Social networking rules over email, says Facebook
LONDON – Time spent on social network sites has now surpassed time spent emailing in the UK, according to Facebook’s UK director Blake Chandlee.
Chandlee told delegates at the Eye For Travel Travel Distribution Summit this week that the average user of social networking sites spends 302 minutes a month on sites such as Facebook, TripAdvisor and Bebo where they spent only 179 minutes emailing.
He said: “If you are only planning on using traditional media to market your product you are only going to be successful some of the time. You need to think how you can add value to the customer experience using these sites.
“Some 52% of all 25 to 34-year-olds in the UK are on Facebook now and in the last 30 days in the UK, 28m events (people making arrangements to meet up) have been created on Facebook.
“There are 10.5 million people in the UK with a profile on Facebook and 100,000 of them have a travel profile. They can be targeted and a whole new level of marketing opens up.”
But Lastminute.com’s CEO Ian McCaig warned that caution should be taken before companies jump into the social networking environment in an attempt to market their product.
He explained: “There must be a level of sophistication and consideration because interruptive marketing in this environment does not work and alienates the customer as well as potentially damaging your brand.
“You need to check that your marketing is not popping up in an environment where a transaction is not taking place and people are just talking to each other. Intruding on social networking with your brand in an irrelevant situation is not welcomed.”
By Dinah Hatch
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025