“Strategic Internet Marketing - An analysis of Online Social Media and their Value as Destination Marketing Tools”
Introduction Gold Coast Tourism (GCT) is a not-for-profit organisation committed to marketing the Gold Coast region both nationally and internationally. Being not-for-profit, GCT is supported financially by the Gold Coast City Council and a wide membership base from the local business sector.
This project is an analysis of a range of social media, and the marketing strategies adopted in marketing the tourism industry through these channels. More specifically, the project will determine the most effective social media channels for online destination marketing suitable for the not-for-profit organisation ‘Gold Coast Tourism’.
Problem Overview
It is important to know if a marketing effort is going to be effective and add value to the organisation before investing in it. The more knowledge and understanding the organisation has of the macro environment, target audience, competitors, and the chosen channel of communication, the less inherent the risk of a wrong and costly decision.
An estimated 100,000 new profiles are created each day on social media network ‘Facebook’ (Serino, 2008). Although a network such as ‘Facebook’ offers an online marketer the opportunity for widespread exposure, the question is how effective are these social media channels in reaching the target audience for a particular organisation? When taking into consideration the amount of clutter by which ‘Facebook’ is surrounded, the dominant purpose of use, and the prevailing user characteristics, there may be more value in posting a homemade video on ‘YouTube‘, or perhaps starting your own group on ‘MySpace‘. The objective is not just reaching the target audience, but providing them with a unique, transparent space which engages and encourages conversation. With so many avenues for online destination marketing through the wide array of online social media, it is beneficial to pick the right one. This research project will investigate the most effective avenues of online destination marketing for GCT from a set of online social media.
Project Approach
The project will begin with a strategic analysis. This will be broken down into an analysis of relevant macro factors, an industry analysis, and an internal analysis. This will ensure an in-depth understanding of the organisation in question, which is crucial when judging the effectiveness of the range of online social media channels examined, and their application as destination marketing instruments.
The macro environmental analysis is particularly important in relation to this project. Corresponding to political factors, the declining movement of the Australian economy has a negative influence on the populations’ levels of perceived disposal income. This tightens competition in the destination/tourism industry.
The advancements in social media technology such as the growth in free online social networks e.g. ‘Facebook’ and ‘Myspace’, as well as increased ease of access ability through wireless broadband and mobile connectivity, has offered another medium for marketing. Although these mediums increase exposure, it can also produce bad publicity due to the lack of control, censorship and regulation over their content. It is important for organisations to understand their intangible value to the organisation.
In conjunction with the emergence of new technologies, globalisation has expanded the destination choices available to consumers. The reduction in the cost of flying domestically and internationally, as well as the increasing accessibility to the internet, has in turn enlarged the global Tourism marketplace.
Internal Analysis: The internal analysis will clarify the organisational objectives/goals, and future direction. The degree of relevancy to achieving organisational objectives will be an important factor in judging the effectiveness of the online social media channels examined.One of the challenges that GCT faces is identifying an online social media for destination marketing that fits into the profile of the visitor, as well as the organisational members.
Target Audience: The target audience analysis can be broken down into categories. There is the international market and then the domestic market, which encompasses the ‘Drive Market’. The drive market is of particular importance, as it makes up over 70% of visitors to the Gold Coast and can be characterised as people that live within a three-hour drive from the Gold Coast. The social media channels being analysed will be those which the target audience would be engaged in.
Competitor Analysis: The competitor analysis will have two roles. It will identify GCT’s direct competitors, and through case study analysis it will identify indirect competitors and how they are using social media channels to successfully market their brand.
Methodology
Following the strategic analysis, the wide range of social media channels will be listed and then categorised. The most dominant and relevant channel from each category will be researched. In order to gain a deeper understanding of each channel and their use as online destination marketing tools, a number of interviews will be conducted with experts within the field of online tourism marketing and social media. From the knowledge acquired, recommendations will be made as to what approach GCT could take with regards to using online social media as a channel for online destination marketing.
Deliverables
Upon completion of this project the university and the organisation will be presented with a copy of the market research project undertaken. This will include the strategic analysis, methodology, research results, and a discussion of relevant literature. From the research social media marketing recommendations will be made.
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