The European NTO Digital Benchmark

The European NTO digital benchmark

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

METHODOLOGYTHINK TANK INTRODUCTIONCONTENT - INTRODUCTIONCONTENT - INSPIRING & PRACTICALENGAGING VIA PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNSENGAGING VIA USER GENERATED CONTENTEXAMPLES OUTSIDE OUR SECTORMOBILE DEVICES

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METHODOLOGY

METHODOLOGY In this report, we highlight NTOs and their effectiveness in the digital space. We aim to highlight some great examples of NTOs and their various strategies, illustrated with some great examples. To add context, we also highlight external sector examples too.

To reach our key findings, a comprehensive audit and indexing exercise was carried out over the period of 1 month (March 2013). Each variable (for example 'Local languages available') was analysed both;

qualitatively - using the Digital Think Tank/Last Exit benchmarking criteria.

quantitatively - a system was used in order to set 'scores' for analysis and indexing.

From the quantitative data, certain conclusions were made. These are highlighted throughout the benchmarking report.

NB: Due to the nature of the digital space, since publication, online and digital examples highlighted may have been updated.

All content within this report is valid at March-June 2013.


THINK TANK INTRODUCTION

This report investigates the use of digital marketing by the European tourism sector, and benchmarks best practice. It takes an in-depth look at how the European National Tourism Organisations are using digital; from strategy to content marketing and distribution.

The report examines the following key areas:

- Content- Engagement- Social Media- Mobile Devices These four areas represent key parts of a destination’s digital strategy. With the world becoming increasingly digitally connected, and with new technologies quickly evolving, it is absolutely crucial to get these right. Marketers need to be ready for this evolution and adapt quickly to the latest trends and developments taking place.

The best practice examples highlighted within the report indicate that while some destinations are quite advanced in digital, many are lacking, making innovation necessary.

With the many new digital channels available, there are tremendous opportunities for destinations to differentiate themselves amongst the competition, to create rich brand experiences.

The European NTO digital benchmark report is designed to help destination marketers to be more innovative, strategic and savvy when navigating the digital marketing landscape.


CONTENT: INTRODUCTION

Content is central to the 45 NTO websites that have been examined. The content contained and offered to the user is considered of paramount importance, as it drives:

Trip itinerary inspiration

Engagement with the destination’s tourism organisations

Motivation to act, i.e. book a trip to that destination

Within the travel and tourism sector, there’s no shortage of opportunities to create rich content. However, it can be difficult in selecting the right content and presenting this in the most effective way.

Within this section of the report we take a look at our audit findings regarding content, pick out our favourite examples and also highlight how an organisation can take some simple steps in optimising their own content.

Let’s first highlight some simple tips and techniques for enhancing the usability and readability of a website's content.

A good place to start is with the thoughts of expert web developer Jacob Gube. The following 'quick-tips' are our summary of Gube’s thoughts and should be regarded as ‘sound advice’ for creating user-friendly web pages.


"Users often leave web pages in 10-20 seconds, but pages with a clear value

proposition can hold people's attention for much longer”Jakob Nielsen

Usability expert



For user-friendly web pages, these five principles, based on Gube’s thoughts, will aid the site visitor:

For example, research reveals that: Use of margins "lower levels of physical fatigue during reading and creates greater satisfaction with the layout for the presentation of textbook, leisure, and news material".

Keep it brief

Use images wisely

Make pages scannable

Think blocks and sections

Remember the white space

A study by Jakob Nielsen claims that by cutting roughly half the words on a web page, a 58% increase in usability can be achieved.

Pictures engage users. Images are now one of the "default modes of sorting and understanding" on the web. A 2012 study by ROI Research found that forty-four percent of respondents are more likely to engage with brands if they post images, than any other media.

Users skim content. Research by Nielsen revealed that structuring your web pages with skimming in mind (e.g. using bullet points, one idea per paragraph) can improve usability by as much as 47%.

Nielsen's eyetracking visualizations show that users often read web pages in an F-shaped pattern: two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe.


HOMEPAGE CONTENTOUR FINDINGS


HOMEPAGE CONTENT

KEY DETAIL

Very good HP content

Good HP content

Professional, room for optimisation

Imagery is fitting, ‘high quality’ pictures used (location shot, creative message conveyed, inspirational/iconic photography.Image placement is balanced.Video is engaging/informative. Video has been positioned well and content is of good informative/inspirational quality.Interactive content. A good level of content such as maps, travel planner, video, itinerary which are useful and easy to use.

The website homepage is still considered to be an important “shop window”. It is generally the landing page for much of the site traffic and a place where first impressions can count. Users arrive and when viewing content for the first time are asking themselves key questions, such as: is the content quality on this site going to meet my visiting requirements, will it be trustworthy, easy to navigate and understand, to name but a few.

CRITERIA• When evaluating the quality of NTO website homepage content, The Think Tank judged the use of: Hero images, images, video and interactive content, see a key below to help explain this.• Seen on the following page, our chart highlights the quantity of audited websites which currently offer users a great homepage experience.

