This Week On Twitter: The Social Travel Industry, The Twitter Olympics And Twitter vs Facebook

Need a little weekend reading? We’ve compiled our top ten Twitter stories of the week, which includes a look at social media’s influence on the travel industry, news that the London Eye will become the Twitter sentiment gauge during the Olympics, thoughts on whether Twitter will ever be bigger than Facebook, a report from Twitter that you’ll soon be able to download ALL of your tweets and how Twitter hopes to become the “official narrator” of the Olympics. Here are our top 10 Twitter stories of the week. 1. Social Media’s Influence On The Travel Industry [INFOGRAPHIC] Did you know that 87 percent of travelers use the internet for the bulk of their travel planning? The U.S. online travel industry is set to reach a heady $162 billion in 2012 – up some 74 percent since 2007 – and social media is playing its part. More than half (52 percent) of travelers have changed their plans after researching their trip on social media sites, and 50 percent of travel companies have said that direct bookings have been generated from social media. 2. London Eye To Become Twitter Sentiment Gauge During Olympics The London Eye will be transformed during the Olympics to show global Twitter sentiment towards the Games. The more enthusiastically you tweet, the brighter the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe will become. 3. Will Twitter Ever Be Bigger Than Facebook? [INFOGRAPHIC] Has Facebook peaked? If the results of a new survey are to be believed, then perhaps it has. 52 percent of respondents said that they planned to spend less time on Facebook, and a heady 73 percent said that they believed that another social network will eclipse it. So, here’s the big question: will it be Twitter? 4. You’ll Soon Be Able To Download ALL Of Your Tweets Directly From Twitter One of Twitter’s best features is its search functionality, but it’s always been plagued by one major problem – you can’t search back more than seven days. That’s useful when all you care about is what’s happening now(or, at least, very recently), but what if you want to look further back? What if you want to re-read all those cool, witty tweets you were sending out years ago? 5. Twitter Partners With NBC To Become “Official Narrator” Of The Olympics Everyone’s favourite micro-blogging platform had already beenworking pretty hard, but Twitter has taken additional steps to ensure that it, and not Facebook, is the social network of the 2012 London Olympics. Twitter has partnered with NBC to become the “official narrator” of this year’s Games, and will setup a page that will host tweets from athletes, fans, broadcasters and TV personalities that will be heavily promoted by NBC during its Olympic coverage. 6. Twitter Co-founder Becomes Billionaire We know that Twitter has a “truckload of money,” according to its current CEO Dick Costolo, so assuming its creators are millionaires is an easy assumption to make. But guess what? You’re wrong! One of them, Jack Dorsey, is now a billionaire. 7. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, FourSquare – How To Use Social Media At Trade Shows [INFOGRAPHIC] If you’re exhibiting at or running a trade show – or thinking of starting one – the correct use of social media can be the single difference between standing out and driving a boatload of footfall to your stand or event… or disappearing without a trace. Trade shows are expensive, and exhibiting at the best shows can wipe out huge chunks of your marketing budget. By implementing the major social channels in your show strategy you can ensure that your brand is seen and, if your products and services deliver, essentially guarantee a ton of new business. 8. How To Schedule Retweets So You Don’t Annoy Your Followers So you’re following a bunch of great, insightful people and you’ve just spotted four of their tweets you’d like to retweet to your own followers. You happily click “retweet” four times, fully expecting your followers to continue the retweet chain, and maybe even thank you for sharing such great links and insight. But alas, such is not the case. You click away from Twitter for a few minutes, and when you click back, not only do you not have any replies or retweets, but you’ve actually lost nine followers! Retweeting too close together is a problem on Twitter, and one that can quickly annoy your followers. Here’s how to share the tweets you love, without bombarding your followers with a wall of retweets. 9. Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Social Media Explained (With Donuts) As social media has rapidly integrated itself into our everyday personal and professional lives, the seemingly overnight growth in the number of platforms, billions of users and sheer, mind-blowing content volume can be both overwhelming and confusing, especially for newcomers. I mean, what’s the difference between Twitter and Facebook? Isn’t Instagram the same as Pinterest? Who exactly is using Google+? 10. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest – A Social Media Checklist For Businesses [INFOGRAPHIC] Social media has a pretty steep learning curve, and when you’re a brand using these tools for the first time the wealth of information in how to best leverage platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest, as well as blogs and video, can be overwhelming. This is especially true for marketing. Where do you begin? Also this week: A guide to understanding direct messages on Twitter Why do investors prefer LinkedIn to Twitter and Facebook? Only 30 of the 264 world leaders tweet Do people really find social media more stressful than using a printer? VIDEO: social media in motion Did you know we have a newsletter? Sign-up to receive a daily digest of all things Twitter, sent straight to your inbox. Click here to sign up for the AllTwitter Newsletter.

Social Pro Daily

This Week On Twitter: The Social Travel Industry, The Twitter Olympics And Twitter vs Facebook

Shea Bennett

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Shea Bennett