[PDF] Influences of Social Media on the Tourism and Hospitality Industry PDF BBA_thesis_BENEA

and hospitality industry cannot be measured, because of the perishable and intangible character of This research paper is focused on the accommodation sector, https://www hotelschool cornell edu/chr/ pdf /show pdf /chr/research/ travelco

whether it be international or domestic, among members of the industries becomes fiercer competitiveness research in tourism destinations and the hotel industry Competitiveness research starts arguably with the seminal work on the

[PDF] A Review Paper on Hotel Industry-A Study of Trend in - IRJET

A Review Paper on Hotel Industry-A Study of Trend in Hospitality Industry and the Types of Hotels Inder Singh Student of University Institute of Tourism and

[PDF] Influences of Social Media on the Tourism and Hospitality Industry

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This paper focuses on a complex question from the perspective of the hotel The hotel industry research evaluates the most important tourism destinations of

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programmes, technical cooperation, advisory and research activities, and tripartite ―Measurement of Employment and Decent Work in the Tourism Industries

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bringing innovation into hotel management and operations Providing Three key examples of this at the Majestic, derived from research of guest questionnaires and Available at: http://essay utwente nl/66224/1/Dolle, ten_BA_MB pdf

[PDF] Research Papers - Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel

Quality Management System in the hospitality industry reveals on varieties of The study on which this paper is based was carried out in some of the well known hotels of http://www statssa gov za/Publications/P6420/P6420June2012 pdf

3AbstractThepotentialinfluenceofsocialmediaonthetourismandhospitalityindustryhasattractedconsiderableinterestinacademiaandindustryalike.However,mostoftheresearchthathasbeenconductedhasbeenfromthecustomers'andnotfromtheserviceprovider'spers pective.Th ereislimitedresear chon themethodsimplementedbyhotelsformeasuring theinfluenc esocialmediahaveonthe irrespectivegoalsandthedifferentperspectives,namelyfinancialorother,takenintoconsiderationwhendoings o.Byconducti ngsemi-structuredinterviewswithhoteliersinVienna,Austria,thecurrentresearchinvestigateshowViennesehotelsmeasuresocialmediai nfluenceontheirbus inessgoals.T heresultsrevealthatmarketersinViennadonot lookatfinan cialfigureswhenusingso cialmediamarketing,ratherconsidercust omersatisfaction,en gagement,andbrandawarenessastheprimaryReturnonInvestment-ROI).

71 Introduction1.1 PresentationoftheProblemThelastdecadehasseenasignificantincreaseintheuseofbothsocialmediaandthegeneraldevelopmentofnewtechnologyworldwide.Thetourismandhospitalityindustryhasseenanimpressingdevelopmentsincethebeginningalthoughoverthepastfewyears,duetotherecession,peoplehavestartedcuttingdownonvacationsandsaleshav edecreased,furthe rleadingtolowerre venue,lowerpayof fsanddecreasingworksegment.Today,theindustryisontheriseagainandhaschangeddramaticallywiththeoverwhelmingappearanceofsocialmediaplatformscreatingnewopportunitie stoprogressandattractthe custome rthroughfacilitatedcommunicationandempoweredguestengagement.Itcanonlybeseenassomethingpositiveforthetourismandhospitalityindustryasithassomuchtooffer.Itisstillonariseandprovidesawaytoincreaseprofits.Nevertheless,oneofthemostessential problemsth atservic eproviders haveencounteredishowtoengageinso cialmediam arketingandho wtovalid atewhetheritisprofitablefortheirbusinesstouseitornot.Therefore,someofthemostchallengingaspectsincludetheconsiderationsofhowonemeasurestheseresults;howonedeterminesthebusinessvalueofsocialmedia,howonerealizestheimportanceofsocialmediatoanyorganization,howonemakesuseofsocialmediaforabus inessinord erfor ittobeacceptedbythe communityw hilstenhancingthebrandandlastlyhowonemeasuresthevalueoftheaccomplishedefforts-Sterne,2010).Itiscommonlyperceivedthatsocialmedia'sreturnoninvestmentinthetourismandhospit alityindustrycannotbemeasured,becau seoftheperishableandintangiblecharacterofthetour ismproduc t,additionallybecausethereturnoninvestmentisnotalwaysconsider edac oncreteaspe ct.Forexample,bu sinessreputationorassociationsofabrandwithspecificcharacteristicsarenotfeaturesthatcanbemeasured,butarestillimportantforastakeholderandcanbeeasilyachievedwiththehelpofsocialmediamarketing.Ofcoursefinancialaspectscannotbeforeseen,butintheend"therelationshipisapparentandsignificant:Sociallyengagedcompaniesareinfactmorefinanciallysuccessful"-Sterne,2010).

8Asmentionedabove,itisvitalforacompanyalreadyoperatingforawhiletohaveanonlinepresenceandbeabletoobserveandmeasurethesocialengagementattentivelyinordertosucceedinfinancialterms.Thereforetheunderlyingresearchquestionofthisthes isis "Howdostakeholde rsinthetourismandhos pitalityindustrymeasurethesuccessofsocialmediaintheirbusiness?"1.2 AimsoftheBachelor'sThesisThepurposeofthisthesisistoanswertheresearchquestionmentionedabovebyfirstidentify ingwhothesestakeholdersare;s econd,determi netheironline communicationgoalsandfinallytoestablishhowsocialmediacontributestothesegoals.Anderson-2012)mentionsinaCornellHospitalityReport,"Hoteloperatorshavesuspectedthattheeffectofsocialmediaandusergeneratedcontentonhotelperformancehasbeenstrengthening."Therefore,measuringtheseeffectsisvitalforthehospitalityindustry.Berkowitz-2009),forexample,hasputtogetheralistof"100waystomeasuresocialmedia",whichwouldfacilitatethingsandnoresearchwouldbenecessaryonthetopic,buteventuallyheconcludesasfollows,"Ultimately,youneedtostartfiguringoutyourbusinessobjectivesandthenapplythesemetricsaccordingly".Theideaisthateachbusinesshasdifferentgoalsthatneedtobedefinedbeforeputtingaplanintoaction.Thesameappliesforsocialmediagoals.Theyneedtobespecifiedbeforeanymeasurementscanbetaken.Paine-2009)mentions"theneedtoknowwhatproblemyouneedtosolve,youneedtonotdoanythinginsocialmediaifitdoesn'taddvalue[...]youcan'tmanagewhatyoucan'tmeasure-sosetmeasurablegoals".Asemphasized,goalsettingisofgreatimportanceinthismatter.Therefore,acloserlookhastobetakenattheresearchproblem.Theresearchmethodchosenisempirical.Firstliteraryresourcesarecited,analyzedandinterpreted,andthenaqualitativeinterviewisconducted.Thefindin gsarecompiledandanalyzedand finally,th econclusionsandfurtherresearchsuggestionsaregoingtobestated.

92 LiteratureReview2.1 TourismandHospitalityIndustryUNWTOdefinestourismas"asocial,culturalandeconomicphenomenon,whichentailsthemovemento fpeopleto countriesorplacesouts idetheirusualenvironmentforpersonalorbusin ess/profession alpurposes".Forsometourismrepresentsrelaxationandfun,atripduringtheholidayweeksawayfromwork,andsomedoubttheneedforstudyandresearch.Butforothers,tourismisasourceofemployment;itisabusinessthatbringsrevenuetomillionsofpeoplearoundtheworld;itisasourceofliving.Thereforeitisimportanttoresearchit,analyzeitandstudyitmoreattentively."Tourismhasemergedasa majorecono micsectorandsour ceofs ocialandenvironmentalchangesincethe1950s.Ithasalsobecomeafieldofseriousresearchandscholarshipinmanyacademicdisciplinessince1970s.Thepatternsoftourismdevelopmentindifferentpartsoftheworldreflectthehistoriesandculturesofthoseregionsandnations,buttourismisanearlyuniversalphenomenon[...]itisanimportantsourceofwealthformanynations[...]-it)becomesahighpriorityformanypeople"-Robinson,LückandSmith,2013).Thestatementemphasizesontheimportanceoftourism,whichhighlyincreasedoveryears,andthediversefunctionsoftourismintheworld.Forabetter un derstandingofth eterm,itscharacteristicsshouldbedefi ned:intangibility-itisaservice,notaproduct,andasaresultitcannotbetouched,justexperienced;heterogeneity-eachcustomerexperiencesaserviceinadifferentway;inseparability-itcannotbetakenhomelikeaproductandhastobeconsumedatthep laceofthe destination;p erishabili ty-oncetheopportunityofsellingaserviceatacertainpointhasforgone,itcannotberesoldatalaterpointintime;lackofownership-aservicethatcannotbeowned,duetothepreviouslymentionedcharacteristics.

10Figure1-TourismStakeholdersHolloway&Taylor,2006-ThisresearchpaperemphasizesonspecifictourismstakeholdersandFigure1isanillustrationofthesestakeholdersintheindustry.Theillustrationisalsocalledachainofdistributionormarketingchannelanddescribes"thesystembywhichaproductorserv iceisdistributedfromits manufacturing /creativesourcetotheeve ntualcustomers"-HollowayandTa ylor,2006).Forabetteru nderstanding, thestakeholdershavebeensortedinata bleacc ordingtotheircharacteristics-Appendix1.Specialemphasishasbeensetonthehospitalitysectorofthetourismindustry.Thereasoningbehinditwillbefurth erexplai nedlaterinthisresea rchpaper.Thehospitalityindustryis"theveryessenceoftourism,involvingtheconsumptionoffood,drinkandaccommodationinanenvironmentawayfromthenormalhomebase.Theverynatureofhospitalityinvolveshostingandhospitality,providedbyahostandinvolvingaguest"-Page,2009).Inearlystages,hospitalitywasnotseenasacommercialindustry,aspeoplehostedandwerehostedonthebasisofreciprocity.

