There’s a very interesting post over at Marketing Pilgrim, about a study showing that 93% of American consumers want to see businesses on social media sites.

I see a few take home points for Alaska tour operators:

• People want use social media to solve problems and to conduct research
• Potential visitors will be looking for reviews and comments from your past customers
• Businesses should not use social media only as a means to force branding messages, but rather a means for open discussion and evaluation of products and services

The research suggests that people won’t necessarily use social media to evaluate businesses often, but I think social media could be particularly important for those researching their once in a lifetime trip to Alaska. Many people will do significant research for their Alaska vacation, and social media profiles, along with open discussion and positive feedback from past guests, could make your business stand out in the crowd.

Now that the 2008 summer travel season is winding down in Alaska, it’s time to start looking ahead to 2009. I encourage all businesses involved in Alaska tourism to update their owner’s page on Trip Advisior. There are a number of great tools provided by Trip Advisor for owners, including: the ability to post photos, videos, descriptions, notifications of new reviews, and more.

If at all possible, sign up for a RSS feed of any reviews that are posted about your business. This is great way to stay updated on reviews, and gives you the opportunity to engage your customers. If you receive any negative reviews, respond to their concerns, try to offer solutions, and you can show potential customers that you genuinely care. You might be able to turn a negative review into a positive outcome by showing your involvement and concern.

The value of engaging past and future customers is enormous. Get a leg up on your competition for the 2009 travel season now and update your owner’s page on Trip Advisor.

If you solicit feedback from your customers, you can also encourage them to go to Trip Advisor and post their reviews of your business.