Category Archives: Social Media

It's time to throw away previous models of online distribution! Tomahawk Director and tourism marketing expert Gina Paladini presents the drastic changes in online distribution for tourism, and how your business can stay ahead of the curve.

Download the whitepaper as a PDF

Let’s start by looking back to the 1990 era of travel distribution.

“Those were the days.” The distribution chain was an easy, single flat line with the novel addition of a supplier having their first website.

Today the available distribution "chain" is more like a bicycle wheel with spokes than a chain!\

The increase of distribution channels options requires an deep understanding of your customers, and which channels are best for each stage of the travel purchase...

Photo credit: SimilarWeb

If you haven’t heard of Pokemon Go by now, you may be in the minority. The Nintendo-game based app created by developer Niantic, has taken the world by storm since its release a week ago.

According to SimilarWeb, the game already has twice as many users as the popular dating app Tinder, and is on track to have more active users than Twitter by the end of the week.

Integrated with Google Maps, the app requires users to travel to exact locations to play and progress in the game, overlaying the characters with real-world landmarks.

To sweeten the experience, users can purchase “lures” which cause characters to spawn in a specific location for a limited time, drawing crowds of other users to that location. This has an intriguing application for...

Whether you're working with an in-house team member or an external agency, understanding common social media terms can help you navigate the results for your business and improve your digital marketing. Use our easy Social Media Glossary to learn the language!

Platform

A platform is the "brand" of social media being used. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are all different platforms.

Channel

A channel is the specific page for your business. Think of it like a television channel - a dedicated space for your content to be scheduled and distributed. For example, the Tomahawk channel is https://business.facebook.com/TomahawkTourism on the Facebook platform.

Likes

When a person clicks on your post with the pre-generated response. This feature has recently...

Perhaps you have plenty of bookings during the high season, but what can you do to ensure bookings flow all year, through shoulder and low season? Here are five proven tactics that will keep your bookings rolling in every season.

1. Responsive site

To ensure year-round bookings, first you must get the basics right. According to eMarketer’s latest estimates of travel research in 2016, 51.8% of all travellers who book trips online will do so using a mobile device.

That means your accommodation, whether you’re a small two-room B&B or a large resort, must have a responsive website site that can be viewed on any size device.

2. Powerful Booking Engine

Another fundamental key to increasing your online booking lies in the system you use – namely, your booking...

The Twitter community is buzzing this morning with ground-breaking news - a new set-up for the timeline has rolled out to a limited audience.

This change is to a relevancy-based feed, as opposed to the time-based feed that we’re used to. An algorithm determines this on the back end of the platform. The “instant” feed made Twitter unique, gave voices equal weight (visibility) and helped establish the platform as a premier news source.

An algorithm feed will prioritise tweets with higher reactions and “better” content, similar to Facebook. This is good news for advertisers, allowing brands to compete for relevancy and followers. It may be a problem for small businesses to have a voice however, in an increasingly noisy space, when timely posts may no longer be visible to the...

Gina's November presentation to the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand delves into the Big Question - will virtual reality help or hinder tourism business?

Virtual reality is the biggest game-changer in our lives since the launch of the iPhone.

The seemingly simple ability to see an image or video in 360 degrees is about to revolutionise the way we live.

Imagine being able to virtually travel anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. Fly over the Grand Canyon looking up, down and all around you as if you were really there, or “dive” underwater at the Great Barrier Reef and watch as a turtle swims past you.

Jaunt, a VR technology and content company, claims “You will feel transported directly into the middle of the action. Look anywhere. See...