Arabian Travel News looks into the benefits and pitfalls of the social media phenomenon, to find out if it’s time for travel firms to start tweeting or if it’s just a load of hype...

It used to be viewed as the procrastinator’s weapon of choice to while away an afternoon at work (many companies even went as far as banning Facebook during work hours — including this magazine’s very own publishing company). But these days, it seems companies have latched on to a new potential for using social media as a viable business development tool.

Whether you love it or can’t stand it; you can’t avoid the fact that more and more people are Tweeting, Facebooking, blogging, podcasting, and Youtubing,; not just for personal reasons but as part of their business strategy.

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The stats are mind-boggling. Facebook has more than 750 million active users; Twitter has 200 million and in the US alone the number of minutes spent on social networking sites has increased 83% year-on-year.

So how do you get involved? Why would you? And what are the drawbacks to exposing your brand to such an instant and public form of communication?

Quality connections
Of all the social media sites out there, Facebook is ranked number one (apparently if Facebook were a country it would be the third largest in the world).

Social media expert, Martin Kubler, founder of Iconsulthotels said for a company looking to start its social media strategy this is the best place to begin. “If you can only be on one social media site it should be Facebook.

“Facebook is a part of everyday life. People are constantly updating their newsfeeds and it has spread into new areas of the world and to new age groups. A lot more older users are using it these days.”

However Kubler cautions that companies should “look behind the numbers” and focus on building up “quality connections” through Facebook rather than just trying to get as many friends and followers as possible.

“Size does not matter. It’s about the quality of connections. You could have 20,000 friends on Facebook, but if 19,999 are outside of your target audience and never look at your page it won’t make a difference.”

Al Futtaim Travel launched its Facebook page in August, featuring a travel clinic called ‘Ask Bill’ where users can ask manager Bill Horsely travel-related questions. So far the page has 209 followers; but Samantha Watson, sales & marketing manager, Al Futtaim Travel agrees that social media is not a numbers game.

“We are not about numbers or having a high amount of ‘likes’. We are interested in having the right type of followers. People who are genuinely interested in us and us in them. We are not just crowd sourcing.”

Nazar Musa, managing partner of Gulf Reps has developed Facebook and Twitter accounts for travel clients including Tourism Ireland, which now has over 7,000 followers on Twitter. Twitter has been used to “develop a relationship” with followers; run competitions, answer questions and start conversations on Ireland, says Musa with staff dedicated to managing the accounts.

Musa believes its essential that every travel company adopts a social media strategy. “Social media communication is instantaneous and a medium used by most of the population nowadays.

Clients can comment, praise, be disparaging or simply want to make a point about your business and if you’re not engaged you have no opportunity to be involved in a conversation that significant numbers of people can be having”.