shaun’kennedy’n9395652’ june’5,’2017’ portfolio...! 1!!! ! tutor:’joseph’welsh’...
TRANSCRIPT
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Tutor: Joseph Welsh
Shaun Kennedy n9395652
June 5, 2017 Word Count: 1632
A s s e s s m e n t I t e m 3 : A M B 3 3 0
Community Management Portfolio
Digital Portfolio: https://digitallydeliveredshaun.wordpress.com
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................... 2
1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3
2.0 Social Media Strategy ................................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Product offerrings (Sell Pillar) .................................................................................................................. 6
2.2 Storytelling (Inspiration Pillar) ................................................................................................................. 6
2.3 Insights and advice (Education Pillar) ...................................................................................................... 7
3.0 Campaign Calendar ...................................................................................................................... 8
4.0 Content Curation ........................................................................................................................ 10
4.1 Facebook / video ................................................................................................................................... 10
4.2 Instagram .............................................................................................................................................. 12
4.3 Twitter / blog ......................................................................................................................................... 13
5.0 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 14
6.0 References .................................................................................................................................. 15
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1.0 Introduction
Escape Travel’s luxury packaged travel service products, such as airfares, accommodation, escorted
tours and all-‐inclusive cruises, are targeted at travellers 45 and over. Findings indicated the target
audience place great emphasis on personalisation, trust and reliability in a high-‐quality service
environment. For the customer journey in a digital context, this insight translates into quality
interactions that deliver a human element (Campbell, 2013), in efforts to drive engagement through
branded social media channels. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and to a lesser extent, YouTube will
be central to this campaign’s objective since these networks are where Escape Travel’s largest, most
active, engaged and receptive followers exist.
The last decade has seen an increasing importance and impact of social media in the travel industry.
Out of the approximate 3.5 billion internet users in the world, 67% of those are active social media
users (Kemp, 2016). In addition to social media helping brands reach and engage with customers on
a personal level, Christou & Gretzel (2016) highlighted how as a direct result of social media and the
rise of crowd culture, travellers in the tourism industry perform a fundamentally different role.
While consumers search, find, read about and trust brands in new and more transparent ways, they
are now also active collaborators who produce information about travel providers. Since social
networks allow consumers to seamlessly enter the discussion, travellers are essentially co-‐
marketers and a community management program can leverage this phenomenon to drive up their
follower base and enhance user engagement which ultimately fosters lead conversions and
generates sales.
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2.0 Social Media Strategy
As mentioned, Escape Travel’s target audience are Australian travel-‐intenders 45 and over who
value personalised service and unique high-‐quality experiences (Escape Travel, ca. 2017). This
demographic has the willingness (and capacity) to pay more; creating demand in the high-‐end
tourism market.
The proliferation of social media means entertainment media outlets are no longer oligopolies. Holt
(2016) argues new technologies allowed audiences to opt out of ads, in turn forcing brands to
compete with entertainment channels for audience attention. This shift has compelled competing
travel services firms to adapt their business models and accommodate social networking to remain
relevant. Social media guru and best-‐selling author, Erik Qualman (2015), stated “We don’t have a
choice on whether we do social and mobile. The choice is how well we do it”.
Unaided brand recall is at an inadequate 3% and brand awareness remains a key focus for traditional
advertising, although social media can arguably play a different key role. Social media builds
reputation, enhances brand equity and forges direct relationships (Herron & Rogers, 2017).
Therefore, in the context of a community management program and Escape Travel’s social media
channels, the objective is to maximise engagement to drive high-‐quality enquiries in-‐store.
Social media platforms allow firms to repeatedly embed their name, messages and point-‐of-‐
difference in the mind of willing subscribers. The recommended strategy employs a retargeting
tactic to deliver new content to these high-‐intent audiences. Given community audiences have
either liked, followed or subscribed already, the brand exists in consumer’s retrieval set. However,
by engaging online, social media increases chances of elevating the brand into consumer’s evoked
set for travel providers. This represents a perceptual change for the brands in the market consumers
will actively consider, rather who they are simply aware of.
