Tofino is a remote town located on the rugged and beautiful coast of Vancouver Island. I absolutely love this city, it is where I first learned to surf (which has now become a life long spiritual journey), where I got engaged, and even where Natasha and I were married. It truly holds a special place in my heart.
In the last couple years, there is no question that things are shaking and happening in Tofino! New businesses are popping up, entrepreneurs are thriving, and the community is alive and vibrant. It is an exciting time for this small coastal town. In this post we are going to take a look at ways small business can leverage social media to capture a larger, highly qualified audience in conversations, relationships, and business transactions online.
Tofino, Social Media, and the Opportunity to Have Conversations That Matter!
Tofino has always been an economy driven by tourism, and this market is only continuing to grow. Many of these cool and hip new businesses are being built to meet the needs of this growing tourism industry, that being said, there has been a slow adoption of authentic social media strategy, where businesses are engaging at a 1 to 1 level with both locals and visitors.
This example begins with Natasha and I being just married there a few weeks ago (Woohoo!). Being the social media “nerd” that I am, I invited and encouraged all of our guests to share pictures, thoughts, and adventures via Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #TyTash2012 as well as the standard #Tofino hashtag (which gets used countless times everyday).
We had 160 guests up at Tofino and a majority of them engaging on Twitter and Instagram, however, I did not see one local business present online in any of these social media conversations.
Here are some opportunities that may have been capitalized on, and again these tips and tools go for every small business out there!
The Most Highly Underrated Skill in Social Media… Listening
I am still seeing social media being primarily used as a promotional, push-oriented platform, where businesses can build up a fan base and then share their products, services, sales, etc. I may be going against the grain, but I still believe the most powerful use of social media is finding and listening to the relevant conversations in your space. And jumping in and engaging in these conversations when you or your business can Add Value!
Examples of Listening with Social Media
There are many ways we can use social media as a “listening tool”, whether it is monitoring local fan pages on facebook, using Google Alerts, searching Instagram hashtags, or my personal favorite, setting up geo-location searches on Twitter. As a business if you invest in the time to set up these channels in your online strategy, you will cut through all of the noise and have an exponentially higher percentage of interactions that are targeted and qualified to your market and customer!
(PS- Leave a comment if you are interested in learning more about any of these tools and tactics!)
Getting Started: Engaging in the Conversation
So, if listening is the key, where could some of these Tofino businesses start?
From a simple reactionary perspective there were several opportunities for Tofino brands to get involved in the #TyTash2012 conversation, and of course this is no different than the conversations that go on daily with the #Tofino hashtag.
While on Twitter there were about 30 of our guests actively using the hashtags and posting photos, comments, and experiences, on Instagram that traffic was almost doubled, with various guests posting over 150 pictures in the span of 2 days! All of these interactions were 100% public, could be seen by anyone or any business, with the space to interact, engage, and start a meaningful conversation.
Diving Deeper: Specific Examples and Scenarios
There are a few opportunities that local companies could have taken advantage of with these conversations on Twitter. The first could be something as simple as wishing a visitor a great day on the beach:
Or, we could look at an even more specific opportunity. A local organization like Tofino Brewing Company could have engaged with a post like this:
Perhaps inviting my friends Rob and Stephan over for a free flight of tasters after finishing the island lager.
Instagram is a very common app that is heavily used in the tourism industry. In fact, there are over 8,200 photos that have been tagged with the #Tofino hashtag and countless other #Tofino______ tags that have been created. (Sidenote: For a business to really step up their social media game, creating a specific hashtag with a story and strategy for engagement is a great way to include fans in the brand experience!).
Instagram is not only a great way for businesses to share their products, services, stories, and experiences in a visual way (this would be a push mechanism), it is also a channel to interact with people who are already interested in your product, service, or market, and talking it publicly. For example, there were countless pictures with the #TyTash2012 hashtag that were taken of the various wedding vendors as well as other Tofino businesses, the beautiful cake, the beer from Tofino, the incredible set up at the Botanical Gardens (and of course the gardens themselves).
As I search through the first several pictures recently uploaded to Instagram with the #Tofino hashtag I recognize several local brands and experiences that users are talking about, usually in a very positive and affectionate manner.
Social Media and Bridging the Consumer Gap
What now fills the void between the traditional online website experience that customers are used too, and the real experience itself is social media. It is the space online where businesses and customers can come together and engage at a personal and emotional level. Businesses are now able to listen to the relevant conversations and experiences and join them when there is opportunity to add value. This authentic way of communicating 1 to 1 has proven to drive more people to your website (to gain trust, credibility, information) and through your doors for business.
In a tourism based industry it can be hard to maintain high touch with customers that may only visit the area once a year. This is where social engagement can play such an important role because it is informal enough to not feel as though you are in a visitors face, but it gives enough touch to stay present, relevant, and over time, build a real relationship with the customer.
While we estimated that the full extent of our wedding contributed between $80,000-$120,000 to the local Tofino economy, I am not saying that any local business could have simply captured this using social media as a one off tool. Rather, I think about the demographic of people that were at our wedding, and I know many of them will visit Tofino again and likely for many years to come…
What is the value of building a 30 year relationship with a customer starting now?
The Conversations Goes On
Here are just a small handful of examples where visitors are engaging with Tofino and businesses could join the conversation with some creative, value added conversation!
Someone looking for recommendations on flying to Tofino
A Yoga/Surf retreat coming to Tofino
Someone getting a recommendation via Twitter for a Tofino surf school
How Does This Apply?
Going beyond Tofino, this type of social online engagement and conversation happens every day, in every city, and in your exact market and demographic- my challenge to you is to think about how you can start to listen to these conversations, jump in and add value, and start a relationship building process!
I would love to answer any questions you may have in the comments!
