Thesis W Valerie van de Craats 434786

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Title page

Bachelor of Arts Thesis (W) Version 2 Date of publication 03-07-2020 V.M. van de Craats 434786

Saxion University of Applied Sciences Hospitality Business School

Tourism Management

Trainee counsellor Nathanael Taekema

First examiner

Yvonne van Klaarbergen

Second examiner Bas Jansen

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Foreword

Before you lies a thesis for the client Island Bookings, giving them advice how they can increase the amount of conversions through social media. This thesis has been written between February 2020 and June 2020. It has been written for my study ‘Tourism management’ and is the final product in my Saxion career.

The subject of this thesis became clear quite quickly after I contacted Island Bookings, and together with my trainee counsellor the management question has been perfected. During this period it was intended that I spent 32 hours a week at the office of Island Bookings, but unfortunately the Corona pandemic had other ideas about that. This whole new situation demanded some creativity from me regarding carrying out the research, but it all worked out in the end.

I want to thank my first examiner, Yvonne van Klaarbergen, for always giving me honest feedback, with which I could work and get it done the right way and the second examiner, Bas Jansen, for reading this thesis and for the feedback on my thesis proposal defence. I also want to thank the client and my trainee counsellor, Nathanael Taekema, for giving me an interesting subject for this thesis and for helping me where necessary. Lastly, I want to thank my friends and family, especially my partner Roy for believing in me and motivating me, my uncle Martin for allowing me to use his office space during the Corona pandemic, so I could work without distractions and my dear friends who are also writing a thesis for supporting one another.

I hope you enjoy reading this thesis! Apeldoorn, July 2020

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Management summary

This thesis has been written for Island Bookings, an online booking platform for ferry tickets in Fiji, the Gili islands, the Seychelles, Saint Martin and the British and American Virgin Islands. The company’s problem is that they are not getting enough conversions through their social media channels, which causes that they are missing out on extra revenue. They have tried before to get better engagement and more conversions through paid advertising on Facebook, but without success. The management question is as following; ‘How can Island Bookings implement social media to get conversions through these platforms up to 5%?’

In order to be able to answer this management question, it has been divided into 5 research questions, about the current situation, success- and failure factors in social media, competition analysis, trends and about what their customers want to see on social media. These questions have been answered using different kinds of research; literature research, interviews, a survey and analyses. The most important findings are as following;

- Failure factors in social media are not interacting with followers, not checking grammar and spelling, linking to another platform and being needy. Success factors are personal interaction, changing the tone of voice for each platform, using humour, using high quality visual content and being authentic.

- Island Bookings can learn from the competition analysis for Booking.com to post more, to respond in a personal manner to reactions, to post more original content and to post different content on Instagram than on Facebook.

- The biggest trends in social media are to be authentic, post original content, to use videos and Stories. The biggest new upcoming social media platform is TikTok. The biggest trends in travel are sustainability, in ways of travel, hotels and what is being used while travelling. Destinations that are now more popular are ‘second cities’ and places where there is no mass tourism. Solo travel is also a big trend, as well as female only travel. Politics also have a big influence on travel.

- The survey showed what the target group wants to see on social media. They prefer slightly enhanced pictures, original content, an amusing tone of voice and pictures with people in it. An advice has been formed using the research results. The following are the most important takeaways from the advice;

- The social media goals are to get conversions through the social media channels up to 5%. In order to accomplish this, the engagement rate also has to go up.

- Island Bookings should post as much as possible; preferably once every day per platform. If this is not possible, the recommended amount is three times a week per platform.

- It is advised that Island Bookings merges all Instagram and all Facebook accounts into one umbrella account on Instagram and one on Facebook.

- Start using WhatsApp as a main customer service source.

- It is advised that Island Bookings starts using targeting on Facebook to reach the right target group.

- It is advised that collaborations with micro-influencers are set up. Micro-influencers are perceived as more authentic than bigger influencers.

- It is advised that Island Bookings starts creating original content, which can be done in several ways; behind-the-scenes footage at the office in Apeldoorn, outsourcing to contacts at the destinations and travelling to the destinations.

- The metrics that Island Bookings should monitor are the conversions, engagement rate, new likes, click-through rate and the bounce rate.

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5.1 Concept validity ... 32 5.2 Internal validity ... 32 5.3 External validity ... 32 5.4 Reliability ... 33 Chapter 6: Advice ... 34 6.1 Alternative advices ... 34 6.1.1 Advice 1: Do-It-Yourself... 34 6.1.2 Advice 2: Outsourcing ... 34 6.1.3 Advice 3: Targeting ... 34 6.2 Multi-criteria analysis ... 34 6.3 Implementation plan ... 36 6.3.1 The advice ... 36 6.3.2 PDCA-cycle ... 40 6.4 Financial feasibility ... 43 Afterword ... 45

Reflection on own actions... 45

Communication with client ... 45

Communication with first examiner ... 45

Value for the branch ... 46

Bibliography ... 47

Appendices ... 52

Appendix A: Current Social Media strategy of Island Bookings ... 52

Appendix B: Examples of posts ... 56

Appendix C: Information sessions done through social media ... 57

Appendix D: Statistics in Instagram ... 58

Appendix E: The AAOCC-criteria ... 60

Appendix F: Social media strategy models ... 64

Appendix G: Operationalisations of the core terms ... 67

Appendix H: Systematic overview of the research design ... 69

Appendix I: Current analysis of Island Bookings ... 70

Appendix J: Interview guide marketing goals ... 73

Appendix K: Literature research on success- and failure factors ... 75

Appendix L: Interview guide success- and failure factors ... 80

Appendix M: Elaborated and coded interviews ... 82

Appendix N: Competition analysis booking.com ... 95

Appendix O: Literature research on trends in social media and travel ... 100

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Appendix Q: Survey results ... 126

Appendix R: Content calendar... 137

Appendix S: Gantt Chart PDCA-cycle ... 138

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8 List of tables

Table 1.1:Sessions and conversions through social media ... 10

Table 1.2:Current situation regarding likes and followers on Instagram and Facebook ... 10

Table 2.1:Definitions social media ... 13

Table 2.2:Definitions strategy ... 14

Table 2.3:Definitions content ... 16

Table 2.4:Definitions marketing ... 16

Table 3.1:Average amount of posts on social media ... 20

Table 3.2: SWOT analysis ... 21

Table 4.1:Success- and failure factors in text ... 29

Table 4.2:Success- and failure factors in visuals ... 29

Table 6.1:Multi-criteria analysis ... 36

Table 6.2:Expected revenue... 43

Table 6.3:Personnel costs ... 43

Table 6.4:Costs ... 44

List of figures

Figure 3.1: Demographics survey respondents... 25

Figure 3.2: Type of traveller... 26

Figure 3.3: Social media channels and preferences ... 26

Figure 3.4: Tone of voice vs. origin ... 27

Figure 3.6: What would make you go to the actual website ... 27

Figure 3.5: Opinions on slightly enhanced pictures ... 27

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Chapter 1: Introduction

In this chapter, general information about the thesis company is given. The reason and relevance of the thesis is also elaborated, and the management questions are also being set, as well as what information is needed to be able to answer these questions. Furthermore, the intended advice is summarized and the research methods for the research question are explained.