The strategy can best leverage the brand’s owned media on Facebook (340,000 likes), Instagram
(16,200 followers) and Twitter (3,700 followers). Snapchat, for example, would be misaligned given
majority of users are much younger than the target audience (Sensis, 2016). Travel companies must
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be present during inevitable ‘I want to get away’ moments and these online communities offer a
readily accessible medium to connect on a personal level at consumer’s point of creative impulse,
most often via mobile devices (Think with Google, 2016). As this social media campaign increases
traffic and engagement, it will also elicit greater number of online enquiries and phone calls.
Facebook has been the strongest growth channel over the past six months; video content has
performed particularly well, which is unsurprising given its fluent ability to humanise brand
interactions (Campbell, 2013; Herron & Rogers, 2017). Since majority of online activity is now spent
on mobiles devices (Kemp, 2016), adding Instagram’s mobile-‐first platform into the publisher mix is
an essential part of a cross-‐device strategy. This enhances brand’s reach to audiences at the right
time, on the right device. On Twitter, grandparents (who mirror the target audience) are
interestingly the fastest growing demographic (Qualman, 2012) and the platform enables
hypertargeting functionality with sophisticated interest-‐category aggregation (i.e. deliver
advertising content to specific interest-‐based segments in a network).
Each platform fulfil communication and socialisation needs with minor differences, although central
to user experience. Using the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) Quan-‐Haase and Young (2010)
discovered the key motivational factor in Facebook usage was exchange of social information -‐-‐
primarily for its convenience in broadcasting via the wall but notably also for tagging others in posts.
This finding will be central for Escape Travel as members tagging friends and family in posts.
Twitter and Facebook can measure likes, comments, shares, tags and clickthrough rates to contrast
existing figures to evaluate relative increases to establish campaign efficacy. Tracking via anchor
links that send users to the website will calculate successful conversions and bounce-‐rates to
evaluate how ‘sticky’ content is. Instagram relies on likes and views since organic marketing does
not allow links to external content. Since social metrics fluctuate significantly hour to hour and day
to day (AdRoll, 2016), Instagram’s dashboard, Facebook’s analytics and data from Twitter will be
reviewed weekly in evaluating engagement levels.
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2.1 Product offerrings (Sell Pillar)
This sole promotional pillar will highlight exclusive deals and offers to cater to the 40% of consumers
who follow brands to access specials (AdRoll, 2016). Messages will frequently privilege 60+ seniors
discount by reminding them of this benefit. Content will regularly highlight River Cruises and
Escorted Holidays to satisfy demand for those favourite products among the target audience
(Herron & Rogers, 2017).
Since social media is obviously more intended for socialising than advertising, people are particularly
averse to sales messages in this environment (Xiang & Gretzel, 2010). Escape Travel can integrate
this pillar by focusing on key benefits such as personalised service and highly-‐customised packaging.
This enters target audience newsfeeds more seamlessly than otherwise by communicating their
relevant values.
2.2 Storytelling (Inspiration Pillar)
This pillar shares journeys with written and visual narrative to showcase holiday destinations and
inspire wanderlust. Christou & Gretzel (2016) emphasise how travellers co-‐produce user-‐generated
content (UGC) and using Instagram, Escape Travel will regram UGC to outsource creative
development, in turn reducing demand on in-‐house capabilities and CPA. Sharing other’s photos
that mirror traveller’s lifestyle is a perfect fit. Further, tagging the original author creates a personal
connection. Including other user’s handles reportedly sees up to 56% more engagement than posts
that do not (AdRoll, 2016).
