HACKTOURISM

HACKTOURISM is a movement - Tourism Trends, Tips, Techniques, Technology and Digital Marketing - Training and Consulting services designed to disrupt and grow the tourism industry in Southern Africa.

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The HACKTOURISM Social Media WhatsApp Group

That’s been a really rewarding process... As part of the GIZ MIERA Social Media Training Project, we faced a few serious challenges after t

Take a look see - How we used WhatsApp and YouTube and Web to teach Social Media in Malawi

LOCKDOWN taught us a lot of things - to be flexible and to innovate too.

When it comes to training people in Malawi, using limited bandwidth and having to teach complicated social media tips and techniques and trends, we have to invent new ways that would work for everyone.

We managed to put a set of social media training sessions together that used screen-recordings, PDF presentations and YouTube videos that we shared via email and WhatsApp to more than 100 users in Malawi via their mobile phones.

We also hosted Q&A sessions to discuss and engage with them once they had watched the videos and went through the PDF support documents.

It was so rewarding to see and hear back from everyone - we successfully manage to train and equip more than 100 SMMEs in the Tourism and Travel and Hospitality space in Malawi. And that's how we hack technology to work for us!

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UGC - User Generated Content used to be something we thought wasn't good

Not too long ago, when DMOs and other Agencies spoke about high production value, content creation and User Generated Content, they thought that the best content could only ever really come from a professional.

Boy oh boy has that story changed...

This clip shows the User Generated Content that was create as part of the #MeetSouthAfrica blogger campaign that led to the 2013 INDABA in Durban, KwaZulu Natal.

Take a look at the content and the reach and the impact this campaign had back then.

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Destination Marketing and Influencers ❤️ #MeetSouthAfrica

One of the first, and most successful destination marketing social media campaigns for tourism - Well done South African Tourism!

This still makes us so proud!

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Feedback is Essential

After successfully completing the last set of Social Media Training sessions with the wonderful travel and tourism community in Malawi, as part of the GIZ MIERA project, we needed to get some feedback... of course we needed to use some cool tools to do this!

We created a simple TypeForm feedback survey that we would be able to send via email and WhatsApp to the more than 100 participants to get their feedback.

Make it simple, easy to use and quick to be able to complete.

No problem!

We will be using the feedback from the Training Sessions to improve and update our training methods and topics - and the best part is that we get to work with real data, not gut-feels or anecdotal comments.

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Feedback - it's really important!

Without valuable feedback from people who we work with, we can't make improvements.

A BIG Thank You to all the people who have been part of the recent HACKTOURISM Social Media Training sessions with GIZ in Malawi as part of the MIERA Project.

Looking forward to taking your feedback into the planning and execution of our next set of sessions for the tourism, hospitality and travel industry in Malawi.

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Malawi MIERA Project with GIZ

Another project with the awesome people at GIZ in Malawi being wrapped up now.

So rewarding to work with committed and passionate, professional people with vision.

Even under tough COVID-19 restrictions, we managed to train more than 100 people using YouTube and WhatsApp to take advantage of social media and online marketing trends and technologies, and also shared some valuable tips to help them promote their tourism and hospitality offering better.

Excited to see and hear how these lessons are going to drive bottomline results for these emerging tourism brands and businesses in the near future. 

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Travel Search

If you start to better understand how your guests and potential customers are searching for travel and tourism product, your brand or business will be able to apply this to your digital marketing and social media strategy.

To be consumer centric means that you understand your audience well, and adapt your marketing and advertising to match their needs and behaviour.

We love the Google First approach. Google Maps and Google Search is where we see guests and potential customers turning to first.

If your tourism brand or business is not on Google, then you are loosing out.

Take a look at this video that was done for the Malawi HACKTOURISM project where we have been using WhatsApp to engage with the local travel and hospitality industry to train and support them in their efforts to become more digital and social marketing savvy.

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Web Designer with Google

Sharing tips, tricks, technologies - that's part of what we do when we engage with the Tourism, Travel and Hospitality guys around the country.Often they ask which are the best tools to use - from website management, reporting or development tools, social media tools and even editing tools for photos and video.

Here's one of the new tools we're talking about with out audience and clients: https://webdesigner.withgoogle.com 

Find out how we can help you and your brand or business make real bottomline impact. We're here to help!

