Virtually without exception, tourism destinations are doing a great job offering up engaging content on social media, but how do you ensure this is delivering a return on investment and where do you focus efforts in 2013? EyeforTravel’s Pamela Whitby hears insights from Innovation Norway

At Innovation Norway, which promotes nationwide industrial development that is profitable to both the business economy and Norway’s national economy, one of the many ways social media is being used is to encourage users to behave in a habitual way. According to Beate Christin Gran, project manager for online & new media at Innovation Norway Americas, while the quality of content on destination sites can seldom be questioned, in 2013 deepening levels of engagement, truly knowing your audience and keeping it simple line the path to success.

EFT: What sort of content should brands be sharing with customers? How do you get users to share that content during their experience with your brand?

BCG: As a destination, we have learned that travellers are using social media (Pinterest, Instagram, review sites like TripAdvisor, Oyster.com) to learn about destinations and to get inspiration for future trips, and that they trust the reviews and recommendations from other travellers more than traditional media. Strong visuals and user-generated photos, videos and opinions give travellers the quick, current information they need, from anywhere in the world, in an emotional and attractive way. For VisitNorway, we have a presence in all the largest networks, and make sure to engage our users or followers of our content on a daily basis, and where we know they are.

EFT: What steps should brands take to ensure they are creating exceptional content?

BCG: ALL tourism destinations have exceptional content. I honestly don’t know one that doesn’t. So depending on your budget, it’s a matter of how you present it and where you spend it for the best return on investment. Getting the customers attention is always the bottleneck; how you convert that attention and engagement into actual purchases is the biggest challenge for all destinations. The more important thing is to know your audience.

If you are targeting an older demographic, you may not want to focus too much on Google+. If you’re targeting mostly women, you should have a strong and active Pinterest profile. I think its safe to say that all brands must have an active Facebook page today so build on that. Using Google Analytics and Facebook insights can help you understand what triggers the most interest, so you can feed them content in a more targeted way while providing easy gateways and booking links along the way.

EFT: Can you cite any recent success stories?

BCG: As a destination, we feel that images speak louder than words and are an excellent motivating factor for travel. We need to reach customers at different stages of the purchasing cycle, and we do this by using our stunning Norwegian visuals. Facebook is a really a great environment for this type of destination inspiration. In 2012 we wanted to invest in a Facebook app that would yield truly fantastic results for northern Norway so we turned to an agency Friend2Friend, which has a good track record with Facebook campaigns for other large brands. The app involved daily challenges, which the users had to answer, for a chance to win something each day. One important finding, and the one that took us by surprise, was that we created a user habit by introducing a challenge every day at the exact same time for six weeks. When that ended, users said they missed it and that it was something they had looked forward to every day. This showed us that it wasn’t just about the prizes we were giving out, but we were building habits and wants within our own audiences. This gave us the momentum to do a 2.0 version of the 2012 app this year.

EFT: In your experience, how do competitions, giveaways and so on help to drive positive customer engagement?

BCG: It’s a really great way to drive traffic, and to get a campaign started, while educating the customer about the product at the same time. We are always looking to provide them with an educational take-away, not just another fun game with a prize at the end. Using social ads to spread the message to a targeted audience on Facebook, boosted fans by bringing new users to our page. At the campaign end, users remained excited about what they had learned and still remain enthusiastic when talking about Norway. So the direct effect is a vibrant and engaged community on our Facebook page.

EFT: Has how you measure engagement changed? If so how?

BCG: Yes, with Facebook’s Insights, we are also looking at the depth of engagement, and not just the number of clicks. We are looking at the big picture and how we can inspire travel this year, but also in two to five years. We don’t want to be a one-sided business pushing an information channel. We try to listen to our customers needs and travel dreams (read: Bucket lists!). From the US Norway is a long haul and expensive destination. Americans may take a year or two to decide, and save up to go. If we keep talking to the users and engaging in a positive and personal way, one really beautiful image may be the deciding factor for someone. It may sound tedious, but we don’t believe in putting our social media on autopilot or outsourcing our day-to-day communications in those networks. It’s about listening and responding.

EFT: What mistakes have you or others made that you would hope to avoid again?

BCG: We have had some contests that have been too complicated and required the uploading of videos, photos and so on. We have learned that our US audience shy away from calls to action that are too complicated and take them through too many screens. They are more into a simple and low-effort process with stunning photos. The threshold to enter a competition – at least for our audiences – has to be fairly low.

EFT: Where should travel brands be focusing their social media efforts and investment in 2013?

BCG: Same as 2012 - Facebook, Google +, Pinterest and Instagram. Do frequent cross-promotions via email marketing to opt-in databases to support your campaigns here; develop and tweak the messages of your social ads frequently, and engage with influencers or travel bloggers. Run a blogger contest where a trip may be the incentive. That way you ensure that content lives on and spreads though their targeted networks as well. Get creative within the means of your budget. A social media campaign or app does not necessarily have to be so expensive.

Join us at the Travel Distribution Summit, Europe in London from May 25-25 to hear more insights from Beate Christin Gran, Project Manager for Online & New Mediaat Innovation Norway Americas