On the other hand, blogs that inspire can also deliver keyword-‐rich content and advance google SEO
rankings (Franklin & Jenkins, 2013). Story-‐scaping is the art of communicating with customers and
prospects without directly selling via non-‐interruption marketing. Memory is story-‐based (Schank,
1999) and content can connect on an emotional level. Consumers are more likely to purchase if they
perceive themselves as self-‐congruent with the brand’s story (Thevenot, 2007). Therefore, the
objective is to reflect the customer persona of semi-‐retired couples with time and money to explore.
Narratives must come with faces and names, emphasising the interconnectedness between service
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agents and customers. By portraying a genuine passion for travel it resonates with aspirational
needs, especially for consumers in early research stages, at the top-‐end of the prospecting funnel.
2.3 Insights and advice (Education Pillar)
This theme centres around content that provides expert guidance that is with you all the way.
Content is contemporary, relevant and topical for the tourism industry and broad enough to range
from informal tips and guides right through to partner updates and travel news. By sharing useful
resources that are educational and provide information, the brand delivers genuine utility and can
gain earned media through consumer’s potent social networks.
Online audiences serve as effective purveyors of culture themselves, making it harder than ever for
brands to simply buy fame through advertising. Steidl’s (2016) argument in the science of content
sharing suggests this exchange of social information acts as a value-‐adding method for enhancing
social capital. As such, through branded association in the diffusion of information, this shareable
pillar of content creates a conversation driven form of engagement, both didactically with the brand
and collectively with the broader community with transparency which humanises the interaction.
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3.0 Campaign Calendar
Honigman (2015) recommends publishing at least one social post per day, however, the degree of
how in-‐depth the content is will vary the schedule (i.e. blog posts kept to one per week). As Escape
Travel operates in a highly-‐seasonal industry it is important to intensify content rhythm in the
chosen December peak period (ibid).
A pulsing schedule will reflect this heightened demand and manage audience expectations in the
weeks leading up to Christmas (Chitty, Luck, Barker, Valos, & Shimp, 2015). Escape Travel will break
free from sales noise during this period by avoiding ‘sell’ message oversaturation. Posts will
December,(2017
4/12/17&'&10/12/17 M T W T F S S
Facebook& 7:30am 2pm 4pm 12pmInstagram 12:30pm 6pm 7am 2pmTwitter 5pm 9amYouTube 6pm
11/12/17&'&17/12/17 M T W T F S S
Facebook& 4pm 3pm 8am 1pmInstagram 12pm 7am 12:30pmTwitter 7am 4:30pmYouTube 12pm
18/12/17&'&24/12/17 M T W T F S S
Facebook& 7:30am 3pm 4pm 7am 5pmInstagram 8am 5pm 9amTwitter 8am 6amYouTube 5pm
25/12/17&'&31/12/17 M T W T F S S
Facebook& 4pm 7am 7am 5pmInstagram 12pm 5pm 12:30pm 6pmTwitter 6am 7amYouTube 12pm
Week(3
Week(4
Week(1
Week(2
CHANNEL:(
Insights(and(adviceProduct(offerings Storytelling
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therefore be primarily published from the Education and Inspiration content pillars. Fewer but some
‘sell’ messages, such as Christmas gift vouchers that “Give them the World”, will be promoted for
shoppers buying Christmas presents.
New content will be delivered to include holiday ideas for last-‐minute ‘staycations’ (catering to the
school and upcoming work break); general Christmas time messages (eg. magical winter
wonderlands); and ideas for planning bold overseas, bucket-‐list style holidays for the new year. The
latter will resonate with the audience since it is often a reflective time This schedule leverages
seasonal market demand using the digital environment to remain front-‐of-‐mind, relevant and
engaging, which is especially important for travel-‐intenders entering an accelerated path to
purchase as the holidays rapidly approach (Think with Google, 2016).
