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Transcript of 2010 atia convention
PR BASICS & SOCIAL MEDIA
ATIA Convention – October 2010
ATIA and Thompson & Co.
Thompson & Co. Public Relations Based in Anchorage with an office in
Manhattan ATIA’s public relations contractor since
2002 Familiar with many of Alaska’s
communities, tourism offerings and people
Why does ATIA fund public relations? Promote positive editorial coverage of Alaska Introduce travelers to myriad ways to enjoy
our state – luxury, adventure, small towns, cities, etc. – as well as our five distinct regions
Communicate to Alaska residents about the importance and strength of Alaska’s travel industry
Prepare for and respond to industry-related crises
Major functions of ATIA’s public relations program Media assistance, including providing stock
photography and video footage to qualified journalists; itinerary planning; fact checking; and information gathering
Media outreach, which involves proactively identifying target journalists and researching story ideas to match their interests and publications
Alaska Travel News, a monthly e-mail newsletter distributed to approximately 1,200 writers, editors and TV producers in North America to highlight Alaska events and tourism news
Major functions of ATIA’s public relations program Online media center at
www.travelalaska.com/media Press trips (FAMs) to introduce groups of
travel journalists to different experiences, regions and seasons in Alaska
Social media profiles on Facebook and Twitter to reach out to travel journalists looking for information about Alaska and develop ATIA’s network of media “friends”
Major functions of ATIA’s public relations program Crisis communications planning
ensures ATIA is ready to respond when a tourism-related crisis strikes Alaska (e.g., if Mount Redoubt had erupted in the middle of the summer season)
Special events to connect ATIA members with high-profile travel media, including Alaska Media Road Show and Experience Alaska
Alaska Media Road Show
Started in 2002 Features a day of “speed dating” with journalists –
pre-scheduled 15-minute appointments during which Alaska tourism partners pitch their products or destinations
Journalists who have attended AMRS in the past are top priorities for ATIA media assistance
Registration, appointment selection, journalist profiles, event schedule, etc. are all available through an online event portal at www.alaskamediaroadshow.com
Registration typically opens in April/May each year Approximately 40 media and 30-35 ATIA partners October 24-26, 2010 – event registration is full
Experience Alaska
Informal networking event with emphasis on replicating Alaska experiences, e.g., ice sculpting, dog mushing and gold panning, among others
Price point lower than Alaska Media Road Show First event held in 2008, now slated annually for
spring Casual, free-flowing evening reception New York City location to tap into nation’s
biggest media market Approximately 40 media and 15 ATIA partners
Itinerary assistance / individual FAMs ATIA hosts dozens of travel journalists
each year on trips all over Alaska Depending on journalist qualifications,
this assistance can range from fully hosted trips to simple assistance like providing recommendations
Giving journalists first-hand experience in Alaska is the best way to see editorial coverage in print, online and on TV
International media assistance Thompson & Co.
works with ATIA public relations contractors overseas to facilitate international editorial coverage UK Australia German-speaking
Europe Japan Korea Taiwan
International contractors evaluate journalists and Thompson & Co. plans FAMs
International contractors follow-up to provide clips of coverage to ATIA and its partners
Press trips
Typically ATIA budgets for approximately one press trip per year
Differs from individual assistance in that press trips are usually groups of 4-5 journalists invited by Thompson & Co.
Trips are hosted by agency staff
Itineraries are fully planned by the agency and all expenses, including meals, are hosted
Occasionally pre- and post-trip opportunities are also offered
Next press trip – one more scheduled for FY11 with location and dates TBD
How ATIA members can get involved Send Thompson & Co. information about your
property or destination, particularly new offerings, awards, infrastructure improvements, etc.
Be willing to host media on individual FAMs or press trips; make sure agency staff know you want to host
Consider participating in Alaska Media Road Show or Experience Alaska
If nothing else, keep your local DMO informed so they can relay the information to us
Social media – what is it?
A category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generated content. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube Flickr Del.icio.us Digg
Putting it in perspective
Social media networks are growing exponentially in the United States
At the same time, traditional media are failing
Time spent on social network and blogging sites is growing more than three times the rate of overall Internet growth*
Social networks are aging and expanding with this growth, and are becoming more popular among all Internet users*
Consumer attention is being fragmented into niche communities based on common interest – social networks*2009 Nielsen report “Global Faces and Networked
Places”
Many small business owners/operators are stretched to the limit already. But remember how you felt about the necessity of a website at first?
The ugly truth?
Getting started
Before engaging on behalf of your business, set up a personal profile and use it to listen to the conversation
Build your network and watch users in action to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t
LISTEN OBSERVE
How?