1.1 Client

The company was founded in 2012 by Marcus Stevens who had lived in the Gili Islands with his family. He had a lot of contacts for boat companies and he knew there wasn’t any online services to book tickets, so he saw an opportunity. He knew a director at the company Webmen, who helped create the website. It was very successful the first few years, which is why it was decided to bring more destinations on board, starting with the Seychelles. Basically, the same idea was copied for each destination.

The mission of the company is that they aim to promote island hopping and encourage tourists to visit as much of a destination as possible. Most of the destinations are places that cannot be reached without a boat. The vision is being global leader in boat tickets. There are a lot of competitors, Direct Ferries and AFerry being the biggest ones, but Island Bookings differentiates themselves by offering something different, by focusing on the region and not just the boat tickets. They learn about the specific places that they operate in and offer travel tips about the destinations. This also shows in the way they market and the way they optimize their information for search engines. This is also the reason why all the destinations have separate websites and social media accounts. Island Bookings also plans on getting Thailand as one of their destinations, which will probably happen in the last quarter of 2020.

Island Bookings makes direct contracts with local boat companies, keeping safety and customer service in mind. In the region of Gili and Bali, they have physically met with these companies and negotiated for contracts. In other regions, like Fiji, there is a local company that has subcontracts with boat companies over there. There, Island Bookings mostly works with that one company and they provide them the rates. Island Bookings works with a margin of commissions, but it depends on the region how much percent this is, usually between 15 and 20%. In some regions, it can be up to 40% or as low as 10%. When a new destination is introduced, they can start out low to get the ball rolling and go up as sales volumes go up.

Island Bookings is also working on launching a new website. This new website will be designed to handle the expansion to more destinations. It will also have more functionality, as they have learned what they need in a website over the years. At first, it will exist next to the existing websites, but at some point they will merge together. Island Bookings has a team of three developers working on this. Short term goals for the company are getting the new website live and launching new destinations through this platform. Long term goals are to become a platform for boat companies as well. Any boat company will be able to sign up, give their information to Island Bookings and create a profile on their website, similar to the way how booking.com operates for hotels. This way, they will have two revenue streams, one will be the traditional paying customer and the other will be the boat companies offering their services. In about 5 years, they hope to have grown to 100 destination throughout the world and a large portfolio of boat companies signed up on their website.

1.2 Reason and relevance of the thesis

Island Bookings does currently have somewhat of a social media strategy, which can be found in appendix A. However, this is mainly focused on reposting other people’s content and has not really been kept up with for the last few months, mainly because the person who used to do this, now only works for Island Bookings for a few hours a week. Island Bookings uses the site Hootsuite to plan their social media posts, however it has not been used yet in 2020. They have a professional user plan, which allows 10 social media accounts, unlimited scheduling and 1 user. This costs €25 per month.

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It was estimated that less than 0,1% of the bookings is done through social media. However, after there has been looked at Google Analytics, it can be concluded that a total amount of 0,86% of sessions come from social media. It is also possible to see how many of these also actually made a purchase. The total percentage of conversions through social media is 1,58%. In table 1.1 these numbers can be seen. The time period of these numbers is 01-02-2019 – 01-02-2020.

Table 1.1:

Sessions and conversions through social media

Account Sessions Sessions

via social media

Percentage Total amount of conversions Conversions via social media Percentage Gili Bookings 405.640 2.918 0,72% 11.603 99 0,85% Gili Island Transfers 87.990 377 0,43% 1.643 9 0,55% Gili Tickets 181.756 1.514 0,83% 5.289 91 1,72% Fiji Bookings 42.024 489 1,16% 1002 23 2,29% Seychelles Bookings 241.484 3.840 1,59% 22.214 509 2,29% Saint Martin Bookings 149.757 403 0,27% 5.487 18 0,33% Virgin Bookings 8.666 30 0,35% 70 0 0% Total 1.117.317 9.571 0,86% 47.308 749 1,58%

In appendix B a few examples of posts can be found. Most of the posts on Island Bookings’ Facebook are informative, facts about the islands are shared or they point people out to the travel guides that can be found on the websites. The posts are usually accompanied by a picture. On

Instagram, all of the pictures that are posted are reposts of other Instagram users. The original posters are credited in the text below the picture. The pictures are mostly of nature and monuments, most times with people in it, but also some without.

The problem of the lack of engagement and conversions is present at all social media accounts. In table 1.2 the current likes, followers and reached people on Instagram and Facebook can be seen. There is one Facebook page which has a decent amount of likes (Gili Bookings, with 10.301 likes), yet this one has the least amount of people reached in proportion. On Instagram, the account with the most likes is the one for the Seychelles, with 1355 followers.

Table 1.2:

Current situation regarding likes and followers on Instagram and Facebook Destination Followers

on Instagram

Likes on Facebook

Average amount of likes on the last 10 posts on Instagram

Average amount of reached people on the last 10 posts on Facebook Gili (Bookings) 348 10.301 24 235 Gili (Tickets) 78 597 25 91 Seychelles 1355 1034 125 80 St Martin 274 111 34 48 Fiji 533 172 54 87 Island Bookings

56 10 No posts yet No posts yet

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In appendix C are two more tables, with information about how many sessions are done through social media, and in the last table through which channels. As can be seen in these tables, the engagement and reached people is very low and is not where Island Bookings wants to be at. They wish to get the engagement on their social media up to 5%.

A valuable tool on Instagram is Statistics. This tool gives insight in the amount of people reached, how many were reached through hashtags and how many people visited the profile through a certain post. In appendix D is an overview for each of the accounts, measuring with the last 10 posts. In this appendix, it becomes clear that hashtags are very important on Instagram regarding the amount of people reached.

