What I especially like, is the comment about where the ROI fits into the overall picture. It certainly has a place and is a necessary requirement, but it definitely should not be the first priority or initial focus for a social strategy to be successful and sustained over time. I am sure they would not have continued for six years with this effort if it hadn’t shown tangible and measurable results along the way. What many people – especially in the executive suite – don’t seem to realize is that financial ROI of a social web marketing effort is achieved only over time. The Roger Smith Hotel, it seems has made a continuous commitment during a difficult economic time for the hotel industry and in a very competitive marketplace like Manhattan and has managed to be successful because of it. To me that is solid proof of the ROI resulting from this exemplary social web effort. The lessons that can be learned from this are clear and they apply not only to hotels but any organization in travel and tourism that wants to be where the conversation about their brand takes place whether they are listening or not and that happens to be on the social web.

via adage.com

This article widens the definition of “app” and touches on some important elements impacting successful brand marketing. Travel brand marketers are faced with the exact same issues how to best position themselves in this new world of “apps” and in the context raised here of how their brand is “applied” in a mobile environment.

It’s not sufficient to just add an app to whatever else is done to market the brand on the social web but to make it a value added extension of it and at the same time a useful tool.

If you notice the year it was published at the bottom (1969), you realize that some of the basics in information retention haven’t changed at all and are as relevant, if not more so, today in our interactions on the social web. One key difference is the tools at our disposal which make it so much easier to instantly produce, distribute and consume content and communicate about it. This has significant implications on how to develop effective marketing strategies that take all this into consideration to assure success.

Social Marketing eliminates the middlemen, providing brands with the unique opportunity to have direct relationship with their customers

There is a lot of chatter about the topic of social media and social networking but uncertainty still remains regarding the right approach by companies and how to correctly use the tools available to make their marketing successful. This paper touches on these issues and seems to be a useful guide.

As a matter of fact, you can try it out right here on this blog. Just at bit down on the right hand side is an attractive selection of pictures to click on. Based on the clicks the tool will determine your preferences, or travel related DNA and offer the products it determines are most relevant to you.

There are different shop options and the widget can be personalized. If you’re interested in having your own, just go to http://shops.visualdna.com and click “Create a shop”, you should then be prompted for an access code. Please enter “buhlerworksvisualdnashops” and you should be able to set up a PRO shop of your own.