São Paulo – Social media like Twitter, Orkut, Facebook, Myspace and, specially, blogs, have become interesting low-cost tools to promote tourist routes. They allow Internet users to generate a certain volume of content and, at the same time, to collect information, have fun and establish relationships. In Brotas, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, for example, some businessmen have noticed that the word of the moment is “blogging”.
"Social media causes a domino effect. Blogs are a market tendency and their main benefit is interaction with clients,” said Marília Rabello, marketing manager at Acampamentos Peralta, who established a department especially for management of social networks and to update the company site, where four people work.
“The world is currently on the Internet. Groups are communicating more and more on the Net. The last season of the veteran camp (aged between 26 and 28 years of age), for example, was entirely promoted on the Internet and we managed to get a group of 60 people,” she said.
Marketing advisor Luciana Pires, of Território Selvagem, agrees with Marília. “The blog was established in April this year and helped much in the indexing of the name on the Net.” Before the blog was created, according to Luciana, when a person sought “rafting Brotas”, the company name appeared in the fourth or fifth page, now it is in the first or, at the most, second page.
The company uses the blog to show pictures, promotional campaigns and, together with the company site, as a “mural” for visitors. “Apart from having granted the company visibility, tourists are also able to report their experiences on the blog and to provide clues about the places and activities they liked most,” she said.
Blogs have also already been approved by company EcoAção. “Our blog was established in February this year and we are still learning to use it as much as possible. The site, which has been on the air since the company was established (10 years ago), was developed to be very interactive, with a message wall,” explained Giovana Guedes, the commercial director at EcoAção.
“On average, 80% of our clients become aware of the activities by recommendation. But they always check the photographs before making their reservation. Interaction with clients generates integration. It is a tool that is extremely important as it guarantees the formation of a network of contacts and generates fidelity among customers,” she said.
Apart from that, according to Giovana, blogs offer liberty and autonomy to users. “It is not just information transferred from computer to computer, it is people relating 24 hours a day. It is a great opportunity for any company,” she pointed out.
On the road
Physiotherapist Ana Carolina Villa-Lobos, aged 26, loves to pack her bag, hit the road and spend time away from the stress of the city. Originally from Brasília, but living in São Paulo for two years, she always travels to the interior of the state with her friends when she gets a chance. They travel together on average once a month.
Before defining the route, Ana makes a point of getting recommendations and does much research on the Internet. “I think it is fundamental to see pictures and read statements of people who have already been there,” she says.
It was the EcoAção site and Blog that made Ana decide to go to Brotas. “I have already done day rafting, night rafting, zip-line, abseiling and super flying, which is a kind of zip-line, 300 metres up. You are in the horizontal on the way down and feel you are flying over the valley,” she explains.
A clue to businessmen also interested in using the tool is posting many photographs and offering simple and important content. Clues about how to pack and what to take, the local climate and clear promotional packages are also useful.
Contacts
Acampamento Peraltas
http://www.acampamentoperaltas.blogspot.com
Território Selvagem
http://www.territorioselvagembrotas.blogspot.com
EcoAção
http://www.ecoacaobrotas.blogspot.com
*Translated by Mark Ament