Island Bookings has tried before to get better engagement and more conversions on their social media about 3 years ago, by doing paid targeting add campaigns on Facebook, focusing on Gili Bookings. They used location-based targeting and focused on and around Bali, Lombok and the Gili Islands. They aimed for travellers, not locals. Unfortunately, this didn’t work. They did get 1800 more likes, but from locals. These can be seen as empty likes, as they do not provide any engagement and are not interested in the product. Island Bookings also tried to do smaller marketing campaigns for some posts. Here the targeting wasn’t working as well. They suspect that it may not have been accurate enough.

It is very relevant at this time to have a good social media strategy, because 54% of consumer’s decision to purchase are affected by social media (Vinerean, 2017). The amount of users of social media platforms still continues to grow, up to 2.5 billion in the last quarter of 2019. Facebook has continued to grow steadily since 2008, while YouTube has made a sprint since 2017. There are also more and more apps coming on the market, such as TikTok and Pinterest.

The total amount of users on social media platforms is 3.5 billion people. With a total world population of 7.7 billion, this is a significant amount (Ortiz-Ospina, 2018).

1.3 Management problem

From the previous heading ‘reason and relevance of the thesis’, it can be concluded Island Bookings does not have the right information and knowledge to implement a successful social media strategy that actually encourage followers and social media users to proceed to booking. They are especially interested in conversions and wish that this goes up. Also important is that the company is mostly interested in an organic social media strategy. However, they are willing to make a budget, if there is proof that it will be profitable.

This leads to the following management question;

‘How can Island Bookings implement social media to get conversions through these platforms up to 5%?’

To answer this management question this thesis will deliver a social media strategy that is elaborately enough to be implemented and will encourage social media users to book, making sure that the amount of conversions through these channels will improve and the company will stay ahead of competitors operating in the same areas.

The social media strategy template that will be used is the one provided by Hootsuite. Island Bookings is already familiar with this site and tool and already has an account set up. Hootsuite is a social media management tool and lets companies plan out their social media posts.

1.4 Research

To break the management question ‘How can Island Bookings implement social media to get

conversions through these platforms up to 5%?’ down into research questions, a look must be taken at what information is necessary to build up a solid advice to the company.

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To answer this management question, it is important to gain insights in several subjects. First, it is important to have a look at the current situation concerning the use of social media. An analysis has to be made of the amount of followers, likes, the kind of posts and content, engagement and

conversions. This is important, because it will serve as a zero point. Furthermore, it is important to know what exactly the company wants to achieve with a new social media strategy. The following subject to look into is what kind of context leads to the most engagement. Next, a look has to be taken at what the competition is doing. How are they positioning themselves on social media and what can Island Bookings learn from them? Trends are also important to have a look at, since trends are an important part of innovation, as it provides the basis for an innovation strategy (Hengsberger, 2018). Another important point of research is finding out what their customers want to see on social media. This is important, because they are the ones that will make conversions happen.

This leads to the following research questions:

1. What is the current situation regarding the social media of Island Bookings? a. What is the frequency of posting?

b. What type of content is posted?

c. What are Island Bookings’ social media marketing goals? 2. What are success- and failure factors in social media content?

a. What kind of text leads to conversion?

b. What kind of visual context leads to conversion? 3. How is the competition using social media?

4. What are trends in Social Media and travel?

5. What do Island Bookings’ customers want to see on social media?

1.5 Reading guide

In chapter 1 the client for this thesis is being described and general information about the company is given. The reason and relevance of the subject of the thesis are given and explained. The

management problem is also formulated, and research questions are formed based on the

management question. In the next chapter, the core terms are explained in the theoretical framework and clear definitions are given. Operationalisations of the core terms are also made. Chapter 3 is about the research that has been carried out in order to answer the research questions. First, the research design is described, after which the results of the conducted research are given. In chapter 4 the management questions are answered using the research results from the previous chapter. In the next chapter, a discussion is started about the reliability and validity of the conducted research. In chapter 6, the management question is answered in the form of an advice for the company. In the afterword, there are reflections on the own actions, the contact with the first examiner, the client and the value of the research for the branch is given.

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Chapter 2: Theoretical framework

In this chapter the core terms ‘Social media strategy’ and ‘Content marketing’ has been explained. The sources used in doing this, has been criticized using the AAOCC-criteria. There will also be an

overview given of the search terms and search engines used. These can be seen in appendix E.

2.1 Social media strategy

2.1.1 Social media

The found definitions can be seen in table 2.1. The similarities between the definitions is that Obar & Wildman (2015) and Kaplan & Haenlein (2010) both talk about Web 2.0. This is a term that describes the transition in which software developers and end-users started to use the World Wide Web as a platform in which content is no longer created and published by individuals, but rather are continuously edited by all users in a collaborative way (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). These two definitions also mention User Generated Content, which also comes through in the definition of Manning (2014) but worded as ‘interactive participation’. Both expressions indicate that social media is based on what the users put into it. Differences between the definitions are that Manning (2014) calls the transitions from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0, as Obar & Wildman and Kaplan & Haenlein call it the transition from the

broadcast age to the interactive age.

Table 2.1:

Definitions social media

Author Definition

Manning (2014) Social media refers to ‘’the new forms of media that involve interactive participation. The development of media is divided into two different ages, the broadcast age and the interactive age. In the broadcast age, media were almost exclusively centralized where one entity . . . distributed messages to many people . . . With the rise of digital and mobile

technologies, interaction on a large scale became easier for individuals than ever before; interactivity was placed at the centre of new media functions’’. Obar & Wildman

(2015)

‘’Social media has the following commonalities:

1. Social media services are currently Web 2.0 internet-based applications

2. User-generated content is the lifeblood of social media

3. Individuals and groups create user-specific profiles for a site or app designed and maintained by a social media service

4. Social media services facilitate the development of social networks online by connecting a profile with those of other individuals and/or groups’’.

Kaplan & Haenlein (2010)

‘’Social Media is a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content’’.

Moran (2008) in Rana & Hossain (2016)

‘’Social media is a collection of online platforms that individuals use to share content, profiles, feelings, bits of knowledge, encounters, viewpoints and media itself encouraging discussions and cooperation online between gatherings of individuals’’.

The definition that has been worked with in this thesis, is as following; Social media are the forms of media that involve User Generated Content, which individuals can share with other individuals or groups.

