Facebook
Nowadays Facebook is the dominant social networking
site and it has the most features useful to the social media marketer (Zarella,
2010: 67). Facebook was originally designed as social network particularly for
Harward University students in February, 2004 (Hew, 2011: 663).Though the
founder of Facebook, Marc Zuckerberg designed it exclusively for Hardward students,
the site later allowed other colleges to join initially only Ivy League
schools, and then other colleges, and then, eventually, high schools. Finally,
in 2006, anyone with an email address could sign up (Zarella, 2010: 55).
Facebook describes itself
as a social means that provides opportunities for people to communicate with
friends, family and colleagues. It has also produced technologies that
facilitate relevant posts through a social diagram as a digital map of actual
social links of members. Everyone can
sign in and communicate with others in a secure zone (Akar, 2010: 130).A
Facebook user cannot show his or her profile to all the registered users as
opposed to other social sharing sites. What distinguishes Facebook from other
similar networks is that it allows users to develop new applications. Thanks to
this, users can add them to their profile and make personal interest tables and
schedules (Boyd and Ellison, 2007). It also allows for forming individual pages
and groups as part of sponsorships (cited
in Enders et al., 2008 by Atadil 2011: 46).
According to Wikipedia, Facebook has more than 1
billion user (recorded in October, 2012). The increase in the user number is
continuing. The number of users by countries (March, 2015) is shown in Table 2:
Twitter
Founded in 2006, Twitter,
a popular social sharing site, was first used to do instant messaging for
domestic uses in a company (Comm, 2009: 19). But later it was introduced for
use by other users as well (Zarella, 2010: 33). Twitter offers microblog for its
users (Wikipedia Encyclopaedia, 2015). Twitter users send one another messages
called tweet (Fischer and Reuber, 2011: 3). Users can describe what they do
with maximum of 140 characters in length (Weinberg, 2009: 125).
Twitter is one of the social media means that has
the most popular microblog terminology which etiquettes each application with a
different name. These terms are as follows : ( Gunelius, 2011: 82):
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Tweet: the name of the post in the
profile written with fewer than 140 characters
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Time flow: an archive that contains
all the tweets shared by the user in an chronological order
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Follow: used to follow someone in
your newsfeed.
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Retweet: sharing tweets shared by
other friends in your list.
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@user: used to mention somebody
related to the tweet shared
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Messages: sending instant messages
to those who you follow or who follows you.
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#Hashtag: using # symbol users can
help others find relevant words or themes easily
As of May 2015, Twitter has more than
500 million users, out of which more than 332 million are active users
(Wikipedia Encyclopaedia 2015).
2.3.3. Instagram
Instagram is a free online photo - video sharing and
social network service. Instagram allows members users to upload, edit and
share photos and videos with other members through the Instagram website,
email, and social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and etc.
(searchcio.techtarget, 2015).
Instagram was created by
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, and launched in October 2010. The service
rapidly gained popularity, with over 100 million active users as of April 2012
and over 300 million as of December 2014 (Wikipedia Encyclopaedia 2015).
Instagram is increasingly used across the world. The
number of active users is 150 million. 55 millions of photographs are shared
via Instagram with a tag of location. Sharing visuals of hotels indicates the
popularity of the hotel. For example, you can see the mostly shared hotel names
in İstanbul according to Pointro Hotel League
•
Swissôtel the Bosporus
•
Four Seasons Hotel Bosporus
•
Hilton İstanbul
•
Shangri-La Bosporus
•
Point Hotel Barbaros
•
W Istanbul
•
Pera Palace Hotel Jumeirah
•
WOW Istanbul Hotels
•
Four Seasons Hotel
•
Divan İstanbul
•
Marriott Hotel Asia
•
The Marmara Taksim Hotel
•
Le Meridien
•
Sheraton İstanbul Maslak Hotel
•
InterContinental Istanbul
•
The Marmara Pera Hotel
•
DoubleTree by Hilton Istanbul
•
Conrad Istanbul
•
Çırağan Palace Kempinski • the Sofa
Hotel
İstanbul
2.3.4. LinkedIn
LinkedIn, is a professional network developing site that
allows professionals to share information for business relations (Akar, 2010:
129). LinkedIn describes itself as a digital network of more than 24 million
experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.
