| Weekly position | Brand | Reach | Recency | Satisfaction | Recency | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
 |
Expedia | 56.65 | 56.03 | 85.32 | 88.23 | 71.56 |
| 2 | |
 |
Travelocity | 45.30 | 44.86 | 87.58 | 92.19 | 67.48 |
| 3 | |
 |
Thomas Cook | 37.49 | 38.58 | 79.22 | 71.64 | 56.73 |
| 4 | |
 |
First Choice | 25.39 | 24.74 | 63.21 | 83.04 | 49.09 |
| 5 | |
 |
Trailfinders | 1.61 | 2.03 | 89.12 | 96.08 | 47.21 |
Social Media Reputation (SMR) League Tables
Every fortnight, we will be focussing on a different sector and plotting the Social Media Reputation (SMR) scores of the major players. The index – provided by social media agency Yomego – attributes a score, out of 100, by combining metrics for ‘reach’ and ‘satisfaction’. The number of mentions and their sentiment is gauged in context with the sector and the brand’s two nearest competitors.
Sector: Travel
Analysis
With memories of sun–soaked Summer holidays fading fast, we decided to use our Social Media Reputation (SMR) index to rank the popularity in social media channels of five leading travel brands.
Expedia takes the gold medal, achieving a heavyweight score of 71+ (out of 100). The brand receives a significant level of mentions across the full breadth of social media spaces and its Facebook page is popular with its 13,000 fans. The company has also begun to embrace free apps, with the launch of TripAssist earlier this year earning praise from travellers and techies alike.
Travelocity might have amassed the biggest Facebook following (61,000 likes on their "Roaming Gnome" page), but they might regret a campaign-specific focus when they try to migrate this engagement to the next activity. Praise abounds in social spheres for a user-friendly site and helpful customer service, but the ‘satisfaction’ metric wobbled as a result of some griping around the robustness of the ‘Travelocity Guarantee’.
Traditionalists Thomas Cook arrived late at the social media party (Facebook page set up in Dec ’09) and activity is still somewhat sparse. They launched a foreign currency app this month to positive reviews, and their conducive tone has helped them to build up a Twitter following of 4,000+.
First Choice is yet to embrace the potential of social media channels, posting a disappointing SMR score of 49. The ‘satisfaction’ score has been dented by some high-profile holiday disaster stories hitting the online press and being widely retweeted. Some users have also voiced complaints at hidden costs and changing prices on the brand’s website. The company has a Facebook page but it hasn’t been updated since Sept 09 (come on!), and the Twitter account boasts a thread-bare following of just 208.
Finally, we analysed Trailfinders, who are lost in the social media undergrowth, with a negligible ‘reach’ score of just 2(!), contributing to an overall index score of 47. The company has no detectable presence on Facebook or Twitter, and users have been voicing their surprise at the company’s inability to support online reservations.
However, it’s not all bad news. Trailfinders actually achieves the highest satisfaction score of all brands, receiving praise for their dedication to customer service and friendly call centre staff so with some reach-building activity, there’s potential to catch the others up quickly.
Recommendations
Some quick wins for Trailfinders and First Choice who can use presences on established networks to start to engage audiences. Listening to what’s currently being said is the first stepping stone.
Finding and engaging key influencers with interesting content sounds an obvious move, but many brands still think a syndicated press release will keep people happy. It won’t. Listen, share and engage, rather than broadcast.
First Choice seems unconvinced of the value of social media. To be taken seriously, social media KPIs will need to be integrated with other measures of marketing effectiveness.
Thomas Cook has started reasonably well but social media engagement requires a long-term commitment and needs to be resourced with the right mix of skills and experience. Responsiveness is a key element.
As for Expedia and Travelocity, they have set the bar high, and will have to be increasingly creative to maintain their share of the spotlight. Relevant content, exclusive benefits and a resolute dedication to customer satisfaction will stand them in good stead.