2.1.2. Strategy

The found definitions can be seen in table 2.2. The similarity between the definitions given by Veldman (2014) and Porter (1996) is that they both mention that the activities of the company are a

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part of strategy. The difference is that Veldman states that it is strategy that keeps the activities in direction, while Porter states that strategy are activities. Porter also mentioned that it is important to decide what not to do, as well as Watkins (2007). Casadesus-Masanel & Ricart are the only ones that state that strategy is a business model.

Table 2.2:

Definitions strategy

Veldman (2014) Strategy keeps direction and delimitation of the activities of company on the long term, which gives the company a competitive advantage by the strategic input of means, to be able to meet the needs of the market and the expectations of those involved in changing environment.

Casadesus-Masanel & Ricart (2010)

‘’Strategy refers to the choice of business model through which the firm will compete in the marketplace’’.

Porter (1996) ‘’Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities. It requires you to make trade-offs in competing and to choose what not to do. Strategy involves creating ‘fit’ among a company’s activities’’.

Watkins (2007) ‘’A strategy is about how people throughout the organization should make decisions and allocate resources in order accomplish key objectives. A good strategy provides a clear roadmap, consisting of a set of guiding principles or rules, that defines the actions people in the business should take (and not take) and the things they should prioritize (and not prioritize) to achieve desired goals’’.

The definition of strategy in this thesis is as following; Strategy is a plan which keeps direction for the activities on the long term. It determines how decisions should be made in order to achieve objectives. Now both parts of the core term ‘social media strategy’ have been determined, a complete definition can be given. This is the following;

Social media strategy is a plan which keeps direction for the activities on social media, in order to achieve the objectives.

2.1.3. Relevance of social media

Social media is relatively new for businesses, but it is a fast, inexpensive and effective way to reach almost half of the world population (Newberry, 2018). There are a number of other reasons why companies should make use of social media. Two important ones are to gain more traffic and increase sales (Agrawal, 2019). Social media is also able to provide more insights in both customers and competition, which can be used to make better substantiated business decisions (Newberry, 2018). A good social media strategy is very essential, as it will help accomplish the goals that have been set for these platforms.

2.1.4. How to construct a social media strategy

The first step in constructing a social media strategy is to set objectives, which are align with the company’s DNA. The next step is to create a persona of the target group, what their demographics (age, income, gender, education) are and research how this particular group uses social media and what they want to see on the channels that they use. The competition also has to be researched, because it is important to know how they are behaving on social media and what the company can learn from them. After it is clear what the target group wants to see, it is time to decide what kind of content to use. Then the content can be planned in a social media content planner tool. This way, all the content can be created at once, but posted throughout the week or even month. After the content has been created and the social media platforms are maintained well and with well regularity, it has to

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be reviewed whether the objectives are being achieved. This can be done using metrics that are relevant for the objectives. With this knowledge, the social media strategy can be adjusted if needed. Within the four social media strategy models that can be found in appendix F, there are some differences. The model by Kerkhofs (2011), is mainly focused on the process before implementing social media, while the other three models also take evaluating and adjusting of the strategy into account. The main difference between all of the models, is the order of the steps. In the social media strategic process by Mills and Plangger (2015), determining the target group is the very first step, while Hootsuite’s Social media strategy (LaPage, 2019) sets that as the second step, as well as Kloos’ Social media strategy framework, while Kerkhofs puts that off until step four.

2.1.5 Engagement

Engagement on social media is the umbrella term for shares, likes and comments for a business’ social media efforts (BigCommerce, n.d.). However, this does not mean that these actions also mean that a purchase will be done, but engagement can be seen as the first step to conversions. More engagement means more visibility on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, and the more visibility, the higher the chance of getting conversions.

2.1.6. Conversions

Conversion is a marketing concept which is used to measure how many visitors proceed to an action that is desired by the company (Heselmans, 2020). This can be a purchase, signing up for the newsletter or reaching out to the company. In the case of Island Bookings, a conversion would be to make a purchase.

There are several ways to get the conversion rate up. A good thing to make sure, is that the so-called landing pages (where followers are led to) are optimized. This ensures that people stay on the website and actually do what is desired. Working together with influencers is also a good way to get

conversions up. Influencers often have many followers and high engagement under them, which can help get more brand awareness and higher conversion rate. Because the human brain can process videos 60,000 times faster than text, it is recommended to use this kind of content rather than just text. Putting up contests and promotions is also a good way to get more attention online. The type of contest or way to sign up for the contest can be adjusted to the objective that has to be achieved (Aham-Adi, 2019).

Conversions are also a good way to monitor the social media strategy. If the strategy is successful, it will be reflected in the conversions. If the conversions do not meet the goal, the social media strategy should be reassessed. The bounce rate is also a valuable tool to monitor. This will tell if the landing page is the smartest choice or not (KlipFolio, n.d.).

2.1.7. Algorithms

Another thing to keep in mind when creating a social media strategy, are the algorithms that platforms use. Algorithms can be seen as a set of rules or calculations which determines who gets to see which content (Hopper, n.d.). This can be based on location, age, interests, activity or interactions. An algorithm can, for example, not show the content that was most recently posted first, but the content that was posted by the persons that was most interacted with.

2.2 Content marketing

2.2.1. Content

The found definitions of content can be seen in table 2.3. Both Pulizzi and Cohen define content as information, while Damico thinks that content is a form of communication. Pulizzi links goals; it has to inform, engage or amuse the reader, as well as Damico, she however calls it a ‘purpose’. Other than these small differences, the three definitions are quite similar.

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Table 2.3:

Definitions content

The definition of content that is used in this thesis is ‘Content is information posted in any medium that informs, engages or amuses.

2.2.2. Marketing

The found definitions of marketing can be seen in table 2.4. Similarities between the three definitions, is that Armstrong and Kotler (2006) mention that customers are the most important, while Verhage & Visser (2018) and the AMA (2017) just mention it as a part of marketing. Armstrong and Kotler are also the only ones who don’t mention the different components of marketing, such as development, pricing, promotion, distribution, which are mentioned by both the other definitions, be it in other words (creating, communicating, delivering, exchanging). While Verhage and Visser mention what should come out of marketing; higher revenue, good reputation and a sustainable relationship with the customer, Armstrong and Kotler mention the goals marketing has; attracting new customers and keeping existing customers.

Table 2.4:

Definitions marketing

The definition of marketing that is worked with in this thesis is as following;

Author

Definitions

Joe Pulizzi in (Moutsos, 2018) ‘’Compelling information that informs, engages, or amuses’’. Joan Damico in (Odden, n.d.) ‘’Content is any communication in any medium that serves a purpose, whether it be to influence, educate, inform, warn, express one’s self or spark conversation within a given context’’.

