Do's and don'ts in social media for niche travel companies

Another brilliant  article from Sam @ muchbetteradventures.com :

Social media sites are ten-a-penny these days and it can be tricky to keep on top of them all. With this in mind, it's becoming increasingly important for niche travel companies to understand and use these outlets properly in order to engage and entertain their various audiences, whilst also subtly exposing their products to new customers. 

This quick fire guide to the relevant social media sites is a reaction to observing some good examples of online networking but also a plea to kick some bad habits. 

In no particular order, here are the important social media networks that niche travel companies should be targeting and how.

Full article here Do's and don'ts in social media for niche travel companies

Befriend The Search Engines

Fabulous littel bit of work here, worth visiting his site for more of it::::::::::::
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Imagine the travel and tourism industry without the Internet.
Hard to conceive, isn’t it? The travel industry was amongst the first to be transformed by the WWW. The Internet as a channel of distribution has become one of the most successful channels used by consumers to research travel options, compare prices and make reservations for airline tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals.

Is your website providing what travellers are looking for?

Recent research in Queensland has proven that even though tourism is one of the most successful application areas on the World Wide Web, Small and Medium Tourism websites are not optimised for search engines. This signifies that unfortunately the traveller cannot find what he is looking for about your property because it is not properly referenced for its key terms on search engines.

How can I tell if my tourism website is optimised?

Try Googling your tourism product by putting yourself in your customer’s shoes on Google.
You might also recognise the following common web design mistakes

• The title of each page of the website is exactly or almost the same and does not tell you (nor the search engines) what the page is about
• All the keywords for the page have been added in the meta tag
• There are too many links on a page
• Javascript, Images and Flash menus are being used instead of text menus.
• Sites built in Flash and sites using Frames are not search engine friendly and will not get indexed properly in search engines

How much is it going to cost to optimise my tourism website?

If your website is not search engine optimised its is just like having a phone number but not being listed in the phone book.

Can you afford to be paying for something that is being kept hidden from your target customers?
Search engine optimisation is not a costly exercise but a smart move. The revenue you will get from travellers now finding your website and being able to book your product will quickly cover our cost.
The other beauty of the online world is that everything we do is trackable and you will be able to, by yourself, realise that the changes we made were well worth it for your ROI.

Befriend The Search Engines | UntangleMyWeb.com

YTB - World Travel Network

Here you will find very useful information on YTB products and services. There is a wealth of information about YTB and we don't want to labor you with a lot of reading material. With that said, we're going to touch upon a few links that will provide you with enough information about this well designed home based travel system.

Once you've had an opportunity to touch upon the below links, send us an email or give us a call, and a representative will be more than happy to answer any questions relative to YTB. So let's get underway.

YTB PowerPoint Video Presentation

Here is a PowerPoint presentation that provides a wealth of information relative to YTB products and services.

Conference Calls

Get valuable information from key note speakers. Dial-in, listen and learn! Hot Topics -

• Leadership with "Coach" Tomer
  
• Getting Started with YTB
  
• How to Use a Marketing Site
  
• Association Division Travel Training
  
• "Ladies Only" Call
  
• Weekly Travel Training
 

Travel Booking Engine

This is what your Travel Site will look like but with your personalization. Take time to review all of the links. This is the hot-spot for your 60% commissions.....

Marketing Site

This is what I call my management or back-office site. This is where potential RTA team members come to join. Not only is this where you come to join but all sorts of general accounting takes place here as well. I get excited every morning I log into this site

Benefits of Referring Travel Agent

Enjoy the Benefits of a Referring Travel Agent.

Benefits of a Home Based Business

Enjoy the Benefits of a Home Based Business. Before we bring closure to this brief overview, let's go over the difference between a Referring Travel Agent and a Representative.

YTB - World Travel Network

YTB-Your Travel Biz-YTB-Online Travel Franchise-YTB Travel

YTB brings you the perfect opportunity to transform your life through combining the fun of travel with the speed of the Internet, multiplied by the power of referral marketing to provide YOU with the ultimate home-based business solution. YTB is taking the industry by storm!! By combining an advantage-rich, home-based business (built around the Internet) with an extremely lucrative (and copyrighted) compensation plan, YTB has become "The Choice" for thousands of opportunity seekers. In today's marketplace, myriads of companies seek your time and attention, each claiming that their opportunity is the best. By combining the powerful information handling capability of the Internet with the world's most dynamic product (TRAVEL) and the personal touch of independent, home-based business people, YTB has joined these three trends together in a flawless combination. The Internet is opening the doors to the riches of travel as never before. By utilizing our simple strategies and proven techniques we can show you how to leverage your time to generate a residual income 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. YTB Offers You top A real, tangible home-based Travel Agency Business you can run from anywhere in the world or from the comfort of your kitchen table! Huge discounts on hotels, car rentals, luxury cruises, upgrades, exotic vacation packages and many more travel perks Personal travel agent photo ID card and credentials State of the art travel agency in greater St. Louis Up to 60% paid commissions on your personal website Online booking engines Affiliate marketing program Company familiarization trips Total service and support And so much more!

http://www.travelfranchise.net

http://www.booktravelnow.net

YTB-Your Travel Biz-YTB-Online Travel Franchise-YTB Travel

US Online Travel: The Threat of Commoditization

It is still far from a tailspin, but the US online travel industry is undergoing a revolution that is redefining the rules of engagement between travel firms and their customers. Internet-savvy consumers are exploiting powerful online resources to find new travel products and pricing options.

The US Online Travel report analyzes the progress of this still growing, but slowing, bellwether Internet sector.

The good news: eMarketer estimates that online consumer travel sales hit $79 billion in 2006 and will grow at a 17% annual rate before reaching $146 billion in 2010. While that is respectable growth, it falls short of the 28% annual growth rate posted from 2002 to 2006.

The bad news: A tighter market will exacerbate the fierce competition between online travel agencies and travel suppliers in an already commoditized market.

eMarketer Reports—On-Target and Up-to-Date

The US Online Travel report aggregates the latest data from a wide range of marketing and communications researchers with eMarketer numbers, projections and analysis to provide the information you need to make the right business decisions.

See full details here....