11Nowadays,"hospitalityhasbecomeacommercializedexperience,wheretheguestpaysfortheservices/goodstheyconsumeviaabill"-Page,2009).Hospitalityasasubsectionoftourism"isafundamentalpartofthedomesticandinboundleisuremarket.C onsistentdemandf ortourismallowstheh ospitalityindustrytoforecastdemandandidentifyopportunitiestoincreaseconsumerspend,creatingawaveofsecondaryfinancialimpacts"-Robinson,LückandSmith,2013).Thehospitalityindustryhas2sectors:theaccommodationsectorandtheFoodandBeverage-F&B)sector.Thisresearchpaperisfocusedontheaccommodationsector,withanemphasisonhotels.Thereasonbehindthischoiceisthatthehotelbusinesshasbeenanincreasingindustryinthepastfewyearsandithasreceivedalotofattentionfromresearchersregardingitsdevelopmentandcustomerbehavior.Tostrengthenthechoicemade,itcanbeseenbelowaccordingtoTourismInsider.com-2014),thatthetotalforeignanddomesticbednightsonaglobalperspectivehaveincreasedby3.6%from 2012to2013-Figure2isagraph ical representati on highlightingtheleadingmarketsaroundtheworld.Figure2-MainSourceMarketPerformance2012-2013Tourisminsider.com,2014-Europeiskeepingupwiththeglobalincreaseandasshowninfigure3below,thetop10Europeancitieshavealsoseenanincreaseinbednightswithinthesametimeperiodi.e.2012-2013.OnlyexceptionstotheruleareParis,withadecreaseof0.7%andMadrid,withadecreaseof4.3%.TheresearchwasundertakenbytheEuropeanCitiesMarketing.

12Figure3-Top10EuropeanCities-NumberofBednightsTourisminsider.com,2014-"ThetourismindustryhadhighexpectationsoftheInternetfromtheoutsetofit.Tourismasanintangibleserviceproductisperfectlyadaptableforelectronicdatatransfer.OnlinetravelcommunitiesandonlineticketsalesweresaidtohaveabrightfutureduetothefactthatthepresentationofnecessaryinformationforpurchasingproductsontheInternetiseasy,andthecostsfordailyupdatesarecomparativelylow"-Amersdorfferetall,2012).Thisexplainsthegreatconnectionbetweentourismindustryandsocialmediamarketing,andhowwelltheycouldworktogetherduetosimilarcharacteristics.Thisconnectionissubjectofresearchofthisthesisandwillbeanalyzedintodetailinthefollowingsections.Therefore,thehotelindustryisarelevanttargetduetothegrowingtrendseeninthepastyears,theconsiderableamountofaccessibledataregardingthetopicandtheinterest ithascreated.Rauc h-2013 )mentionsthat oneofthetrendsinhospitalityforecastedfortheyear2014issocialmediaandmobilecommunicationandconsidersthat"keepinganeyeoutforauthenticwaystomakeuseofemergingsocial/mobileapplicationswillbeofgreatvaluetothoseinhotelmarketing."Takingintoconsiderationallthefactorsmentionedabove,thisthesisisgoingtoanalyzewhethersocialmedia isindeedefficient inreachingtheco mpanies' goalsandwhethertherearedownfallstotheeffectivenessitisclaimingtoachieve.2.2 SocialMedia&SocialMediaMarketerInordertobetterunderstandthefocusofthisthesis,anoverviewoftheconceptofsocialmediaisgiveninthefollowingsection.Therearevariousbooks,articlesandonlinesourcesthattrytodefinesocialmedia,buteachhasadifferentperspectiveonit.

13A.M.Kaplan,M.Haenlein-2010)offeramoretechnologysavvydefinition,statingthat"SocialMediaisagr oupofIntern et-basedapplications thatbuildontheideologicalandtechnologicalfoundationsofWeb2.0,andthatallowthecreationandexchangeofUserGeneratedContent"."Web2.0referstotheprinciplesandpracticeoffacilitatinginformationsharingandsocialinteractionbyusersgenerating,alteringanduploadingweb -basedcontent"-L iburd,2012).Mashable .com-2010)states,"socialmediaisreallife."LevinsonandGibson-2010)definesocialmediafromamarketerpointofviewas"asetoftoolsthatarefreeornearlyfreeandallowmarketersandthecommunitytocreatecontentandmeaningfulconversationonline".Someexamplesofsocialmediaare"blogs,photo-sharingsites,video-sharingsites,socialnetworks,audiopodcasts,Internetradio[...]mobiles ocialsharingand communication tools"-Levinson &Gibson,2010).Sterne-2010)explainssocialmediainaclearanduncomplicatedway-"Thatwhichallo wsanybodytocommu nicatewitheverybody[... ]consumer-generatedcontentdistributedthrougheasy-to-accessonlinetools".Solis-2011)hashisownwayofdefiningtheconceptofsocialmedia,managingtocombinetheabovementioneddefinitionsandseeingitas"manythingstomanypeopleandrepresentsmuchmorethantechnology[...]asocietalrenaissancethatspawnedavibrantecosystemsupportedbyflourishingculturesandlifestyles[...]aplatformforsocializationofmedia;theonlinetoolsthatfacilitateconversations;connectionsbetweenfriends,p eersandinfluencers;collab oration;theredistributionofinfluence;acallforhumanizingpersonasandaudiences,andthestoriesthatlinkthemtogether;compassionate;anopportunityandaprivilege[...]thedemocratizationofinformation,transformingpeopleintopublishers;itistheshiftfromabroadcastmechanism,one-to-many,toamany-to-manymodel,rootedinconversationsbetweenauthors,peopleandpeers".AccordingtoLevinsonandGibson-2010),asocialmediamarketershouldhavethefollowingcharacteristics;firsttheyshouldnotbecaughtupintheenthusiasmofanewserviceorproductbeforetestingthetoolsandanalyzingtheresultstheyareactuallybringing.Second,amarketershouldalwaysbecuriousandinterestedintryingnewoptions ;heshould"combinedifferentele mentsofmarketingandstrategyinacreativefashion".Inafastpacedcommunicationworld,socialmedia

14marketersshouldalwaysbepreparedfornewopportunitiesandchallenges.Anotherimportanttraitofamarketeristransparency.Bybeinggivenaccesstoahighrangeofinformationthatcustomershavenowadays,itisalmostimpossibletofoolthemwithoutbeingnoticed.Therefore,itissuggestedtobeopen,honestandhaveintegrity.Itiscommonknowledgethatthecustomerisking,whichiswhyama rketersh ouldalwa ysbe communityfocused:makeconnectionswithcustomers,helpandlistentothem,seewhattheirvaluesandexpectationsareandthenexceed these expectations .Marketerssho uldalwaysstriveforquality notquantit y;ahighnumberoffol lowersorlik esrepresentspopularity,butnotnecessaryprof itabili ty.Te chnologysavvyishowamarketer shouldmostlybe.Beinguptodatewiththelatestproductsandinnovationswillbringprofittothebusiness.Last,itisessentialtohavegreatleadershipskillstostriveforcontinuousgoodresults.LevinsonandGibson-2 010)alsoidentifysomeattribut esmarketershavetobecarefulaboutwheninvolvingthemselvesinsocialmediamarketingstrategies.Theseare:Name-thecompany'snameshouldbedistinctiveandimpossibletoduplicate,itshouldcreateinterestandmostimportantly,itshouldbeeasytopronounceinanylanguage.Strongongoingbrandingstrategy-itisessentialforabrandtohaveagoodstrategy,whichshouldbeimplementedinthelongtermwithcommitment.Positioningthroughlisteningandd ialogue-referstoalways makin gyourselfdistinguishingcomparedtoyourcompetitorsbylisteningtoyourcustomers'storiesandtestimonials.Quality-isallabouttheserviceyouoffertoyourcustomers;satisfiedcustomersarehappycustomerswhomayreturnbenefitsthroughpositivewordofmouth.Distribution-isallaboutthelocation,beingactiveonallonlinedistributionchannelsandhavingthe possibilitytoworkfr omrem otelocations.Freedomandvariabili ty-freegiveaw aysarealwaysanefficientwayto attractcustomers.Referralandre wardsprogram-mostcompanies nowadayshaverewardsprograms,ma kingitevidentofhowmucht heyvalue theirreturning customersandthereferralsofthesecustomers,byrewardingthemwithdifferentincentives.Likeability-thewayamarketersellshisproductisjustasrelevantastheotherattributes.

15Therefore,beinglikedbythe communityisakey tosuccess.Thisc anbedone throughsmallbutsignificantgestureslikesayingthankyou,answeringrapidlytoprivateorpublicquestions,not using overreactive argumentsinresp onsetocriticism,ratherbuildbridgesbetweenthemandtheircustomers,andfinallynotbeinginsistent.Intheend,alltheseattributescontributetoabusiness'reputation.Thefoundat ionsofagoodreputatio naretruth,promises, feedback,custom erexperience,brandmonitoring, conflictmanagement andassociation.Theseattributeswillhelpindefini ngthegoalsmarket erssetwhenen gagingin onlinecommunicationgoals,whichisdecisiveforthisresearchpaper."Theriseofsocialmediadramaticallychallengesthewayfirmsmanagetheirbrands.Keyfeaturesofthissocialmediaenvironmentwithsignificanteffectsonbrandingareashiftfromthefirmtoconsumersaspivotalauthorsofbrandstoriesinthebrandingprocess;a highlevelofinter activitymanifestedinsocialnetworksofconsumersandbrands;andamultitudeofchannelsandbrandstoriesthatcannotbeeasilycoordinated"-Gensleretall,2013).Thisissuewillbebetteranalyzedonthebasisoftheempiricalfindinginthelatersectionsoftheresearchpaper.2.3 OnlinecommunicationgoalsLikeanyothergoals,onlinecommunicationgoalsshouldbeS.M.A.R.T.:-i)Specificgoalsreflecttheobjectivesofamarketer,whendecidingwhatsocialmediatoolstouse;-ii)Measurablegoalsareessentialinordertobeabletoseeiftheobjectivessethavebeenachievedintheend.Goalsthatsoundimpossibletoreachwillnotbetakenseriouslybyanyone;hence-iii)Achievablegoalsshouldbechosen.Similarly,-iv)Realisticgoalsrefertotak ingin toconsiderationall theexternalfa ctorsthatcouldinfluencethefinalresult.Finally,goalsshouldbe-v)Time-basedwhichmeansaspecifictargetshouldbeattainedwithinaspecifictimeperiod.Goalsareawaytomakepeoplemorepersistentinwhattheyaredoingbyputtingmoreeffortintotheiractions. Asmanagersdonotalways havetheabilitytomotivatethei remployees,settinggoalsisanalternativetothisissue.Theyprovideavisionofwhathastobeachievedinordertosucceed.AsSterne-2010)mentionsthatgoalskeepyoufocusedandhelpansweringquestionslike"Arewethereyet?Arewestillgoingintherightdirection?"

