Just when you thought you'd got your head around what it takes to have an effective business website, it seems that more people are turning off traditional online searches in favour of online conversations on social media sites.

And the travel industry is at the forefront of the trend as people look to Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin for holiday information and advice from friends and their social networks.

Attendees at the Australian Tourism Export Council heard that potential travellers are said to be frustrated and confused by the mass of information available after a Google search, and that businesses need to find a way to get involved in the conversations consumers are having on these social sites.

“Consumers are overwhelmed and they have started to shift their search to other locations,” Tim Highes, vice president commercial at Orbitz Worldwide said.

“The challenge is how to get involved in a public conversation but one which we haven’t been invited to join,” he said.

Mr Hughes told delegates to the conference not to rush into the social media phenomenon without plan. “Sit down and decide who you want to talk to and what you want to say. You must have a clear plan,” he said.

In a recent The Newsport article 'Businesses missing social media mark' Gaye Scott from Cairns' marketing specialists The 20/20 Group voiced similar warnings to businesses considering venturing into an online conversation.

"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," she said.

"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."

Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree's Marketing Development Executive, Chelsea Walk, is responsible for getting TPDD involved in online dialogues.

"Most (of our social media work) is through Twitter. On Twitter you can monitor conversations and keywords such as Port Douglas, Daintree, or Cape Tribulation and see what people are talking about.

"We can pick up on conversations and we're involved in Twitter quite heavily," Ms Walk said.

'Re-tweeting' is also seen to be an effective way of promoting the area and involves forwarding positive tweets through to TPDD's followers, who can then in turn forward it on to their network.