LinkedIn can be used to maintain professional relationships (as opposed to
’just exchanging business cards’), search for jobs as well as recruit
candidates, exchange solutions for problems, and find high-quality passive (employed)
candidates (Safko, 2010: 458).
LinkedIn is the most
restrictive social network in terms of customization and integration. It does
not include any photo-sharing features, and was the last major social
networking site to allow users to post photos of themselves to their profiles.
The core function of LinkedIn is professional networking, so it is used heavily
by job seekers and recruiters. LinkedIn restricts contact between members so
that only individuals who are directly contacted can message each other. The
LinkedIn features most useful to marketers (Zarella, 2010: 71).
2.3.4. Google+ (Google plus)
Google Plus, run by Google is an identity confirmation
service that allows for use of a variety of social networks such as Gmail,
Blogspot, Google Contact, Picasa, Gtalk and Google Connect. Its symbol is
Google+ or G+, which offers additional facilities such as hangouts for
multiple-video conferencing, which enables people to have online conferences
with people across the world (Ateş, 2014).
2.3.5. YouTube
YouTube is an internet platform where subscribers can
upload videos and comment on the videos shared by others. Among others, YouTube
is by far the most popular one (Akar, 2010: 96). Founded by three internet
investors in 2005, YouTube became very successful and was bought by Google
which paid 1.65 billion dollars (Meriç, 2010: 40). This platform is also an
important means for marketing, promotion and advertisements. The videos to this
end can reach millions of people and make a difference in the gains it could
bring to the companies (Weinberg, 2009: 287).
2.3.6. Myspace
Myspace is an international site that offers a space for
weblog, video, email, and forum (Hall and Rosenberg, 2009: 71). It has more
than 100 million registered users and is gaining 300.000 new users daily. It is
a free service for members who can also develop profile pages for themselves
and activates them easily (Akar, 2010: 128).
MySpace was the first social
networking site to allow users to customize their profiles. It maintains
popularity with teens, musicians, and other artists. It still gives the user
more freedom to customize than any of the other networks, and many users have
abused this ability with heaps of blinking graphics and music that plays
automatically. For marketers interested in reaching urban, nightlife, or music
communities, MySpace is a good choice (Zarella, 2010: 73).
2.3.7. Others
Trip Advisor is important website for users who are dealing
with tourism and travel. TripAdvisor was found in 2000 by Stephen Kaufer.
TripAdvisor.com is a travel website that assists customers in gathering travel
information, posting reviews and opinions of travel-related content and
engaging in interactive travel forums (cited
in Huotari and Nyberg 2012 by Doğan, 2013: 8).
2.4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media
Today social media has been one of the vast sources of
information for its users. It provides a number of benefits for the world of
business ranging from evaluation of bought products to getting feedback on them,
but there are also disadvantages.
2.4.1. Advantages of Social Media
Social media is becoming an
indispensable part of the marketing mix for many businesses and one of the best
ways to reach customers and clients. For this reason Social media and social
network sites provide a number of advantages for its user.
Some of them are listed below (Salcido,
2015):
Low cost: Traditional
media can be extremely expensive, especially for small businesses. In contrast,
most social media platforms are completely free to use, the only cost to
businesses being the time spent on updating profiles and interacting with
contacts. This is one of the initial benefits of social media, in that it is
accessible to more business owners because of the low cost barrier of entry.
The low cost of entry to social media makes it particularly useful to small
businesses who often find the costs associated with traditional media
prohibitive. Businesses can use social media to create and distribute
promotional material, such as articles, videos and audio for a fraction of the
money it would cost for this content to appear in the press, on the radio or on
TV.
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Unlimited access: In many
ways, social media levels the playing field for businesses as it is accessible
to anyone, regardless of company size, turnover and contacts. Social media tools
are open to anyone, whereas reaching the traditional media often requires a lot
of money and a good network of media industry contacts.
Unlimited access: In many
ways, social media levels the playing field for businesses as it is accessible
to anyone, regardless of company size, turnover and contacts. Social media tools
are open to anyone, whereas reaching the traditional media often requires a lot
of money and a good network of media industry contacts.