16Paine-2009)emphasizesthatinordertomeasurearesult,specificgoalsshouldbedefinedanddependingonthegoal,differentmeasurementtypesshouldbeused.Ifimprovementofrelationshipwithcustomersorreputationofthecompanyisthegoal,then"relationshipscores,recommendations,positioningandengagement"canbemeasured.Ontheotherhand,ifsalesaretheobjective,"engagementindex,costpercustomeracquisition,webanalytics,salesleadsandmarketingmixmodeling"canbemeas ured.Itisou ghtt obediscussedinth eresults sectionw hatarerespondentsactuallymeasuringintermsofonlinecommunication.Sterne-2010)believesthatthereare3majorgoalsinbusiness,whicharerelevantinthelongrun:-1)increasedrevenue,-2)loweredcostsand-3)improvedcustomersatisfaction.Lim-2010),inagreementwithSterne,mentionsthefollowingconceptsthatcouldbeconsideredonlinecommunicationgoals:"increasebrandawareness,increasesales,educateandinformcustomers,improvecustomerservice,monitorbrandrecognition".Havingagreatproductthatyoumarketonlineisnotasefficientashavingabrandthatyourcustomersaretalkingabout.Abrandisa"name,term,design,symbol,oranyotherfeaturethatidentifiesoneseller'sgoodorserviceasdistinctfromthoseofothersellers"-Ama.org,2014).Brandinghasbeenconstantlyputincon nectionwi thsocial mediamarketing.Abrandthatstandsoutmeansanideawhichcustomerswilltalkaboutandshare.Therefore,itisre levant tohaveabrandthatis authentic ,up-to-date,easytounderstand,easytoshare, distinctfromothers,accessible,c onsistentacrossallsocialmediaplatformsusedanditshouldgivethecustomerthefeelingofbeingheard.Allthesecharacteristicswillleadtobrandawarenessandconsequentlytoloyalcustomers.Nevertheless,itisnotenoughtocreateastrongbrandwithoutkeepinganeyeonthereputation,alsocalledbrandmonitoring.Increasingsaleswhilstkeepingthecostsaslowaspossibleiswhatdefinesanybusinessandthetourismandhospitalityindustryisnotanexceptiontothenorm."Ifthethingsyouaremeasuringcannotbeconnectedbacktoincome,thenyouneedtobeveryclearofwhyyouaretakingthetimetomeasurethem.[...]Assoonasyouconnectthedotstoarriveatincome,everybodyknowswhatyouaretalkingaboutandhasastandard,consensualmeansofevaluatingtherighteousnessofyoursocialmarketingprograms"-Sterne,2010).

17Socialmediaisind eedacosteffecti vewayofenl argingyo urcustomerrange,monitoringyourbrandandimprovingthecustomer'ssatisfaction.Therefore,makingrevenueshouldnotbetheonlyconcernaddressed,butshouldalsoincludeloweringmarketingcosts.Additionally,theshiftfromaproductconcentratedbusinesstoacustomerconcentratedbusinesshasbeenmorevisibleinthepastyears.Itiscrucialtohavesatisfiedcustomers,andthentoincreaserevenueandlowercoststhroughthisapproach.Themoreacompanyinformsandeducatesitscustomers,themorethecustomerservicewillimproveandthebetterthebusinesswillrun.2.4 SocialMediaContributiontoStakeholderGoals"Therearecurrentlymorethan1.5billionpeoplearoundtheglobewithaccesstointernet.Withthisforecasttoincreaseby50percentby2015,operatorsneedtoembracetheworldonlineandensuretheydelivertheirbrandthroughmultiple-andever-changing)channels"-Deloitte,2010).Consideringsuchanincreaseintheuseofsocialmediainthetourismandhospitalityindustry,advantagesanddisadvantagesshouldalwaysbetakenintoconsideration.Agoodwaytostartasocialmediamarketingstrategyisto"clearlylayoutyourgoalsandyours uccessmetricsbeforelaunching"andto"kn owyour socialmediaaudienceandtailorcontentappropriately"-Raphael,2013).Theauthorconsidersalsothatbyputtingintoactionandmeasuringasocialcampaign,numerousgoalscanbeachieved:• Expandingthesocialfootprintandrewardexistingfans,• Drivetrafficforbrandwebsites,• Amplifybrandawareness,• Increasenewsstandbuzzandsinglecopysales.Socialmediahastobetransparenttoachievehighercredibilityforthebrand,butthismightalsohighlightwhatthebrandisclaimingtoofferisinconsistentwiththeactualserviceoff ered.Forexample,TripA dvisorisoneofthefirstwebsitescustomersgotobeforedecidingbetweenawiderangeofproducts.Brandownersshouldtakegreatcareofthesekindsofwebsitesasbadword-of-mouthmayarise,butthey shouldalsotake itasanoppor tunitytooffer feedbacktounsatis fied

18customersandthereforeimprovetheirbrandimage.LevinsonandGibson-2010)consideritvitalto"clearlydefinegoals,marketsandtargetprospects"andtocreatea"strongbrandandpresencebycarefullyconcentratingontherightcontent".AstudydonebyGlobalWebIndexonthethirdquartileof2013,whichcanbeseeninFigur e4,showstheusage ofthetop 10socialmedia platform saccordingto differentregions.Thestudyisbasedon170,000responsesfrom32countriesaroundtheworld.Chinaisexcludedduetotherestrictionofsomesocialmediaplatformsinthecountry.TheresultsshowthatFacebookisatthefirstplacewith43%activeusageinEurope.Twitter,Google+andYoutubeareused16-18%inEuropeandtheotherplatformsunder6%.Thesamestudyhascomparedthedevelopmentofthetop20platformsbetweenthesecond andthethirdquartileo f2013.Interes tingly,the resultsshow thatInstagramhasseenanincrea seof23%re gistrationscomp aredtot hepreviousquartile,whereasTwitteranincreaseofonly2%,Google+of6%,LinkedInof9%.Facebookrevealedadecreaseof3%-Lunden,2014).Thefindingsofthesefigureswilleventuallybecomparedwiththeresultsoftheempiricalresearch.Figure4-UsageofTop10SocialPlatformsbyRegionLunden,2014-

19Figure5-ChangesinActiveUsageofTop20SocialMediaPlatformsLunden,2014-AstudydonebyJoshi,Ma,RandandRaschid-2013)showsthatsocialmediahasapositiveinfluenceonconsumerengagementandsales.Thestudyemphasizesondifferentiatingbetweenthevariousrolesofthe messagecontent,whethe ritis emotionalorinformationalandmentionsthedifferencebetweennewandexistentbrands.Allth esefactorsinfluen cethelevelofconsumer engagement,andconsequentlyofsales.Theauthors remarktha titisachalle ngetocreate engagementbetweencustomers.Forexistingbrands,despiteamoderatelevelofcustomerengagement,itcanstillbecorrelatedtopositivesales.Therefore,itcanbeconcludedthatnewbrandsmi ghthaveahar dtimedealingwit hcustomerengagementandleadingittosales.2.5 SocialMediaToolsTherearevarioustoolsforsocialmediamarketing-whichcanbeseeninAppendix2-butisitactuallyworthusingallofthem?Thiscouldprovetobetimeconsumingandevidentlyincreasecostsforcompanies.Dependingonthecompany'sgoalsandfocus,someoftherelevanttoolsmaybeused;consequentiallydifferentiatingonecompany'sobjectivesfromanother.Averygoodillustrationofhowtoclassifythese

20toolswasmadebyBrianSolisandJesseThomas,inthe"ConversationPrism".Figure6isa"m apfor thesociallands cape".Thefir stonewas sketchedin2008 andchangedsignificantlyacrossthefollowingyearsduetothedevelopmentofthesocialmedia.Thegoalof themapwas to"observe,an alyze,d issect,and presentt hedynamicsofconversation,andhowandwheretheytranspired;itwasdrivenbynecessity",basedontheauthorswork"withmanyemergingandestablishedbrandslookingtoengageinthesocialweb[...]Thesocialmappresentedanorganizedviewofsocialnetworksandcommunitiescategorizedbyusage,intentandcapabilities"-Solis,2011).Figure6-ConversationPrismSolis,2013-Limitationsintheresearchofsocialmediameasurementcanoccurduetovariousreasons.VermaandMcGill -2011)haveaddressedthisintheirr esearchandaccordingtotheirfindingsonly35%ofaccommodationfirmshandleonlinemedia

21marketingandadvertising,w hereasth erestoutsour ceittooneormul tipleagencies.Thiscancreatelimitationstothecurrentresearchiftheinterviewedhotelsarewithinthe65%ofthecompaniesthatdonothandlesocialmediamarketingstrategiesinternally.Thesameresearchshowsthatmostoftheaccommodationfirmsspendlessthan10%forsocialmediamarketingasindicatedinthegraphbelow.Thisconfirmsthattheuseofsocialmediaisnotyetaswelldevelopedasitshouldbeandexplainstheneedforoutsourcing.Figure7-PercentageofinvestmentinSocialMediaMarketingVerma&McGill,2011-Theconcernisasfollows:arethesesocialmediatoolshelpfulornot?Issocialmediathepanaceatoacompany'sproblem?Socialmediatoolscanhelpabusinesshavegreateroutreachtotheircustomers,butontheotherhandreducesface-to-faceinteraction.Itcanfacilitatecommu nication butsometimesitcanalsobeoverwhelmingduetothehighamountofinformationavailableoutthere.Inthefollowingsection,measuresforidentifyingsocialmedia'sinfluencewillbediscussedindetailandwillleadtoapotentialanswertothequestionsmentionedabove.2.6 MeasuringSocialMediaInfluencesTherearecountlesstoolsthatcanbeusedtomeasuresocialmediainfluencesonthehospita lityindustry.Butarethesetoolse ffectiveinreachingthecompany'sgoals?Thefollowin gsectioni sconcernedwithexplainingand segmentingthesetoolsintosectionsandanalyzingtheirimportance.

