William Bakker is the director of eBusiness at Tourism British Columbia (HelloBC.com), and he is also a long-time blogger in the eBusiness arena.

William was kind enough to answer a slew of questions I sent him last week about his work with Tourism British Columbia, and he revealed some really interesting tips and strategies his team is using to truly take HelloBC to a whole new level of engagement and interactivity.

HelloBC has done a wonderful job blending consumer generated content with brand-generated information. The site has amassed an amazing wealth of insider travel information about B.C. by leveraging a variety of social media technologies, and the power of online communities.

Chris Clarke (CC): What strategy did you employ to actually reach out to the travelling public to develop such an engaged team of tipsters and bloggers? What was your internal strategy to get the participation of Tourism B.C . employees?

William Bakker (WB): It all started with Tourism BC staff. We asked a few people to share tips and experiences on a blog, separate from HelloBC in 2005. It didn’t take long before more and more staff wanted to blog as well. It wasn’t hard at all. In 2006, we asked our Visitor Centre Network to participate and some did, providing us with local content from around the province. Consumers told us they loved the authenticity of the content. It forms a nice balance with the official information, so we decided to integrated into our main consumer website and include consumer postings as well.We kicked off the consumer blogs a couple of weeks before we launched the integration this spring. We sent an email to an internal list of consumers who have booked with us in the recent past. That worked really well. When we launched, we already had a great number of entries. Because the blog entries are so well integrated with the rest of the site, we get a large number of visitors to the blog section. It’s addictive. People love to share good experiences, so it’s growing organically.

CC: You have been using Google-generated maps extensively on the HelloBC site, which brings such a rich element to your destination content. What challenges have you experienced incorporating Google-earth into your site? Where do you see HelloBC heading with Google mapping technology in the future?

WB: We originally offered computer generated driving directions from Mappoint. But the web service was limited in its configuration so in some cases, driving routes were suggested that didn’t make much sense. We have suspended this service until a new, better configurable web service will be available.Interactive Maps won’t just be a feature in the future; it will evolve into the way the website works. Everything will have a location based context. The Information Architecture of HelloBC is based on regions , cities and communities. In the future, the boundaries between these destinations will become more and more transparent, through the use of interactive maps. A consumer will be able to plan a trip by just dragging the map around. We’re laying the foundation for this by structuring and geo-tagging our content. It will be an ongoing evolution.

CC: Your Tourism B.C. Flickr sets are an awesome collection of B.C. images, and It appears that many of these are viewer-submitted images. With viewer engagement generally quite low on most blogs and social media sites, what’s been your secret to having such an active Flickr account?

WB: All the photos consumers submit on the blog on HelloBC are also automatically posted on Flickr. As a result, these photos create additional value for us on Flickr with no additional effort on our part beside the initial investment of the integration with the Flickr web service. And you have to join the conversation as an equal member in a transparent way on social networks. One of the things we did was meet with a Flickr user group in Vancouver to discuss how we could approach Flickr. We’re still working on implementing some the ideas we heard from that group.CC: Can you elaborate on the success (or “opportunity”) of your winter photo contest? What would you do to improve a photo contest in the future?

CC: Can you elaborate on the success (or “opportunity”) of your winter photo contest? What would you do to improve a photo contest in the future?

WB: The main objective of last years winter photo contest was to get some first hand learning about User Generated Content so we kept the scope small. Some of the learning was incorporated into the new blog section. Keep an eye out for what we’re doing this year for the winter contest and you’ll see first hand what we’re doing to make it better.

CC: I’ve heard whispers that you are defining your USG strategy going forward to not only include roles for consumers, but also roles for the tourism industry and even B.C. residents. Can you elaborate on some of the challenges you face developing such a multi-layered and ambitious strategy?

WB: We’ve already taking the first steps for all the groups you mentioned. Consumers and residents can submit on our “tips from travelers” blog. Communities can post on the “tips from us” blog. The tourism industry can provide information about their products through the HelloBC Listing Program. Now that all these groups are involved, it’s a matter of learning from what we’re doing today and evolving it further to make it even better.

