What does a skull fracture have to do with social media, social marketing and the travel industry? For me… Everything.
photo credit: Lif…Like authentic human relationships, social media customer relationships can be very fragile
Eight weeks ago, my wife slipped on an ice patch and fell, Keystone Kops style, fracturing her skull. Our priorities were instantly reordered. Blogging was suspended and Twitter updates slowed. Content creation and curation were interrupted, but that’s only half the story.
Social media consumption was also disrupted. Real-time feeds from Twitter and Facebook became irrelevant. LinkedIn languished. All brand relationships were ignored; there was no interactive engagement – there was no engagement. I would be hard pressed to remember any traditional broadcast media messaging during the period – all were ignored.
Regardless of my favorable predisposition toward a travel brand, or timely exposure to highly compelling message, or amazing pricing for a trip that urgently required planning, no transaction resulted; the timing was bad.
The only relationships that mattered were authentic personal relationships. The top priority was a commitment made over a quarter-century ago when I married my wife – the “in sickness and in health” clause had kicked in.
It became clear that under challenging circumstances, priorities drive definitive action, and those actions trump even the best intentioned plans. continue reading →