Imagery is fitting. Photography is well placed.Some useful video content included.Interactive content. Some content such as maps, travel planner, video, itinerary.

Some tools such as maps, but may not always be easy to use as industry leading plug-in tools, imagery used but not always best placement/use of image. Interactive content is apparent but not always user friendly. Room for improvement in some audited areas.

HOMEPAGE CONTENT


HOMEPAGE CONTENT: THE FINDINGS

A good proportion of websites reached the ‘Very Good’ grade across all of the homepage sub-categories. Sites that reached the Good to Very Good grade for their homepages, include: Austrian National Tourist Board, Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions, German National Tourist Board and Visit Greenland.

The chart, below, indicates the proportion of audited websites that currently offer ‘very good’ homepage content.

THE FINDINGS

Website homepages rated on the quality of their:hero imagery, video content, use of photography and interactive content.

HOMEPAGE CONTENT Very good HP ContentGood HP ContentProfessional, room for optimisation


HOMEPAGE CONTENT: EXAMPLES

The Austrian National Tourist Board homepage makes a clear, compelling statement that addresses the target audience.

• It uses clear, empathetic, photos

• It demonstrates what makes Austria different, and validates that message with additional content

• It allows the site visitor to educate themselves with easy access to brochures, calendars and maps

• Has multipurpose interactive features, such as a map detailing a wide range of activities together with travel information – localising an information service feature

• Quick links to inspiring video features

• The website can be shared on social networks easily.

HIGHLIGHTINGA GREAT EXAMPLE

THE AUSTRIAN NATIONALTOURIST BOARD HOMEPAGE



The Visit Greenland website homepage is another great example.

Iconic, fitting imagery is given ‘hero’ status on the homepage. Via a timed carousel function, iconic imagery is switched. This makes it even more engaging, while remaining appealing to a wide audience.

At least 5 hero images, each with different accompanying calls to action are highlighted in this bold approach. Each aim to attract interest from what is likely to be a varying audience.

VISITGREENLAND



HIGHLIGHTING ANEXTERNAL EXAMPLETHE UK VOLKSWAGEN HOMEPAGE

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk

is much admired for its simplicity. It has the confidence, backed, no doubt, by research, to segment its messaging to its key audiences. In a similar way to the Austrian National Tourist Board example, it highlights the brand simply and addresses user’s requirements via the options available on the homepage.


HOMEPAGE: CONCLUSIONS

NTO HOMEPAGE CONCLUSIONS• Having an understanding of what visitors want from the web is important, in order to help them navigate to their desired destination as easily and quickly as possible. It is important to understand their visit needs and to supply the information in an easy to digest, engaging way.

• Interactive content can help users to start investigating quickly and build desire to discover other areas of the site.

• Balancing out the display of homepage content is important. It should be simple and not too overpowering, while conveying relevant information to help guide a user through to the pages most relevant to their visit.


CONTENT SECTION 2:

INSPIRING & PRACTICAL CONTENT


INSPIRING & PRACTICAL CONTENT

Within the audit, The Think Tank looked at the NTO sites’ ability to cover off 'two key pillars of content. These are: 1. Inspiring content and 2. Practical content. See the key on this page in order to understand the measure of 'what good looks like'.

KEY DETAIL

Very good inspirational and practical content

Good inspirational and practical content

Professional, room for optimisation

Very good inspirational content is judged by: Satisfying detailed content is provided consistently. It should consistently cover a high standard across various subjects including but not limited to: itineraries, events, seasonal content, blog, videos and games.

Very good practical content is judged by: Provides relevant and useful information in an easy to digest and succinct way. Information gives a user extra insight, helpful for itinerary planning and is easy to find and navigate. It should consistently offer this information in subjects including but not limited to: 'how to get there', 'how to get around’, 'accommodation options', 'eating out', 'useful local tips' and 'local regulations'.

CRITERIA• When evaluating the quality of NTO website homepage content, The Think Tank judged the mixture of practical and inspirational content. See key below for full breakdown. • A graph, on the next page, highlights the audited websites which currently offer users a good level of inspirational and practical content.

Offers some of the above, but not consistently. For example, some may well offer useful practical content, but not always present inspirational content in an easy to digest format.

Some information presented, though not as inspiring as it perhaps could be with some updates. Practical information not always easy to digest. Room for improvement in some audited areas.


INSPIRING & PRACTICAL CONTENT: THE FINDINGS

Nearly a quarter of audited websites offer consistently good practical and inspirational content. Over 50% remaining offer a good mixture of practical and inspirational content.

THE FINDINGS

The red and green slices indicate the proportion of audited websites that offer ‘extensive’ and ‘good’ practical and inspirational content consistently

Very good inspirational and practical contentGood inspirational and practical contentProfessional, room for optimisation


INSPIRING & PRACTICAL CONTENT: EXAMPLES

• The German National Tourist Board website presents practical information remarkably well and contains a satisfying number of events; good functional interactive events calendar; detailed information on events with photos/videos/links provided.

