Tourism Social Media: Likes are Worthless without Engagement

Facebook admits that about 5-6% of its 901 million users might be fake. Many of these fake accounts are created expressly for the dishonest purpose of inflating like numbers.

This makes paying for likes a risky business: Your new fans may well be worthless, fake Facebook profiles created in “factories” in Asia. If you are paying for fans, make sure that engagement rises in proportion to the number of new likes. Otherwise you are likely wasting money on robots. It is faar better to use an agency like Canary Content that focuses on creating quality content aimed at your target markeet. 

Getting likes is only the first step in a successful Facebook marketing campaign. Unless you keep your new fans interested they will soon stop seeing your updates and become nothing more than a number.

Define exactly what it is that you want to achieve with your Facebook page. For tourist businesses, there are two main functions of a Facebook page: Staying in touch and attracting new customers.

Staying in Touch

This is the primary function of almost all tourist industry Facebook pages: Your most valued customers are your existing, happy customers! Satisfied customers and guests are highly likely to return (80% of  tourists in the Canary Islands make a return trip). They are also likely to recommend your business to their friends.

Let’s use a hotel that caters to Dutch families as an example: A Dutch family with two kids is likely to be friends with other Dutch families with similar interests and incomes. If they share your content they are advertising your hotel directly to your target demographic. A Dutch family in the hand is worth ten in the bush!

By getting as many of your customers as possible to sign up to your page you increase the chances of converting them into return customers. Add your Facebook page to your website and blog (you have a blog, haven’t you?), and print its address on all your advertising and leaflets. Go crazy and hang a QR code in the bar, offerring anyone who signs up with their mobile phone a free drink. Offer your fans discounts and exclusive extras.

Attracting new customers

The key to marketing ROI on Facebook is to define your target market and produce content that targets them exactly.

Sharing photos of cute kittens on your page may attract attention, but how much or it is from people in your target demographic?

Identify the most attractive features and benefits that your business offers and create content that highlights them. Using attractive photographs to boost EdgeRank (see this post for the lowdown on EdgeRank) and get your message on to as many newsfeeds as possible. Focus on attracting the right fans and on building a relationship with them. 

Likes are the starting point for Facebook success. How to convert that initial expression of interest into a long term relationship is the biggest challenge. The key, as always, is to share attractive and useful content that caters to your target markets needs and desires.