Comments on: How can Twitter help you?

By: velvet

velvet — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:15:12 +0000

Oh goody… sign up to Twitter and follow me @velvetescape and @velvetconnect. I’ll show you around and introduce you to some great people. It’ll be awesome to follow your experiences.

Cheers,
Keith

By: Ann, CTC

Ann, CTC — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:07:47 +0000

No. Bad me, I guess… Yes, the article was good, as were the related ones. Pointing out the pros and cons – this is good.

By: velvet

velvet — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:46:59 +0000

Hahahaha! Good one! Great article by the way. Are you on Twitter?

Best regards,
Keith

By: Ann, CTC

Ann, CTC — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:14:47 +0000

Ummm… I think I love you?

By: velvet

velvet — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:12:22 +0000

Check out this article I tweeted today about the importance of travel agents.

By: velvet

velvet — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:54:18 +0000

Thank you Stacy & Stephanie for your comments. I can only agree! Seriously, I think Twitter can certainly play a major role in direct marketing for travel agents. The resources available on Twitter will only serve to complement the role and services of a travel agent.
Thanks for participating in this discussion. Really appreciate it.

Best regards,
Keith

By: TravelDesigned

TravelDesigned — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:43:22 +0000

I know for a fact that Keith @ velvetescape is a friend to the travel agent community and promotes the use of travel agents. I know this because he regularly re tweets my posts. I am a homebased travel agent in Freeport IL and I have been in the travel industry for over 15 years.

I think some are misinterpreting his comments. I believe he was trying to show the power of twitter and how it is used by the travel industry as a whole. Keith provided me with research in developing a webinar I presented to travel agents on the benefits of using social media (available at http://www.mailpound.com) and wrote an ebook that complemented the presentation which is available on my website http://www.traveldesigned.com

I use social media in a number of ways. First to develop relationships with potential clients, secondly, to market and drive business to my website, and last but certainly not least, to network with agents, vendors, hotels on the latest travel information. Twitter in my opinion is today’s most powerful tool for travel agents. Let’s not kid ourselves, no one knows it all, and we can all benefit from the use of social media, it is an ever flowing fountain and source of knowledge that is shared freely.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:42:58 +0000

Keith–As a luxury-focused travel consultant, Twitter gives me the opportunity to position myself as such to thousands of consumers looking for advice/suggestions with their luxury travel plans. I’ve been contacted via Twitter by nearly 20 consumers in the past few months requesting assistance with everything from help booking honeymoons & weekend getaways to private villa rentals & yacht charters. In this tight economy & ultra-competitive environment my active participation in Twitter gives me an edge over the travel consultants who are not reaching out to those this way. I find Twitter to be the best form of direct marketing as those who are following me have actually chosen to do so. It’s much more effective than sending direct mail out to people who may not have any interest in my services. I love being able to assist my Tweeps, whether it’s with their travel plans or solely as a resource for them. My feeling re: Twitter is “You Get What You Give!”

By: velvet

velvet — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:12:17 +0000

Hi Barry,
Absolutely no offence taken. I’m really happy that this post is generating a good discussion. I’m wondering though if the message in this post might have been misinterpreted. It certainly wasn’t meant to undermine the importance of travel agents. I wrote the post to illustrate the function of social media tools as a great resource and an excellent tool for businesses (yes, including travel agencies) to reach out to new customers. For travel agents, it can be a very beneficial tool. I know many TA’s on Twitter who use it very effectively to promote their services, expertise and destinations. Actually, there’s a whole campaign going on right now (Monday), set up by a group of TA’s, to assist Mexico’s battered tourism industry. Look up the hashtags #Mexmonday or #MexicoMonday. They’re doing an outstanding job.

Thanks once again for your comments. Really appreciate it.

Best regards,
Keith

By: Barry

Barry — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:59:38 +0000

Please don’t get me wrong, I use the Internet and social media also when researching/planning my trips. However I like the security of my local company to book it once I’ve researched. Many times they have come back and said, did you consider this or I don’t recommend that and here is why. Price wise, it is pretty much dead even with what I find on the Internet.

But again that is just me. I’m pretty loyal to our agent and use them for anything from a simple hotel room which I reserve on there website to trips over ten-thousand+. They have helped us out of a bind many times over the years. I have a good working relationship with that local agency most of them know all my likes and dislikes as they have been doing my trips for over 20 years. That is important to me at least.