22Itisimp ortant tomention,asRapha el-2013) considers,that"Measuringsocialtrafficshouldnotbeconfusedwithengagement - drivingareadertoawebsiteisalongwayfromhavingthemactuallyinteractinameaningfulwaywithabrand'scontent."Althoughalotofm arket ersassumethatmeasuringthesocialmediaReturnOnInvestment-ROI)isimpossibleornotnecessary,LevinsonandGibson-2010)donotagreewiththeassumption.They"measuresuccessbytheamountofnetprofitornetresultstheygeneratefromtheirmarketingactivities"andconsiderthatwhenmeasured,resultsofindividualsourcesaswellascollectivesources,canalwaysbeimproved.AsimplewayofcalculatingtheROIisbysubtractingthecostsfromthegros sprofitand thendividethe resultbycosts.Converselyfromamarketingpointofview,therearevarioustypesofROI:reputation,riskreduction,clientretention,efficiency,businessintelligence,differentiation,brandassociation,publicrelationsandexposur e,immediaterevenue,longterm revenue,supplier capacitybuilding,perceptionshifting,moreandbetterrecruits,innovation,clienteducation,staffcapacitybuild ing,networkgrowt h,opportunitycreatio n,jobsatisfactionandtrustbuilding.Hawthorne-2014)mentionsintheResponseMagazinethat"feworganizationsareabletocom prehensively gaugetheresultsoftheirsocialmediaeffort s[...]25percentofcompaniesare measur ingtheresultsoftheir socialmediac ontentmarketingprogramsdowntotheindividualpieceofcontent".Healsostatesthatmeasurementsaremostlyrelatedto howengaged customersareont hesocialmediaplatformsandnotontherevenuethesebring:"just42percentarebeginningtotiesocialmediacontentsuccessdirectlytobusinessgainsusingdirectresponsesordownloads,while31percentmakeconnectiontosalesandrevenues".Itiscrucialtomeasurethesuccessofsocialmediabecauseitdeliversyouinformationabouttheaudien ceyouaretargetingandtheirpurchasingbehavior.Consequently,hestates,"Thetruesuccessofsocialmediacanbedeterminedbytheengagementthatyoucansee".Paine-2011)agreeswiththestatementsmentionedaboveandconsidersthattheformerdefinitionofROI-"profitabilitymeasurethatevaluatestheperformanceofabusinessbydividingnetprofitbynetworth"shouldberevisedbythecurrentneedsofacom pany-"engagement,influence,inspirat ion,awareness,reach,friends,

23followers,hitsorretweets".S/heemphas izesontheideathatrelationship andreputation,whicharebothmostlygainedthroughsocialmedianowadays,shouldbetakenmoreintoaccountwhentalkingaboutROI.Sterne-2010),Brown-2010)andSolis-2011)agreeonthefactthattherearevariousstagesinmeasuringsocialmediaandforalmosteachofthemtherearedifferenttoolsusedformeasurement.AsmentionedandexplainedindetailinSection2.3,goalsettingisthefirststep.Thesecondstepisreachingyouraudienceandgettingtheattention ."Awarenessisthefirstste ponthe pathtoal ongandprof itable customerexperience"-Sterne,2010).Making abrandvisiblea ndattractivetocustomersisakeystageinreachinggoals.ThiscanbepossiblebyusingthevarioustoolsmentionedinSection2.5,forexample,ownwebsite,blogs,Facebookpage,Twitteraccount,podcasts,videoorphotosharingwebsites.Nevertheless,thismightnotbesufficienttoseeiftheplatformsusedareeffectiveornot.Therefore,KPIlike:shareofvoice-t otalnumb erofcompanya ndcompetitorsmention s),shareofconversation-totalnumberofindustrykeywordmentions),totalnumberofvisitors,averagedailyfeedsubscribers,monthlyblogreadershipshouldbemeasured.SometoolssuggestedbySterne-2010)areFacebookInsights,GoogleAnalytics,PostRank,Tweetbeep,andFeedBurner.Raphael-2013)believesthat"GoogleAnalyticsprovidesthebestmonth-over-monthandyear-over-yearreferralreports[...]Sofar,it'sthemostaccurateforpageviewreporting,visitsandpagespervisit."Ontheotherhand,Blowers-2012)considersthat"therearealotofthird-partytoolsthatyoucanuse togathe radditional analytics aboutyourFacebook presence,butFacebook'sownInsightsisthemostcost-effectiveandperhapstheeasiesttool[...]Thegraphicalinterfaceprovidesanoverviewofengagementmeasuressuchastotallikes,whatpeoplearetalkingabout-poststheycommentonand/orshare)aswellasdetailsaboutyourmostpopularposts".Thefollowingstepistoidentifytheinfluenceandgettherespectofthecustomers.Itiscommonlystatedthatinlifeitisallaboutconnections,"socialnetworksmakeitclearthatwhatyouknowisimportant,butwhomyouknowiscritical"-Sterne,2010).Solis-2011)agreesthat"influenceisnotpopularityandpopularityisnotinfluence.Influenceistheabilitytoeffectaction."Healsoreferencessomeofthetoolsthatcanbe usedtoi dentifyyourin fluencers: CoTweet,People Browser,

24Seesmic,Blogged,BackTy pe,Linkfluence,HowSociable, BuzzMetrics,andBoardTracker.Finally,Brown -2010)considerst hat"It'saboutfinding therightindividualwhowillspreadthemessageacrossallofthedifferentsubgroupswithinanetwork."Itisindeednotenoughtoreachanaudienceandidentifytheinfluencers,withoutrecognizingwhattheyfeelabouttheproductorserviceoneisselling.ToolsinthisregardareTwitterS entiment,S ocialMention,A ttensity,andSentimentMetrics. However,therearedifficultiesinrecognizingthesentimentcustomershaveonlywithsoftware."Sarcasm,irony,idioms,slangandthecommonlanguagethatcropsandfadesawayareallnemesesofaprogrammaticalgorithmdesignedtoclassifyemotion"-Sterne,2010).Alltheabove-mentionedpointsrefertothepolarityofacomment.Unfortunately,thisisnottheonlyproblem;theintensityofamessagecannotalwaysbeinterpretedeither;itisabout"somethingapersoncanpickupprettyquickinperson,butmakescommunicatingbye-mailtrickier-henceemoticons"-Sterne,2010).Assoonassentimentisrecognized,itiscrucialtoengagetheaudiencebygettingresponsefromthecustome rs."Theprocessofidentifying influencersand monitoringrelevantconversationsisonlyasvaluableasthestepswetaketoengageinwaysthatinspiredesirableactions.[...]Engagingpeopleandenticingnotonlytheirinterest,b utultimatelyestablishi nganass ociationandearningallegia ncestakesfarmorethaninterpersonaladeptnessandabudgetwithwhichwepurchasefriendships"-Solis,2011).Sociale ngagementcanbemeasuredthroughdifferentmeasures:Digg,Reditt,Stumbleupon,Friendfeed,FacebookFriends,Retweet,andYahooBuzzUp.AgoodillustrationofthestepsofcustomerengagementcanbeseenintheFoodEngagementChainbelow.Raphael-2013)suggeststheSocialBusinessIndexasausefulengagementmeasurement,whichis"abigdataapproachtobrandperformanceinsocial[...]It'sthebestlookatengagementatscaleandprovidesabetterlookatsocialreachacrossmultipleplatformsaswellasabetterlookagainstrelevantcompetitors."

