BUSINESS ADVICE
44 | Travel Weekly | March 6 2009
HOW TO...
use Twitter
Ever since celebrities such as
Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry
started tweeting, there has been a
huge fl ap over Twitter.
Twitter is the latest step in the
wider evolution of how people
publish information on the web. It
is an online service that publishes
short 140-character messages to
‘followers’ who, most importantly,
have opted to receive these short
bursts of information.
Companies such as Virgin
Cruises, Kuoni and lastminute.com
use Twitter as a way to let potential
customers know what they are
doing, plug their latest deals and,
crucially, interact with them.
The opportunities for the travel
industry with Twitter appear to be
endless, but it’s still worth thinking
fi rst about how you will use it as a
brand or as an individual.
GETTING STARTED
Registration is simple at twitter.com
but consider your profi le carefully,
especially if your own or company’s
name is popular or generic.
The key thing is to ensure that
any web users who come across
your Twitter page instantly
understand what you do. This can
help enormously with attracting
new ‘followers’.
Put as much useful information
as possible in the biog section, use a
company logo, create a striking yet
not over-the-top description of who
you are and, above all else, link to
your own website.
Also consider setting up multiple
profi les if there are diff erent areas
of expertise (destinations, product
types) within a business.
Kevin May, editor of Travel Weekly’s sister
publication Travolution, explains how the lastest
social messaging service works
FIND AND INCREASE YOUR
POTENTIAL NETWORK
There is one very obvious
reason for increasing your
‘follower’ list and that is so that
as many people as possible see
the information – or tweets –
you put out.
Another reason is to keep an
eye on what your competitors
are saying to their followers, as
you can follow people and
companies too.
There are a number of tools
you can use to make sure you
fi nd the right people. Use
websites such as twittergrader.
com, crazybob.org/twubble.or
mrtweet.net to discover other
profi les similar to your own –
and, more importantly, who
they are ‘followed’ by.
In addition, use
search.twitter.com to track
conversations relevant to a
particular product or
destination.
Away from your Twitter
page, make sure you publicise
your presence on your email
signatures, on your website
and even in offl ine literature.
USING TWITTER AS A
PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION
CHANNEL
Using Twitter to inform people
about products – and doing it
eff ectively – can be a diffi cult
process.
So although it might be very
easy to insert a weblink into a
tweet about a weekend break
to Prague, you may narrow
your chances of gaining clickthroughs
if it does not stand
out from the countless others
who are doing the same.
Try appealing directly to
the people who ‘follow’ you by
taking a little time to read their
profi les – what they like, so you
can second-guess where they
like to go.
Another trick is to seize on the
social or political context of the
moment, perhaps by using
cultural references (the location
of BBC’s Survivor, for example)
or referencing topical news
items, especially if they are
entertainment or celebrity related.
ENGAGING IN CONVERSATION
Where Twitter comes into its own
is in its ability to create a simple,
useful and instant interaction with
a customer.
You can, and should, keep an
eye on what your followers are
saying by following them.
Also use search.twitter.com to
monitor relevant conversations to
your business and to reply to a
user’s tweet.
As travel providers you are
often armed with a wealth of
information about everything
from destinations, products and
services, to essential travel advice
such as passport and visa
requirements.
Most businesses have a fantastic
memory bank of knowledge and
Twitter can help you share it with
the wider world – which, in turn,
might prove valuable for
generating new custom.
8Follow the TWgroup
on Twitter
@travolution –
TWgroup’s market
intelligence brand
@twblog – Travel Weekly’s
successful blog
@tw_emily – Travel Weekly’s
community editor
www.travelweekly.co.uk
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