It looks like Spain is the latest destination to use a clever Facebook campaign to drum up some interest among traveling social media users. Free vacations are being offered to users who provide the best answers to questions about Spain and its customs. The contest is set to last through the end of February, so there’s still time for you to get in on the action. Winners wil receive a one-week trip ever year for three years, including airfare and lodging at Parador hotels, which are refurbished castles and monasteries – not a bad way to roll. If you think you have what it takes to get your vacations covered for the next three years,head over to Facebook to prove it!
Salt Lake City uses Facebook contest to get you psyched
The #1 Fan Sweepstakes for the Salt Lake City CVB’s Facebook fan page kicked off on January 15, 2010 and runs until February 12, 2010. The goal is to get the number of fans pumped up to 5,000, while giving potential visitors information about everything Utah: from skiing to genealogy to Mormonism to convention business. Already, the number of fans has almost doubled — from 1,200 to 2,200 — indicating that the new Facebook push is working.
This is a trend that’s becoming increasingly common: travel companies and destinations are turning to Facebook to promote themselves and attract tourists. Recently, JetBlue and the Mexican Council for the Promotion of Tourism kicked off Facebook programs to attract interest and (hopefully) generate the sort of interest that will help them overcome the severe travel industry slump that we’ve been coping with for more than a year now. For Salt Lake City, which has been executing an aggressive media campaign, the move into social media isn’t at all surprising.
According to Inside Facebook, the #1 Fan Sweepstakes isn’t the first push that the Salt Lake City CVB has made on Facebook. Rather, it reflects the lessons learned from previous efforts. Says Shawn Stinson, Director of Communications for the CVB, “We started with a number of different Facebook fan pages: ski, visit, genealogy, meetings, and that didn’t work. It was too littered. So we went to simply Visit Salt Lake.” The straightforward approach is anchored in this new initiative. According to Stinson, “This contest in particular is being used to drive an increase in our fan base because we are looking to distribute more and more information via Facebook.”
The grand prize is a ski trip for two that is packed with extras beyond airfare and lodging: ski passes and a FLIP video camera are included, and the winner is expected to shoot video for a blog about the trip. Other prizes include a set of Dynastar skis and bindings, a two-day Ski Salt Lake pass valid at any of the four resorts in Salt Lake and 20 Ski Salt Lake belt buckles and t-shirts.
Four Twitter deals for Valentine’s Day getaways
You may not be able to say how you feel in 140 characters or less, but you sure can get leads on the best Valentine’s Day experience that way. So, instead of tweeting a feeling, use the white-hot social media platform to grab the top travel specials for the most romantic day of the year. Several resorts are running Twitter-only Valentine’s Day specials this year, so follow the right people, and you’ll be able to wow your better half this year.
1. @BalHarbourFL
ONE Bal Harbour, a five-star luxury property in Florida, is offering a savings of up to $800 a night through its “Tweeterhearts” package. Follow @BalHarbourFL and look for the package that has a room rate of only $1,335 a night for three nights, champagne in your room upon arrival, a couples spa treatment in a private beachside cabana and a romantic dinner for two at 1 Bleu.
2. @FairmontNewport
Look for a room rate of $199 a night at the Fairmont Newport with its “Twitter-patter” package. You’ll stay in a junior suite, enjoy breakfast on your private balcony and receive plush robes adorned with the names of you and your guest (perfect for Twitter nerds like @tjohansmeyer and his wife, mommy-blogger, @ljpimberton — I’m seriously kicking this around, just for the robes). Other amenities, from high-speed internet access to valet parking and champagne are covered, as well. And, the window is wide: you can stay from the beginning of February through the end of March. Get the booking code from @FairmontNewport or @FairmontHotels.3. @LandingsStLucia
Who thought you could get a great wedding deal on Twitter? This RockResort is putting its best foot forward with the “Twitter Bells” package, which you can find by following @LandingsStLucia. You can save up to 25 percent with rates starting at $564 a night for a six-night stay as part of your wedding getaway. Enjoy a ceremony on the beach with a decorated wedding arch, floral arrangements and a bouquet and boutonniere. Your wedding dinner will be prepared for by Executive Chef Richard Tonks, and you’ll eat it on your luxurious “Tweet Suite” terrace. You’ll also pick up breakfast and lunch daily and evening champagne turndown service. You’ll need to tie the knot by May 11, 2010.