25Figure8-EngagementFoodChainSterne,2010-Healsomentionsthatthetool"allowspublisherstoestablishanengagementratiobycompar ingthenumberofuniqueconvers ationpartic ipantsversusthetotalnumberofsubscribersinabrand'secosystem.Uniqueconversationparticipantsarethetotalnu mberofindivi dualsacrossallc onversa tionsinvolvingabrandorcompany".Beforegettingto thefinalbusinessoutcome,l istening andengagi ngwiththeprospectcustomersisfundamentalforincreasingthepositiveoutcomeofabrand.Whathastobemonitoredinthisphasearethesearches,theratings,thereviews,therecommendationsandthecomplaintsofyourcustomers.Badwordofmouth,especiallywhenitisonlinewhereeveryonecanreadit,canbeseenasaconstructivecriticismandanopportunitytofixproblemsandeventuallymakeevenunsatisfiedcustomershappy.MethodsthatcanbeusedinthiscaseareForSee,OpinionLap,iPerceptions,GoogleAlertandTwelpforce.Itshouldbekeptinmindthefactthatcustomersliketobeheard,liketocontributeiftheyareaskedtoandfinallyliketoreceivefeedback.Twogoodexamples aremystarbuck sidea.com,ini tiatedbyStarbucksandideastorm.com,byDell.Allthesestepsmentionedaboveleadtoanoutcome-gettingtheresultswantedandreachingthegoalsplannedinthebeginning,byrespectingeverystageofthemeasuringprocess.Thebusin essoutcomesacompanywishe stoattain areforexample,awareness,su rveycompletions,subsc riptions,registrat ions,blog

26commentsandposts,leadsandpurchases-Sterne,2010).AlltheseserveasKPIsandleadtoachievingthe3goalsmentionedinSection2.3--1)increasedrevenue,-2)loweredcostsand-3)improvedcustomersatisfactionandtobeabletocomparethemselveswiththeircompetitors.Consideringallfactorsmentionedabove,itmightseemthatsocialmediahashadarelevantinfluenceonthe hospitalityindustry,takingi ntoconsid erationtheadvantagesaswell asthedisadvantagesitbrings.Itisessenti altodecla rethatmeasuringsocialmediahasacrucialroleintheindustry,inordertokeepitundercontrolandtakemoreadvantageofthepositiveinfluenceithas.Everycompanyshouldreflectonthemyriadofsocialmediatoolstheyhaveattheirdisposalandthemeasurementtechniquestheycanuse,butnotbeforesettinggoalsandrealizingwhichoftheset oolsand techniquesarehe lpingthemachieve theirgoal s.Thefollowingsectionwillprovideempiricalresearchtosupportthestatementsintheliteraturereview.

273 Methodology3.1 OverviewTorevi ew,theaimofthisstud yistoexami nehoteli ers'per ceptionsonthe measurementtechniquesforsocialmediainfluencesonthetourismindustry.Thefirstpartofth ethesis consis tsofalite raturereviewconstructe dusingprimary-researchmonographs,aca demicjournals,conferencereports,res earchreports,magazines,universitydisserta tions)andsecondarysources-te xtbooks,academicjournalreviewarticles,abstracts,openaccessjournals)concerningthesocialmediaanalytics.First,ageneraloverviewofthetermsocialmediaisgiven,withdevelopmentandusesinthedailylifeoftheusers.Thisisfollowedbyananalysisoftourismandhospitalityindustrystakeholders,withtheirstatusandconnectiontosocialmedia.Furthermore,detailedattentionispaidtosomeofthesestakeholders,whichareanalyzedinthesecond partoft hethesist hroughtheusedqual itativeresearch methods.Subsequently,goalsofthesestakeholdersareevaluatedaccordingtotheliterature,specificallyintermsof onlinecommunicationandmarke ting.T henaccordingtofindings,acon nectionis establishedbetweenthegoalsthestakeholdersarelookingtomeasureandwhatkindofsocialmediametricsandtoolstheyuseinordertodoso.Inordertoachievetheaimofthisthesisandtosupporttheliteraturereview,inthesecondpartofthestudyaqualitativeresearchmethodisused.Thisistheresearchthatreliesonthecollectionofdatainformoftextorimagesusingopenendedquestions,observationor"found" data.Thegoalsofqualitativ eres earcharetodiscovernewideas,waysofthinking,feelings,relationshipsbetweeneventsandpredictionsofdifferenthiddenpsychologicalorsocialprocesses.Itisanempiricalresearchasitgathersempiricalinformationwiththepurposeofansweringaspecificresearchquestion.Thesamplessizefordatacollectionissmall.Thecollectedresultsareanalyzedinasubjectiveandinterpretativewayandcanusuallybegeneralizedwithinrestricted limitations.Qualitativeresearc hhelpsofferingabettercomprehensionofthenatureoftourism issues,even thoughsomet imesithasreceivedcriticsregardingitssmallsc ale,biased, expensive,imprecise and

28untrustworthynature."Theuseofconstantcomparisonmeansthatonepieceofdataiscompare dwithprev iousdataandnotconsidered onitsown,enabl ingresearcherstotreatthedataasa whole ratherthanfragmentingit.Constantcomparisonalsoenablestheresearchertoidentifyemerging/unanticipatedthemeswithintheresearchproject"-Anderson,2010).Thechosenresearchmethodisin-depthinterview.Itisa"formalinterviewprocessinwhich awell-trainedinterviewer asksthesubjectasetofsemi structuredquestionsinafacetofacesetting"-Hair,2008).Thisresearchmethodwaschosenduetothe richnes sofdetail thatcanbecoveredusing it.The likelinessoftheintervieweeansweringinasociallydesirablewayislowandwhencomparedtofocusgroups,the environmentfacilitatesu ninhibite dparticipationduetotheabsenceoftheotherpeersandtheiropinions.Semi-structuredinterviewhasbeenchosenduetoitsflexibilitytorelatetobothstructuredandunstructuredinterviewandtocreateauniformoutlineforthesetofanswers.Asetofpredeterminedquestionsiscreatedbutdependingontheanswersoftherespondentsspontaneousquestionsmayarise,t hereforeunforese enquestionscouldbeaske d.Qualitativeresearchhasbeenproventobeoptimalwhenanalyzingsocialmediaandseenasa"uniqueandinvaluabletool"-Branthwaite,Patterson,2011)duetothedirectandpersonalapproachoftheintervieweraswellasthepossibilitytoactivelylistenandparticipateinaconversationwiththeintervieweeandthepossibilitytogaininsightsoftheintervieweesmind-Branthwaite,Patterson,2011).Transcriptsfromthein-depthintervi ewswillbeusedintheinvestigati ontogiveexample s.Thech osenresearchmethodisexpectedtobringanswerstotheresearchquestionofthisstudyandtobeab letoform ulatev aluableconc lusions. Thestudydoesnotaimtogeneralizetheresultstothehospitalityindustry,buttocomprehendtheperspectiveoftheinterviewedhoteliersonthetopicandtocomparethedifferentperspectives.Thescopeoftheinterviewistosupportthestatementsmentionedintheliteraturereviewwithexperienceofexperthoteliersworkinginthemarketingdepartment,whoencountertheproblemsdiscussedinthepaperonadailybasis.Withtheirhelp,questionsraisedinthe researchareanswere dandsugg estionsfor furtherimprovementcanbemade.

293.2 DescriptionofthePopulationSampleThetargetedsampleis25hotelsinVienna,mostlylocatedinthefirstdistrict-InnereStadt-orincloseproximity-72%).AfulllistofthecontactedpropertiescanbefoundintheAppendix3.Fromthesample,72%ofthehotelsarechain-affiliatedbrandsandtherest28%areindependentaccommodationproviders.Thehotelscanbecategorizedasluxurybrands-56%),lifestyle/exclusive-12%)andboutique/design-32%).Therespondentsweremostlypeopleinchargeofsocialmediamarketingstrategieswithinthehotels, eithersalesormarket ingmanagers,onlinecommunicationmanager,andassistantof marketingmanagerorsimplyg eneralmanagers.Theinterviewslastedfor15to20minutesandwerescheduledbasedtheoutlineoftheinterviewguide.Toolsusedfortheinterviewwereanaudiorecorderandanotepad.Eachcandidatewasaskediftheyagreedonbeingrecordedduringtheinterview.Additionally,notesweretakenduringthew holeprocess.The conversatio nswererecordedand transcribedintodocuments.Thenext sectionprovidesmoredetailsabou tcomplicationsencounteredduringtheinterviewingprocess.3.3 LimitationsTheresearchinterviewwasconductedin25hotelsinVienna,Austria;thereforethefindingscanonlyberelatedtotheViennesemarket,orextensivelytotheEuropeanmarket.Thereweremultipledifficultiesencountered.14ofthe25propertieswereunabletoparticipateascandidatesfortheinterviewduetovariousreasons.11declinedtoparticipateduetocausessuchas:notimeforaninterviewbecausetheywereinthemiddleof3marketingcampaigns,notimeastheywereopeningin3weeks,notimeastheywereleavingforamonth-longworktripornotreadytoserveasapartnerforaninterviewastheyjustrecentlyopenedandtheyarestillintheprocessofenhancingtheirsocialmediamarketingstrategies.Someofthehotelscouldnotparti cipateasacan didatefortheinterviewduetot hefact that thepropertieswouldbelongtoachainandthesocialmediamarketingrepresentativeisnotbasedinViennaorbecausetheydonotpossessasocialmediaaccountfortheirpropertyspecificallyandthatthewholeonlinecommunicationstrategyisrunbytheheadquartersoradif ferent branch.Somewerecontactedand didreplyand

30eventuallystoppedrespondingtothee-mailcommunication,unfortunatelydecidingtodenyansweringtheinterviewquestionsatthelastmomentorwereunabletoanswerduetoreasonssuchthattheinterviewquestionswenttoodeepintotheirstrategies.For3propertiesthecontactpersonwasnotreachableeitherbye-mailorphonecallduetovariousreasons,forexamplebeingonvacation.Ultimately,9candidatesaccepted ther equestforaninterview:25hours Hotel,BoutiqueHotelStadthalle,GrandHotel,LeMeridien-whichisinchargeofImperialandBristo lHotelsaswell),Harry's Home-thecontactpers onis inchargeof6properties),IntercontinentalHotel,S acherHotel,HotelSansSouci,andViennaInternationalHotels&Resorts-contactpersonisinchargeof38properties).3.4 InterviewGuideDesignTheinterviewconsistsof9questions,whichfollowtheoutlineofthethesis.First,theintervieweeisaskedtodescribehimself/herself,thepositioninthebusinessandsomewordsabo utpreviousexpe rienceandeducatio n.Thentheintervie weeisaskedtohighlightthecompany'sgoalswhenengaginginsocialmediamarketing,matterdiscussedinSection2.3andsupportedwithliteraturebySterne-2010)andPaine-2009).Thenextquestionsenquireaboutthekindofsocialmediachannelsthehotels areus ing,andwhich groupsaretheprimar ytargetsthroughthesechannels.Theintervieweesaregivensomeoptionstochoosefrom,ones,whichwerepreviouslydiscussedintheliterature,reviewbyLevinsonandGibson-2010)-Section2.5andAppendix 2.Next,thein tervieweeis inquiredtostatehis/hersatisfactiontowardstheresultssocialmediabringstothecompany.Inrelationtothepreviousquestion,theintervieweeisaskedifs/heconsidersthatsocialmediacontributesinreachingthehote l'sgoals.Follow ingthis,furtherexplan ationsregardingthemeasurementofsocialmediasuccessisenquired,whichisoneofthemostimportantquestionsofthisinterview,alsorepresentingthetopicofthethesisresearch.Somesuggestionsareofferedforchoice,whichwerediscussedinSection2.6ands pecificd etailsarerequested.Ifthecand idateanswersnegatively ,theinterviewerpromptsforfurtherexplanation.

