Building a Digital Marketing and Social Media Strategy in China

hotel  TECHNOLOGY  CONFERENCE  –  SINGAPORE  NUANCES  OF  DIGITAL  MAREKTING  IN  ASIA  AND  CHINA  

OCTOBER  21,  2013  

DIGITAL  INNOVATION  ASIA  (DIA)  IS  AN  INITIATIVE  PROMOTING  TECHNOLOGY,  SOCIAL,  AND  MOBILE  IN  TOURISM…    

Digital Innovation Asia

-  Strategically aligned with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and endorsed by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), the Tourism Technology Association (TTA), Global Business Travel Assoc. (GBTA), and SKAL.

-  The first DIA events were successfully launched beginning of June, featuring the first annual Digital Innovation Asia Awards in Bangkok

-  DIA is overseen by the DIA Council (made up of senior e-commerce professionals from hotel companies, tourist boards, and airlines)

-  DIA is platform committed to bringing Digital Innovation to travel and tourism in Asia via collaboration, sharing, and networking

CHINA  SOCIAL  MEDIA  BOOT  CAMP  

BLOGGER MATCH-UP 2013 June 2013 - Bangkok, Thailand

Travel Bloggers & Travel Suppliers Speed-Dating

Bloggers Match-Up Boot Camp … Understanding and Working

with Travel Bloggers

Facebook rules the social media space, but is having a hard time in China & Japan. Facebook  rules,  at  least  in  Europe,  US  and  Australia.  No  other  network  reaches  the  96%  awareness  and  62%  usage  level  of  Facebook.  If  we  take  a  look  at  both  awareness  and  membership,  TwiYer  and  MySpace  are  number  two  and  three  social  media  in  Europe.      Given  the  fact  that  LinkedIn  is  a  professional  network,  it  is  worth  poin[ng  out  that  this  network  ranks  fourth,  both  in  terms  of  awareness  and  membership.      On  European  level,  Vkontakte  (a  Facebook  look-­‐alike)  is  a  strong  network  in  Russia  and  Ukraine.  In  a  broader  perspec[ve,  Qzone  (China)  and  Orkut  (Brazil,  India)  are  network  sites  to  take  into  account.    Facebook  has  lower  penetra[on  rates  in  China  and  Japan.  

SOCIAL

Chinese  versus  Western  Social  Media

•  YouKu  

•  Weibo    

•  Renren      

•  Tencent      (QQ)  

•  Douban    

•  Weixin  (Wechat)  

n   Video  Sharing  

n  TwiYer  +Some  Facebook  

n  Facebook  

n  MSN/Gchat,  Yahoo  Chat  etc.    

n  The  website  formerly  known    as  MySpace  

n  Whatsapp  or  Line  

Top  10  Social  Media  Sites  in  China  

16

Source:  Digital  Influence  Index  2010  –  Fleichman  Hillard  &  Harris  InteracKve    

Sina  Weibo:      

Most  acKve  social  media  plaMorm  in  China  (2nd  globally  aPer  Facebook).    27  million  (9%)  of  the  400  million  users  checking  in  every  day,  and  more  than  100  million  posts  

every  24  hours.  (Sept.  2012)  

THE  FASTEST  GROWING    

SOCIAL  MEDIA  PLATFORM    IN  CHINA…..  

 WEIXIN  (OR  WECHAT)  –  BY  

TENCENT    

WESTERN  EQUIVALENT:  WHATSAPP  

Online  to  Offline  MarkeKng  (O2O)  

   How  to  use  Wechat  for  markeKng  ?

Source:  Digital  Influence  Index  2010  –  Fleichman  Hillard  &  Harris  Interac[ve    

The  Internet  has  become  the  most  popular  

medium  for  Chinese  travellers  seeking  

informaKon  about  their  

trips      

 Source:  Nielsen  

China  Outbound  

Travel  Monitor  

Social  Media  has  become  the  most  influenKal  

media  channel  in  modern  China.        

 Source:  McKinsey  Consul:ng  

China  MarkeKng  Approach:  Either?  

Clicks   Bricks  

or  

•  Over  520  milion  users  •  92%  social  media  engaged  • Web  =  THE  source  of  informa[on  

•  Call  to  Ac[on  •  Digital  WOM  >  Retail  Marketplace  

&  

All  Touch  Points  -­‐  Reach  consumer  online  and  offline  in  integrated  way    

China  MarkeKng  Approach:  Both!  

China  Travel  DistribuKon:  Travel  Agencies  –  Online  +  Offline  

Reaching  the  fastest  growing  affluence  in  China  –  in  Tier  2,3,4,  

and  5  ciKes    

It  is  not  possible  via  tradiKonal  methods  of  trade,  media,  and  

events  alone.  

HOW  TO  LEVERAGE  THE  MOST    IMPORTANT  CHINA  TRAVEL  TRENDS  

CHANGING    CHINESE  TRAVELER  

GROWING  INTERNET  INFLUENCE  

HIGH  SOCIAL  MEDIA  ENGAGEMENT  

INCREASED  MOBILE  ACCESS  

SHARING  EXPERIENCES  VIA  SOCIAL  AND  MOBILE  

INSPIRE  VIA  VISUAL  CONTENT  

36  

Currently  8%  of  the  world’s  online  popula[on  lives  in  China.    By  2015  this  will  be  over  20%.  

Source: Journey Etc. (http://www.journeyetc.com/)

 2012:    1  Billion  Mobile  Users  &  

400  Million  Mobile  Internet  Users    (CNNIC)  –  40%  -­‐-­‐-­‐  

2015:    1.3  Billion  Mobile  Users  &  1  Billion  Mobile  Internet  Users    (Forrester  Research)  –  80%  

WHO  IS  THE  CHINESE  CONSUMER  ?  