• Inspiration can be taken from the way in which they present activities to appeal to all audiences. Colour categories / tiles take a user to their chosen page and then imagery helps ‘sell the story’ of that topic. Often use ‘headline tiles’ together with full bleed iconic imagery to great aesthetic affect.

HIGHLIGHTINGA GREAT EXAMPLE

GERMAN NATIONALTOURIST BOARD


INSPIRING & PRACTICAL CONTENT: EXAMPLES

INSPIRATIONAL CONTENT, EXTERNAL EXAMPLE

• Red Bull are masters at inspirational content, that is: content that is designed to inspire an action. Red Bull’s famous space jump, told an exciting story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Its strong narrative led to massive audience engagement around the Red Bull brand. For example, the Red Bull space jump Facebook Page received more than 900,000 interactions on the day of the jump, alone!


www.redbull.com


The award-winning site for Gentofte Kommune (local council) is a great example of practical content presented in a user friendly fashion.

This mobile-optimised site is task-oriented & employs a clear and intuitive information architecture.

The internal search function is predictive and the results can be filtered by type, date and relevance.

The site also has an accompanying app which citizens can use to photograph and report location-specific issues in the community.

PRACTICAL CONTENT,EXTERNAL EXAMPLE


http://www.gentofte.dk/

CONCLUSIONS

• The mix of both inspirational and practical content being presented consistently is important.

• Use of iconic real life imagery, blogs, videos and games helps users to investigate holiday destinations from their home computers, and inspire them to find out more.

• Use of practical tools such as interactive maps, plus information at a local level, such as ‘dining out’ helps users plan practically and can help reassure.

• External links to events/recommended sites helps users plan on a practical level.

CONCLUSIONS ON CONTENT TYPES


Screengrab from the Destination Germany website.http://www.germany.travel/en/events/events/cologne-lights.html

CONTENT SECTION 3:

ENGAGING VIA PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS



Within the audit, promotional content was also investigated. In this section of the report, we highlight the importance of promotional activity and highlight great examples.

Marketing expert Roddy Mullin notes that most promotions are designed to meet common objectives. These include:

• Widen usage• Create interest• Raise/create awareness• Aid brand perceptions • Increase sales

We can use the above ‘promotional objectives’ and relate them to our audit. We know that creating interest and widening appeal/usage is at the centre of many organisations’ remits. Raising awareness of what can be discovered in their destination, helps ‘sell’ their destination to users. Brand perceptions can also be altered / strengthened by the type of promotion.

Why go promotional?

Promotions can help deliver against a number of variables.

For example:

• Data capture for future comms • Branding of the site and destination• Go viral and spread the word



PROMOTIONAL OBJECTIVE PROMOTION CHECKLIST

Widen usage

Create interest

Raise/create awareness

User generated content approach encourages additional interaction with the brand/destination.

The Norway ‘Screams’ campaign has a great mix of promotional elements.

In addition to this, it is important to note that this promotion engages the audience additionally via the use and championing of, user generated content. (User generated content is discussed further in the following section within ‘content 4’.)

A naturally ‘PR-able campaign’ via use of globally recognised art. Promotion uses social media channels to help create interest around the globe.

The online channel and accompanying video, plus sharing options available on the site, together with regular prize draws really helped push the awareness of the destination and the site. They ‘promoted the promotion’ well.

Aid brand perceptions Brand perceptions were aided via the use video advertising the promotion. In this video, a large range of desitinations and activities which engage with people emotionally are highlighted. The ‘task’ within the promotion itself is also ‘lighthearted fun’ also helping to aid perceptions of a visit to that destination.

Increase sales

At time of publication: We have no data for visitor numbers around the peak and following holiday periods of this promotion.

NORWAY ‘SCREAMS’ CAMPAIGN


ENGAGING VIA PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS: EXAMPLES

NORWAY ‘SCREAMS’ CAMPAIGN



In order to highlight the impact a promotion can have for our NTOs, we have also chosen an example external to the sector. The (Unilever) Axe promotion is currently live as of March 2013.

PROMOTIONAL OBJECTIVE PROMOTION CHECKLIST

Widen usage

Create interest

Raise/create awareness

Increased brand exposure via campaign is likely to have positive impact on sales.

The very nature of the incentive on offer in this promotion (after assumed research) should resonate well with target consumers.

The innovative and single minded prize, together with an on-brand look and feel and national through the line media spend will all make this campaign one of the biggest this year.

Aid brand perceptions Axe created their brand personality over time, however via the tone of voice and nature of this promotion, they are strengthening their brand perceptions.

Increase sales Promotion currently live. Data not available. Based on size of promotion, we anticipate

large increases in sales globally.

AXE APOLLO SPACE ACADEMY


AXE APOLLO SPACE ACADEMY

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CONTENT SECTION 4:

ENGAGING VIA USER GENERATED CONTENT


ENGAGING VIA UGC

KEY DETAIL

Good use of UGC

Moderate use of UGC

None or Minimal (Professional, with room for development)

A variety of high-end, user friendly UGC tools and functions, including but not limited to content comment space, blogs, user itineraries, video posts, image uploading, peer recommendations, reviews, third party plug in usage (e.g trip advisor).

