Ten thousand Facebook likes and nearly 25 000 Twitter followers in just four months – now that’s something worth smiling about. A lot.
Getting social media strategy spot-on
In early July Flow collapsed six different SAT Facebook accounts into one and launched Love South Africa. This unifying strategy, that saw the launch of a consolidated social media interface that speaks to a single group of people about different facets of tourism in South Africa, was a good one. In just a few months the brand-new Facebook page has reached a record 10 300 fans, and more than 16 000 are actively talking about it.
“We are thrilled to see the social media strategy in action, which has resulted in good numbers for us,” says William Price, global e-marketing manager at SAT. “We’ve got big smiles on our faces and we’re looking forward to increased numbers as Flow continues to exceed our expectations,” he adds.
The @GoToSouthAfrica Twitter account is also flying, with nearly 25 000 followers. Flow also runs @SATravelTrade, which is focused on the business of the travel/tourism industry and has around 1 500 followers.
“Managing South African Tourism’s social media accounts doesn’t feel like work at all, it’s great fun,” says Flowstar Melanie Feris. “There is just so much to tell about our country. People love South Africa and enjoy sharing their South African experiences with us. Ninety-five percent of interactions with us are positive.”
Why social tourism matters
Social tourism is a term employed by Flow (and Flowstars) that speaks to the online promotion of a destination. By definition, social tourism is the act of connecting people to the destination via a social media channel, where they can engage with a community of people who have a similar affection for the same place.
Flow has learnt a thing or two about social tourism while working with SAT.
1. Engage
Spend a lot of time on the account, watching people’s posts and interacting with the community in a real way. Make sure you spend ample time on the account throughout the day, to connect with fans who live in different time zones.
2. Be inspirational, not prescriptive
We all hate being told what to do. And it’s no different with social media. Instead of saying “You have to come to South Africa because we have lion and leopard for you to photograph,” rather share an anecdote from a traveller to South Africa that speaks about their experience while photographing a big cat.
3. Visual content is key
As humans, we engage with visual content a lot more than letters and words. In fact, around 70% of communication is visual. Use this principle when interacting with your audience – use glorious photographs of South Arica and encourage sharing of these images, to build a community of people who look forward to seeing your photos each day.
Promoting a destination such as South Africa to a large fan base is not without its challenges, though.
“When the news broke about the Marikana mine tragedy, our strategy was not to ignore the negative tweets and messages being directed at SAT, but to nevertheless stay focused on our goal and promote positivity. Our aim is to foster a love of South Africa among people everywhere,” advises Melanie.
The good news with a bulk following and an account showing exponential growth, is that people are talking about your page, says Flowstar Zintle Mtyeku, who also works on the account.
“At the moment we have around 20 000 people talking about Love South Africa– they are engaging with their friends and fans about the page, and talking about it on a digital platform,” she says.
“The consolidated Facebook account was key to our success. Now, with a single platform, we can focus our efforts and target the audience in one place, as opposed to a fragmented strategy that actually alienated different target groups,” she adds.
“We don’t want to pigeonhole users any more, we can offer them a range of activities and experiences here in South Africa, we can show them what the country as a whole has to offer.”
SAT’s William Price agrees.
“Our understanding is that increased social coverage will result in increased arrivals. The more people talk about the destination, the more people will decide to visit,” he says.
“As a result of our investment with Flow, we see brand advocacy of South Africa increasing in the e-marketing space – an interest we couldn’t necessarily generate ourselves. Also, since people are sharing their real-life experiences of South Africa online, we are pioneering the promotion of South Africa via those people who have really experienced it. This makes us a trailblazer in the destination marketing space,” he adds.
Price would like to see a 25% increase in the numbers of fans and followers over the next six months.
“We can’t wait to blow the socks off our client,” says Flow CEO Tara Turkington. “Twenty thousand fans, here we come!” she says with a giggle.