HACKTOURISM

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HACKTOURISM Social Media Tips for Tourism & Hospitality - Instagram

Exploring some of the Instagram content for Malawi today as I prepare the next video training session.

A few interesting finds and a lot of ground to cover.

Making social media work for your brand or business is a skill that can be used to drive bottomline impact.

Most brands and businesses are not even aware of how customers and guests are portraying them online or via social media.

Some are missing out. Other are struggling. Most need to improve their social media game.

If you are able to use social media influencers to help promote your brand or business, there may be partnership opportunities that you could benefit greatly from.

Being featured in tourism and hospitality or destination marketing accounts also helps a great deal - when your brand or business is seen on a huge feed with many thousands of followers, you reach many more people than your marketing budget may allow for.

When you are able to make it easy for people to find your content and your place - in this case above - you also make it easy for people to find out more and book.

This should be the primary goal for your social media and online activity - “easy to find, easy to share and easy to book”

“Let us know how we can help you increase your bottomline in tourism, travel and hospitality?” @hacktourism​ 

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Facebook Shares 5 Top Travel Campaigns

Facebook dominates the game when it comes to the power it hold to keep consumers and user’s attention glued to their feeds.

Travel, Tourism and Hospitality brands and businesses need to understand that they also need to provide these consumers with content that will inspire, inform and convince them to buy in Facebook - because that’s where their current and potential customers are most likely to make their next travel buying decision.

To find out which kinds of campaigns are working out there, take a look at this from Facebook Business.

https://www.facebook.com/business/news/top-5-travel-campaigns

Learning from these campaigns could help you to edge out the competition and get some bottomline growth happening for your business.

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#TrendingNow: Hashtags and the Tourism Industry | Break The Ice Media

As someone who spends a lot of time on social media, I think it’s about time we talk about travel hashtags. Hashtags - known as # - are used across social

How to use Hashtags in your Tourism & Hospitality content

Recently the value and the proper use of hashtags became a key part of a discussion during a WhatsApp training session with Tourism and Hospitality users in Malawi - and this post helps to keep the basics in place.

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Instagram for Tourism

In this blog, we’ll explore Instagram for tourism. People use Instagram more as a search engine to research on destinations they’re interested in visiting.

Instagram for Tourism & Hospitality

As part of the series, how Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp work for the social media marketing and advertising for Tourism & Hospitality here provide some great content to consider in your social media strategy.

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Facebook and Tourism Marketing: Best Practices | Break The Ice Media

Social media and tourism marketing go hand in hand. Taking on social media can be challenging. in this blog, we’ll explore Facebook and tourism marketing.

Facebook for Tourism & Hospitality

A good read and some great content here to make sure that your Facebook Page works for you and meets the expectations of your potential guests too.

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Online Training with GIZ and MIERA for the Malawi Tourim and Hospitality sector via YouTube and WhatsApp - new for me but so good and loads of positive feedback after the live Q&A session yesterday - New Normal Online Training!

https://youtu.be/oG_vZvVBAYs

Sharing some social media tips and HACKTOURISM insights to better sell Malawi to South Africans.

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ICELAND Wins AGAIN!

A brilliant human insight behind this super simple smart social media campaign during these LOCKDOWN times.

Well done Iceland!

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Instagram Interviews

So delighted to be featured in a recent series hosted by Jacqui Cooks called #MancrushMonday

Here’s the link to the IGTV Interview. 

Enjoy the session - such fun to be a part of this - thanks Jax!

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It’s been rewarding, challenging and fun!

#TheOtherSide Social Survival Series for Tourism & Hospitality webinars have been amazing so far, and we’re not even half way yet!

We have completed 2 Episodes and a Special Edition too.

Monday we’re hosting Episode 3!

We have a great Speaker for this one and @RobForbesDJ is going to be sharing some great insights with us.

Register Now for FREE here: https://bit.ly/2BNH04B

Can’t wait to hear how this one is going to be received.

Don’t miss it!

TheOtherSIDE: EPISODE 3.0 Reorganise your social media content and get your content to work harder for you during lockdown - Crowdcast

Register now for Chat'r box's event on Crowdcast, scheduled to go live on Monday June 15, 2020 at 3:00 pm SAST.