Some of the above, but in less quantity/quality.

Minimal to no use of UGC. Existing usage could be developed / optimised.

WHAT IS UGC IN 2013?The BBC’s succinct definition of UGC:

• User generated content ("UGC"), also commonly known as 'citizen journalism', 'social media' or 'participatory media', refers to a wide variety of media content that is produced by our audiences as opposed to content made by the organisation, independent production companies or individual contributors commissioned by the organisation.

• In recent years UGC has expanded due to developing technologies that are now readily available, including digital video and images, mobile text messages, blogging, message boards, emails and audio submissions.

NTO’S AND USER GENERATED CONTENT

• UGC can take many forms within an NTO website. From TripAdvisor reviews and Facebook plugins through to user participation in promotions and individual uploads of content.

• NTOs and their use of UGC is evolving. In this section of the report, we look at the number of audited sites which currently use UGC, highlight good examples and note some key findings.

• 93% of travellers are influenced by reviews in their travel planning and 90% of travellers rely on UG reviews when booking accommodation (Tripadvisor 2013, in Tripbarometer study)

CRITERIAIn order to help categorise the findings, the key below details how The Think Tank judged the performance of the audited websites. We then look at examples in further detail.


ENGAGING VIA UGC: THE FINDINGS

Of the audited websites, we can see that a large proportion of sites are not yet employing user generated content within their campaigns. This might be due to the cost of policing the UGC environment, other perhaps, are not yet ‘sold’ on its advantages.

THE FINDINGS

The black and yellow slices of the pie-chart indicate audited websites offer users ‘good’ and ‘moderate’ UGC. We identify that some NTOs could benefit from implementation of UGC.

NoneMinimalModerateGood


ENGAGING VIA UGC: EXAMPLES

The Think Tank research highlights VisitBritain’s use of “user-generated” style blog posts from UK bloggers. Their blog posts add an authenticity and engaging honesty to VisitBritain’s marketing efforts.

http://www.visitbritainsuperblog.com/

UGC CONTENT,NTO EXAMPLE


ENGAGING VIA UGC: EXAMPLES

GoPro cameras place “user generated” content at the heart of their marketing campaigns. They feature the best of the clips filmed by their customers on their massively popular Facebook page. The best of their videos are often picked up by the global news media. According to Unmetric data, in “terms of Facebook fan growth, the consumer electronics industry is growing by 12%, whereas GoPro grew by 17% in the same period”.

https://www.facebook.com/gopro

UGC EXTERNAL EXAMPLE


ENGAGING VIA UGC: THOUGHT-STARTERS

THOUGHT-STARTERS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF UGCThe results of user generated campaigns can be impressive. It’s been reported that brand lift metrics can increase between 300 percent and 450 percent (VivaKi research division, the Pool, 2012). However, across the board, online engagement rates are usually low, with “roughly one percent of people who "like" a Facebook page returning to that page”. So, where to begin with UGC?

Make it easy for the audience to engage

Don’t set the bar impossibly high, in terms of contribution quality. The easier the user input, the higher the expected return rate. �

Make it worthwhileKnow your customer, and make sure your campaign empowers them, by allowing self-expression.

Make it fun!If the content-creation process is not enjoyable, submissions will be scarce. The appropriate use of gamification and social utility principles, can introduce elements of sociability and competition into the campaign… making your campaigns more enjoyable to engage with.


LANGUAGE USAGE

LANGUAGE USAGE: THE INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOKAs tourism source markets, China, Brazil and the Middle East are all growing in importance.Facts and figures:

In 2012, 80 million Chinese travelled abroad, while 2.9 billion domestic trips were registered. UNWTO, 2013

China’s expenditure on travel abroad reached US$ 102 billion in 2012, making it the first tourism source market in the world in terms of spending. UNWTO, 2013

“… the Chinese Government, and particularly CNTA, will continue to promote the traveling of Chinese people abroad as we believe in the mutual benefits of collaboration – by continuing to send Chinese travellers to Europe, the benefits will eventually flow back to China.”, Mr. Shao Qiwei, the Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA). UNWTO, 2013

With the 2012 surge, China surpassed both top spender Germany and second largest spender United States (both close to US$ 84 billion in 2012).

Brazil: In UNWTO’s list of the World's Top Tourism Spenders, Brazil, with an expenditure of US$ 22 billion in 2012, has risen to 12th place up from 29th place in 2005.

The Middle East region is one of the smallest, yet fast growing, tourist generating regions in the world. Outbound travel from the Middle East has more than quadrupled from 8.2 million in 1990 to 36.2 million in 2010. With a rising population and increasing disposable incomes especially in the GCC countries, its outbound travel market could top $20bn within the next 20 years, according to the UNWTO.

NTOS & EMERGING MARKETS“All consumers face frustrations during the destination, shopping and booking process, however, those in emerging markets are more frustrated than their developed counterparts” found a Amadeus-commissioned study, 2012, conducted by PhoCusWright Inc.