Heidi Cohen in (Odden, n.d.) ‘’Content is high quality, useful information that conveys a story presented in a contextually relevant manner with the goal of soliciting an emotion or engagement. Delivered live or asynchronously content can be expressed using a variety of formats including text, images, video, audio and/or

presentations. When used for marketing purposes, content should incorporate the organization’s branding, be void of any form of promotion, and use a call-to-action to be trackable’’.

Verhage and Visser (2018) Marketing covers the development, pricing, promotion and distribution of products, services or ideas and all other

activities that offer clients added value. All of these factors will automatically lead to higher revenue or another wished response, a good reputation of the organisation and a

sustainable relationship with the customer, at which all parties accomplish their objectives.

Armstrong and Kotler (2006) Marketing is a social and management process in which individuals and groups get what they need and wish for, by creating products and values and exchanging these with others. Marketing is all about customers. The core of marketing is about building customer relationships based on customer value and satisfaction. Thus, marketing has two goals; attracting new customers by promising superior value and keeping existing customers by satisfying them.

American Marketing Association (2017)

‘’Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large’’.

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Marketing is the management process of development, pricing, promotion and distribution of products or services. Marketing has two goals; attracting and keeping customers and generating a higher revenue or other wished response.

The combined definition of the core term ‘content marketing’ is; content marketing is the process of deciding which kind of content to post, with the purpose of higher revenue, establishing a good reputation and sustainable relationships with customers.

2.2.3. Types of content

The two main kinds of content are textual and visual. However, as humans can only retain ‘’10 to 20% of the information they read or hear about, but 65% when that information is paired with visual

contents’’ (Hausman, 2017) it is recommended that visual contents are used. Visual content is also more likely to be shared (Manic, 2015).

Interactive content requires active engagement from its consumers, it becomes a two-way experience (Ceros, n.d.). There are several kinds of interactive contents, quizzes or polls, interactive videos and contests being some of them. A call-to-action is a good way to make any kind of post interactive. Evergreen content is content that will never go out of date. The topic is not dependent on the season, current events or even year (Ong, 2019). Evergreen content saves time, as the content does not have to be updated regularly and helps to get regular traffic.

User Generated Content (UGC) is content that has been posted by other users of social media platforms. It can be valuable to repost these posts, as it will save time to not have to create all the content. Another important thing to keep in mind, is that 92% of consumers say that they trust UGC more than marketer generated content.

2.3 Relation between the core terms

The relation between the two core terms is that they cannot exist without each other. A crucial part of a social media strategy is the content that will be posted, as that is the implementation of the strategy. In reverse, a social media strategy gives a direction to the content that is posted, as it has been researched what type of content the consumers want to see.

2.4 Operationalisations

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Chapter 3: Research

3.1 Approach to research

In this chapter an overview of the research questions that have been answered using research is given. The chosen research strategy is explained, as well as the chosen methods of data collection, the selection of data sources (sampling plan) and the methods of data analysis. This has been done using Verhoeven’s book ‘Wat is onderzoek?’.

Research design

The strategies that have been used in this research are both quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative research is focused on numerical information and has an emphasis on getting many responses, while qualitative research is more interested in the meaning that people give to certain situations. For both research strategies there are two different ways to conduct the research; desk or field. Desk research is focused on finding secondary data, meaning that research has already been done. Field research is focused on gaining new insights and data, so-called primary data. To be able to do good and fitting research for each question, there has to be made use of different kind of observation methods. A systematic overview of the research design can be found in appendix H.

1. What is the current situation regarding the social media of Island Bookings?

This research question has been answered using a qualitative research strategy. It’s been conducted using both desk and field research. All of the sub-questions for this research question are descriptive. This means that, according to Verhoeven (2011), the matching research methods are analyses, a survey or a case study. In this case, the frequency and the type of content has been researched by making an analysis. This will also serve as a zero-point. The last 6 months before the start of writing this thesis has been analysed (09-08-2019 – 09-02-2020). From the analysis, a conclusion has been drawn. The analysis of the current situation of Island Bookings can be found in appendix I.

For the last sub-question, there is no existing literature or file to access to find out the social media marketing goals. This is why it has been chosen to answer this question by using a questionnaire, that has been send to the manager of the company. This way, the answers to questions can be looked up first or discussed with the owner of the company. The questionnaire can be found in appendix J, as well as an organigram of the subjects. The organigram was made after consulting

strategischmarketingplan.com (Knoot, n.d.) and MKBservicedesk.nl (MKB, 2020).

2. What are success- and failure factors in social media content?

This research question has been answered using triangulation. This means that there is more than one kind of research done to answer this question. This increases the reliability of the research (Verhoeven, 2018). The first kind of research is qualitative; desk research. The observation method that has been used is analysing existing materials. The materials that have been searched for are published papers which elaborate on success formulas and on what not to do. The found materials have been analysed using the AAOCC-criteria, to ensure reliability. This can be found in appendix K. The search terms and found materials that have been coded, can be found in the same appendix.

The second kind of research that has been performed to be able to answer this research question is qualitative as well, but in the form of an interview. This semi-structured interview, where there is room for the personal input of the interviewee, has been done with a social media expert from Happy Idiots, Pascale Nusselder. Happy Idiots is a company specialised in using social media for marketing purposes. The second person that has taken part in an interview, is Arjana Van Berkel. She is social media manager for ACHTUNG Amsterdam and previously did the same for Isobar. The interviews have been analysed by transcribing (writing the interview out word for word), after which the interviews have been coded. The first step in coding is open coding (putting labels on fragments) and the second step is axial coding (putting the labels under overarching codes). After these steps had been done, the

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interview has been summarized and conclusions are drawn. The interview guide can be found in appendix L and the elaborated and coded interviews can be found in appendix M.

3. How is the competition using social media?

This research question has been answered using qualitative research, by doing desk research. This is a describing question. The matching research method that is most suitable for this question is making an analysis, similar to what has been done for the first research question. Initially, this question was going to be answered by looking at and making an analysis of the two biggest competitors, AFerry and Direct Ferries. However, it appears that both these companies are not active on social media.

Therefore it has been decided that a competition analysis for Booking.com will be made. This particular company has been chosen, because this is the kind of company (worldwide booking platform) Island Bookings wishes to be in the future. The target group is also more or less the same (travellers over 18). The last 6 months before the start of writing this thesis has been analysed (09-08-2019 – 09-02-2020). From the analysis, a conclusion can be drawn. The analysis can be found in appendix N.

