Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Impact Of Social Media

We love those clever infographics that gives us an instant pictorial snapshot of data.

The infographic below illustrates the impact of social media within the hospitality industry.

This covers a lot of the info we've seen before, however the standout for me is that:
"In most major cities the search volume on Google for "Hotels in (city)" has lost over 70% in just the last 6 years - instead they use the likes of Kayak, TripAdvisor, and Expedia."
This is a telling statistic that means that the travelling consumer is increasingly looking at TripAdvisor and major branded OTAs to influence their travel decisions. Wading through the scramble of options after performing a Google search is no longer cutting it - Consumers are increasingly turning to trusted websites that aggregate information to give recommendations and lay out options in a logical, orderly manner.

While Google rankings are still important, accommodation providers need to actively be where consumers are browsing and understand the influence of the The Billboard Effect.
 

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