Flickr and Travel Agents
Posted on June 24th, 2006by Michael Gray in Blogs, Business Issues, Ideas, Social Networks, Tools
I’ve got a friend who happens to be a travel agent. She’s looking for ways to grow her business. I suggested she start a blog and a photo journal. She travels fairly frequently and takes lots of pictures, so I suggested every time she travels she write up a little review and post some photos to flickr. She could then link to her Flickr photo set from her regular website. She could also use it as selling tool if she’s trying to get someone to book a vacation someplace she’s visited and they are waffling. I also suggested she send an email to her customers when they come back from their trip asking them if they’d like send her a paragraph or two for her blog about the place they visited/stayed and maybe send some pictures. She could even set up an email address people could email pictures to that would alias to the flickr autopublish email address. While the idea seemed interesting to her she didn’t seem like she was going to follow it. I think it was a combination of not seeing a return on the time investment, the added maintenance, and the technology fear.
So what do you think was it a good idea, or too far outside of the “do-able” range for most people?
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June 24th, 2006 at 7:14 am
I think it is a great idea - perhaps a bit too much for somebody that has little to no internet savviness. Joe Public will become less and less reluctant in trying new ideas as time progresses.
June 24th, 2006 at 8:51 am
I’ve made similar suggestions to some of my clients. A few have taken it up but I think the more you tell them the benefits, the more they’ll jump at the idea.
Definitely a great idea for a travel agents and frequent traveller.
June 24th, 2006 at 10:50 am
No, I don’t think it was too much for a Joe Public to handle, but it probably *sounded* like too much to her.
(Amusing, really - it was a pretty light routine :))
If the demo had been more hands on, she might have bought it - actually show her ‘and this is how you would upload the photos’.
I would have left out the ‘customers emailling photos through part’, with a simple ‘and it can grow later if its successful’.
Never make it sound bigger than it needs to be.
If she is at all business-y (its a word if I use it as one ;)) then putting some numbers on it might have helped, to demonstrate ROI.
I’m often surprised at how much technology a neophyte can handle, but I’m never surprised at how little they think they can handle. It just looks big, hard and scary to them.
June 24th, 2006 at 11:13 am
Defiantly a good idea, but it is too far outside of the “do-able†range for most people…they just don’t get it.
A friend of mine is a doctor, who is always writing letters to newspapers and medical journals. I have suggested the same thing… No interest.
Even though I have explained to him that it is just as easy to hit “send” or “publish” as it is to hit ” print” and mail the letter.
June 24th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
The reason doing something like this is so effective is because so few people do it. Before I started my blog last year no one knew who I was, and of the people I did talk to, they wouldn’t remember me.
I saw a forensic accountant speak last year. When she first started a few years ago she was making hardly enough money to eat. She got a website, wrote articles for all the relevent periodles and bam, now she makes many multiples more money than a typical acocuntant would.
The thing is, if your raising your profile offline you need to have a good website for your visitors to look at. Your idea for the travel agent is really good because its the kind of thing people would visit regularly. That means a lead generated a year and a half ago doesn’t simply remember you.. they feel like they practically know you because of the nature of the content.
If using a computer is a complete struggle for someone, then your suggestion is too much. If they can browse the web and upload digital pictures from their camera its not a very big deal.
June 24th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
Good strategy. Getting customers actively involved is smart.
June 24th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
What is the current competition? Without even looking I can tell you that getting into it yesterday was much easier than today BUT yeah, go for it!
I also notice that people who know nothing of “SEO” are Google’s current focus, how do you let them climb above those who artificially reached their current position?
See what I’m sayin homie?
June 25th, 2006 at 12:24 am
Even if the site never made it to the front page of search results, there is a huge benefit in the practice of blogging…
Helps improve writing skills, provides potential referrals a place to check out information as well as keep in touch with past customers and show them new places to go to next.
As far as tech savy… There are some remarkably easy ways to get online that aren’t just the web page creators from the hosting company. With the correct guide and desire someone could have an opensource Joomla site up in running with mild image customization within 30 minutes if not less.
Keep pushing on them… they really should do it.
June 26th, 2006 at 7:18 am
I’ve made similar suggestions to some of my clients as well. It’s amazing how hard it is for people to understand the benefits of actually reaching out to the market and making something that potential clients can identify with in order to get some interest.
Instead it’s “more banners, change that text, new images” blah blah.
June 26th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Your suggestions are excellent but I doubt they will be implemented because it’s a do-it-yourself project and I believe most people prefer to not do-it-themselves if it can be avoided.
If there were more do-it-yourselfers in the world, there would be no travel agents to worry about these types of things.
Do you change your own oil? Me either.
June 26th, 2006 at 8:11 pm
Maybe the reluctance to just go ahead and do it comes from the lack of short term benefits. Her blog and flickr pics will surely give her some benefits on the medium to long term, but it is hardly a recipe for instant success.
The real money maker in all this would be to act as a middle man. The one man businesses, consultants and small companies send you their small stories and pics - you update their blog and promote it in the blogosphere.
June 29th, 2006 at 6:29 am
I would say that the initial effort to start it up is much smaller than the effort for keeping it going.
If you’r not into blogging and internet, then, once it becomes a job like other jobs, it will take her to much effort to make it happen.
So little time, so much other things to do. Is it not!
December 3rd, 2007 at 2:07 pm
“I’ve got a friend who happens to be a travel agent. She’s looking for ways to grow her business. I suggested she start a blog and a photo journal.”
“So what do you think was it a good idea, or too far outside of the “do-able†range for most people?”
I think it’s a great Idea and good advice. But are travel agents of a by-gone era? You Betcha! So where does that leave the humble travel agent? In today’s era of online travel sites it is easy to determine availability and prices at locations and, thus, fore-go the help of a travel agent. Technology is key. She should try to blend that personal touch with the technology that most business use today. Online promotions to Brand “herself”, so people know she’s the one to go to. For all there traveling needs.
In my opinion…. electronic ticketing over the Internet is easy, with the use of a major credit card. You can purchase tickets, hotels, car rentals and more, at just about any online booking site. The trick is to find your lowest cost and fast, without wasting your time and money.