RDO Research: How can the timeshare industry target customers more effectively through social media?
RDO has today released the results of a study conducted on its behalf by final year students at the School of Tourism at the University of Bournemouth into how social media campaigns and e-commerce can best be utilised to reach the industry’s target audience, the 30/40-year-olds.
The research included a case study of RDO developer Pearly Grey, visits to Club La Costa, Club Olympus and Silverpoint resorts in Tenerife as well as telephone conference calls with senior personnel at key RDO member companies It also included analysing the results of focus group meetings with the target demographic.
The research students found that the flexibility of timeshare in the 21st-century has great potential in appealing to the younger generation and social media campaigns and e-commerce have a sizeable reach to this target demographic.
This younger demographic is a sceptical generation and need to be fully educated about a product before purchase decisions are finalised. They appreciate a personalised approach and mass marketing is generally a deterrent.
A series of recommendations have been produced by the School of Tourism to help timeshare businesses fully engage with in this arena, so that they promote and provide consumers with more knowledge and understanding of the timeshare product.
Industry Recommendations
Use the RDO stamp of approval so that the consumer can recognise that yours is a brand to trust
- Social media pages should be based on the “rules” of social media i.e. regularly update content, personalise your pages and ensure your sites are interactive, define the purpose of your sites, manage your connections carefully
- Have a full-time social media professional to manage content and sites, promote your pages at every opportunity and regularly monitor your online reputation
- Ensure your sites can be easily accessible via mobile and tablet devices, perhaps consider developing a mobile app
- Focus your social media efforts on the most popular social media pages. Facebook and Twitter are the most prevalent and influential but the creation of your own You Tube channel should be considered
- Promote your marketing material in line with the behavioural characteristics of Generation X, a generation that is aspirational and needs to be educated into a product before considering a purchase
- Create your own community of followers to build trust and loyalty
- Personalise your newsletters
- Make social media a team effort, for all staff to contribute to
A full copy of the report is available to RDO members. Contact Sue McNicol on smcnicol@rdo.org for further information
