Philippines, the Pearl of the Orient, is a treasure chest of beautiful islands and a destination of tourists from all over the world looking for place to relax and unwind. And many of these places are not known to visitors. Often times, people share their discoveries to other people and it spreads thru forums and personal blogs.
Social media is a powerful tool for Philippine Tourism but looking at the main portal of Wow Philippines, they are not using any of these free tools to promote tourism in our country or encourage businesses to invest in the Philippines.
How can social media help?
The first thing people will look for is a web site. Ok, the portal is there but the information is all about Philippine Tourism. I’m a backpacker and I love adventure. If I were a tourist, the first things I will look for is a website with all destinations and try to see if they have the following:
Flickr/Picasa – I love pictures and I assume many of us do. I want to see images from where I want to visit. The more stunning the images, the more I will get excited to plan my visit. Pictures can tell a thousand words. They describe many things about people and places.
YouTube Videos – One of the best ways to tell people how amazing a place is to get testimonials from previous visitors thru videos. One destination can always claim that they are the best and that they kick ass but words from visitors are more credible in this space.
Facebook Fan Page – It’s always nice to connect with people. According to statistics, if Facebook is a country, it will be the 4th largest population. Its where many of us gather but we don’t see you using it. Connect and build relationships. Share the best that our country can offer.
Blogs – The last featured article I’ve seen in Wow Philippines was dated 2008. Why not tell stories of people’s experience. What will make them visit again? What’s so special about the place? Blogs allows us to share more in-depth information and can act as an invitation.
Twitter – The famous micro blogging tool is a must-have in your tool set. No, we don’t just chat there. We talk about stuff that makes sense and help people be informed. It can also act as one of your sharing tools. Share images and videos. Listen to backpackers all over the world using the search functionality.
Some of these tools are in my toolset and help me do business with people from other parts of the world. It worked me and I don’t know any reason why it wouldn’t work in promoting tourism in the Philippines.
My advice is to layout an extendable strategy than can be used as a model for destinations. Information is crucial here and people hate site hopping just to plan an itinerary. Connect with businesses and empower them with your online presence. Things will follow.
This is my idea on how social media can help Wow Philippines. Care to share yours?
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