31Theintervieweeisprobedtoexplainifs/heencounteredanydifficultieswiththemeasurementproceduresandwhathis/herlevelofsatisfactiontowardsthesetoolsandmethodsis.Consequently,eachcandidateisaskedforanopiniononthetopicofdiscussion,ifthereareany suggestions forfutureresearc hordiscussiona ndtoconcludetheinterview.Allresultsare collectedand analyzedinthefo llowingsectionsofthisresearch.Theideasgatheredfromthelastinterviewquestionarecompiledintoaparagraphattheendofthisresearch-Section6.1.

324 Analysis,Result&InterpretationForaclearandenhancedunderstandingofthetopicofthisresearchpaper,theresultsareorganizedin9subsectionseachcorrespondingtoonequestionoftheinterview:-1)candidatede scription,-2) socialmediamarketinggoals, -3)socialmediamarketingtools,-4)onlineco mmunic ationtargetmarket,-5)hote liersatisfactionwithsocialmedia,-6 )socialmediama rketingcontrib utiontostakeholder'sgoals,-7)measuringsocialmediainfluence,-8)complicationsofsocialmediameasurementsand-9)conclusionsandsuggestions.4.1 CandidateDescriptionThefirst questionofthei nterviewgivesashortoverviewoftheinter vieweeregardingdetailssuchasname,age,gender,educationandexperience.5outof9respondentsarebetweentheageof23and31.Fortheremaining4therewasnoresponse.8ou tof9respon dentsarefem ales. Therespon dentshavevariedexperienceintheindustryfromonetothirtyyearsinsales,marketingorgeneralhotelbusiness.Mostofthem-7)haveaformaleducationintourismandhospitality,theother2havedegreesinCommunicationandEnglish,respectively,whicharenotdirectlyrelatedwiththeircurrentposition.Candidate9,whobeganhertourismcareerattheearlyageof15,considershermotto"learningbydoing"agoodwayofthinkingespeciallyinaservice-orientedfieldsuchastou rism.Someofthe candidatesar eincharg eofmorethanoneproperty,forexamplecandidate4isinchargeof6hotels,andcandidate9isinchargeof38properties,candidate6of3hotels.Ithasbeennoticedthatthemorepropertiesapersonisinchargeofhigherthedegreeofengagementinsocialmediaandmoreattentionitisgiven.4.2 SocialMediaMarketingGoalsGoalsmarketersshouldhavewhentalkingaboutonlinecommunicationmarketingare-1)increaserevenue,-2)loweredcostsand-3)improvecustomersatisfaction.Lim's-2010)perspectiveonthegoalswasmorebrandingrelatedthanproficiencyrelated:brandawareness,customereducationandinformation,brandrecognition

33monitoring.ThesecondproblemtackledintheinterviewwasthegoalsthehotelierssetwhenengaginginSocialMedia.Itisinterestinghowdifferentperspectivecanbeobservedfromtherespondents.First,themostprominentanswersmentionedareproductorbrandawarenessandinformingcustomersabout currentpromotions,eventsan dspecialoffers.TheseanswersgoalongwiththeresearchofLim-2010).Secondly,theconnectionwithguestsandprospectswaslikewisestated.Candidate2considersthatsocialmediaisaneasywaytokeepintouchwithyourcustomersbefore,duringandaftertheirstayandtogetclosertoyourcustomersbydiscoveringtheirneedsandwantsthroughthemediationofsocialmedia.S/hementionsthisshortstoryduringtheinterviewtooutlinehowimportantitistoexceedcustomerexpectationsthroughsimplepersonalinteractions."Ifyoupostapictureofahomemadecake,thatyoujustproducedandthatisonbreakfast,youwillgetalotofresponseandlikes.Becausepeoplerememberotherswanttoknowmoredetailsaboutit,ortheysimplysay<>".Ass/hementionsabove,attractingthecustomersfeelingandbringingapositivememoryisalwayseasierthankstosocialmediamarketing.Candidate4agreedontheideathatsocialmediaismostlyusedtoraiseawarenessoftheirbrandandenhancethecommunicationwiththecustomers,byprovidingthelatestnewsandgiv ingtheopportun itytoprovid ereviewsandfe edback.Thisis consideredaccordingliteratureasawayofimprovingcustomersatisfaction.Halfoftherespondentsdonotseesocialmediaasarevenuegeneratorbutmoreasinformationprovider,thereforedisagreeingwithSterne-2010).Theintervieweesmentionedothergoalsaswell;so cialmedia helpsimprovecommunicationwithguestsandprospectivecustomers.Itisconsideredafeedbackandnewslettertool,whichaidsinimprovingtheserviceorthebrandimage.Candidate9,wh oisinchargeof38properties,hasamoredevelopedgoalplanforsocialmediamarketing.S/headdstotheobjectivesalreadymentionedbytheotherrespondentsandtheliterature,following:"increasingcustomerloyalty,publishingnewsandinformationaboutthecompany,positioningthehotelasanattractiveandmodernemployer,introducingnewproductsandbackgroundinformationandfinally,researchsourceforjournalistsandbloggers".Asitcanbenoticed,s/hehighlightsotherusesofsocial

34media,suchasinh umanresources. Socialme diacanhelpfind ingtheright candidatestoworkinapropertyandgiveadifferentimagefortheprospectiveemployees.Ultimately,Candidate5emphasizesonthesentimentsideofsocial media,consideringitawaytogiveadifferentfacetoacompany,aneasyandlesscostlywaytoapproachcustomersandtomaintainanongoingrelationshipwiththem,"youcanofferthemaglimpsebehindthescenesortellstories,itisadifferentwaytoapproachthem".Itcouldbeconsideredreasonabletosaythatsocialmediaisawaytofindoutwhatthecustomers'needsandwantsareandhowtomanagetoexceedtheirexpectations,asalsoCandidate3considers.Itisnotsimplyanothermarketingtool.4.3 SocialMediaMarketingToolsThisquestionrelatestothesocialmediatoolsusedbythehotels.IntheliteraturereviewSection2.5andAppendix2,varioustoolshavebeendiscussedindetail.Thissectionreferstotheonlinecommunicationtools,suchasplatformslikeFacebook,Twitter,Google+,Instagram,Flickr,YouTube,Pinterest,privatewebsitesandblogs.Abetteroverviewofthetools,sortedbytheirdifferentfunctionscanbeseeninFigure6,Section2.5.Accordingtoresults,allhotelshavetheirownwebsiteandaFacebookpage.Candidate7mentionedtheuseofmultiplewebsitesfortheirproperty,asthebrandembracesasubbrand,whichisfamousinVienna.Candidate9declaredthesuccessofthe19Facebookpagestheyareusing.Thereasonbehindthepresenceofsomanypagesistheexistenceofthe38propertiesthecandidateisinchargeof.Aswecan noticeFaceb ookhasmorepopulari tyinViennathanTwitter,which correspondstotheFigure4inSection2.4.Only6outof9hotelshaveaTwitteraccount,butdoconsideritlessutilizedorhelpfulthanFacebookascandidate7mentions;candidate5explainedtheexistenceofaTwitteraccountfortheirhotel,buttheaccountwasusedacross3countriesasthehotelb elongedtoach ainandnoteverypropertyhad itsind ividua lTwitteraccount.ThereasontheystoppedusingitwasthelackofinformationorupdatesthatshouldhavebeenpublishedonadailybasisandthefactthatthepostswerethesameastheonesontheFacebookprofile,givingtheTwitteraccountnopersonality.TwitterisalsosometimesconsideredasunprofessionalforthehospitalityindustryincomparisontoFacebook.Althoughonly4outof9candidatesareusingit,Instagram

35hasindeedabrightfutureahead,asthehoteliersconsiderpicturerepresentationsmoreattractivefortheircustomersthanwrittentext,asmentionedinthesectionabovebyCandidate2.ThisstatementisinconcurrencewithFigure5,Section2.4,whichmentioned thepowerfulincreaseof23%us ageofInsta gramcomparedbetweenthe2ndand4thquartileof2013incontrasttotheotherplatforms.Candidate5forexampleaddedthatherhotelhasstartedusingInstagramjusttwoweekagoandrevealedtheexcitementofwaitingtoseetheresults.S/healsostatedtheinterestintryingtoattractayoungertargetmarketthroughInstagram.Postingpictureshasbeenthoroughlyconsideredamoreattractivewaytodrawcustomers'attention,especiallywhenthepicturesarespontaneousanddonotrepresentapreviouslythoughtoutsetup.Candidate1usesInstagramtoengagecustomersthroughpicturecontests.7outof9hotelsuseGoogle+,butstilltheengagementlevelisnotashighasforFacebookorTwitter,asalsothepopularityofGoogle+isonthesameratiotowardtheotherplatforms.6outof9respondentsuseYoutube,forexampletogiveanswer stoquest ionsthat frequentlyarisefrom prospect interviewers.Candidate2usesthismethod.ThecandidateshavementionedotherplatformslikeFoursquare,Pinterest,LinkedIn,Flickr,XingandYelponceupto3timesoutof9,butmostlybeingaddedwiththefactthatthedegreeofengagementisreallylow.4outof9hotelshaveprivateblogsand5outof9considerTripAdvisorandHolidayCheckassocialmediachannels,whichserveforrating,reviewsandfeedback,butallhotelshavepresenceonthese2websites.Tohaveabetterviewofthemarketingstrategycandidate9providedaswellasamonthlysocialmediastatusfromFebruary2014fortheirproperty,whichcanbeseenbelow.

