Documentation of the goals

In this chapter, the perceptions of interviewees regarding the documentation of the goals and strategy are analyzed. Furthermore, the interviewees’ views regarding the comparison of goals to the targets set for social media marketing are described. In the table below, the most significant findings concerning the documentation of the goals for social media marketing are presented.

Table 5. Findings relating to documenting the goals in social media marketing in DMOs

According to the findings, only one interviewee (I1) states that the strategy for social media is included the master plan of tourism. Instead, interviewees I2 and I5 said that the strategy for social media is included in the brand book or other marketing plan of the DMO in question.

Here are some thoughts of an interviewee:

I1 I2 I3 I4 I5 I6 I7 I8

The goals of social media marketing are written inside the tourism strategy x Social media is implemented in practice x x Brand book where social media marketing is

included x x

Commonly agreed rules x x x x

Toolkit for marketing/digital marketing strategy x x x x

No strategy currently x x x x

”We have to say, that the social marketing strategy is very consistent with our overall marketing plan. So, for example, tone of voice is very much the same we do, when it comes to picture choices or choices of style.” (I2)

Four interviewees (I3, I6, I7 and I8) stated that they currently have not any kind of separate strategy for social media. Even though several interviewees stated that they may not have their goals documented, or they have not been documented clearly enough, they still had plans to improve the documentation in the future.

However, several interviewees (I2, I6, I7 and I8) stated that they do not want to make too tight plans for social media, since operating with social media changes continuously. Instead of strategy, they are more in favor for commonly agreed rules or alignments concerning the use of social media. This is what one of the interviewees says about their documentation of social media:

“..But somehow, really, like I said so social media is completely handled by our operational team, so kind of, we kind of have a nice team that we all do this job so we all have education in marketing and background in marketing... And maybe a little bit like a shoemaker's kids don't have shoes, that certain things may be familiar to us in that way, and so obvious that it has not yet been felt as necessary to record a separate strategy, but without denying now that our team has grown bigger, there has been talk of whether we all see things the same way.”

(I8)

In addition to this, two interviewees (I1 and I2) mentioned that they like to implement social media marketing in practice. Also, interviewee (I5) sees updating the strategy is a continuous process. Interviewee I2 added that they like to have an experimental culture concerning social media implementation:

”And, of course, we have a common name like the brand manual and the annual plans, but our marketing is based on agile, flexible, fast response. We do not have an annual plan in that sense, we do not know what we are doing in November.

We will do something, but what it is not written down in advance, because the world is changing at such a fast pace. I prefer to be awake and ready to react and do things quickly if necessary..” (I2).

Several interviewees (I2, I3 and I4) state that social media is one of the toolkits in their marketing. In the following, an interviewee’s (I3) thoughts on social media as one of the toolkits in marketing are described:

“For example, writing down strategy stuff like that and channel-specific stuff, maybe that it is more in our operational work - how do I say right now, that if the house is being renovated, you may not want to write down in the plan that which tool will do what kind of operation, but rather decide to do certain things. And

then it is always done with the best possible tool. I think that's the way I think social media - it's like a tool, and you might not want to tie your hands too much to any channel or any production method, because social media always teaches us what works and what does not work, and perhaps strategic channel choices may become obsolete very quickly. (I3)

In addition to this, one interviewee (I6) said that they are planning to have a digital marketing strategy, including social media in the future.

It is worth noticing that in some cases (I6 and I7), as DMOs are a part of city or a municipality, the goals and thus strategy come at least to a certain extent given from the city or municipality.

In some cases, there is room for development when it comes to planning and documenting social media marketing goals. For example, (I7) says that as they are a part of the municipality, the goals come from the city government, and the goals set by the city municipality regarding social media marketing may not be relevant or realistic. ”So, that is, a little bit like that, an amateur atmosphere exists in the sense that these kind of control documents absolutely need to exist. Without them so, everyone has the goals only in their heads.” (I7)

Another reason for not making too tight plans is the lack of time. Timely resources are so tight that the employees in DMOs are only able to invest their time in every-day practicalities:

“Well it is written there pretty much, our main job is international marketing, international tourism marketing, that we have not written specifically, you should have precise plans and stuff but in this everyday life it is focused on practical doing ..” (I1)

When asked about comparing the goals set and documented with the results gained, several types of ideas were received. For example, two interviewees (I1 and I3) mentioned that they tend to follow the set goals in a general level, furthermore, following whether the goals have been reached is not measured. Interviewee I3 says that they tend to measure quantitative goals

“three or four times a year” in a sense that “where we have succeeded and where not” (I3).

Following the qualitative measures, on the contrary, has been more like “based on vibes” (I3).

Interviewee (I1) has similar thoughts concerning the issue:

“Yes we compare and measure our own success on a general level of course it is monitored, but if in the strategy we don’t have such quantitative goals, so of course, it has been impossible then to say quantitatively or so precisely that how, whether the objectives were exceeded or not..” (I1).

An interviewee mentions that they tend to compare their results with the ones of the previous year. “Well, we compare and compare a lot to the previous year, especially if something similar has been done…” (I6) Last, one interviewee says that the main purpose for providing the information about the results is for the partner companies operating within the destination:

”Partners, in other words the companies that are involved, if they are satisfied with what information is available to them, then at the moment it has been just enough for us.”(I7)

4.3 Social media marketing measurement