optimized tool for the traveller from the beginning of the search process to the final booking.

Then, the « book now » property is a real opportunity in terms of e-tourism, especially for hotels and travel companies. Chances that its pages are visited and that their products and services are booked increase. Even if the « Instagramer » didn’t forecast to travel; by coming upon a publicity, it can attract him and create a certain desire. Thus, travel companies and hotels have a strong interest in promoting their industry via Instagram.

Finally, the innovative concepts are a real advantage for Instagram brand image. It proves to users that the app follows the current trends in order to facilitate « Instagramers »’ life.

Nevertheless, we can be reluctant about certain points. Internet users can be disturbed by adds when navigating on the web. Instagram was one of the rare apps on which internet users could surf quietly. With the launch of advertisements and « book now » functionality, we can wonder if internet users may like it. Moreover, travelers are price sensitive and often compare prices from a website to another. The comparative tool is not available on Instagram. Thus, users can only buy a specific product or service from a specific brand.

Even if the app heads towards new horizons, we can wonder if this new tool will be massively used. 

CALAFELL Joëlle - DAFRI Anaïs - TUONG Kim

Article main source : http://www.eyefortravel.com/social-media-and-marketing/prepare-book-now-instagram-its-social-platform-taking-travel-storm

The psychological scope of social media for events

The event manager blog is a reference for event professionals on such topics as Event Technology Trends, Innovative Event Concepts and Social Media applied to the Event Industry. We chose an article about the psychology behind social media for event. We are all connected in our personal as well as professional lives. Social media are essential in our private life, it is only logical that it becomes so in our professional ones too. So one future event planner may ask why we are all so found of social media.

Source: www.upandundergroup.com/2014/03/maslow-pyramid/

 

 Human are quintessentially different from animals by their compelling need to compete and connect to one another. In order to do so, our brains are like computers monitoring social signals and intelligence to keep track of where one stands compared to others.

 

In a professional event context, this desire to connect, be heard and to contribute does not disappear, all the opposite actually. One future attendee will wonder about “who do I already know is attending?”, “who else and who do I want to meet? How?”. Those can be answered by a proper use of social media: once registered they can see who is attending and try to first connect through it. This might lead to avoid the awkwardness that can happen on first encounters.

Social media is a fast way of communication with hundreds of people at once. One might remember more about one single handshake than a whole conversation online. We also have to care for the value exchange through it.

Source : www.freedigitalphotos.net

The article also reminds us that social media is only one way to communicate, there are others. Event planner should take it into account by adapting their hosting, marketing and planning of events without underestimating face-to-face meetings and handwritten messages for ones.

 In our opinion, this article is an interesting first source of information about social media. It introduces the topic through a usually forgotten scope: its psychological aspect. It gives hints of the reasons we spend so many hours scrolling social media websites or apps. Doing so, the article suggests a panel of opportunities in using effectively the social media tool when organising an event.

But the reader remains unsatisfied after this article, we would appreciate to deepen the subject and learn more about it. Even though the arguments in the article are relevant, it only skimmed over the subject.

Source:

http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/social-attendee

Personalization tools for hotels on the rise

The concept of personalization is not entirely new in the hospitality industry – travellers’ expectations for quality and value constantly change, which in turn pressures hotels and airlines to adapt their offers. A growing number of travellers expect more from their stay in a hotel, and personalized products and services become increasingly important to them. This fact is underlined in a research study conducted by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in 2013, which shows that 54% of travellers say they feel more valued if hotel services are personalized and 59% find a hotel significantly more comfortable with these personalized services.1

Circumstances like these have resulted in the rise over the last few years of personalization tools and applications available to hotels around the world. Such tools can come in various forms: either as tablets or similar devices installed in guest rooms, as apps that can be downloaded by travellers, or as a mobile website freely accessible for the guests. These tools all store information and are linked with the various hotel systems, enabling the guests to personalize their stays while providing the hotel with valuable guest information. Providers for these information management tools and applications are increasingly third-party suppliers.2

An example of such personalization software is “GuestDriven”, an iPhone app developed by the Montreal-based company of the same name (formerly known as MConcierge). It serves both as an information provider for the hotels that use it and a tool for guests “to request room service orders, wake-up calls, and look up directory information”.2 Its ultimate aim is to provide “a real-time platform for guest and hotel to communicate throughout their stay”.³ Guests’ experiences are customized by obtaining information about their preferences via various social media channels, without selling this information to outside parties. The hotels can benefit from this application as they receive information “about a guest’s history, spending power, interests and social media influence”. 4 This data allows them to adapt and tailor their marketing efforts as well as plan their long-term strategies, with the ultimate goal of increasing sales. Recently, the company has managed to attract more than $3 million in funding from “Plaza Ventures, Real Ventures and Structure Capital as well as hospitality angels Tony Cohen (CEO of Global Edge Investments and an executive vice president at Crescent Hotels & Resorts) and Bob MacDonald (CEO of Maritz Loyalty)”.4

GuestDriven on Pinterest

Retrieved from https://twitter.com/GuestDriven/status/397503060034875392/photo/1

Of course the software mentioned above represents just one of several tools currently available for hoteliers. Not only are hotels active in these personalization efforts, but other players in the hospitality industry, such as airlines, have also seen an increase in use of such instruments.3 

The personalization technologies such as GuestDriven are intriguing ideas but hotels and other companies using them are going to have to be completely upfront with their customers about what kind of information they will access and how it will/can stay confidential. Additionally, companies need to keep in mind that not all guests will choose to participate in such a program, as some may find it an invasion of privacy or may not use social media (key to GuestDriven’s design).

Aline Biber & Caitlin Richardson

Sources:

(1) ehotelier.com. (2014, January 23). Travellers want personalization from their hotel brands. ehotelier.com. Retrieved from http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=26901_0_11_0_C

(2) Markwart, W. (2012, December 07). Latest hotel technologies empower guests to customize their stay. HotelierMagazine.com. Retrieved from: http://www.hoteliermagazine.com/hotelier-magazine/featured-articles/69-featured-articles/992-latest-hotel-technologies-empowering-guests-to-customize-their-stay.html

(3) Slade, H. (2014, February 18). Sushi on arrival? GuestDriven raises $3M to give hotels guests' social media info. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/hollieslade/2014/02/18/sushi-on-arrival-guestdriven-raises-3m-to-give-hotels-guests-social-media-info/   

(4) Schaal, D. (2014, February 18). GuestDriven attracts $3 million in funding for mobile personalization tool. Skift. Retrieved from http://skift.com/2014/02/18/guestdriven-attracts-3-million-in-funding-for-mobile-personalization-tool/ 

Image source:

GuestDriven. (2013, November 4). Hello ‪#Pintrerest, it's been a little while. Retrieved from

https://twitter.com/GuestDriven/status/397503060034875392/photo/1