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It’s vacation season in the Old Pueblo!
In Tucson, Arizona, vacation and monsoon seasons collide between the months of June and September. Many Tucsonians leave for the cooler reaches of the Colorado Rockies, or the lakes of New Hampshire. Many vacationers never realize how many travel uses the social media has before and during their vacations.
In the past, many people looked forward to leaving their social networking and social media activities behind during vacations. A recent poll points to the fact that social media is being used more on vacations. Vacations give social media users a chance to create, collaborate, and manipulate the social media in new ways other than for work or social relationships. I know many reading this post are thinking the blogger needs a vacation. Could be very true!
Some of the below ideas will be productive and counterproductive. Who says one cannot have fun with the social media while on vacation.
15 ways to use social media during your vacation:
Before the vacation:
- Before leaving for vacation, make sure you post on blogs and social media operations systems that you are going on vacation and when you will be returning! Do not do this on geolocation applications or ones that list your address. Or, turn off these geolocation features. Yes, Virginia! One can possibly get robbed.
- If you are a Twitter or Facebook user, consider placing reservations through social media channels. One will get better than average customer service and you may get better discounts for booking thru a developing media. Many travel and tourism based business are trying to grow business thru social media. DO NOT OPENLY SHARE FINANCIALLY INFORMATION ON THE SOCIAL NETWORKS.
- During planning your itinerary, check and get the social media addresses for all hotels, restaurants, events, and attraction, if they participate in the social media. Bring these with you as well as your Iphone or Droid.
- Take pictures of each family member. Take pictures of your car, license plate, and VIN number. Keep these stored on your smart phone you carry on vacation and place the pictures under private on Flickr. If family members get lost or your car is stolen, you will have a current picture. Delete these pictures after you return home.
While on vacation:
- If attending a family reunion, consider creating a Facebook page around the reunion. Inform those family members about the page. Post pictures and other commentary on the page. Use the fan page as your main communication tool.
- Tired of children fighting with each other during the car trips! Want to silence the noise. Sign the kids up for a Twitter account and let them tweet fight in silence. Make it a game..offer a prize to the first one who stays silent! I know this can work..its hip and cool! Also, improves hand and eye coordination.
- If your Iphone, Droid, or Blackberry, has picture taking ability consider starting a best picture taking contest between the family members. Place the entries on Facebook, let your family and friends vote on the best picture.
- If your blogging already, consider placing a video sharing component into your blog. When on vacation place a suprise entry on your blog with a majestic view behind or doing some type of physical activity. If your swimming with the dolphins, try to do a 30 second blog message thanking your subscribers and customers. Share video on your blog, Youtube, and other venues such as specialized communities and your e-mail newsletter!
- FOR THE CHILDREN..PARENTS DON”T READ! Great blackmail opportunities await with the right vacation picture of your parents in embarrassing situations. Possibly great FLICKR votes and Diggs await! This tactic could work or not. Think about producing the pictures during the holidays…
- Use your mobile phones and Twitter applications to contact a state’s
5-1-1 hotline . Also, many states have a Twitter based Travel info account set-up. Never has real-time travel info been more available while en-route to a destination. Consider doing the same communication with National Park Service’s social media accounts. - Remember, those Twitter addresses you wrote down. Send one or several tweets, out the day before you arrive at a tourist destination. Ask a certain hotel or restaurant chain, if they are offering family based specials for Twitter followers. May save you some money! Do the same with attractions, and live events you discover in your travels.
- Many families go on vacation forgetting where they eat a great meal or stayed at a hotel turning out to be a hidden gem. Leave digitial breadcrumbs of your travels by participating on travel and tourism based recommendation sites such as Yelp , or posting on a specialized geolocation services such as Brightkite and Foursquare. This will keep a small digitial location journal of where your family visited on vacation.
- If actively using geolocation services like Brightkite and Foursquare keep an eye on any location specials when posting your locations.
- Use on-line discount sites to find the best price for gasoline during your travels.
- Send your vacation pictures to your business social media site. This will allow you to make fun of your co-workers while your on vacation and give your business social media content to put on their site. Remember, what goes around comes around when other employees will go on vacation.
These suggestions are intented to enhance your fun experiences while on vacation. Your are not conducting sustainable or mitigation based social media activities.
How have you used the social media during your vacations? Please share.
Safe travels to all!