4. What are trends in Social Media and travel?

This fifth research question has been answered using qualitative research, by doing desk research. It is a predictive research question and to answer this research question, an analysis of existing literature research is done, looking at recent and reliable sources in this field. To analyse the results, the AAOCC-criteria has been applied. This will ensure the reliability of the results. The search terms applied AAOCC-criteria and the results of the analysis can be found in appendix O.

5. What do Island Bookings’ customers want to see on social media?

This last research question is a descriptive one. This is a quantitative research form and the best fitting research method is a survey. It has been chosen to make use of a web-based questionnaire. The main reason for this choice, is that most of Island Bookings’ customers are not based in the Netherlands. This is an easy way to reach them. The target group is travellers between 18 and 50 years old. Most of the customers are from western countries (western-Europe, north America, Australia, New Zealand). There are roughly 227 million people in these regions who are between 18 and 50 years old (Population Pyramid, n.d.). According to Leonhardt (2019) 47,5% of them travel. This means that the population is roughly 107 million people.

The goal of the survey is to gain insights in what the target group likes to see on social media and what yields engagement. The survey has been made using the site Qualtrics. The first step is to decide the sample size. This is how many respondents are desired. When a sample size calculator is used, the recommend sample size is 385. After this has been discussed with the first examiner, it has been decided to use a sample size of 200. In order to get respondents, the survey has been published in a Facebook group especially for surveys (Survey Sharing 2020 with almost 17.000 members) and in the Facebook group WeAreTravellers.nl – Backpackers Groep (NL & BE) with more than 10.000 members. Island Bookings has also sent the survey to customers from the month March via email. They have put an incentive on filling out the survey; people can win €150 in ferry tickets if they fill out their email address at the end of the survey.

The survey touches several subjects; basic demographics (gender, age, place of origin), kind of traveller, what kind of content the population wants to see, which channels are used and reasons of using social media. A complete substantiation of the subjects of the survey can be found in appendix P. The complete survey can be found in the same appendix and the results of the survey can be found in appendix Q.

The variables can then be compared by using a bivariate analysis. With a bivariate analysis, the connection between two variables can be given. There are several bivariate analysis options that are suitable for this survey;

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1. Crosstabs

A frequency division of two variables. The tables give the amount of observations as well as the percentage. This is a good way to compare gender vs. kind of content, age vs. channels and age/gender/place of origin vs type of traveller.

2. Bar graph

Two variables can be compared in a clustered or stacked bar graph. In this chart, age/place of origin vs. kind of content or age/place of origin vs. channels can easily be compared.

After connections are made, conclusions have been drawn on what kind of content to post.

3.2 Research results

3.2.1 Qualitative research

Analyses

Current situation Island Bookings

The current situation of Island Bookings’ social media is not very consistent, as can be seen in table 3.1. In the first few months there was an occasional post on Facebook, twice per month. On none of the accounts has been posted since November, but on some accounts there has not been activity since August, September or October. On Instagram they are more consistent with posting. The average amount of posts per month for all of the accounts is 6,7, which comes down to +- 1,5 post per week.

Table 3.1:

Average amount of posts on social media

In regard to the type of content that they post, they are quite consistent. All of the pictures have some kind of nature element in it. This can be either the sea, the beach, jungle or a viewpoint. 89% percent of the content posted, is not their own, but a repost of another Instagram user (User Generated Content). 70% of the pictures have people in them and 68% has a Call-to-Action. The pictures with people in them have an average of 194 likes, while the pictures without people have an average of 248 likes. There are 16 posts with less than 100 likes, but there doesn’t seem to be a particular thing that they all have in common.

In total, there were 54 posts in 6 months’ time. Of these 54, 38 had people in them. These 38 posts had an average of 196 likes, while the pictures without people had an average of 236 likes. 37 of the texts had a call-to-action in them. These posts had an average of 213 likes and 3,5 reactions and the posts without a call-to-action in them had an average of 230 likes and 5,5 reactions, which stands out. The posts that have reached a lot of people (5000+) have an average of 409 likes and the posts that reached less than 5000 people have an average of 142 likes. This also reflects in the reactions; posts that have reached over 5000 people have an average of 8,2 reactions, while posts with less than 5000 people reached have an average of 2,6 reactions.

Account Instagram Facebook Abnormality

GiliBookings 6,66 per month 2 per month Not posted on Facebook since October

FijiBookings 7 per month 2 per month Not posted on Facebook since September

StMartinBookings 4,75 per month 2 per month Not posted on Instagram since November 8, not on Facebook since September

VirginBookings 6,1 per month 1 per month Not posted on Facebook since August

SeychellesBookings 9 per month 2 per month Not posted on Facebook since November

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21 Island Bookings marketing goals

Island Bookings does not currently use a specific marketing model, but they do have marketing goals. The reason for that is because it is an entirely web-based company and marketing goals are essential to improve their position in search engines, which will increase traffic to their website. In table 3.2 is an overview of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company.

Table 3.2: SWOT analysis

In 5 years, Island Bookings wishes to reach a net revenue of €3 to 6 million per year, with 5-10 times more customers than they currently have. This means about 50,000 tickets sold per year. As

mentioned before, they wish to include more regions on their new platform that is being developed at the moment. In 5 years, they hope to include 100+ regions and have a 5% market share. The price of the product is decided by the net rates provided by the boat company, after which agreed upon commission rates are added. These depend on local and international public rates, competition and the quality of the service. New customers are reached through (organic) search engine optimization and existing customers are reached through email. The promotion tools that are used are Google Adwords and social media (Instagram and Facebook). The monthly budget for marketing is €6750 (€3500 Google Adwords, €2500 Beeinteractive, €500 affiliates and €250 local ads & miscellaneous).

Competition analyses

A competition analyses was done for Booking.com. They post an average amount of 15 times per month on Instagram, which comes down to 3,75 posts per week. On Facebook they post an average amount of 13,2 times per months, which means 3,3 posts per week. On Instagram, they do not appear to reply to comments made under their posts, and they also do not make use of the Story feature. On Facebook they do reply to comments under their posts, but these are mostly complaints of people who could not reach them via other ways and want their money back.