THE  NEW  CHINESE  CONSUMER  

I  work  hard  and  am  successful;    I  want  to  get  the  most  out  of  

life.  

I  am  not  looking  for  the  ordinary  &  am  prepared  to  pay  

for  something  different.    

I’ve  seen  the  sights.    I  want  to  be  inspired.  

MOST  IMPORTANT  FACTORS    IN  A  HOLIDAY  DESTINATION  

Sharing  photos  via  social  media  

Tripshow.com helps brands aggregate inspiring images captured by Chinese travelers on social media (Sina Weio) to visually market a brand, and identify their most valuable fans.   It is a visual marketing platform and social media application for travel organizations looking to market to Chinese consumers. It helps them to automatically aggregate beautiful and relevant pictures from various social media platforms, organize by theme or itinerary, and display with rich media to inspire travelers. It is also a perfect platform for organizations to identify their most active followers, manage social CRM and run digital campaigns.

Imagine… a Chinese consumer

visits your hotel or destination, takes a

photo, and posts it on his or her Chinese

social media profile to share the experience.

Unfortunately you would never know!

Lost Opportunity!

TripShow.com

aggregates the visual content posted by

travelers on Weibo.com to inspire

future Chinese travelers.

Tripshow  home  screen

Step  1:    A  photo  

Step  2:    Posted  onto  Weibo  

by  a  consumer  &  tagged  with  Tripshow  Hash  tag  

Step  3:  Photo  automa[cally  collected    

on  Tripshow  

How  Consumers  interacts  with  Tripshow

How  Consumers  interacts  with  Brands  Chinese  Consumers  Browse  Brand  Profiles  for  Inspira[on  and  Ideas  on  Where  to  Travel  and  Stay  

ü See  which  hotels  have  lep  the  strongest  impressions  on  their  guests,  or  which  des[na[ons  have  generated  the  most  inspiring  images.  

ü Chinese  consumers  visit  dedicated  lis[ngs  pages  to  browse  for  brands  and  ideas  on  where  to  travel  and  where  to  stay  

What  Do  Consumers  Gain?  An  easy  way  to  organize  photos  on  social  media  

A  Travel  Social  Network  plaqorm  

A  personal  Homepage  to  connect  with  friends,  and  share  photos  

A  comparison  tool  with  lis[ngs  

Collect  and  showoff  badges  from  brands  

A  tool  to  store  trip  plans  and  i[neraries  

A  typical  Tripshow  home  page  

Integrate  i[neraries  or  packages  built  by  companies  and  contributed  by  consumers

Why  brands  are  using  Tripshow.com  

Suggest  IKneraries  

Illustrate  the  trip  with  day  

by  day  pictures  

provided  by  consumers    

Create  IKneraries  

Why  brands  are  using  Tripshow.com  Run  Campaigns  &    Interact    with  Users  

Get  more  users  to  follow    you  through  campaigns  

Collec[ng  badges  from  favorite  brands  and  showing  them  off    is  an  important  part  of  the  Chinese  online  consumer  experience.  

Why  brands  are  using  Tripshow.com  

Design  customized  brand  badges  

And  give  them  out  to  reward  your  most  

loyal  followers  

Reward  Your  Loyal  Followers  and  past  guests  

User:  Dubai  really  is  an  architect’s  paradise!

Dubai  Tourism:  Dubai!  Lets  twist  together

User:  Dubai!  @tripshow  @DubaiTourism

Ranking  of  Fans  based  on  Ac[vity,    Influence,  and  Interest.

Why  brands  are  using  Tripshow.com  

 Comment  on  pictures          

     posted  by  users  and                incite  

interacKon

Social  CRM:  Get  To  Know  Your  Followers  and  Interact

 WHERE  DO  WE  GO  FROM  HERE?  

Advanced  Technology    SoluKons  

 •   Chinatravelbuzz.com  

•   Tripshow.com  •   Social  Media        Applica[ons  

Localized  Web  Presence  

 •   Chinese  web  site          Development  •   SEO/SEM  

•   Email  Marke[ng  

Social  Media  Management  

 •   Social  media  program  

     management  •   Social  media  campaign  

     development  &          execu[on  

Integrated  Digital  Campaigns  

 •   Media  Management

•   Campaign  Management •   Media  Ac[vity

Dragon  Trail  InteracKve  

Chinese Travel Social Multi-media Platform.

Visual content aggregation of trips via web and mobile.

www.chinatraveltrends.com            |            www.chinatraveltrendsbook.com    

China  Travel  Social  Media  Seminars  

“This   was   a   very   important   and  insighqul   seminar,   organized   by  Dragon   Trail.   Social   Media   in   China  looks   very   complex   and   like   a   whole  lot  of  work,  but  then  again,  people  are  talking  with  or  without  us  -­‐  so  we  are  definitely  beYer  off  if  we  take  part  and  try  to  influence  it."      

Oliver   Sedlinger   -­‐   China   Director,  German  Na:onal  Tourist  Board  (DZT)  

Select  Speaking    Engagements:  

 DRAGONTRAIL.COM            -­‐            CHINATRAVELTRENDS.COM  

SAVE  THE  DATE:      

BANGKOK,  THAILAND  &  YANGON,  MYANMAR  JUNE  2014  

Contact  me:    

LinkedIn:      Thraenhart  Twimer:  

@JensThraenhart  Facebook:      Thraenhart  E-­‐Mail:  

Jens@DragonTrail.com  Instragram:  Thraenhart