One of the things we’re going to test soon is running a pilot with a few communities. We will give them access content to the official information on HelloBC for their community to expand the information we currently have. If this is successful, we can scale this out to all communities who want to take advantage of this. We’ve received 5 million visitors on HelloBC this year already, so it’s a great way for communities to connect with potential travelers.

I personally think that HelloBC could evolve into a social network where Tourism BC, the tourism industry, residents and consumers share and connect with new and returning travelers to make it super easy to plan a trip and enhance the experience when somebody is on vacation here.

CC: With so many DMOs looking to add UGC elements to their online marketing strategies, can you offer some advice (or pitfalls to avoid) when attempting to engage the public to solicit destination content?

WB: I believe that User Generated Content needs to be integrated into existing activities. If you just bolt it onto an existing website, you’re missing out on some great opportunities. Also integrate it into other tactics. We’ve sent blog entries in eNewsletters, published in guides and used it in adverting for example. But be respectful of the creators of content and ask for permission and give proper credit.

Secondly, we’re strong believers into ongoing evolution of our tactics by taking small, but frequent steps. This is especially important with User Generated Content and Social Networks because it’s a volatile environment and you have to listen to your community. You might be surprised with what they have to say and they can point you into a direction that you never even thought off. Flickr started as a tool for a multiplayer game for example, and the Craigslist’s business model is almost entirely based on asking their community what to charge for.

CC: Is there something in particular that you are hoping to achieve at the Canada-e-Connect conference?

WB: I’m looking forward to talk to the other Canadian destinations and share learning. And listen and learn, I’m looking forward to it.

Thanks William, for giving us such excellent insight into your innovative practices leveraging social media at TourismBC!

Canadian online travel and hospitality marketers are pushing out some of the most innovative content available anywhere. And now, you have the opportunity to be recognized for your incredible creative and development efforts at the first ever Canada e-Tourism Awards.

Hosted by the Canadian e-Tourism Council, the prestigious Canada e-Tourism Awards recognize excellence in website design, online marketing campaigns and innovation within three sectors: public, private and small-to-medium sized enterprises.

The awards also aim to recognize travellers by showcasing the best in user generated content with awards for the best storytelling, the best photo, and the best video or short-film.

Nominations run until August 31st, so it would be a great idea to start thinking about your entries.

Will award winners receive prizes? Of course! Read all about it here.

Click on the video below to hear Jens Thraenhart discuss the strategy behind Canada’s first e-Tourism Awards, and find out why the awards were initiated this year:

How are the Canada e-Tourism Awards being judged?

Link
[Canada e-Tourism Awards]

We all look forward to catching up with colleagues (and meeting new ones) at any conference, and we can usually anticipate that conference events, outings and parties will be great times for all.

First and foremost, however, conference delegates want to know that they will be exposed to timely, relevant and intelligent content. Speakers, breakouts, panels—these are the elements that differentiate a good program from a great one.

Today I am posting another excerpt from a recent interview with Jens Thraenhart, Canada-e-Connect conference chair. Jens outlines some exciting early thoughts on the conference program and speakers:

Today I am delighted to post an interview with Tom Wilson, Director of Recreation & Tourism for the Municipality of Victoria County, and Project Co-ordinator for Broadband Solutions for Rural Development.

Tom was kind enough to answer a few questions about his dynamic organization, and he offers some interesting perspective about e-marketing in the travel space.

Enjoy.

Tom, your tourism portal for Victoria County, Nova Scotia is a wonderful resource for operators. You have programmed so many practical tools in your suite of services.

1) Can you give some background or motivation as to how, or why you have developed such a hands-on resource?

TW: Good Research & data has to be the basis for making smart decisions. I wanted to provide the tourism industry in Victoria County with important stats and research to help them make informed & knowledgeable decisions. The portal has expanded over the years to include news, marketing, product development, training and now technology tools. I have included International Tourism News from countries such as New Zealand and Australia as they bring to the table new perspectives & ideas, innovated concepts and interesting web sites designs to attract visitors.

