Even before social media, family vacations were a lot of fun when I was a little girl. One of the ways I remembered my trips and archived their special moments was through scrapbooking. Not the new-fangled-way of scrapbooking, with embellishments and ornate stickers, but the good old fashioned slap-something-on-that-manila-page and call it done kind. I collected brochures of the places we visited, snapped pictures to be processed when we returned home, and collected little pieces of memorabilia that fit nicely between my pages – and I shared the book with guests who came to visit.

Social Media Scrapbooking

While many people still scrapbook today, even more are sharing their adventures electronically. You probably remember the early days of digital photos and email, and that friend who always tried to email, large download-limit-breaking, photos to you of beaches and theme parks. Now, social media has made photo sharing much easier. Travelers are embracing the variety of options at their fingertips to share their pictures and stories across the social web.

Sure, the average guest at your resort may not be a professional photographer, and they may not be a “travel industry influencer” across social media channels, but they’re posting images of sunsets, landscapes and beach-time fun. They’re already broadcasting their good times about you, and your business, and you didn’t even have to ask.

How You Can Use These Unsolicited Social Media Shares To Grow Your Travel Business

Certainly, some friends and followers of social media loving travelers may limit themselves to vicarious living, but others are paying close attention. On one occasion, I recall being so captivated with the snapshot of a beach my friend had posted on Facebook – I made it my screensaver. Months later, I asked her to remind me where the photo was taken. She excitedly shared every detail of her stay at The Fairmont Southampton in Bermuda, right down to the patio she was sitting on as she snapped it from her iPhone. Though, I haven’t made it to Bermuda yet, her travels now fill a book of must-see destinations I otherwise would have never known about.

How you can leverage social sharing:

• Create an environment or even a distraction from the norm. Maybe you don’t have Cinderella’s Castle for the background shot like Disney does, that’s alright. Search for something iconic and make sure you point it out as the perfect picture opportunity. Guests are already showcasing your property, so come up with something clever that will generate plenty of discussion and will create a connection to your brand when people see multiple images popping up across the social web.
• Have a monitoring platform, and a strategy, that includes coverage of shared media – such as videos and images. Be on the lookout for the organic images your guests share.
• Be present and involved in online communities, where sharing is fun and easy. Create accounts on video and photo sites built for easy sharing like Flickr, YouTube and even Facebook. Encourage your guests to share their images and videos with you across these social platforms. Then, reward them for being part of your unofficial PR team with points, coupons, bonuses, etc. – you get the picture!
• Talk about their experiences with them. Engage them in conversation across the social channels they frequent, such as Twitter. Your guests tell the story of staying with you, or visiting you more authentically than any brochure will. Let them help point people in your direction.

At the end of the day (or the end of their stay), your guests are going to share what moves them, what inspires them and what makes their vacation enjoyable. Travelers haven’t changed much, despite the change in media – they still love to share their travel experiences. Though the sharing is primarily electronic now, brochures are the equivalent of links back to your location, and personalized pictures with the smiling faces of friends set the stage to draw more new friends to your destination – it’s still up to you to provide the compelling experiences and surroundings. Once you’ve got that covered, then you can leave the electronic scrapbooking up to your guests.

Discussion: Have you visited a location because of social media shared content from friends, colleagues or family? Do you have a story about how photo-sharing online, drew new business to your destination?

On a lighter note: For those of you who like to get creative with photography on your travels. Check out this great travel photography flickr group and the 10 best travel photography websites for inspiration!

Jenn Seeley is a Community Engagement Specialist who travels vicariously through the many bloggers, tweeple and travel aficionados she engages with on a daily basis. Tweet your travel & social media stories with her at @jenn_seeley!

Tags: #traveltuesday, customer engagement, Disney, Facebook, Flickr, photo sharing, Social Media, social media strategy, travel, twitter, YouTube