Keynotes
The Future of Social
by Nick Westergaard, founder Brand Driven Digital
Social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram have disrupted how we live, work, and play. As new networks emerge and existing networks add even more features, it’s easy to get distracted by all the “shiny new things”. Brand strategist and University educator Nick Westergaard will take a look at where we are, what matters most, and, of course, what’s next when it comes to social media.
Sun, Sea and Content Marketing: Producing the right content for travelers
by Fergus Parker, CEO, Axonn Media
“We are very good at dragging people in their hundreds and thousands into our collective websites and then not converting them.”
John Straw, chairman of digital advisory board at Thomas Cook Group, hits the nail on the head. The travel industry is not yet using content marketing effectively to engage and convert their audiences. Axonn Research shows that there is a huge appetite for content among consumers, with travel guides and social media in high demand. Video is also highly popular, but it is widely underused by marketers in travel companies. In this presentation, Fergus Parker will explore the key themes of the Axonn Research paper Sun, Sea and Content Marketing, and give the audience some practical advice on how to produce the right content for travellers.
At the Intersection of Influence and Purpose
by Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott, Uncornered Market
You have influence. So now what? How can we make the most of our creativity, communication skills and experience — to benefit ourselves and others? Weaving anecdotes and key take-aways from the Summit with personal experience and professional expertise, Dan and Audrey will wrap up the conference by exploring how influence and purpose connect in the online travel world.
Workshops and Presentations
Everything is Mobile. How mobile, social and content are disrupting business and reinventing marketing and advertising
by Simon Andrews, Founder, Addictive
As consumers change their behaviours to take advantage of their smartphones and tablets, lots of sectors are seeing disruption. We look at how to turn that into an opportunity rather than a threat – from the basics on how to get your business Fit4Mobile through to what new services and business models might make sense in the new travel ecology.
The Art of Digital Storytelling
by Katie Anne Harrison, Creative, Wieden+Kennedy
As the role of the big television advertising becomes less relevant, brands need to find new ways to tell their stories. The connected online world gives brands a new platform to join in with conversations and become a relevant and useful tool in the lives of their audience. Kate discusses how to make this new broadcast channel authentic and how to win the attention of an already distracted generation.
Ahead of the Curve: Acting Now on Future Trends
with Nick Westergaard, founder, Brand Driven Digital
Katie Anne Harrison, Creative, Wieden+Kennedy and
Simon Andrews, CEO, addictive mobile
Moderator: Debbie Hindle, Managing Director, Four bgb
Were there synergies in the morning’s sessions? Contradictions? Conflicting priorities? It’s time to unpack the strategies presented by the morning’s speakers and understand the tactics that will lead to success in 2014 and beyond. This informal session will kick off with a few questions from our moderator and then continue with your questions from the floor.
The blogger / industry economic relationship: How professional bloggers make a living. How industry benefits.
with Catharina Fischer, Social Media and Press Relations Officer at GNTB and Keith Jenkins, Founder and Publisher of Velvet Escape
One of the first things professional bloggers are often asked is: how do you make money out of what you do? The answer to that question lies in the skill-set of each blogger, converting that into a product offering and matching it with the needs of the targeted client group (B2B and/or B2C). Professional travel bloggers are becoming increasingly creative in developing services and products, resulting in a plethora of value-adding offerings that many consumers, brands, PRs and tourism boards are utilising. In this session, we will focus on the blogger-industry (B2B) economic relationship. We will, on the one hand, hear from trail-blazing bloggers and their offerings, and on the other, the tourism boards and brands perspectives (their needs, and which products and services they frequently utilise).
Navigating the Future
Facilitator: Alastair McKenzie
A ‘hot house’ for the discussion and development of the blogger/industry business relationship.
SEO in 2014: way beyond Spamming the SERPs. How to earn your Rankings.
by Maximillian Muhr, Head of SEO, BILD and CEO poliSYS UG
Over the last 10 years SEO has gained a negative reputation. Most SEO tactics have been about manipulating Google by spamming with backlinks and keyword density. This is especially true in the travel Industry where the dark side of SEO is common. These tactics will become a huge problem as Google punishes sites that use such tactics. But SEO doesn’t need to be a bad thing.
Don’t manipulate, earn rankings! Maximilian D. Muhr practices a rare kind of totally white hat SEO. In this basic SEO session you will be inspired to care about Google and do things right! We will have a quick look at SEO that works including relevance for users, snippet-optimization, rel+Author (Google+), structure and quality. Max will explain how Google knows if content of a specific URL is relevant for the searcher and suggest what WordPress plugins are needed for SEO success.
Plus: In-depth Site Clinics
Max will review up to 12 blogs from participants and meet with a select few of the bloggers one-on-one (others can listen in) to explain how they can improve their SEO results.
From the computer to the stage: transforming a great blogger to a greater public speaker
by Shane Dallas, The Travel Camel
Public speaking is equally about content and delivery. Writing content for presentations requires a different style to writing for the Internet, including modifications to structure and word usage. Speech delivery is enhanced through simple techniques involving gestures, vocal variety, and overcoming excessive nervousness. Whether you seek to inform, entertain, persuade or inspire, this session will provide invaluable tips to dramatically improve the quality of your presentations.