2) Your podcasts with e-marketing experts such as the Tourism Industry Association of NS and A Couple of Chicks e-marketing are a terrific idea. What has been the response from your constituents?

TW: A colleague of mine, Gerard MacNeil and myself developed a project called Moving Forward with New Media. Thanks to him and his staff, I was able to venture into this form of New Media – Podcasts. It has been a great learning experience and valuable one. The response to podcasts has been very favourable and I plan to continue to offer them monthly or more frequently.

3) You maintain an excellent blog on the Tourism Victoria site. Are you the editor of the blog? If so, can you offer some background as to why you started the blog?

TW: Yes, I am the editor of the Tourism Victoria County Blog. I guess I can thank Patricia and Alicia of A Couple of Chicks E-Marketing for helping me venture into this field. Alicia sold me on blogs and social media during her visit to Nova Scotia in April with NS Masterclass series. Blogs provide an excellent forum to share information with others in a brief but to the point format. Tourism VC blog also assists in driving visitors to my tourism portal. I find most of my relevant information in tourism via blogs today. It has become my news channel.

4 ) Would you give us some thoughts about the “state of the province” of online marketing adoption in Nova Scotia? What do think are the opportunities for your constituents moving forward?

TW: The Nova Scotia Dept. Of Tourism has taken great strides with its Google Earth adoption, short videos and its sample, lure and buy strategy in 2007 for www.novascotia.com . Much of this can be attribute to my colleague and fellow Canada E-Tourism Council member – Tanya MacLeod. Many in the tourism industry have embraced on-line marketing thanks to training received from Susan Sweeney BootCamp, NS Masterclass Series – A Couple of Chicks E-Marketing, TIANS, Tourism Technology and many more. We are not however at 50% level yet with on-line booking nor are offering high-speed internet at all accommodations for visitors and targeting & tracking e-marketing. But Nova Scotia is moving forward on all fronts and should reach a number of goals & objectives within two years. E-Marketing and social marketing are evolving all the time. Will we ever catch up ? I don’t know but it is important to be in the game and playing it. There are plenty of opportunities for tourism operators to reap the benefits of e-marketing and to track its campaigns.

5 ) Finally Tom, would you like to share what you hope to get out of the Canada-e-Connect conference program?

TW: Be a part of developing a national strategy – E-Tourism for Canada, meet & network with colleagues across Canada, learn and share experiences on new media & emerging technologies. Come back with new ideas to implement in my region and make us a leader in e-marketing. .

6 ) Any other comments about Canada-e-Connect, or e-marketing in general?

TW: The E-Tourism Council is a wonderful initiative and I see a lot of benefits coming when the strategy is developed and implemented. There are a number of success stories in the travel industry that can be champions and help the industry grow further with Canada’s e-Tourism strategy .ie. Hello BC Travel Blog, CTC travel Blog, Nova Scotia’s sample, lure, buy strategy and much more.

Tom C. Wilson is a graduate of Dalhousie University with graduate work at University of North Texas. He has a Certificate in Leading Innovation from St. Mary’s University, Certificate in Tourism Destination Management from George Washington University, as well Certificate of Community Economic Development from NSCC. He is currently the Director of Recreation & Tourism for the Municipality of Victoria County.

Mr. Wilson is the Project Co-ordinator for Broadband Solutions for Rural Development, Victoria County’s Broadband Project, bring Broadband to 90 plus rural communities. This 6 million dollar project will make the County one of the most connected counties in the world. 85% of the project is completed with the balanced to be done by early 2008. Victoria County has also invested in Broadband Applications with two projects - Enhancing Tourism with Broadband and Moving Forward with New Media.

Mr. Wilson has over twenty-five years of experience working with community groups, public agencies & businesses in rural communities and has extensive experience in project management. Former chair of the North Shore Learning and Enterprise Centre & Victoria County CAP Sites Association, and former member of the Provincial Tourism Task Force for E-Marketing. Nominated by his peers for the National Community Achievement Award with CANARIE in 2004 and TIANS Technology Awards in 2001 & 2006. Member of the Nova Scotia Provincial Broadband Advisory Committee.

Would you like to be featured in an interview? Let me know!