But are NTO websites catering for emerging markets?

The Think Tank research reveals that of the 45 audited NTO websites, the most popular language used on NTO sites is English, with 40 sites recorded. As an aside…more Indians speak English than any other language, with the sole exception of Hindi.


LANGUAGE USAGE

% of audited NTOs currently offering language options to suit emerging markets

The language barrier is very real to potential tourists from the “emerging markets”.The opportunity is so large, NTOs should be looking at how their messaging measures up for a new era, in which, for example: “some 200 million Chinese could be travelling abroad annually by 2020, up from 82 million in 2012.” (Reuters)

As Martin Buck, from the ITB has said: "Forty years ago, when Germans and Brits first started coming to Spain and Greece, they were a strange race too,”"But Spain and Greece used the chance to make those visitors into an important pillar of their economies…”NTOs which do not offer Chinese, Portuguese and Arabic as language options should start to implement these to future-proof their sites.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Arabic Chinese Portuguese

In conclusion


SOCIAL MEDIA

SOCIAL MEDIAIt’s estimated that there are 2.8 billion social media profiles, enough for half of the Internet users worldwide.

For example…

And just to underline the point:• According to ComScore, social media now captures most PC screen time in Europe.

• 47% of Americans agree that they follow or engage with at least one brand on a social networking site, according to a survey by Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange, 2013

• Social media continue to be the hottest internet story in China, with active users numbers fast approaching 600 million – almost twice the total population of the USA, reports Social Media Today

• On the next page we’ll look at how our audited NTOs use social media…

Facebook

Sina Weibo

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

Youtube

1.06 billion monthly active users, 680 million mobile users, more than 50 million pages and 10 million apps

503 million users

48.7 million users

100 million users, 4 billion photos

1 billion users, 4 billion views per day

500 million total users, more than 200 million active users


The chart, above, highlights the most common consumer-facing social media accounts used by our NTOs. Five is the average number of social media platforms in use. Other social websites are also used, but not as consistently. These include: LinkedIn, Foursquare and Tumblr.

Social media platforms used by NTOs

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

FACEBOOK TWITTER YOUTUBE PINTEREST FLICKR GOOGLE + TRIP ADVISOR INSTAGRAM


SOCIAL MEDIA

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SOCIAL MEDIA

The world’s top brands are increasingly active on social media.

• Among Interbrand’s top 100 brands, Facebook is the most used platform, then in order of popularity: Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram. • Pinterest and Instagram are the “rising star” mainstream social media platforms.• Adoption of Pinterest by the Top 100 brands rose six percentage points (63% to 69%) from November 2012 to February 2013, according to analytics company Simply Measured.• Instagram is a social platform that’s worthy of investigation. Adoption of Instagram by the Top 100 brands rose five percentage points (54% to 59%) from November 2012 to February 2013, according to Simply Measured.• Instagram is especially popular with the top brands that wish to connect with a younger audience. MTV (ranked as the No. 1 followed Instagram brand), Starbucks Coffee, Nike, Burberry, Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Audi, GE, Ralph Lauren and Adidas all of have more than 100,000 Instagram followers.

• Pinterest, Google+, TripAdvisor and Instagram are of particular interest.• As the audited NTOs operate a wide variety of social media profiles, it is important that they focus on quality, not just quantity.• As newer social media brands look to take a larger chunk of the social media pie, their services and functionality will update and innovate. • It is important to look at new developments and consider how an NTO can use them to their advantage to create cut-through communications and generate further engagement.

THE NEXT 12 MONTHS: ADVICE FOR NTOs

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BY TOP BRANDS

Further insight:

From the audit, we are able to look at an NTO specifically and compare types of profiles and usage. On a one-to-one basis, further research can be carried out in order to establish a single social media strategy.


SOCIAL MEDIA

SOCIAL: MORE THAN NUMBERS

As we know, there’s more to social media than collecting large numbers of “likes”. Social media, used strategically, allows NTOs to reach business objectives, which may include:

• Understanding customer pains by monitoring conversations

• Educating customers, by participating in dialogue

• Build brand awareness, with conversation, content, promotions • Improve brand reputation • Incorporate user feedback to feed innovation

• Solicit calls to action that inspire action

“Some 80% of people about to make a purchase will first ask a family or friend whether it's a good idea or for a recommendation… this is why social is huge.”

"Social media is like going to a party,”. "Give information, be funny at times, engage, THEN talk about yourself.”

Duane Forrestera senior product manager for Bing, talking to The Huffington Post.

Kristine Schachingersearchenginewatch.com

Ultimately, it is important to have a presence in something which is such a large piece of target consumers’ lives…


SOCIAL MEDIA: LEADERBOARDS

TOP 4 SOCIAL MEDIA LEADERBOARDS

FACEBOOK TOP 20 LEADERBOARD TWITTER TOP 10 LEADERBOARD

From the leaderboards, we picked a handful of examples for use as benchmarks.The following slides run through these examples and are followed by some examples which are from outside of the sector. Again, these highlight great use of particular social media.