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Simplicity: A high level of skill,
training and specialist equipment is involved in traditional media production.
In comparison, social media channels are extremely simple to use, even for
people with basic IT experience: all that is required is a computer and an
internet connection.
-
Global reach: Traditional media can
reach a global audience but this is usually very costly and time-consuming.
Through social media, businesses can communicate information in a flash,
regardless of geographical location. Social media platforms also allow you to
tailor your content for each market segment and give businesses the opportunity
to get their messages across more widely than ever before. Indeed, once a piece
of content goes viral, there is no limit to the amount of people it could
potentially reach, all at no extra cost for the business.
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Contact building: Social media
channels offer unparalleled opportunities to interact with customers and build
relationships, largely due to their real-time,
interactive nature. Companies can source feedback, test ideas and
manage
customer services quickly and directly online in a way
traditional media could not. Whereas traditional media only allow for one-way
communication, Facebook, Twitter and the likes give customers the chance to
select the type and frequency of messages to receive and send out. The business
– customer proximity characteristic of the social media outlets also allows for
a more open communication process, as opposed to simply pushing out sales
messages.
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Flexibility: Social media’s
adaptability makes content management generally more flexible. Information can
be updated, altered, supplemented and discussed in a way completely unknown to
a printed advertisement, a newspaper article or magazine feature. What is more,
information can be published in seconds, making it possible for businesses to
ensure that their content is always up to date – a condition to a more
prominent spot in the search engine rankings.
-
Measurability: Social
media stats are immediately measurable, whereas traditional media figures often
need to be monitored over a long period of time. With social media, businesses
can test marketing messages and approaches, gauge user responses and tweak the
message accordingly. This is done through the ever-growing number of free,
easy-to-use social media measurement tools.
Measurability: Social
media stats are immediately measurable, whereas traditional media figures often
need to be monitored over a long period of time. With social media, businesses
can test marketing messages and approaches, gauge user responses and tweak the
message accordingly. This is done through the ever-growing number of free,
easy-to-use social media measurement tools.
Although many businesses are getting
on board with social media, others are still a bit cautious of completely
breaking away from traditional media and embracing the social media.
According to Jackson (2015) social network sites can offer
some advantages for it participants and users these are:
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Guaranteed Meeting Places: When
attempting to plan meetings with colleagues or friends, having access to social
networking sites expands the available times and places in which meetings can
occur. Individuals can meet each other and chat over Facebook, or open a video
chat through Google+. Rather than having to travel to specific locations, or
try to work times out in which everyone is near a central location, people can
plan to meet at times that work for all of their schedules.
Keep in Touch with Family: Keeping in contact with family
through the phone or even over email presents a challenge. Instead, social
networking sites allow the individual to share their day to day life in a
secure but public forum, which family can watch and experience. Facebook, for example,
allows people to share events, images, and thoughts in real time, during the
course of any day. Family and friends can then experience all the things that
someone does, and comment on them. Then, they share in the experience, rather
than just being "informed" about them during weekly phone calls.
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Professional Networking: For
professionals and academics, social networking sites allow users to create
networks of like-minded people. Academics find other scholars to share research
or ideas, or simply to talk to and "get their name out there."
Professionals find mutual friends and possible clients, employers, or business
partners. Social networking expands the horizons of what sort of contacts
people can make in their professional lives.
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Staying Informed About the World:
People on social networking sites share what interests them, such as news on
current events. People who share those interests, or who just want to stay
informed, can read these stories and share them as well. Eventually, these
stories benefit users who may have never read them. Since stories are shared
through "word of mouth," smaller news outlets such as blogs can get
exposure, and social network users are overall connected to a larger pool of
new information and opinion.
Staying Informed About the World:
People on social networking sites share what interests them, such as news on
current events. People who share those interests, or who just want to stay
informed, can read these stories and share them as well. Eventually, these
stories benefit users who may have never read them. Since stories are shared
through "word of mouth," smaller news outlets such as blogs can get
exposure, and social network users are overall connected to a larger pool of
new information and opinion. 
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