#SMTIPS - Who are the experts in Social Media in Travel?

It is safe to say that the Travel Industry has been one of the most advanced in the use of the Internet for commerce, user generated content and now for the integration of social media tools.

From the launch of the first travel websites that were little more than brochures in the mid-90s, to full fledged booking sites and now robust shopping and planning sites, the Travel Industry scores an "A" in eCommerce, with nearly $140b in annual sales. We know how to drive traffic and how to convert business to a sale, although increasing that conversion rate well into the double digits is still the holy grail. For the purpose of this blog, I will remain silent on how I believe that this channel can become even more effective, as I cover that in detail in my Distribution blog.

A similar grade would be given for user generated content, with sites like TripAdvisor and Travelocity's IGoUgo leading the way in allowing consumers to rank various travel venues. The industry now fully understands that hearing the voice of the consumer is much more powerful than the understandably biased view of the brand.

And if PhoCusWright's Travel Innovator Summit is any measure, there are now more companies chasing the social media aspect of travel than any other niche. Literally millions are being thrown at coming up with ways to link people together in meaningful ways, and especially in ways that can be monetized. The emerging model is one of advertising and sponsorship and monetizing traffic, with a link back to the traditional ecommerce sites for good measure and a well rounded business model.

I know from experience, that when you are well-funded as a company, it is easy to be a product leader if you are blessed to have a foundation of innovation to build upon. But at the end of the day, like any other discipline in our industry, there has to be training to create a level of expertise in the skill of Social Media. It must become a recognized discipline in its own right.

So I am left wondering, who the individual experts are in Social Media in the Travel Industry?

We have an amazing amount of talent in the travel industry and a lot of folks are working on building companies around Social Media tools, such as building and leveraging communities.

We know from the various travel conferences who the bloggers are. But are bloggers experts? We also know who Twitters and who provides frequent updates on Facebook, LinkedIn and Plaxo. Can we use numbers of followers or number of links to determine who the experts are?

In my 30 years in the travel industry, I don't think I've ever seen anything spread so fast, yet so ineffectively as social media. I say ineffectively, as the return on investment of time just hasn't caught up to the effort needed to cross the chasm from being a novice to being an expert. And it will take experts to ensure that ROI comes from business growth that is fueled by the viral marketing that is possible with social media.

I have started this new blog to dedicate some real time and attention to picking out those that if not already leaders in Social Media, have the desire to learn and lead the charge on the effective use of social media to fuel growth.

Join in to the conversation. Follow me on Twitter and look for #SMTTIPS. If you don't understand what the hash tag (#) symbol means, then bookmark this site (to use the Web 1.0 vernacular) and tune in to a dialogue that is sure to educate, will likely challenge some and it is my hope that it will raise everyone's boats more than a notch when it comes to using the toolset that is now in our hands.

Chicke Fitzgerald, Founder Solutionz Media Group