TWITTER TOP 10 LEADERBOARD PINTEREST TOP 10 LEADERBOARD YOUTUBE TOP 10 LEADERBOARD

TOP 4 SOCIAL MEDIA LEADERBOARDS


SOCIAL MEDIA: LEADERBOARDS

SOCIAL: EXAMPLES

• VisitBritain have continued to build on their ‘Share Your GREAT Britain’ campaign begun in “Olympic year”. The Love UK Facebook page, in March 2013, reached a milestone - one million Likes.

• Its dialogue with ‘fans’ keeps the brand ‘front of mind’.

NTO SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK EXAMPLES


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• The Love UK Facebook page (pictured) consistently highlights “the best of British” – from James Bond to Premiership football. It engages audiences with exciting and entertaining content.

In summary, a good example because:

• Capitalises on major events (Olympics etc)

• Highlights “the best of British”



SOCIAL: EXAMPLES

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• The Visit Norway Facebook page, pictured, has a high level of visitor engagement (currently: 47,041 “talking about this”), they use daily competitions, featuring high-quality photography, to provoke conversation and pique interest.


• High level of visitor engagement

• Uses daily competitions to provoke engagement



SOCIAL: EXAMPLES

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• The Think Tank research reveals that with 133,343 followers, VisitBritain’s Twitter account is the most popular of all the accounts audited. What’s notable about @VisitBritain is its consistent stream of great travel ideas, nearly always accompanied by links to high-quality content (pictured)

• The screengrab shows a small sample of the high quality photos and videos attached to @VisitBritain’s tweets.


• Consistent stream of great travel ideas and high quality photography

• Links to high quality content

NTO SOCIAL MEDIA: TWITTER EXAMPLES


SOCIAL: EXAMPLES

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• With 8,342,607 video views, The Think Tank research reveals that Discover Ireland’s YouTube channel is the most watched of all of the NTO channels. Discover Ireland uses humour to engage viewers. The “Redhead convention” video, pictured, being a good example. Also notable is that with 433 videos, Discover Ireland are delivering quantity as well as quality.


• Campaigns use narrative, humour

• Discover Ireland produce quantity (433 videos), not just quality

NTO SOCIAL MEDIA: YOUTUBE EXAMPLES


SOCIAL: EXAMPLES

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• VisitNorway’s Scream campaign has won them praise and lots of press coverage. It has contributed to their YouTube channel’s 2,326,844 video views


• Ambitious idea, using fun User Generated Content

• Barriers to entry are fairly low – all that is required is a camera and a loud voice!

• With 2497 followers, Switzerland’s Pinterest page is the most followed of the Pinterest pages in the study.


• Lots of activity, lots of pins, is updated often

• Showcases the best of what Switzerland has to offer

• Users make it viral

NTO SOCIAL MEDIA: YOUTUBE EXAMPLES

NTO SOCIAL MEDIA : PINTEREST EXAMPLES


SOCIAL: EXAMPLES

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SOCIAL MEDIA AND TOURISM IN AUSTRALIABefore examining the use of social media outside of the travel industry, we cannot ignore the most popular destination page on Facebook - Tourism Australia and its 4.1 million fans.


SOCIAL: EXAMPLES

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Lessons to be learnt from Tourism Australia, include:• Scale of ambition – they turned to fellow Australians to provide the content for their social media pages. Australians uploaded 60,000 stories and photos in 2010

• A small core social media team that facilitates conversation between users, turning their social media fans and followers into brand ambassadors

• They use their social media pages as platforms for an infinite number of conversations, not as a single message broadcast tool

• 95% of content on Tourism Australia’s social media platforms is created by fans

• The majority of their fan photos come from Instagram

• Facebook Timeline turned over to fans, letting them claim their place in Australia’s history with their family holiday photos

• The people that interact with Tourism Australia’s social media are considered to be “Advocate Heroes”. The core social media team curate and support the content uploaded by the advocates – which means that a small team can have a big impact as they’re not having to create lots of content

• The social media team are ready and prepared to respond and capitalise on Australian breaking news stories, both large and small

• They have good relationships with the “traditional” media outlets – allowing them to amplify the impact of the UGC content that becomes popular on their social media pages

• As always: Editorial judgement is important – the team look to highlight the best UGC content – visual beauty being especially import

• Social media posts are created with sharing in mind – they’re designed to be shared, to provoke conversation – which requires an understanding of their “advocates” mindsets

• Social media posts are created with sharing in mind – they’re designed to be shared, to provoke conversation – which requires an understanding of their “advocates” mindsets

• They experiment with using social apps – eg their Facebook Discover Australia app.

• Experimentation and “failing fast” is important. “Every platform has its own rules” says Tourism Australia’s Nick Baker. The team measure the impact of, and then tweak content, captions etc

• The social media team refer to the holiday booking process as being never- ending, a circle with five stages

• The stages are: Dreaming, planning, booking, experiencing, sharing

• Tourism Australia use social media to influence the dreaming and sharing stages, especially. Their research has shown that 24% of people who see their peer group’s holiday photos are inspired to go on holiday, while 11% want to go on exactly the same holiday enjoyed by their friends.

