Social media plays a key role in Tourism Ireland's (TI) marketing activities. As a tourist board, it was an early adapter to social media as a tool for reaching consumers and building relationships with them. With a combined 2.65 million likes across the various individual market pages, Tourism Ireland is the fourth most popular tourist board in the world on Facebook and with 162,000 followers it is the third most popular on Twitter (1). As a relatively small tourist board with limited resources, Tourism Ireland can use social media to reach large numbers of people a lot more cheaply than it can through traditional methods of advertising. Fans of the agency's different accounts help to spread the message about Ireland as a tourist destination by liking, sharing, commenting on and re-tweeting posts.
While I am not directly involved in managing the Facebook page for Germany, through my work I have gained a better insight into how it can be used as a marketing tool. Very specific groups of people can be targeted with advertising and posts can be timed in order to maximise their reach. By interacting with fans on the page (for example, by replying to individual comments (see picture)), TI is able to build up relationships with people in the hope that they will help to spread the word among their friends and family too.
I have played a larger role in TI's use of Twitter in the German market. Twitter is not as popular a social media platform in Germany as in many other countries and, though a TI account has existed since 2011, it has only been active since February of this year. I took part in an online course about how to maximise the use of Twitter with some colleagues in December and we then began to plan our approach. We considered having two separate accounts, one aimed at consumers and one at members of the media, as is practise in many other markets, but we decided to start off with one account.
Sources:
(1) Tourism Ireland, 2014. 'Marketing Plans 2015': https://www.tourismireland.com/img/2014/DublinPresentation.pdf
(2) Social Media Examiner, 2013. 'How to Use Twitter for Business and Marketing': http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-use-twitter-for-business-and-marketing/
(3) Jennifer Lonoff Schiff, 2013. '14 Ways to Use Twitter to Market your Business', CIO: http://www.cio.com/article/2380667/twitter/14-ways-to-use-twitter-to-market-your-business.html
Links:
Tourism Ireland 'Entdecke Irland' Facebook Germany: https://www.facebook.com/entdeckeirland
Tourism Ireland 'Entdecke Irland' Twitter Germany: https://twitter.com/EntdeckeIrland
Tourism Ireland 'Entdecke Irland' YouTube Germany: https://www.youtube.com/user/entdeckeirland
Bank of Ireland Twitter account: https://twitter.com/talktoBOI
My personal Twitter account: https://twitter.com/danjfar
 |
| Tourism Ireland's social media presence. Source: Tourism Ireland Marketing Plans 2015 |
I have played a larger role in TI's use of Twitter in the German market. Twitter is not as popular a social media platform in Germany as in many other countries and, though a TI account has existed since 2011, it has only been active since February of this year. I took part in an online course about how to maximise the use of Twitter with some colleagues in December and we then began to plan our approach. We considered having two separate accounts, one aimed at consumers and one at members of the media, as is practise in many other markets, but we decided to start off with one account.
We chose to maintain the 'Entdecke Irland' ('Discover Ireland') brand already used for the Facebook page and YouTube account. The number of followers has remained low, but, in line with much of the advice from the literature, we have been cautious about simply following as many people as possible as a tool for gaining new followers ourselves (2). Instead we have been targeting opinion-shapers such as journalists and bloggers. We now ask journalists we are sending on press trips to Ireland to share their Twitter handles with us and interact with them during their visits. The account is in its infancy and we are still trying different strategies and working out the best rhythm for the frequency and timing of tweets. The consensus from the literature I have consulted and the advice we have received within the organisation is to keep tweeting and to a relatively regular schedule (3).
One brand which I believe has developed a very successful Twitter strategy is Bank of Ireland. Their account is monitored 24/7 and acts as form of quick customer service for everyday banking queries, which saves both the customer and the bank itself time and money. I have used the service several times myself already and find it particularly useful while I am living abroad.
(1) Tourism Ireland, 2014. 'Marketing Plans 2015': https://www.tourismireland.com/img/2014/DublinPresentation.pdf
(2) Social Media Examiner, 2013. 'How to Use Twitter for Business and Marketing': http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-use-twitter-for-business-and-marketing/
(3) Jennifer Lonoff Schiff, 2013. '14 Ways to Use Twitter to Market your Business', CIO: http://www.cio.com/article/2380667/twitter/14-ways-to-use-twitter-to-market-your-business.html
Links:
Tourism Ireland 'Entdecke Irland' Facebook Germany: https://www.facebook.com/entdeckeirland
Tourism Ireland 'Entdecke Irland' Twitter Germany: https://twitter.com/EntdeckeIrland
Tourism Ireland 'Entdecke Irland' YouTube Germany: https://www.youtube.com/user/entdeckeirland
Bank of Ireland Twitter account: https://twitter.com/talktoBOI
My personal Twitter account: https://twitter.com/danjfar
No comments:
Post a Comment