The amount of likes is not visible anymore on Instagram, so here the average amount of reactions is the indicator. The average amount of reactions on a post that has people in it, is 70,28 and the average amount without people is 107,45. This can be explained due to the fact that the posts that have the most reactions were posts that had a contest and didn’t have people in them. Here, the average amount of reactions is 123,37. 21 of the 74 posts is User Generated Content, and only one of these has a call to action. Six more posts do not have a call to action. The pictures posted are mostly travel pictures, of mountains, landmarks or nature.

On Facebook, all posts have a visual part. These are mostly pictures, but also some videos and an infographic. Visual content with people (39 times) has an average amount of 755,8 likes and visual content without people (26 times) has an average amount of likes of 360,2. Four posts are User Generated Content. Only 16 posts do not have a call to action. The call to action that is used most is ‘click the link’.

Strengths

Regional expertise of the locations that Island Bookings operates in

Regional SEO focus

Small organization in relation the larger ‘hands-free’ DIY customer base

Easy booking online with live seat availability

Weaknesses

Reliance on service providers (ownership of boat services is beyond their scope)

Natural disaster risk in most of the regions

Opportunities

In phase of system development that can make Island Bookings scale up exponentially and offer a product that is an improvement on the existing market

Threats

Direct competition with 2-3 big companies that are almost monopolizing the market

Copycat websites emerging in recent years that get a portion of the local market share

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22 Literature research

Success- and failure factors

Some things that came from the literature research for the success- and failure factors were

contradictory. One thing is the amount of content that should be posted. Only two sources gave actual numbers; 2 to 3 times a week (Balinas, 2020), while another source said one to two times a day (McCoy, 2020). Balinas (2020) is backed-up by Markovska (n.d.), who says that no one wants too much content and that followers should be given time to digest the information. Ramsay (2010) also seems to support this, saying that ‘’too much information can be as bad as no information at all’’.

Engagement

Multiple sources state that interaction is very important. Markovska (n.d.) claims that online interaction is the direct representation of the business and Balinas (2020) says interacting with the audience can build connections. When communicating with the audience, it is important to use the right approach; do not get angry at (negative) feedback, but try to solve the problem and do not ignore comments, because engagement is the highest priority (McCoy, 2020). McCoy also states that an impersonal front is not a good idea. Users want to talk to humans, not robots. This is backed-up by Ramsay (2010), who says that the audience should be listened to, and by Broekhuizen (2014), saying that the audience should feel important.

Requirements

It is also important to make sure that the post meets some requirements. The information provided should be sufficient and not misleading (Markovska, n.d.). This will have a long-term negative effect on the business. Another requirement is correct spelling and grammar (Balinas, 2020; Markovska, n.d..; McCoy, 2020). This looks unprofessional and can hurt credibility. If sharing links, it is important that these are proofread, as not knowing what is posted does more harm than good (Crowdfire, 2019) and be sure you want to be associated with the source (Balinas, 2020). Visual content is very important, as these can be an attention-grabber (McCoy, 2020) and can boost the social media strategy (Balinas, 2020). However, the visual part should not be blurred, unoptimized or have Microsoft Paint-like features (Crowdfire, 2019)

Posts should not sound too salesy, and sales posts should not be posted too often (Crowdfire, 2019) (McCoy, 2020). Sometimes it is good to not have a call to action and to not promote yourself. That is why the right balance between conversation and sales has to be found (Ramsay, 2010). Another no-go is to be needy, so it is not recommended to add ‘please’ or ‘like this’ to every post (Balinas, 2020). When a call to action is used, it is important that it emphasizes on the value for the customer, is relevant and specific and reassures the customer (Van Hall, 2020).

It is important to match the content to the right network, as ‘’different networks have different user profiles; therefore the tone and content for one will not necessarily work for another’’ (Balinas, 2020; Ramsay, 2010). The tone of voice should be adjusted to the target group (Brinkerink, 2019). Even when the same message is shared on different networks, the tone of voice should be adjusted to match the network (Balinas, 2020). It can also help to develop a style, that can come through at all networks (Ramsay, 2010).

Too many hashtags will look like spam and become ineffective, while using the right hashtags will leverage the brand and get more attention (Balinas, 2020; McCoy, 2020).

Influencers

A company does not always have to post their own content. It can help to leverage the brand by identifying with well-known personalities (McCoy, 2020). An example of this is using influencers, which can be a powerful strategy that promises a huge return on investment (ROI) (McCoy, 2020). Another source of content can be User Generated Content. Customers want independent proof of the worth of the company, and UGC can bring this (Brinkerink, 2019). But, when using UGC, it is social media etiquette to give credit to the original poster (Balinas, 2020).

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Sellas (n.d.) advices to have only one social media account per network, unless there is proof

otherwise (big niche market).

Social media trends

The literature research on trends found that organic reach is declining on social media platforms, so even followers might not even see the posted content. This is because algorithms are becoming social, it notices social behaviour (reactions, web care) (Chandak, 2020; Daae, 2019). Hashtags are also changing, it is an attempt of the algorithms to see what interests’ users (Daae, 2019). Videos are also becoming more and more important and considered the most powerful tool (Chandak, 2020). But videos are also changing, they are shorter, less professional and more dynamic (Daae, 2019). It is expected that videos will dominate on all platforms, according to van Kalmthout (n.d.). This is backed-up by DEPT (2020), who expect that 82% of content will be in the form of videos.

For small businesses, there are some opportunities that they have to keep in mind. The first is reviews, as customers are relying on reviews posted on Facebook and Instagram. This influences buying behaviours (Chandak, 2020). Another opportunity is live streaming. It can help businesses to show a more human side of their business. It also allows to engage with customers (Chandak, 2020). It is also important to make sure that the content is mobile-friendly, as there is an increasing amount of mobile users each year. Having content that is optimal for this device can reach to significant amount of new leads (Chandak, 2020).

Influencer marketing is a quite new form of marketing. Authenticity is becoming more important, but companies do need to think about who to work with; they have to fit the product (DEPT, 2020;

Henneman, 2020). Micro-influencers are perceived as more authentic, so big influencers are cornered. Their credibility is tested, so small and medium influencers are used more, as they have a greater degree of credibility (Kerkhofs, 2019). This is backed-up by DEPT (2020), who says that there will be an increase of using micro-influencers, because they seem more authentic, have more engagement and are cheaper. Social media users are looking for real content, and that content is also less polished (Van Kalmthout, n.d.).