• “Holidays are a cherished part of life where people reconnect and make important decisions.” says Mr Baker. “There’s a virtuous circle at work where post-holiday sharing steers the next wave of visitors to Australia who are at the dreaming stage.”

• Measurement is important – the social media team analyse “Likes”, shares etc, but front of mind is incorporating user feedback to feed innovation “… the real value often in social is what the consumer is telling us and how it can influence everything else that we do.

THE SECRETS OF TOURISM AUSTRALIA“One of the best outcomes of our social media efforts is that we now globally have access to an incredible focus group who continue to inspire us every day.” Nick BakerExecutive General Manager of Consumer Marketing for Tourism Australia


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• With social media it’s the pages and apps that anticipate and leverage our emotional needs that often do well.

• With an estimated 10,000,000+ monthly active users TripAdvisor’s social travel guide app is ranked as the third most popular of all Facebook apps.

• It’s no accident that TripAdvisor promotes it as letting the user “show off all your adventures” and “then compare your travels to all your friends”. TripAdvisor are aware that users’ self esteem, friends and family are important.

SOCIAL MEDIA APP:TRIPADVISOR


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GREAT EXAMPLES OF SOCIAL MEDIA OUTSIDE OUR SECTOR


• Nike has multiple Facebook pages, for various sports – these pages tend to be updated daily

• The central corporate account, pictured, has 12,661,999 likes and 68,400 “talking about this” and is usually updated weekly

• Nike uses big stars and high quality content to connect with its fans – it’s striking how they employ the power of personality to convey their messages

NIKE SOCIAL MEDIA:FACEBOOK


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• Coca-Cola’s main Twitter feed is one of the more active of the major brands. It has more than 705,497 followers and has tweeted 76,236 times.

• This Twitter account is used as a conversational tool – its timeline is packed with re-tweets and responses to fans and customers. It doesn’t just push the latest campaign message.

COCA-COLA SOCIAL MEDIA:TWITTER


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• With 4.4 million followers Nordstrom are ranked as having the most popular Pinterest brand page.

• Inspirational collections of photos, be they fashion, homewares, food or holidays work well on Pinterest.

NORDSTROM SOCIAL MEDIA:PINTEREST


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• With 1,278,947 followers, MTV’s Instagram account is ranked as the top followed Instagram brand account

• Its popularity is easy to explain: It gives fans a truly ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at musicians and celebrities. The power of celebrity and glamour is not be underestimated, especially among a younger audience.

MTV SOCIAL MEDIA: INSTAGRAM


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SOCIAL MEDIA: EMERGING MARKETS

• Among social platforms in the emerging markets Sina Weibo deserves a mention, as it’s China’s most popular microblogging site and many NTOs are already exploring its possibilities.

• Other social platforms popular in China, include: RenRen, DianDian. Orkut is popular in Brazil.

• An estimated 2.1 million users mention outbound (foreign) travelling on Sina Weibo per day. Estimate via Sijie Sheila Liu.

• Sina Weibo is expanding - it has just opened Weibo Thailand, which will provide a platform for Thai businesses to reach out to Chinese tourists planning to visit their country.

• Rumours have been circulating for months that Sina Weibo is preparing to launch in the US market, with an international version in English and other languages.

• Coca-Cola, Unilever, Burberry, Louis Vuitton and even Tom Cruise, Paris Hilton, Justin Bieber, Emma Watson and Radiohead have Sina Weibo accounts.

• Burberry have 521274 Sina Weibo fans, McDonald’s - 264665, Tourism Australia – 226837, Nike 82794.

• VisitBritain now (2013) have 300068 fans on Sina Weibo, Discover Ireland – 41917 fans.


"There was a strong surge of social media engagement through VisitBritain's Weibo feed on Sina…” "VisitBritain's Weibo account has over 150,000 active followers, the most of all government official accounts.”

Travis QianTravis Qian, manager of VisitBritain's operations on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

December 2011:



BURBERRY’S SINA WEIBO PAGE



TOURISM AUSTRALIA’S SINA WEIBO PAGE


MOBILE DEVICESSECTION 3:


MOBILE DEVICES

• Handheld computers, be they smartphones, “phablets” or tablets are becoming increasingly popular. Their popularity is at the expense of the desktop PC market, which is shrinking.

• Gartner predict that tablet sales will outpace the PC market sometime between 2014 and and 2017. By 2017 it’s predicted that manufacturers will sell 468 million tablets, almost double that of the PC market.

• By 2017 it’s predicted that phone sales will top 2 billion units.

• In 2012, 695 million smartphones were sold (almost twice the number of all types of PCs, and about four out of every ten mobile phones sold overall). Source: TomiAhonen Consulting

• In 2013 we will see about 1 billion new smartphones sold.