36Figure9-StatisticsFebruary20144.4 OnlineCommunicationTargetMarketWhenaskedab outthetargetedgroupsthroughtheseonline communicationchannels,theintervieweeshaveagainsimilar,butalsodifferingopinions.5outof9agreedthattheyaretargetingpast,currentandprospectiveguests.Candidate4concentratesontheexistingguestsaswellasontheinformationprovidingnatureofthesocialmedia.Sometimeshoteliersdonotlookforspecifictargetmarketwhenusingsocialmedia;therefore4outof9candidatesdonothaveaspecificgroupandconsequentially,targetanyonewhousessocialmedia.Therestoftheanswerswereuniquetoeachhotel.Candidate1emphasizedtheblogge rshetargetsforhishotel,b utstillwi thoutexcludingeveryoneelse.Thereasonbehinditcanbethefactthatthepropertyisadesignhotel,whichbydefinitionrepresentsnewstyle,newtrends,whichneedtobekeptinshapewithnewconnectionsrealizedonsocialmedia.Inthecaseofthemedordiffe rentconcepthotels,candidate2stressedthatoneof hertargetsare specificallypeoplewhoareinterestedinsustainability,asthehotels/hemanagesissustainabilityconscious.Whilestillcons ideringothertargets,s/heexpla insthatsomeofthecustomers,nomattertheage,cometherejusttodiscoverthewhole

37ideaandconceptofthehotel,whichwouldnotbethecaseinstandardizedchainhotels.Bu t,s/heisnot theonlyo newhodiscusse dtheagerange; candidate7observedapatternofindividualsbetweentheage24and35specificallyfemalecustomerswithinthehot elsfollowersrange,co nsideringprobablythespaandwellnessfacilitiesthehotelhastooffer.Inagreement,candidate5repeatsthefactthatayoungercrowdistargetedduetothefactthehotelisaconservativetraditionalchainhotel,whichmakesayoungercrowdlessinterestedintheproperty.Socialmediaisawaytoprovethatalsoold-styleconceptscan beattractivefory oungcustom ers.Candidate3differentiatesbetween2differenttargetgroups:businessandleisuretravelersaccordingtotheirstayduringweekdaysorweekends.Candidate8hasadistinctiveperspectiveaswell,andbesidestargetinganyonewhoisinterestedinthehotels/hetargetsthelocalcommunityaswell,inordertoprovide inform ationregardingoffe rsfortheproperty'sF&Bandspaoutlets,whichareopentopublic.Therewasnodistinctionbetweenfemaleandmaletargetgroups.Asitcanbeobserved,theinterviewedhoteliersconsidertargetgroupsmostlywhenthehoteltheyworkforhasaspecificconceptitrepresents,butgenerallyallsocialmediaplatformsusersaretargeted.4.5 HoteliersSatisfactionwithSocialMediaSocialmediaplatfor msmightbe usedbyalloftherespondents, butthenextquestionexamineswhethertheresultsmarketingthroughsocialmediabringsaresatisfying.Overall,5outof9intervieweesaresatisfiedwiththeresultssocialmediabringtotheircompany.Somecandidatesareextremelycontentwiththeresults,mentioningthattheyusesocial mediaonadailybasis oremphasizingonthe successfulinteractionwiththefollowersandtheincreaseofbrandpositiveimage.Candidate4states,"Actionslikecontest,whereweofferourfansahighervalueandongoingnews aboutinternalandper sonalthemes,helpas welltoincreasepopularity".Candidate7'sstatementechoescandidate4'sobservationonthe behaviorof customersonthecompany' sposts.S/he expressedthefeelingregardin gthenoticeabledifferencebetweenpos tingpicturesorposting packageoffers. Thesedifferenceshelpincomparingcustomers 'receptiv ityto differentposts.The

38preferenceforvisualillustrati onshasbeen expressedmorecompared tooutletoffers.Anothersatisfiedcandidatewiththesocialmediaresultsiscandidate9,whoexpressesthesatisfactionbyprovidingsomefiguresfromherstrategyresults,whichcanbeseen inFigu re9,Section 4.3.S/heacce ntuatedtheimportanceandindispensabilityofthepresenceofahotel,orothertourismserviceprovidersonsocialmediachannels,referringagaintothegoalssocialmediamarketingcouldachieve,"wear esurethat SocialMedia channelsaregrea ttoimprovethecompany´sbrandawarenessforpublishingnewsandintroducingnewproductsaswellascontests,whichareworkingreallywell."Herstatementemphasizesagainontheinformationalpurposeofsocialmedia,andtheimportanceofvisualillustrationratherthanawrittenmessage.Therestoftherespondentsstillhasacertaindegreeofsatisfactiontowardssocialmediaresultsbutbelievesthatitsometimescanbebetteroritissimplyhardtomeasuretheinfluenceithas ontheircompany. Theyexpressthelacko fameasurablego alan dthepresenceofamoresubject ivegoa l,lik ereachinga broaderaudiencewithoutconsideringnumbers.Theissuesthatcauseddissatisfactionwereforexamplethelackofworkf orceinch argeofsocialmediaspecifically,a ndth elowlevelofengagementofsocialmediaintoactualreservations.Candidate2and8agreethatthereisalwaysspacetooptimizetheresults,eventhoughhardfiguresmeasurementisbarelypossible.Stilltheuseofsocialmediaisencouragedduetoitsfacil itatedappr oachtoreac hcustomersan dprospects.Candidate5clearlystatesthatusingsocialmediahasnothingtodowithincreasingsales,considering itismorerelevantforinform ationalp urpose s,ascandidate9 mentionedabove.Noneoftherespondentswereunsatisfiedwiththeresults.4.6 SocialMediaContributiontoStakeholderGoalsInSection2.4theimportanceofsocialmediacontributiontostakeholders'goalshasbeendiscusse d,asaccordingtoRaphael-201 3),before puttingasocialmediastrategyintoaction,goalsandsuccessmetricsshouldbeclearlydefinedandsocialmediaaudience,thetarget,shouldberecognizedinordertobeabletotailortheappropriatecontent.ThesegoalshavebeenmentionedinSection2.3andtheresultanalysishasbeendiscussedindetailinSection4.2.

39Whenaskedwh ethersocialmedi acontributestothecompan y'sgoalsallintervieweesrespondedpositively.Afewofthemhadamoredetailedopiniononthetopicthanothers.Candidate4forexample,explainedthatsocialmediaisatopicthatshouldbenotignored,asitoffersaneasydirect-targetedapproachtothedifferentgroupsanditisacosteffectivetoolforadvertisingandcommunication.S/healsoaddsthat,"thefreeimageadvertisingismostlyadequateforlastminuteoffersandlatestnews. Contri butingwithanaddedvaluetot heSocialMediaplatformsisthebestwaytokeepthenumberofyourfansorevenincreaseit".Candidate6,ontheotherhand,relatedtheanswertotheinitialgoalsmentionedinSection4.2andstatedt hatsocialmediaco ntributesto creatingandraising awareness,andmaintainingrelationshipswithcurrentcustomersandprospectiveones.Onetermusedbyhertodescribesocialmediaispersonalization;socialmediahelppersonalizetheperceptionofthehotel,conveyingafeelingof"closeness"tothecustomers.Thelatesttrendsinserviceprovision,whichshiftedfromaproductfocustoacustomerfocusandtheincreaseduseoftechnology,havebeentakenintoconsideration.Asinthepreviouslymentione dque stion,the sameissueari ses-directimpactofsocialmediamarketingishardtomeasure,thereforeacontributiontothegoalscannotbedefined;thefactthatitsupportsthegoalsofthestakeholderscanonlybementioned.ReferencestothegoalsmentionedintheSection4.2aregivenaswellbycandidate8and9.Thefirstoneputsemphasisonthepersonalconnectionwiththecustomers,bystayingintheirmemoryevenaftertheirdeparture,whereasthesecondoneconcentratesonthevaluesofthebusiness-quality,designandservice.Consideringtheincreaseofbrandawarenessandgoodpositioningonthemarket,candidate9expresseswitheasethehighcontributionsocialmediahasonthecompany'sgoals,"Ourbiggoalistomotivategueststointeractasanambassadorforourbrandandconsideringthenumberoflikesandfollowerwedefinitelyhavenowmanyinfluentialmultipliersandbrandambassadors".Thedoubtf ulnessregardingsocialmediaofcandida te7couldbenoticedinher declaration,whichstatesthat,althoughaudienceisincreasing,customerswillneveraskonasocialmediaplatformforareservation,ratherformoreinformationand