The bulk of online traffic in the target audience is generally either first thing in the morning or after
work / in the evening (Sensis, 2016). Facebook had highest engagement and clickthrough rates on
Fridays around 4pm (Kolowisch, 2016). Posts will be published in anticipation of those waves user
engagement peaks. Platforms will have varying intervals with Facebook and Instagram featuring 3 -‐
4 occasions per week, Twitter twice a week and YouTube at least once a week. This frequency
exceeds basic standards for the peak period (Honigman, 2015).
Sensis (2016) data unsurprisingly confirms the target audience log on far less frequently than their
younger counterparts and higher-‐frequency posting will therefore not be perceived as barraging
followers because many posts will go unnoticed. In fact, greater regularity of content is required for
to meet the asynchronous audience.
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4.0 Content Curation
The selected pillar for the three creative pieces is the Insights and advice content pillar.
4.1 Facebook / video
Images sourced from Flight Centre
“Your travel itinerary conveniently in one place….”
“Transfer currency with the touch of a button….”
“Manage your data by…”
“Call to lodge a claim 24/7 ….”
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Despite the target audience demonstrating a strong uptake for mobile devices in recent years (see
fig 1. below), they are not digital natives and tend to have greater difficulty learning new
technologies while generally holding more sceptical attitudes about their benefits (Smith, 2014).
This guided tutorial video mitigates those barriers by encouraging the app’s use with clear and
simple instruction, bringing a human interaction via digital delivery, which can allow the user to step
through the process at their pace. People travelling in groups or pairs are most likely to share with
one another for the utility it provides, which ties back to the exchange of social information
discussed earlier.
Figure 1. Increasing adoption of smartphone and tablet devices among the 45+ age group Adapted from Consumer Barometer, 2017.
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4.2 Instagram
By highlighting success stories through social channels, the brand can create a personalised and
welcoming connection by putting a face to a name. Mention of accolades, expertise or experiences
serve as an assurance that speaks to the reliability, respect and trust that the target audience
demand and expect. It helps provide a sense of security in the direct consultant-‐customer
relationship before having even visited and mitigates the uncertainty avoidance many consumers
experience with service products.
Images sourced from Escape Travel
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4.3 Twitter / blog
The Twitter post links back to the blog held on the website with partner news reflecting Escape
Travel’s luxury value proposition. As the adage regarding homophily goes, “birds of the feather stick
together”. This article takes readers behind the scenes to sample the first-‐class experience, first-‐
hand.
Escape in luxury
Images sourced from Qantas
The Qantas A380 First Class suite, has won a “Good Design” Award by The Chicago Athenaeum. It recognises the Qantas A380 First Class suite for its aesthetics in design. Qantas Creative Director, Marc Newson, was humbled receiving the award on behalf of the design team. Just a few of the aircraft’s key features include its 17-‐inch LCD widescreen video monitors, fully adjustable multi-‐zone massage functionality, and a leather guest seat with large dining table designed to comfortably accommodate two. The announcement represents Qantas’ obsession with ensuring long haul flights are as comfortable and welcoming as possible…
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5.0 Conclusion
By cross-‐posting between social accounts, the channels will operate together, as well as in
combination with blog and video content (archived on the company website and YouTube account,
respectively) to generate a multitude of touchpoints appropriated for a range of audiences specific
to their context. This approach is an important function in contemporary integrated marketing
communications (IMC) strategy, which aims to compliment and compound overall marketing
strategy. The consistency between channels will help combine and cross-‐pollinate to drive
engagement and funnel high-‐quality enquiries in store to specialists.
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6.0 References
AdRoll. (2016). The Performance Advertiser’s Guide to Instagram [Slides]. Retrieved from
https://www.adroll.com/en-‐AU/assets/pdfs/guides-‐and-‐reports/The-‐
Performance%20Advertiser’s-‐Guide-‐to-‐Instagram_AU.pdf
Campbell, C. (2013). Humanizing Customer Service in the Luxury Sector end Beyond! Technology
Integrator, 12(11), 3. Retrieved from
http://gateway.library.qut.edu.au/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezp01.library.qut.
edu.au/docview/1462412436?accountid=13380
Chitty, B., Luck, E., Barker, N., Valos, M. & Shimp, T. A. (2015). Integrated Marketing
Communications (4th ed.). Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning Australia.