• Why is this important? “Today’s marketers face the increasing challenge of a winding ‘path to purchase,’ requiring strategic engagements with customers across multiple channels and ensuring content is portable across many devices.” reported Experian Marketing Services recently.

• Research by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB, 2012), for example, has found that mobile optimised websites increase visitor dwell time by two crucial minutes.

• In the US, 13 percent of business respondents cited mobile as the most important communication channel, reports Experian.

• Mobile channels are growing more important for information collection too. Half of US businesses surveyed are capturing information entered on mobile devices and another 11 percent are currently implementing a mobile application that will collect data.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MOBILE DEVICES


The Think Tank research has found that…

In the following pages, we highlight some good examples of optimisation for mobile devices...

NTOs & MOBILE OPTIMISATION

Only 20% of NTO websites use a separate mobile site or responsive design, to

optimise their sites for multiple devices

The takeaway: NTOs’ use of digital technology is falling behind customer

behaviour. Optimisation of websites for multiple devices should be a priority

42% of NTOs are offering smartphone mobile apps

16% of NTOs are offering tablet apps


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• MySwitzerland.com is among the 20% of NTOs that offer separate mobile websites.

• Its mobile website is worthy of note because it has been designed specifically for mobile devices, with:

• Mobile screen size design. E.g. Single column layout

• Navigation simplification

• Carefully chosen content

• Touchscreen functionality - large buttons, large search boxes

• My Switzerland.com offer a number of mobile apps

• Its mobile apps are good because…

• They perform offline (ideal on the ski slopes!)

• Well designed, stylish

• Carefully curated, relevant content

• Available for both iTunes & Android

NTO MOBILE SITES NTO MOBILE APP EXAMPLE


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• The BBC uses both responsive design and separate mobile websites.

• Their mobile site for News, pictured, is even more radically simple than MySwitzerland.com’s mobile site

• m.bbc.co.uk/news is very clear about the content that it offers. Based on careful research into their users’ needs, they’ve chosen “top stories” and “most read” content to be given prominence.

• Important to note: For delivering purely informational web content on a tight budget, NTOs should carefully consider whether the creation of separate mobile apps is a good use of their resources. Gov.uk recently won the UK Design Museum’s international, prestigious, Design of the Year award. Their attitude to creating separate “native”, mobile and tablet apps is this: Native apps are rarely justified.

• Tom Loosemore, from Gov.uk, says: “… we believe the benefits of developing and maintaining apps will very rarely justify their costs, especially if the underlying service design is sub-optimal.

• “Departments should focus on improving the quality of the core web service.”

• However, it is also important to note that, resource allowing, the creation of apps in the areas of gaming, social media or dedicated tasks (especially when they give access to information when users are offline), holds a massive amount of potential for NTOs. In the future we’ll see these apps being connected to CRM systems, and becoming contextually aware, which will allow NTOs to personalise the service they give to tourists - an important advance.

NON NTO MOBILE SITE EXAMPLE

NATIVE APP OR RESPONSIVE DESIGN?

Based on careful research into their users’ needs, they’ve chosen “top stories” and “most read” content to be given prominence.


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NTO RESPONSIVE SITE EXAMPLEThe Visit Norway website is one of the few NTO sites to use responsive design. The site resizes images and re-structures its pages to adapt to the different screen sizes of the devices it is viewed upon.


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NTO RESPONSIVE SITE EXAMPLEVisitfinland.com is one of the few other NTO sites to use responsive design.


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Time.com use responsive design to reach audiences across multiple devices. The results:

• Mobile and tablet traffic has risen from 15% to almost 25%.

• Pages per visit (PPV), across mobile, tablet and desktop are up “considerably” - for example, mobile PPV increased 23%.

• On the homepage, unique visits increased 15%, and time spent went up 7.5%, with the mobile bounce rate decreasing by 26%. Source: econsultancy.com

Skinny Ties use responsive eCommerce to reach audiences across multiple devices.

The results:

• Revenue from all devices increased by 42.4%.

• The conversion rate improved by 13.6%.

• Revenue from iPhone grew by 377.6%.

• The conversion rate for iPhone increased by 71.9%. The site’s bounce rate fell by 23.2%.

• Visit duration increased by 44.6%.

Source: econsultancy.com

GOOD EXAMPLES OF NON NTO RESPONSIVE DESIGN

GOOD EXAMPLES OF NON NTO RESPONSIVE DESIGN


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• In conclusion, big brands know that they have to embrace the adoption of smartphones and multiple devices.

• Technology “best practice” is still not firmly established. Nike, for example, use a separate mobile site. Red Bull, pictured, use responsive design

• The reality is that users are carrying their mobile phones with them everywhere they go, using them to consume content along the way. As a result, many users are spending more time with a mobile screen than they do on traditional media.

THE MOBILE REVOLUTION

Sheryl SandbergCEO of Facebook


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"The size of the audience makes this - the phone - a mass medium. It's as important to a marketer as TV. This is as important - if not more important - than television.”


The European NTO Digital Benchmark

Travel

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