40detailsregardingthingstodo,orthesurroundings.Againnoneoftheintervieweesbelievedthatsocialmediadoesnothaveanycontributiontothecompany'sgoals.4.7 MeasuringSocialMediaInfluenceOneofthemostimportantquestionsofthisresearchreportandstatementofthethesistopicishow companiesmeas urethecon tributionofso cialmedia.AsmentionedintheliteraturereviewbyHawthorne-2014),only25%organizationsmeasureindetailtheinfluencessocialmediacontentmarketing-andfromthose,onlyabouthalfareconnectingmeasurementswithactualcosts,salesorrevenue.Thesamecanbestatedafteranalyzingtheanswersofthisstudy-noneofthehotelslookatsocialmediafromrevenueorcostpointofview.Whenlookingatsocialmedia,RO Iisconsideredmorefro mengagemen t,inf luence,awareness,reputationandrelationshipperspectives.Accordingtotheseresults,mostoftheanalyticsusedby theres pondentshelpmeasurethelevelofs atisfaction oftheguestsorthedegreeofengagementoffollowers.Thetoolsusedtomeasuresocialmediainfluencescanbedividedinto3categories:-1)built-inanalyticsofexistingplatforms,-2)standardthird-partymeasurement tools,and-3)tou rism-specificmeasurementtools.Themostusedmeasurementsarethebuilt-inanalyticsoftheexistingplatforms,suchasFaceb ookIn sights&Analytics,whichhe lpexaminevariousKPIssuchasthenumberoffollowers,theengagementlevelofthefollowersthroughnumberoflikes,numberofshares,numberofcomments,numberofviewsandwhichwasmentionedby6outof9respondentswhereasTwitterStatisticsisusedonlybyc andidate6.Only2outof 9ho telsusestandardthird-partymeasurementsuchasGoogleAnalytics,whileonlyonerespondentusesBitlyandTalkWalker.Theonlytourism-specificmeasurementtoolisTrustYou,whichwasonlyoncerefere ncedbyaninterviewee.Candidate1and6statedcreatingdifferentstrategiesbyjust usingtheactual platformssuchasInsta gram picturecontests,linkingFacebookpagesandlocationswithpostsandputtinglinksintoposts,whichcanbetra cked.2ou tof9respondentsdecla redt heiruseofT ripAdvisor andHolidayCheckasaway ofmeasu ringcus tomersat isfaction throughtheratingsystems,thereviews theyreceive andalsoawayofgiv ingfeedbackto theirunsatisfiedcustomers.AsmentionedinSection4.1thehigherthenumberofhotelstheinterviewedpersonswereinchargeof,themoreadvancedwerethestrategies

41andmeasurementsused.Inthiscase,thepersonreferredtoisCandidate9.Ithasbeenmentioned thatFacebookAnalytics helpsanalyze demographicalcharacteristics,likeageorgenderofthefollowers,andwheretoplacetheads.Alltheseleadtoabetterunderstandingoftheactualcustomersandthestrategiesthatneedtobeusedtoapproachthem.Itisimportanttokeepuptodatewiththelatestnewsandtrendsinsocialmedia,asitisaverydynamicfield.Candidate9isaloneintalkingabouttheengagementintermsoftryingtoincreasetheknowledgeaboutthedynamismofsocialmediaands/heisalsotheonlyoneemphasizingonthehumanresource partthatcanbeassist edthroughsocial media.Be sidestheconnectivitytothecustomers,candidate9talksaboutthei nterestofprospectemployeesthathasbeenshownthroughsocialmedia,whichleadstotheactionsthatneedtobetakeninthisdirection.4.8 ChallengesofMeasuringSocialMediaImpactThisquestionrelatestothedifficultiesencounteredbytherespondentsregardingthemeasurementprocedures,levelofsatisfactionwiththecurrentmethodsandtools.Consideringthelevelofdifficultyofthetools,whichthecandidatesareusing,asdiscussedintheSection4.7 ,8 outof 9responden tsdidn otenc ounteranydifficultieswiththeprocedures,butstillmentionedthattheycouldbeimprovedorthattheyareconstantlychanging.Candidate4considersthetoolssatisfactoryandtheimprovementsuggestedregardsFacebook'sabilitytoprovideabetteroverviewofthemonthlystatisticoflikes,sincethecurrentoneisslightlytroublesome.Ontheotherhand,Candidate6considersthattrackingthepositiveeffectofsocialmediaisdifficult,buttoolscanalwaysbebetter.Acaseoflackoftrustinthemeasurementtoolshasbeendiscovered;accordingtocandidate5,whopointsoutthatsometimesresultsdonotreflectrealityandthatthatresultscanbedifferentlaterinamonththanbefore.ThisdissatisfactionisconcerningFacebookAnalytics.GoogleAnalyticshasabette r,more reliableandprofessional reputation.Candidate9,whohasalreadytriedoutover15socialmediatools,stillhasdifficultiesindecidingwhichisthebestonetouse;onethattakesintoconsiderationtheneeds,theinternationalnatureofthecompanyandthediversetargetmarket.Conclusively,itisdifficulttocomparethevarioustoolsastheydifferfromoneanother.Thefactthatplatformsandtheirb uilt-inanaly ticschangeveryoftenm akesitevenmorediff icultfor

42hotelierstousethemandreceiveanaccurateresultfromthem.Still,socialmediameasurementsthatarecurrentlyusedarenotdifficult,consideringtheirdegreeofcomplexity.4.9 OverallAssessmentandSuggestionsThelastquestionoftheinterviewsummarizedtheinterviewees'opinionsonthetopic,furthersuggesti onsforimprove mentandtheirconclusion.Opinions weresharedbutalsoreallydifferent.3outof9participantsagreedonthefactthatsocialmediashouldbecarefullyusedandthatitisaneasywayofdistributingacompany'smessagetowardsitscustomers.Candidate2stressesthefactthatsocialmediaisreallyimportantandthatalotcanbereachedwithit,especiallyretainingcontactwithguests,andstayingintheirminds.Itisrelevanttomentionthatgreatcareshouldbetakenwhenusingsocialmedia.Itiseasytogofromachievinggoalswithsocialmediatoreachingexactlytheopposite.Toomanypostscansometimesbeconsideredspam,andnoteverythingthathappensshouldbepostedonFacebook.Thistrendis notgoingtolast foralon gtime,asp eoplewillbegint obeoverwhelmedbytheamountofinformat ionavai lable.Withthesame mindset,candidate4agreesontheimportanceofsocialmediaanditshelpfulnessinnewsdistribution,up-to-datestatusofeveryone,andinteractionwiththecurrentandprospectivecustomers,withthepossibilitytoreachalargeaudienceatlowcost.Candidate6agreesthatsocialmediaisaneasyandlow-budgetmethodtocreateandraiseawarenessofanexistingbrand,buttheemphasisisputonattentionwithusingsocialmedia.Sometimesitisusedwithoutanyobservation,whichcancauseadisastrouseffectonabusiness.Thesameopinionhasbeennotedfromcandidate7,whocomparesthepositiveandnegativeeffectsthatsocialmediacouldhaveonahotel.Negativew ord-of-mouthwillalwa ysspreadfaste rthatthepositive one,thereforetoolsshouldbeusedbutatthesametimesupervisedattentivelyinordertokeepthereputationofahotelintact.Onthecontrary,candidate3concentratesonthe positivei nfluencesofsocialmedia, bydiscussingthehighlevel ofdevelopmentinsocialmediatechnologyandthehighcustomerreachthroughthevariouschannels.Socialmediaisanessentialtoolinthehospitalityindustry,asarelationship-basedmarketingtool,itiscrucialandsocialmediahelpsindevelopingacloserandabetterconnectiontotheguests.

43Inconclusion,severalrecommendationshavebeengiven,reflectingdifferentpointofviews.Forpublicrelations,ahighpercentageofbloggersandjournalistsusesocialmedianowadaysasafir st sourcetogetinfor med.In thiscasethe mostusedplatformisTwitter.Fromcustomerservicepointofview,therehasbeenaslightincreaseintheuseofonlinecommunicationplatformssuchasFacebookandTwitterforbook inginquiriesandcompla ints.Thereasonbehinditis thatcustomers nowadaysknowthatthet imeofreactionisev enshorterthan viae-mail.Consideringthehumanresources, potentialemployeesearchviasocial mediabecausetheyaresuretogetananswershortlyaswell.Asmentionedbefore,afuturetrendofsocialmediaistheemphasisonanincreasedinteractionespeciallyonchannelsthatarefocusedonvisualillustrationsratherthantext,forexampleInstagram,PinterestorFlickr,w hichcantriggeremotionalfeedback.US andUKmarketsareconsideredtobetrendsetters,whiletheeasternmarketsarefollowingandapplyingthetrends.Google+isamustformanyhotels,givenitsimportanceforsearchengineoptimization,andasachanneltoreachbusinessclients.

445 ConclusionandFurtherResearchTheunderlyingresearchquestionofthisthesiswas"Howdostakeholdersinthetourismandhospital ityindustryme asurethesuccessofsocialmedi aintheirbusiness?"Ali teraturereviewrevealedwhatresearch ershavediscussedandsummarizedtheirinsights.9hotelsinViennawereinterviewedtocomparetheseinsightswiththeindustry'sopinion.Basedonempiricaldataandtheliteraturereview,anumberofconclusionscanbedrawn.Thesocialmediaphenomenonrepresentsanongo ingtrendwherehospitalityhasalottogain,butshouldalwaysbecarefulnottomisusethemedium.Lim-2010)statesthat"thehospitalityindustryembracedthepossibilitiesofsocialmedia;thehotelwebsitesintheirinfancystageswereunderstoodbymarketersastheequivalentofabrochureinanonlineenvironment.Atthemoment,socialmediaisstillevolvinganditspotentialinthisindustrystillremainstobeseen".S/healsoagreeswithmos toftheinterviewrespondentswhens/heobserv esthatsocial mediacreate"areal connectio nbetweencompaniesandcustomers".Thisconnectioncreatesatrendf orpurchaseinten sit y.Ongoingconnect ionandrelationshipwiththeguestswilleve ntuallyturnth emintoam bassadorsandavolunteermarketingarmy.Thepropertyneedstoensurethatsocialmediaisanintegralpartoftheoverallmarketingplan.Shouldthebudgetandresourcesbecomelimited,thenthesocialmediadomainneedstobemonitoredinaneffectivemanner.Hotelierswhowantstayaheadofthecurveneedtoinvestinpopularcoquotesdbs_dbs17.pdfusesText_23

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