STS Opening & The Future of Travel Media and Travel Marketing

– Welcome by Keith Jenkins and Angelika Schwaff
– VisitBritain Welcome, Robin Johnson, Marketing Director

The Future of Travel Media and Travel Marketing
With his signature wit and thought-provoking visuals, Doug Lansky is going to challenge both travel bloggers and the travel industry to up their game.

Travel bloggers work outside the professional confines of journalism. They put a very personal face on extraordinary travel experiences often deep-diving into niche interests that don’t make sense for traditional publishers. And they carry their roles as influencers beyond writing to inspire travel with video, images and podcasts on platforms such as Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope and Facebook.

The independence of travel bloggers/influencers is a strength, but it’s a double edged sword. Lack of mentorship and guidance from an experienced editor can present a challenge as they balance the roles of publisher, marketer and dealmaker. A new kind of professionalism is required.

Yes, the travel media and travel marketing continues to be in transition and in this presentation Doug is taking on the task of predicting its future.

Coffee Break

Sponsored by trivago

Bloggers to Bloggers Panel: The Business of Blogging

Moderator: Rachelle Lucas, The Travel Bite
• Building a Team for Your Business: Claudia Beatriz, Aprendiz de Viajante
• Making the Sale: Ana Silva O’Reilly, Mrs. O Around the World
• Selling Your Freelance Skills: Lola Akinmade Åkerström, Geotraveler’s Niche
• Passive Income: Kate McCulley, Adventurous Kate
• Working with an Agent: Marc Smith, 30 Day Adventures

Industry to Industry Panel: The Online Challenge

• Moderator: Mariette du Toit-Helmbold
• Borderless Budgets: Nicholas Montemaggi, iambassador
• Leveraging the Assets Bloggers Create: Emma Mead, VisitBritain
• Convincing Management of Online Value: Catharina Fischer, Tourismuszukunft
• Which Social Platforms Have Real ROI? Sabina Woller, trivago

VisitBritain Quiz & Reports

Reports from the Panels by the Moderators
Mariette du Toit-Helmbold and Rachelle Lucas

STS Think Tank: Issues in the Blogger/Industry Partnership

A key objective of The Social Travel Summit is to improve and expand the ways in which bloggers and the travel industry collaborate. The “Think Tank” is a session in which delegates from both sides of the equation brainstorm and discuss the challenges of collaboration and identify solutions that will benefit all.

This year the Think Tank will ask all delegates to explore the role and transformation of destination management organisations, the value that travel bloggers bring to their clients and how it can be better measured and presented, as well as the role that bloggers have in helping destinations solve some of their biggest challenges.

You can read more about the discussions, findings, and recommendations from the 2014 and 2015 Think Thanks here. A report on the 2016 Think Tank will be published following the Summit and we encourage participants across the industry to read and share it.

The STS Think Tank is sponsored by Toposophy

Sponsorship: Finding the Perfect Partner & Getting Great Results for All

The travel blogger/travel sponsor partnership should go far beyond trips and logos. They should be relationships that drive revenue for both the sponsor and the influencer in the long term. Jackie Fast, Managing Director of global award-winning Slingshot Sponsorship will help the audience understand the full value that travel bloggers bring to the table and share strategies that will help ensure that the partnership generates revenue for all parties.

The Business Case for SEO & How to Get Google to Love You

Google changes its algorithm. You update your business goals. Things change! An effective SEO strategy isn’t just about getting more people to your site: it’s about getting the right people to your site so that they take the action you want them to take. After exploring the business case for SEO, Erik will cover site structure, content optimization, how to promote your content for SEO, YouTube SEO, and common SEO mistakes. He’ll also share a case study demonstrating the application of many of his tips. It’s important to stay current with the SEO world and this session will help you do so.

Coffee break

Sponsored by Latvia

The Future of Search: How People will Engage

Attention spans are shortening. Devices are changing. People are using the online world in different ways with different expectations. This session will explore the future of blogging and the online world. Our speakers will reveal what they see as the future from technical and design perspectives. We’ll ask our experts: How is Google changing its search standards to meet the future of the web? Will Google be bumped off its search pedestal? What will we need to know to be found via search in the future? How can we create content that is both found and engages people? How will the navigation of sites change? What will be the new design elements in two years, five years, and ten?