The Social Media Strategy Destinations are Neglecting: Mapping

100% of smartphones come with mapping applications. Location based social sharing is only getting bigger, and mobile social media is the way in which we all mostly use the internet.

Instagram, twitter, Facebook, TripAdvisor, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Snapchat, FourSquare, Google Maps all use a location based feature. Are all your destination POIs mapped?

Facebook Check-ins are a great way to market locations and destinations can use it in the same way.

This feature is especially important for restaurants, bars, cafés and shops, as a check-in results not only in free advertising, but also increased brand awareness, and is essentially an endorsement from that user. That’s why the more check-ins you can acquire on social media, the better. 88% of consumers trust online reviews as personal recommendations.

Destinations using social media need to make sure all their assets can be easily tagged by travelers and locals. Not just Museums and local attractions, but parks, monuments, statues, public restrooms, historical landmarks, and even parking lots. A bonus is that after creating locations like these, some social media networks will enable the destination to promote those locations after claiming them.

Instagram's Geotagging

Maps on Instagram work differently, using "geotags" instead of "locations". Similar to Facebook check-ins, Instagram posts can be geotagged with a place's name, and location. This feature is frequently used by travelers during the research phase and upon arrival, as a kind of travel guide along with hashtags. When clicked, these geotags take you to a page of recent and popular posts about the location as well as a clickable map with a marker for the location. When you click on that map, the maps app on a smartphone opens and a traveler will be able to get directions to that particular location without ever having to ask.

Traveler's research advice from Debbie Mayo-Smith

By browsing through photos from a specific town or city you plan on visiting; it gives you an authentic insight into destinations from other travelers or locals. Visuals and insights you would not find in a guide book or travel site. You can have a preview into what the destination is really like, find a café or bar that looks interesting or just simply to get you excited. It can give you a feel for the destination, show places that are popular or even hint at the type of clothing you should wear.

Social Networks are the way we now use the internet.

Thanks to smartphones, mobile social networking and maps have become inseparable. So much so that Google is jumping on the social bandwagon the other way around, by turning their maps platform into a social networking system enabled by maps everyone is already using.

Is your destination neglecting maps? Do you want to learn more about the hidden power of maps in social media? Give me a call!