Christou, E. & Gretzel, U. (2016). Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality: Theory, Practice
and Cases [EBL version]. Retrieved from
http://www.tandfebooks.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/isbn/9781315609515
Consumer Barometer. (2017). Trended data: Australia, 55+. Retrieved from
https://www.consumerbarometer.com/en/trending/?countryCode=AU&category=TRN-‐
AGE-‐55-‐PLUS
Escape Travel. (ca. 2017). Escape Travel Brief [Slides]. Retrieved from
https://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course
_id=_132216_1&content_id=_6545467_1&mode=reset
Franklin, A. & Jenkins, T. (2013). How to Blog for Business [EBL version]. Retrieved from
www.bluewiremedia.com.au/how-‐to-‐blog-‐for-‐business-‐e-‐book
Herron, C., & Rogers, B. (2017, February 28). AMB330 Escape Travel Brief [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://lecturecapture.qut.edu.au/ess/lti/v1/launch/BLACKBOARD/90e0f566-‐3969-‐
40ff-‐ 8600-‐e7cac2c2e219
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Holt, D. (2016). Branding in the Age of Social Media. Harvard Business Review, 94(3), 40-‐48.
Honigman, B. (2015). How to Develop a Content Marketing Rhythm: A Guide for Creating
Consistently Great Content. Retrieved from
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/2015-‐04-‐15/how-‐develop-‐content-‐
marketing-‐rhythm-‐guide-‐creating-‐consistently-‐great-‐content?lang=en-‐
gb&utm_campaign=SendToFriend&uid=243393129&utm_content=article&utm_source=e
mail&part=sendtofriend&utm_medium=flipboard.sendtofriend.article&position=0&china_
variant=False
Kemp, S. (2016). Special Reports: Digital in 2016. Retrieved from
https://wearesocial.com/uk/special-‐reports/digital-‐in-‐2016
Kolowisch, L. (2016, January 6). The Best Times to Post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & Other
Social Media Sites [Web log post]. Retrieved from
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/best-‐times-‐post-‐pin-‐tweet-‐social-‐media-‐
infographic#sm.0001kzdw0i174ldu3usbwnfl4xn5a
Think with Google. (2016). How Micro-‐Moments Are Reshaping the Travel Customer Journey.
Retrieved from https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/micro-‐moments-‐reshaping-‐
travel-‐customer-‐journey-‐b.pdf
Qualman, E. (2015, Jan 26). Social Media Revolution 2015 #Socialnomics [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jottDMuLesU&feature=youtu.be
Qualman, E. (2012). Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business
[EBL version]. Retrieved from
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/qut/detail.action?docID=822032.
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Quan-‐Haase, A. & Young, A. L. (2010). Uses and Gratifications of Social Media: A Comparison of
Facebook and Instant Messaging. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 30(5), 350-‐361.
doi: 10.1177/0270467610380009
Sensis. (2016). Sensis Social Media Report 2016: How Australiana people and businesses are using
social media. Reitreved from Sensis website www.sensis.com.au/socialmediareport
Schank, R. C. (1999). Dynamic memory revisited (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Smith, A. (2014). Older Adults and Technology Use. Retrieved from Pew Research Center website
http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/04/03/older-‐adults-‐and-‐technology-‐use/
Steidl, P. (2016). Dopamine and the science of social media sharing. Retrieved from https://www-‐
warc-‐
com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/SubscriberContent/Article/Dopamine_and_the_science_of_
social_media_sharing/108600
Thevenot, G. (2007). Blogging as a social media. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 7(3), 282-‐289.
Xiang, Z. & Gretzel, U. (2010). Role of social Media in online travel information search. Tourism
Management, 31(2), 179-‐188.