10 technology tips for travel pros
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Technology tips and tools from Chelle Honiker Yarbrough, CTC - presented at the 2010 Travel Institute ConferenceTRANSCRIPT
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TravelGeekSchool.com
10 Tech Tips & Tools for Today’s Travel ProChelle Honiker-Yarbrough, CTC
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Think INside The Box
Today is all about the SPARK - an idea farm
You’re already doing this stuff, for the most part - these tools and tips just make it more efficient and/or effective
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Formstack.comForm Building & Data
Management
Point and click design with flexible storage & redirection
Contact Forms
Honeymoon Registry
Online Booking
Surveys, Contests
Online Payment
Starts at $14 per monthAll Paid Plans Include:
Secure Forms
Payment Processing
3rd Party Payment Integration
Custom Redirects
Custom Confirmation Emails
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You Retain Control of Customer Data
Choices change based on input - a highly sophisticated programming feature made simple
When the SEARCH BUTTON is pressed several things happen:
1. The data is written into a Google Spreadsheet for easy access and follow up
2. An Email is sent to a designated address (assign leads weekly)
3. The data is submitted to the search engine of the supplier
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en.gravatar.com
Signup with your master email account and upload your favorite “avatar”
Works on all major websites and WordPress driven sites when you comment or sign up
Free!
Gravatar - Your Brand Simplified
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Manage Multiple Images
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HootSuite. Your Social Media Brain
You’ve accepted “Social Media” as part of today’s way of doing business and connecting with customers, potential customers and vendors
You’ve created a social media plan, complete with what platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blog, Foursquare, etc.) that make sense
You’ve either delegated, or assumed long-term responsibility for posts and discussions
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This is NOT
the objective of Social Media Management
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All Your ProfilesAt A Glance
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Hot Hootsuite Features
Facebook Personal
Facebook Business Pages
Foursquare
MySpace
WordPress
PingFM
Co-Tweeting, Scheduled Posts, Monitor Lists, Keywords
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GoogleCalendar
One Calendar to Rule them All.
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One Office Calendar
No More “TAG” - see it all at a glance
Recurring Meetings
Multiple Administrators
Pushes to Mobile Devices
Integrates with http://tungle.me
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Tungle.MEMaster Your Appointments
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Tungle.ME
Manage your schedule - not the other way around.
Allow clients to schedule appointments with you
Automatically syncs with Outlook or Google Calendar to reduce overlaps/overbookings
No need to have an account to be invited to meeting or RSVP
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Feeding the MachineHow and Where to Find Content
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Look Around...
Your STAFF & COLLEAGUES have broad experience and knowledge of destinations.
Your SUPPLIERS have a wealth of information and ideas
Your local COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES have interns and programs that can cheaply assist with writing, editing, tweeting and posting
SMOOSH them together for content-goodness
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RSS Feeds & ReadersGet to the GOOD STUFF
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Google Reader / iGoogle
Many websites use blogging platforms like WordPress - which automatically publishes an RSS Feed (www.sitename.com/feed)
Feeds can be “aggregated” into Google Reader or the iGoogle home page
YOU can publish your deals, news, andrelevant information too.
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Tweet TweetBest Practices for Twitter
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When and What to Tweet
Remember: it’s SOCIAL Media - not spray and pray. ENGAGE, DISCUSS, ANSWER AND ASK
Don’t be a social vampire - you’ll get staked
Use Hootsuite to follow keywords and discussions, then add to the conversation - DO NOT SELL.
Tweet relevant information during the “Drive Time” - 7am, noon & 4pm
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When and What to Tweet
Use Google Spreadsheet to create a posting schedule
Use HootSuite to schedule tweets in one of the slots, then reply throughout the day so it doesn’t become time suckage
3 out of every 10 posts should be an answer, or a Retweet
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Google VoiceOnline Voice Mail & Screening
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Google Voice
Awesome for Home-Based phone management, still cool for “fronting” your mobile number
Doesn’t replace phone lines - still need mobile or land line
Lets you make/receive calls on your mobile OR from computer seamlessly
Route calls based on caller ID (icky clients? Mother-in-Law? Auto-transfer to voice mail!)
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Google Voice
More Coolness:
Redirect your Mobile voice mail to Google Voice and have messages emailed to you
Send Text Messages from Google Voice
Add a widget to your website for 1-click calling
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WiseStamp SignatureSignature Creation for Email
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Point and Click
EditingMakes
itEasy
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And Now...You’re Brilliant
But if you need some Geeky Refreshers:
TravelGeekSchool.com