4. @ArrabelleVail
Do you crave powder? The Arrabelle at Vail Square‘s “Sweet Tweet for Two” package will get you a two-night stay at a discount of up to 30 percent, if you follow @ArrabelleVail. You’ll be greeted with champagne, roses and chocolate covered strawberries, and during your stay, you’ll enjoy an 80-minute couples massage, a Tweethearts tubing session and breakfast every day. The package is available through the end of ski season (April 17, 2010), with rates starting at $465 a night.
Facebook “memology” report reveals non-travel bias?
Facebook has released its trend analysis of the top words appearing in status updates in 2009. Unlike the Twitter worldview, which had some terms that could be seen as travel-related, Facebook users appear to have spent more time at home. Sure, there’s the obligatory H1N1 mention, which impacted the travel-hungry throughout the year … but that’s it. What cements the seemingly sedentary characteristic of the Facebook addict this year is #13 on its “memology” report (meme = online slang for trend or fad) is “yard.”
We’ve all grown to loathe the coined word “staycation,” but as much as we try to ignore the word, the underlying tendency can’t be ignored. Just how the hell did “yard” come in at #13? It’s the antithesis of travel – of mobility, really – and drives home the notion that low fares and dirt-cheap hotel rooms weren’t enough to get us out of our own plots in 2009.
Facebook admits to some surprise at this meme on the list, saying, “This is a trend that nobody would have guessed.” Can’t get blunter than that, right?The social network’s blog post continues, “The word “yard” seems fairly uncommon, and indeed it barely breaches a rate of five mentions in every 10,000 status updates. When we compare 2009 to 2008, however, we see a huge increase.”
It’s possible, according to Facebook, that it’s a result of more “moms and dads” coming to Facebook and letting the world know via status updates that they are either working or spending time in the most suburban of land masses, as “these folks have yards that require some tending.”
Does this mean that Twitter users are younger? Or, just more active than their Facebook counterparts? Obviously, it’s impossible to say, but it’s a bit fun to guess. Of course, I cheated a bit with our interpretation of Twitter a few weeks ago, so the chasm isn’t as vast as I may have made it appear.
So, let’s try to change the situation in 2010. Link your Twitter account to your Facebook page and push your travel-related updates hard. Live tweet the hour you wait in line at the security checkpoint, or gripe about the lousy service you get from the airlines. Do something – do anything. Let’s change the face of social media … and put a travel mask on it!
[Photo by Kevin Prichard via Flickr]
Destinations feature highly in top Twitter trends of 2009
It wasn’t explicit, but the top Twitter trends of 2009 have a hint of travel built into them. Sure, it was the elections in Iran that put made “Tehran” and “Iran” among the top 10 news items trending this year, and politics pushed “Gaza” up there, as well. And, we all remember the H1N1 Swine Flu epidemic, which has been memorialized in the form of “Swine Flu” and “#swineflu” on the microblogging site. Six of the top 10 new trends on Twitter had implications for travelers.
Twitter exploded this year, entering the public consciousness and drawing enough action to bring its user base close to 60 million. Travel writers spent the year devising new ways to use Twitter to help their readers circle the globe and suggesting interesting and unusual tweet-masters to follow. So, 2009 was for exploration, and 2010 will put Twitter on the mobile devices of even recreational travelers as they look for hotel rooms, hunt for cheap fares and try to get the lay of the land at the destinations on their itineraries.
Beyond tips and tricks, a travel community developed on Twitter, with bloggers and reporters, destinations and publicists and travelers of all types collaborating to help each other get the most out of every jaunt. We learned who has the best info through such practices as #TravelTuesday, which gave everyone recommendations on whom to follow.
Travel didn’t gain enough of a profile to unseat the major newsmakers, top movies and TV shows and major sporting events, but there was plenty of travel intel we were able to pick up from the news trends – especially for those of us with a more adventurous bent – and the action within our own community was certainly enough to prove the value of this tool to jetsetters of all types.
So, peck away at your devices next year, and let’s resolve to contribute to a robust, useful and exciting travel tweet-stream in 2010. Even if we don’t make the top 10 for travel reasons at this time next year, we’ll all have benefitted from the shared experiences of millions of airport-dwellers, business travelers and adventure-seekers. Whether they’re on-the-ground updates on delayed flights or tips on where to get the best hotdog in a strange place, it’s up to us to give each other news we can use.