Customer service is something that will also be done via social media. It allows customers to engage with companies anytime and anywhere and ‘’the solutions to their problems will be more accessible and immediate’’ (Appel, Grewal, Hadi, & Stephen, 2019). The main way to have contact with customers will be via WhatsApp (Appel et al., 2019; Verdoold, 2020). The contact will also be more personal and be via private interactions (dark social), instead of public (Henneman, 2020). But not only that will be more private, the accounts of users as well. More and more people are indicating that they have put their socials on private (Kerkhofs, 2019).

A new, rising platform that looks promising is TikTok. It already has 500 million users worldwide and is mostly popular with Gen Z (Henneman, 2020). It is still rapidly growing and advertisement on the platform is now also possible (Kerkhofs, 2019) (Van Kalmthout, n.d.). It will be used by businesses to reach these younger target groups and to understand how this generation creates content (Daae, 2019). Another network to keep in mind is Instagram. More and more functions are available and the network can now replace an entire website (Daae, 2019).

Many networks also have a story function, which is popular under users, as 4 in 5 Instagram users post a story daily (Van Kalmthout, n.d.). They want to share what they are doing in real-time and stories encourage to keep watching new content. Stories are authentic and more approachable (DEPT, 2020). Stories about brand awareness, ambiance and experiences do well (Van Kalmthout, n.d.).

Authenticity is also important, in both micro-influencers and companies. As there is so much content out there nowadays, it is important to stand out (DEPT, 2020; Kerkhofs, 2019).

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24 Travel trends

Destinations

The literature research on travel trends found that less popular destinations, such as second cities, are getting more attention. People want to avoid mainstream, overcrowded and overpriced destinations (Ramanathan, 2020; Talty, 2019). Especially millennials seem to choose destinations that are less popular, emerging and more authentic (Ketter, 2019). This also plays a role in reducing over-tourism, which 54% of travellers want to do (Clayton-Lea, 2020). Millennials also prefer creative tourism; they want to have more control over their experiences and prefer to create their own unique experiences over cookie-cutter ones and are more likely to plan their own itineraries instead of relying on travel agents (Ketter, 2019). They will also perform all stages of travel on their smartphones, as it is expected that tourism will go fully digital (Ketter, 2019).

Sustainability

Sustainability is going to play a big role in the future, as green travel is becoming a bigger trend (Talty, 2019). Travellers now also want more transparency about carbon offsets and demand that tour operators help to balance that (Flint, 2020). They want to do everything in their power to neutralize the negative their travels have (Southan, n.d.). This also shows in the fact that flight shame has become a real thing. People do not mind taking longer to reach their destination, if it is a unique mode of

transportation (Talty, 2019). Travellers now think more carefully about where they fly to and how often they fly (Southan, n.d.). Not only in mode of transportation has this become a big deal, also in

accommodations. 70% of travellers are more likely to book an accommodation if they know it is planet friendly (Flint, 2020). Destinations and businesses, such as hotels, are now also banning single use plastics, such as straws and bags, to reduce the amount (Flint, 2020). This way of travelling will increase more and more over the years, as the younger generation demands more eco-friendly options, thus they will shape travel (Clayton-Lea, 2020).

Changes

The way people go on vacation is also changing. Motion-based travel is becoming more popular (Talty, 2019), as well as microcations; quicker vacations closer to home (Flint, 2020). Not only the length of trips, but also the company is changing. Women only trips shine; women want to support women, which will lead to tour operators hiring female guides and sourcing from female-owned suppliers (Flint, 2020). Solo travel is also more accessible nowadays, as there are many apps to help find friends (Clayton-Lea, 2020).

Politics

Another thing that also has an impact on travel are politics, as countries can set travel bans from or to certain countries (e.g. USA travel ban), or current events (protests in Hong Kong) can stagnate tourism in that destination in terms of safety (Clayton-Lea, 2020). Current events are of great importance, as very noticeable now. The Corona virus has tourism laid flat at the moment, and it is expected that international travel is not possible for the next 6 months to a year (Dodwell, 2020). However, not all countries have responded the same, thus there is much unclarity about the measures being taken, as no two countries apply the same rules or interpret them the same (Burridge, 2020).

Interviews

Type and amount of content

From the interview with Pascale Nusselder and Arjana Van Berkel (appendix M) came there should be posted on Instagram and Facebook every day. Van Berkel added that when this is not possible for whatever reason, every other day or 3 times a week is also acceptable. But, the more you post, the bigger you will grow when using only organic content. However, the visual part should not be blurred, unoptimized or have Microsoft Paint-like features. The content mix should also be looked at. It should be the right balance between informative, commercial and fun content. Fun content, or content with a wink, will provoke interaction. According to Van Berkel, the content mix between UGC and original

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content should be about 50-50. She states that especially in the travel world, UGC is very good

content. This can also be posted in stories.

Networks

It is important to match the content to the right network, as different networks have different target groups, and the tone of voice and content that is recommended for one specific network, may not work for another network. Nusselder recommends 1 Instagram account per company, saying that it is a lot of work and that having one account reduces the amount of content that has to be prepared. Van Berkel agrees with this, giving the tip that one Facebook page can target different markets. This way all the likes and engagement will still be registered to one page. This way, it is more structured. Nusselder also says that a growth of 25% regarding conversions when implementing a social media strategy is very good. Van Berkel states that 1% extra (e.g. from 0,6% to 1,6%) is a good growth, especially when it is done organically. When there has been made use of paid advertising, a growth of 2-3% extra is very good.

KPI’s

KPI’s that are good to monitor this depends on the exact goal of the strategy, but supporting conversions, bounce rate, how much time they spend on the website and engagement are ones to keep in mind, according to Nusselder. Van Berkel does not name these, but says that total new likes and unliked are important, especially when being compared to last year’s numbers.

Budget

Van Berkel also talks about budget. She states that, in order to get started, a company will need to invest 10-20k, to get a brand strategy and company formats. After that, 5k a month can work, but this is a small budget.

Failure factors

Regarding failure factors, Nusselder says it is absolutely not-done that the same content is posted on different networks. This will ensure that followers will unlike. The content should also be different each time. The way a company responds to customers under posts, is very important. This is backed-up by Van Berkel, who says that the biggest failure factor is not engaging with customers who respond under posts.

3.2.2 Quantitative research

Survey

The results of the survey can be found in appendix Q. In total, 310 people started the survey, but only 282 actually finished it. Only with these responses has been worked in the results.

Demographics

The demographics of the respondents of the survey and their social media preferences are displayed in figure 3.1. 167 respondents were Island Bookings customers in the past.