Social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter are being misused by Australian travel companies according to James Gaskell, general manager of Zuji Australia, an online travel agent.

Rather than being used as a tool to engage with their customers to obtain feedback about their organisation, or to help deliver a better product through connecting with their clients, too many businesses are using the sites for sales pitches.

Social media can take many forms, including blogs, micro-blogging (eg. Twitter), social networking, events and online advocacy.

“The mistake we make in Australia is that when people say social media the first and only thing they think about is Facebook, but there’s a big distinction between social media, which is customer interaction, and advertising on Facebook," Mr Gaskell told Travel Today.

Mr Gaskell said trying to plug offers through social media is the wrong strategy, which could have the reverse affect of turning people off a company.

“It’s retailing with no context. When you sign into Facebook what isn’t on your mind is a retail proposition.”

The Newsport spoke with Gaye Scott from Cairns' marketing specialists The 20/20 Group regarding the use of social media in business.

The Newsport: What do you advise your clients in terms of maximising the potential of social media sites?
 
Gaye Scott: We first tell our clients to make sure they have time to spend on social media. Particularly if you aren’t a regular private user, you need to dedicate time to planning the tone and content of your posts. You then need to spend time regularly updating your content and interacting within the medium. While this isn’t your website or brochure, it still contributes to the voice of your company.
 
TN: What are some of the common mistakes businesses make when using social media?
 
GS: The most common mistake we see business make is entering into social media without first establishing what they want to achieve. Just “doing it because everyone else is” probably isn’t the best approach, and will likely lead to the second most common mistake: entering into social media and then neglecting to regularly participate.
 
Another common issue arises when companies treat Facebook and Twitter like their media releases and brochures, talking AT people rather than sharing with them. Think dialogue rather than monologue.  
 
TN: What social media strategies do you formulate, and on what sites? Eg. Forums on the business’ website, facebook, twitter, blogs etc
 
GS: This one’s a bit hard to answer as the strategy varies with the product and target market.  As an overall strategy, comments posted need to be either newsy, useful, really interesting or encourage interaction.
 
TN: Are businesses becoming smarter in the use of these sites?
 
GS: We think so – social media has really only been a mainstream marketing tool for a couple of years now, but companies are quickly figuring things out. If you track responses to your social media efforts (and this can be done, and…. it is also a common mistake that businesses don’t measure results), you’ll quickly realise what resonates and what doesn’t.
 
TN: Are businesses scared of people posting honest feedback?
 
GS: Yes some people are scared of negative feedback. Not because they don’t have faith in their product but because if you are hosting 100s of visitors every day or every week, on the rare occasion something will go wrong and it may end up published on TripAdvisor.
 
Our advice is to not try to control social media – it is a discussion. We had one client who pounced upon a customer’s criticism with a lecture-like response. Not a good look.  On balance there will be more positive than negative feedback and it adds authenticity to the discussion.  
 
We also think the benefits of having direct access to your customer base far outweigh the impacts of some negative feedback.