Innovative Concepts for Win-Win Results
by Melvin Böcher, founder, Traveldudes and
William Price, Global Manager: Digital, South Africa Tourism
Two new projects will be revealed in this session, each with value for travelers, the travel industry and travel bloggers.
Upping Your Game: Better Research, Smarter Interviews, Increased Credibility
by Mario Cacciottolo, journalist and founder of Someone Once Told Me
How can you make sure your writing is robust, legally sound and stands up to scrutiny? What techniques can you use to win over your interviewees and get them to tell you what you want to know? How can you make your blog more credible in the eyes of the mainstream media? This workshop will teach you how to raise your standards to the same levels found in the world’s biggest news organisations.
Working with bloggers and measuring results – perspectives from tourism boards and brands
with Jaume Marin, Marketing Director, Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, Nicholas Montemaggi, Digital Press Officer, Emilia Romagna Tourism Board and David Arcifa, Corporate Social Media Manager at MSC Cruises
The Emilia Romagna Tourism Board, Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board and MSC Cruises have a wealth of experience working with travel bloggers and other social media influencers. In this workshop Jaume, Nicholas and David speak about their experience working with travel bloggers and other online influencers, offer tips on ways to collaborate with them to meet business objectives and reveal how they measure the results.
Campaign Execution – How to make a great concept successful and drive cross-channel performance
with Catharina Fischer, Social Media and Press Relations Officer at GNTB, Kash Bhattacharya, BudgetTraveller and Angelika Schwaff, Reisefreunde.
There are three key aspects to successfully executing a campaign: target and target group(s) identification, campaign management and content management. This session will address all three and the many details around each from the perspectives of the travel industry and that of their travel blogger / online influencer partners. Many insights will surface through a lively discussion of this multifaceted topic.
Workshops for Industry only
Blogger Relations for Beginners
with Nina Hüpen-Bestendonk, founder of Smaracuja
and Lea Hajner, founder of Escape Town
This workshop will give you an introduction to the world of travel blogging. It will answer such questions as: What is a professional travel blogger? Why do I need bloggers to enhance my reach? How do I approach a blogger and what common mistakes can I avoid?
As with traditional media, not all bloggers are suitable for every product or every campaign. Finding the right blogger with whom to build a good working relationship can be tricky. Nina and Lea will share insights from several years of experience working with the travel industry and from their day-to-day work. They’ll provide you with basic tips and tricks in blogger relations so that you can create a good base for an ongoing relationship which is successful for your organization and the bloggers you work with.
Blogger Relations for Pros
with Angelika Schwaff, founder, Reisefreunde and
Yvonne Zagermann, founder, Just Travelous
Professional Blogger Relations is not Media Relation’s stepchild; it requires a different approach and needs a clear strategy. Unlike Public Relations, it is not focused on mass media but on a single Blogger who represents his target group or a special niche. Professional Blogger Relation has a lot in common with a made-to-measure suit. One size does not fit all. In this workshop we will show you what tools you need to implement tailor-made solutions to successfully work with Professional Bloggers.
How to use Instagram
Nina Hüpen-Bestendonk, founder Smaracuja
Lea Hajner, founder, Escape Town
Instagram is no longer the new kid in the School of Social Media. It’s the cool kid. Visual content is more and more important, especially when it comes to travel. So it’s time to get your game on with one of the most travel triggering platforms of them all. With more than 200 Million users worldwide, Instagram is a great app for people to explore new places all over the world, get inspired and plan trips via location tags. In this workshop we’ll not only talk about how to create a successful corporate account with a decent followership and high quality content, but also give insights in popular instagram campaigns and why they worked.
How to run successful blog trips
Yvonne Zagermann, founder, Just Travelous
Johannes Klaus, founder, Reisedepeschen
To organize a perfect blogtrip is possible! This workshop shows how you can improve the planning, experience and output of individual trips and group trips. We explain how you find the right bloggers, the pro’s and con’s of different kinds of blogtrips and the needs of bloggers. In the workshop we highlight the important points before, during and after a trip, illustrated with casestudies, and display advanced options to get most of a cooperation.
How to use Google +
Angelika Schwaff, founder, Reisefreunde
Johannes Klaus, founder, Reisedepeschen
Is Google Plus just another Social Network you have to take care of or can it me more?
In this workshop we give you insight why Google Plus should be taken seriously, especially when it comes to Google’s new algorithm Hummingbird, and why you should consider seeing this channel as an addition to your SEO strategy.
Meet the Bloggers – Networking
This program is subject to change.
Have your say on the future of online travel content.
Your ticket to The Social Travel Summit includes access to all workshops, seminars, presentations, networking opportunities and exclusive evening events. [one_half] [button title=”Industry Registration” link=”https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-social-travel-summit-tickets-10313555121″ description=”” width=”100px” bgcolor=”#7ac8cb” color=”#FFFFFF” picture=”” height=”” version=”light” position=”left”] [/one_half] [one_half_last] [button title=”Application for Bloggers” link=”http://thesocialtravelsummit.com/application-for-bloggers/” description=”” width=”100px” style=”margin-top: -22px;” bgcolor=”#7ac8cb” color=”#FFFFFF” picture=”” height=”” version=”light” position=”left”] [/one_half_last]