Think about how you use social media in your business. What is the purpose of your Facebook page, your Twitter feed, your YouTube channel? The primary function for all, at first thought, is to disseminate information to current and future customers – videos demonstrate products and services, while short status updates alert people to last-minute deals and changes in shipping or availability. In addition to promoting your business, social media is an important tool for promoting your ability to handle your business. Direct answers to customer queries and feedback shows that not only are you perceptive to people’s needs, but you are willing to take action when needed. Given the immediacy of social media and the potential for viral PR (consider how quickly a complain about a business burns through Twitter now as opposed to the grapevines of old), you may have convinced yourself that social media does nothing but good for your company’s image.

It’s possible, but as with any other marketing method there are risks to take. One of the most important maxims to remember about online communication is that nobody can truly hear your voice over a computer – you can type out a status intending to be humorous and one person is bound to take your words the wrong way. That’s why it’s important to note how misuse of your social media can do damage, and know how to keep that from happening.

1) Don’t neglect your profiles. Answer comments and questions in a timely manner. This is not to say that you need to be on Twitter and Facebook 24/7, but if a customer has a question about a specific product it’s best not to leave them hanging for days on end. If you worry about missing new posts, there are ways you can set up for notifications to push through your mobile device or e-mail. That way you can keep track of any activity.

2) Don’t get defensive. You may have a number of people maintaining your social pages, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, it may open the door to the occasional shot from the hip when responding to a complaint. It is important for every administrator of your profiles know that every word posted represents the company, not one individual. As such, if a customer or potential customer is offended by an off remark he/she will only see your logo, and associate the bad experience with you. It is important, therefore, to handle delicate online situations with grace, expedience, and tact.

3) Don’t delete. Nobody likes a black mark on a Facebook wall – it’s the closest thing to an ugly bruise, and your first inclination may be to delete the post. Think about it, though – if the complaint is valid and not a trollish call for attention, you should use the opportunity to address publicly what you intend to do to resolve any problems. The plantiff will see how you are attentive, and others will realize that you are a company of value, one that listens.

Can social media ruin customer relations? Not if you know how to handle various situations, and use your profiles for more than straight advertising. Well-rounded profiles lead to the conversions you need.

Kathryn Lively is a social media specialist assisting clients with social media writing and Facebook marketing. Clients include vendors of  organic mattresses, travel companies offering cheap European hotel reservations, Virginia health care services, Norfolk Realtors, global trade portals, and Gainesville bed and breakfast inns.

It’ll be years before the victims of this disaster recover, if at all. But, as we can’t unring that bell (or in this case, put the oil back in the pipe), we have to focus on what we can do to facilitate recovery for the lovely coastal towns whose beaches and reputations were stained by this disaster.

If you’ve got marketing dollars, now is the time to spend them.

Your tourism, visitor’s bureau, local or regional website needs to be addressing all the wonderful features of your town and reminding vacationers that you’re still open for business.  If you’ve got local photographers, invite them to submit new photos and then get those photos out through Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

Build a social media campaign, like this one run by the Jamestown Foundation that encourages past visitors to talk about their vacations and events. If you’ve got a YouTube channel, so much the better. Link to vacation videos that show your sparkling beaches, your lovely shops, your friendly locals and fantastic restaurants. Need some inspiration? Check out Currituck County, North Carolina. Now is an excellent time to invest in a pay-per-click campaign that helps users reconnect with your town or find you for the first time.

Family vacations, reunions, honeymoons and holidays are all still happening. Make sure these people know that good things are still happening at your place, too.

Melissa Baumann is a Search Marketing and Tourism Specialist as well as a seasoned world traveler.

Click for the Yelp profile for CINIVA Systems, Simple Tourism's Parent Company

If you are a business owner of any kind, you understand (and fearfully respect) the power of public opinion. If one customer walks out your door upset, they have the power to run your brand’s name through the dirt through social media. While word-of-mouth advertising can be the best form out there, it can also shed a lot of negative light to your company.

Meet your tourists and travelers half way by making it easy for them to give reviews.

Yelp, an online business rating site, allows people to log on, create accounts and provide a glimpse into a business’s services for other future customers. It is in every tourism and travel business’s interests to take the following steps to help make this process easier for their visitors, even if it brings on less-than-desirable reviews:

1. Create your online profile and fill it out completely.

The last thing you want is another person filling out information about your destination that is not quite right, or misleading in any way. Because other future tourists will view information about your business before even booking their trip, you want to make sure they have all of the correct information coming straight from the destination itself, not other people.

