Dining in Dublin

This past weekend, I went to Dublin, Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. The parade was extensive, the outfits were jaw dropping and the environment was electric. However, besides that, I picked up on a few things that relate back to the idea of marketing on social media. Before going to Dublin, people kept telling me that the food was quite miserable and that we should rely on Papa Johns and KFC to get us through the weekend. Once I landed, my phone picked up on the fact that my location had changed and all of a sudden my Instagram was bombarded with recommendations on where to eat food in the area. I ended up going to Fire which was recommended to me via an advertisement on my feed and it was one of the best meal I have had in months.

While that story seems minute and relatively uninteresting, how I got to the restaurant, Fire, touches upon how our society is changing. According to Paul Beelen, mobile devices are the way of the future in terms of accessibility, mobility and advertising. Mobile marketing will allow people to instantly gain access to a plethora of information regarding the restaurants, stores etc. that they are interested in.

I know very few people that don’t utilize social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This being said, people are constantly scrolling through the apps looking for new photos to look at, articles to read or memes to laugh at. It is no secret that implementing a mobile marketing strategy is the easiest way to reach an audience considering the audience is already utilizing the desired advertising platform in their day to day lives.

While ads on Instagram are such a small portion of the potential of mobile marketing, it has proven to work for me just within the last week. Mobile marketing includes but isn’t limited to: sending text messages, viral incentivizing, masked marketing, rumor marketing, social data bases, invitations etc. Mobile marketing has proven itself to be useful and relevant- a tactic that shows no signs of disappearing.

Social Networking

Social networking is the language of our generation. This social structure facilitates communication between people all over the world depending on certain interests, areas of expertise, shared values etc. In the most common sense, our society uses an array of social platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to inform friends and family of their experiences, reach out to potential employers and basically connect with people all over the world. These platforms alone have shifted the way in which we think and interact with people. Some may argue that social networks have ruined our society’s ability to have personable relationships, however, I believe that it has pushed our generation forwards.

I, for one, have used social networks to fuel my travels. My goal for my social media is to get a conversation started. Whether that means getting feedback on a restaurant I posted about, triggering a conversation based on a certain tourist location that I visited, or just opening a forum for discussion based on my travels while abroad.

This past weekend, I went to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam is particularly controversial because of its liberal daily activities, such as the red light district. However, this is the perfect example of how a place one has traveled to instigates a conversation- either positive or negative. People can respond negatively, saying that the culture is too promiscuous for people around the world or people can respond positively, saying that the culture shock is just enough.

I enjoy indulging in both the touristy spots as well as the local gems when I travel to different countries. And by posting about all of those experiences, I give my followers a taste of what it is like to be abroad.

Click on the link below to see me at one of the biggest tourist hubs in Amsterdam, the Heineken Experience.

Instagram

Regardless of what I use my social media for, I view it as a powerful networking tool.