The Challenges and Opportunities Posed by Social Media For Destination Marketing - Research Paper Example

?Introduction The overall significance of the cities and the countries having economic potential due to their natural and tourism resources is increasing over the period of time. As the new changes in the way tourism is being seen and explored are emerging, the significance of managing tourist destinations as economic commodities is also increasing. The term destination marketing therefore outlines a systematic and strategic approach to economically and culturally develop a location with a view to keep the interests of the visitors intact while still balancing the interests of the community as well as other stakeholder groups. This new and renewed focus on the tourism therefore also requires a new and fresh approach for tourism destination marketing as an essential and critical component of the overall process. This has also required the marketers to take a very strategic approach towards the destination marketing and design and develop their strategies in such a manner which can optimize the use of the resource. Social media has recently emerged as one of the key trends in the information technology market wherein connecting people through web has become a new norm. Social media however, also presented an opportunity for marketing by using the social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. This paper will present a review of how the social media can actually have an impact on the destination marketing, what challenges and opportunities it presents and how marketers can actually take advantage of this new and emerging trend in the market. Destination Marketing Destination marketing is a relatively new and unique concept outlining as to how the destination marketers can actually take a more robust and strategic view of the destination marketing and use it for strategic purposes. This view is considered as in-line with the mainstream marketing which is managed as a strategic business planning tool to achieve the overall business objectives. Destination marketing therefore is also viewed as a market oriented strategic approach to develop the locations in such a manner that they take into consideration the overall interests of the customers while at the same time balancing the requirements and interests of other stakeholder groups in the community also. (Blumberg, 2005) This approach to destination marketing therefore views this as a very conscious and thoughtful process which requires a commitment of time and resources to develop and build the locations in such a manner that they can reflect the overall market sentiments. What is however, different for the destination marketers is their inability to control the product because of the overall nature of the product they are marketing. This therefore also offers them an insight into how to tap the target market in order to ensure that the location attracts the people who are willing to visit it and spend there. This change or shift from the traditional marketing concepts where more focus is being given on the product, destination marketers will have to face a dual challenge of balancing the act between the product and the target market for the product. The focus on the target market is also based on the assumption that different individuals prefer different locations due to different reasons. In order to tap into the different niches which the differences in the choices of the consumers can offer therefore require an strong focus on the target market and how it behave and react to different changes taking place in the marketing. Since in destination marketing, marketers often do not control the product directly therefore this leaves a little room for them to actually modify or change the product but rather use its existing attributes to attract the target market. As such marketers therefore often tend to create a kind of experience which can develop the customer satisfaction and can generate the repeat customers. This is because of the fact that the destinations offer different and unique experiences and each one have their own strengths and weaknesses. (Locum Consulting, 2006). Due to this nature of the very product, they appeal differently to different people and hence pose a great challenge for the destination marketers to actually design and develop different strategies in such a manner which can offer them a comparative advantage over others. One of the effective ways through which this can be achieved is the extensive advertising and the media marketing which can increase the exposure of the destinations to their target markets. An effective and well crafted advertising campaign therefore can offer better exposure towards the target market and can allow the marketers to better market the destination. Technology and Destination Marketing The question therefore arises as to how to better market the destination and what advertising vehicles and channels could be used in order to increase the exposure of the destination towards its target market. The explosion of internet and other communication technologies have affected the way travelers use to get information about different destinations and travelling. The presence of web has made it easier for the consumers to actually look into different sources of information about the travel and other destinations. This has therefore also allowed the development of an alternative market where the consumers based on different criteria can book their tours and at the same time enjoy different other benefits which traditional businesses cannot offer. As such it is therefore critical to understand that the destination marketing, with the emergence of web, has made it necessary for the marketers to develop a complex web of strategic alliances with different organizations in order to increase their presence on the web and attract more and more visitors. Since tourism is not just about the beauty and utility of the destination to the tourists as it also involves a collaborative network of hotels, transport and communication services providers, retailers as well as other allied services. An effective use of the technology therefore suggests that all these players must formulate the formal networks in order to become successful in this segment of the market. What is however, also important to note that the general awareness about the use of innovative technology is really limited. It has been argued that the emergence of Web 2 and the social networking websites have provided completely new set opportunities for the businesses to explore. It is however, argued that the destination marketing organizations or DMOs have actually failed to fully equip themselves with the opportunities and challenges offered by the social media on the internet. Further, there has also been a very vague effort to actually educate the DMOs regarding the emergence of new technologies and how to take advantage of them. These trends still exist despite the fact that numerous studies have linked the use of innovative technology with generating the competitive advantage in the tourism industry. There is a general consensus among the researchers that the use of the social media and the networking websites is an essential element the destination marketers to ensure that they continue to develop their target market and attract new visitors. It has also been argued that the despite the emergence of ICT and social media, smaller businesses have yet to adapt to the changes and fully take the opportunities provided by these new technologies. (Lee, 2010) The new revolution of social media which websites such as Facebook and Twitter has brought suggests an enormous potential for the destination marketing because of the power of word of mouth and networking. Social media informally connects people with each other based on their preferences, choices, life style as well as habits and culture. This therefore further allow them to develop the groups and then share among them what is common thus creating a social group to discuss issues of different nature. The success of such websites can be judged from the fact that only Facebook has more than 500 million users who are actively involved in using Facebook regularly. An exposure to such a large customer base therefore offers a huge opportunity for marketers to tap previously untapped market. (Xiang & Gretzel, 2010) The above discussion therefore suggests that the use of technology and specially social media presents not only challenges but opportunities also for the destination marketing organizations. The subsequent section will discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the social media for destination marketing. Opportunities The emergence of social media presented different opportunities and some of them are discussed here: Large base of potential customers The overall number of active users of websites such as Facebook and Twitter has opened gates for the marketers to tap into a large base of potential customers. Since the overall users are so great that they provide marketers a unique opportunity to contact and explore even those customers which are outside the geographical range of their target markets. The overall diversity of the customers therefore provide a unique opportunity to access a diversified based of the customers and segregate them according to different criteria to further develop the niche markets for them. Since destination marketing specifically focus on a particular type of customer base i.e. according to income, liking etc therefore such large customer base can offer an opportunity to develop different niches. Better Exposure of the destination Social media and social networking websites allow the option of building the web pages of the individuals, organizations as well as other celebrities. By developing and actively managing a well developed page on websites like Facebook can actually increase the exposure of the destination to its target market. There are different examples where the DMOs have been successful in increasing the overall exposure of their destinations to their target markets. For example, Queensland in Australia has been able to attract more than 8 million unique visitors to its site and it has actually helped it to beat the overall tourism in the country. As of October 2009, Tourism in Queensland increased while the same for Australia declined.1 Such high level of exposure therefore not only allows the different users to have better and more information about the destination but also can get the first hand information about the real life experiences of other tourists regarding the destination. Customer Satisfaction Providing better and more information about the destination as well as other facilities managed by the DMOs to their customers through social media therefore can help such organizations to increase the customer satisfaction. Social media allow the users to share their experience and also spread the word of mouth regarding the different facilities and amenities they might have enjoyed during their stay. A better word of mouth coupled with unbiased and complete information therefore allows users to mentally prepare themselves before they take on the journey. This invariably results into higher level of satisfaction for the customers. (Machlouzarides, 2010) Cost Reduction Probably one of the important opportunities provided by the social media is the reduction in the marketing and advertising costs. Advertisement through social networking sites is lot cheaper as compared to advertising through the traditional channels such as print and electronic media. Low cost of advertisement and promotional activities therefore has allowed the organizations to better develop their advertising message and make it more attractive and catchy for the consumers. Low cost of marketing can also allow destination marketers to divert the resources saved to offer promotional discounts as well as other benefits which can help to attract new visitors to the destinations. Challenges Though social media and social networking websites provide the opportunities also but they also pose some serious challenges for the marketers to meet with. Some of the challenges are: Increased competition Social media has allowed the firms to reach to their target markets at really affordable cost. It’s because of this reason that smaller businesses have found it extremely efficient way to market their services and gain the required exposure. As such the overall competition has become tough due to the entry of different competitors in the market and marketers have to become more innovative and creative in attracting the new visitors to their destinations. Keeping pace with the technology Technology is probably the only field where things change very fast and in rapid manner thus can potentially throw out a firm from business because of its inability to cope with the changing technology. A better presence through social media require effective management of issues like search engine optimization, better copy editing of the web pages as well as innovative use of the technology. Viral marketing has allowed marketers to use technology in most innovative manner however, to use the technology in most effective manner, its important that DMOs must keep pace with the change in technology. (Woodside, Ramos, & Duque, 2011) Market Segmentation Having access to such a large base of customers often makes it difficult to successfully identify and develop a market segment. This is mostly due to the fact that web ignores the traditional borders and open the access to the new markets and customers. However, it can become sometimes a significant challenge also because marketers may not be able to identify as to whom to target. Though advertising message may be relayed across a range of different customers however, when it comes to measuring the effectiveness of the same in terms of money, this may increase the costs for the organization as message may be relayed to the wrong segment of the market which may not be profitable. For example, many businesses at the tourist attractions use coupon services to attract new customers however, such customers are served at the cost of other customers who pay higher but get the same level of service. This therefore can create an strong post sale dissonance. Conclusion Destination marketing is going through a really significant phase wherein the traditional means of doing the business have changed. Destination marketing organizations are now gradually using social media and technology in most effective manner in order to ensure that they get better exposure to their target markets and improve the visibility of their tourist destinations to their target market. Research studies however, suggest that that the DMOs are still relatively unaware of how to fully embrace the technology and use it for achieving the overall organizational objectives of the firm. The emergence of social media has made it really challenging for the organizations to actually compete with large and diversified base of competitors. Social media can also make the process of segmentation a bit challenge because of the lack of geographical constraints on the web and social media. Changing nature of the technology is also another important factor which DMOs have to consider in order to successfully exploiting the social media? It is also important to note that the social media also provides some interesting opportunities include exposure to a very large base of customers. Having access to the large base of customers therefore offer a real opportunity to increase the penetration into the existing markets or develop new markets for the product. Further, it can also greatly reduce the costs thus allowing the marketers to divert resources to develop more effective advertising and promotional activities to reach to their target markets. It can also allow generating higher level of customer satisfaction because of its power to spread word of mouth. Bibliography 1. Blumberg, K. (2005). Tourism destination marketing – A tool for destination management? A case study from Nelson/Tasman Region, New Zealand. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research , 10 (1), 45-57. 2. Lee, B. C. (2010). Tourism technology training for destination marketing organisations (DMOs): Need-based content development. Journal of Hospitality, leisure, sport and tourism education , 9 (1), 39-52. 3. Locum Consulting. (2006, Feb). A More Refined Approach to Destination Development and Marketing. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from Locum Consulting: http://www.industry.visitsoutheastengland.com/dbimgs/BD%20-%20Destination%20Development%20paper_tcm194-130214.pdf 4. Machlouzarides, H. (2010). The future of destination marketing: the case of Cyprus. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology , 1 (1), 155-162. 5. Woodside, A., Ramos, V., & Duque, M. (2011). Tourism’s Destination Dominance and Marketing Website Usefulness. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , 23 (4), 32-39. 6. Xiang, Z., & Gretzel, U. (2010). Role of social media in online travel information search. Tourism Management , 31 (2), 179-188. Read More