2. Interact often by commenting and posting specials.

If people are showing your attraction or business love, spread that love. People shouldn’t go onto review sites expecting to be rewarded, but if you are running any existing promotions or contests, by no means should you exclude your Yelp profile from getting that information out. Again, Yelp is a place people can check your business out before leaving their homes, so make sure they have a reason to come out to your place. If people are responding negatively to your destination on your Yelp profile, do not delete their comments. Instead, respond promptly and proactively to help them reach a  resolution. Others will see how helpful you are in resolving a situation, and it may work in your favor.

3. Incorporate Yelp into your social media strategy.

Just like tourism and travel businesses have social media strategies on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more, Yelp should be just as important. Each time you get a good review, blog or post it to Facebook. Tweet the link to your profile on Yelp, and post it on your Web site. Your future tourists will be impressed that you encourage your guests to leave comments openly and unfiltered for all the world to see. This will show confidence from you about your products and services, and give people a better reason to check out your destination.

Jessica Swink is a freelance writer specializing in articles about SEO for travel Web sites, European hotel booking,  and professional social media services.

People crave their social media networks.

Facebook and Twitter are no longer just Web sites, but verbs used to describe online activity. We are a culture that is tuned in and connected to each other easier than ever.

However, have you ever stopped to realize just how dependent we are becoming to social media?

The wonderful people at eMarketer have recorded these numbers for us, which reveal some valuable information for destination marketing to 20-year-olds.

As soon as people under 25 years old wake up, 31% of them are checking and updating Facebook and/or Twitter. This is significant, meaning that the first priority of these people in the morning before they do anything else is tuning in to find out what happened over night.

How can you use this in tourism and destination marketing? Easy.

• Make sure you aren’t forgetting your 20-something and college-aged audiences when advertising and marketing your destination
• Find unique ways to draw in their attention with words like “affordable” “group rates” and “make unforgettable memories”
• Seek out this age group on Facebook by searching for interests or fan pages. Then, bring them information they want to see about your destination.
• Post to your Facebook pages and Twitter feeds over night, so when this age group is catching up on what they missed over night, they will find your posting

Jessica Swink is a freelance writer specializing in articles about SEO for travel Web sites, European hotel booking,  and professional social media services.

If you were going to bake a Boston creme pie, you wouldn’t just start mixing ingredients together. You’d have a recipe.

Seeing a trend? Most successful ventures in life generally start with a plan. Unfortunately, most who decide to use social media for marketing tourism and travel forgo necessary goal-setting and strategy. This typically leads them to wonder what they are doing wrong on sites like Facebook and Twitter when they don’t have as many followers or fans as they would desire.

Having a strong presence on Facebook and Twitter doesn’t “just happen” overnight. However, through the careful planning and interacting on these networks (and others), you can drive traffic to your destination.

First thing’s first: Set your goals.

This is probably the most valuable takeaway from your plan. If you are aimlessly wandering into the world of Facebook and Twitter just because every one else is, you will have no way to measure your success because you won’t know what “success” is. What specifically do you want out of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube? Increased sales of at least 25%? More inbound traffic to your CVB’s homepage? Be specific. Also, what’s more important: 1,000 fans or more hotel bookings? Decide this early on so you can determine what true social media success is.

Secondly: Know thy tourist.

You should have at least a general idea of who your audience is. The more specific, the better. This will help determine what networks you should participate in. For example, if your target audience is older than 45 or 50, MySpace is probably not the best network to join. Also, if you deal with niche audiences such as mothers, sports lovers or busines travelers, there are specific niche social networks that you can join to help attract those groups.

Facebook seems to be a catch-all social network for most demographics, but knowing your audience will help develop strategies within Facebook that best targets your future tourists. Facebook marketing strategies range from paid advertising to fan pages and groups.

Third: Give them something to talk about.

This is the part that most jump into right off the bat, but it’s only after careful planning you enter this phase. Even after you begin this step of your master plan, you still need to know how to talk and what to talk about. For example: What are you going to do if someone negatively bashes your destination or staff? Respond openly or privately? Who is going to be the person updating your status everyday and does that person have a clear understanding of your online branding efforts? How much time daily are you going to commit to each social media account?

Also, remember conversation is two-fold. Don’t just talk. Listen, then listen harder. Go beyond comments written on your wall and find out what your fans are interested in on their own profile page. Learn what they like and don’t like and apply that to what you can do better.

Finally: Measure your efforts

Each month, measure your growth. Are you meeting your goals? Can you make better use of your time on Facebook and Twitter? Use tracking software and analytics to gauge where your traffic is coming from and learn from these reports.

Keep comparing your goals month after month and continue to improve on your efforts.

Social media isn’t easy just because everyone does it these days. Creating a successful social media campaign means work and much time invested. However, if proper steps are taken in the set up and planning stages of your social media marketing plan, you will lay the ground work for destination marketing success.

Jessica Swink is a freelance writer specializing in articles about SEO for travel Web sites, European hotel booking,  and professional social media services.

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