Create a Google profile and set up Google news and blog alerts
Use Google Reader to set up tools to monitor online activity
On Twitter, ‘follow’ the people you’re interested in reaching – lists of top tweeters are available through web search
On Facebook, check out your competitors’ and colleagues’ activity
LISTEN OBSERVE
IT’S ABOUT DIALOGUE, NOT MONOLOGUE
Most important rule of social media:
Choose your channels
You can’t be in all the social networks, and not all of them are a good fit for you
Doing one well is better than doing many poorly
If you start something and realize it’s not a good fit, delete it, don’t just leave it fallow
Each network has a different “personality” and some will fit your business/brand better than others
There are thousands of networks out there; starting out, you probably only need to focus on the biggies.
“Chummy” Excellent opportunities to showcase your
business through video, audio, event invitations, photos and storytelling
Networks built relatively easily through business contacts, friends and family
Creation of a fan page is very user-friendly
Lots of room to express yourself As of Aug. ‘09, Facebook was the most
popular social network for Americans over 18
94.7 M active users in U.S.
Facebook stats
500 million active users worldwide
Average user spends 55 minutes a day on Facebook
Average user has 130 Facebook friends
150 million users access Facebook through their mobile devices
1.5 million LOCAL businesses are on Facebook
Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events
User demographic is aging
Source: Facebook.com
It’s not just for kids
Facebook demographics as of January 2010
2 BILLION tweets per month
Much less personal than Facebook Network composed mostly of people
you don’t know “IRL” – in real life 140-character limit per tweet, so
this medium is about brevity and pithiness
Only 14 percent of Americans ages 50+ are on Twitter BUT travel writers and travel influencers have a huge community on Twitter
YouTube
70 million U.S. visitors/month
Video site Now the 3rd largest site on the
Internet A great way to give prospective
guests a real taste of what you have to offer
Don’t just shoot a commercial – capture real life
Requires a handheld digital video recorder
Foursquare
Location-based social network More than 3 million users and
5.6 million venues A way to explore new venues
and let your friends know where you are
Collect points, prize "badges," and eventually, coupons for being a frequent visitor to specific businesses
Spenard Roadhouse
FOURSQUARE
504 check-ins
148 unique visitors
“The super tots rock! They just expanded their breakfast menu, too.” – Heather S., Spenard Roadhouse Foursquare visitor
How to do it
Think about creating CONTENT in a broad context instead of stressing out about each channel independent of each other Sending a Flip camera out with a guide for the
day could result in guest interviews, still images and authentic, experienced-based status updates or tweets
Link from one space to another. If you post a video on your Facebook page, provide a link to it when you tweet about it. People who aren’t connected to you through Facebook will find your presence there.
BE REAL. Show what you love about your community, business, neighborhood with authenticity. Try to loosen up and have fun.
Second most important rule:
Plan It Alaska
3,759 followers
Walruses Swarm Beaches as Ice Melts : http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/09/100927-us-walrus-haul-vin-video/ via @NatGeoSociety about 16 hours ago via web Reply
Icy Killers: Secrets of Alaska's Salmon Shark on @NatGeoSociety Wed Sep 29 http://alturl.com/g4vg2 #Alaska #sharks #PrinceWilliamSound
Check out this page from the Baseball The Tenth Inning website at PBS.org Film directed by Ken Burns and Lynn...http://on.pbs.org/GvECAq
We were just asked to have our #Alaska #bear video included in "Bears of the Last Frontier", on PBS NATURE in 2011! http://alturl.com/44ge2
VIDEO LIVE NOW: Sen. Ted Stevens' funeral in Washington, DC: http://bit.ly/dqaL9s #Alaska
Kodiak Island CVB
6,810 fans
Video, photos, events
Near-daily updates
Lots of engagement
Photo contest for 2011 visitor guide
“Just spent two fantastic weeks in Kodiak visiting family and friends. Weather was great (only a couple days of rain), fishing was good and the Emerald Isle lived up to it's name with plush green hills as far as the eye could see. I posted some photos of my trip in the photo section. Thanks for a great time, Kodiak!” Malcolm Bennett, Kodiak Facebook fan
Basic tools
Digital camera Smartphone Flip video Reliable Internet connection Interest in the subject and a humble
spirit that is willing to learn – if you don’t have it, find a trustworthy employee who does
A couple of other things you should be doing, along the same lines Monitor comments about your company on
TripAdvisor.com. Unanswered negative reviews can be a big turn-off to potential guests.
Travel websites and blogs are becoming much more mainstream. You can keep track of your coverage through Google.
Make sure your local CVB and others in the Alaska travel industry know what’s going on at your business. They are all running social networks and can help build awareness of your fledgling efforts.
When you set up a fan page or Twitter profile, don’t be afraid to ask for support. Your existing friends and contacts will usually be pleased to recommend you to their friends. That’s how you build a network.
Thompson & Co. Public Relations907.561.4488ATIA account contacts: Jennifer Thompson, [email protected] Cockerham, [email protected] Meghan Aftosmis, [email protected] Stevens, [email protected]
Stay in touch!