The Celebrity Face of Tourism Australia

Celebrities bring star power when they serve as the face of tourism for a destination, in traditional media and in social media.

For example, the actor who plays Thor in Marvel movies, Chris Hemsworth, is the high-profile celebrity face of Tourism Australia. Interviewed by the New York Times, he gave his top reason for tourists to visit Australia: "Besides the sights, the people are also a draw. They are so welcoming."

Aussies are pleased and proud to have this actor represent them in tourism marketing, through ads, interviews, and other tools. In fact, Hemsworth has generated widespread media interest in Australia tourism around the world.

Hemsworth has nearly 11 million Instagram followers and frequently posts with the tag @Australia to promote the country to tourists and fans. He and his wife both mention Australia on social media, leading to hundreds of millions of impressions and positive associations for the destination. Some percentage of the many people reached by the ads or social media mentions will be influenced and then book a trip or extend a trip, resulting in a boost for Australia's tourism businesses.

Social Media Marketing Down Under

A social media agency in Australia has just published its report showing the Facebook Australian brand accounts with the most fans and the Facebook Australian brand accounts with the most engagement.

Counting fans, the winners are shown above. In terms of engagement (shares, comments, etc.), the winners are shown below, a mixture of tourism, products, media, and shared-interest pages:

1. Australia 242,380
2. Babyology 79,543
3. Fifi and Jules 71,163
4. B105 67,660
5. 9 News 66,847
6. Sunrise 65,301
7. 2Day FM 55,378
8. Fox FM 49,142
9. Black Milk Clothing 45,750
10. Hungry Jack’s 40,082

According to Nielsen, Australians are adopting social media quite enthusiastically, with 70% of all Australians using some form of social media (mainly Facebook). According to Galaxy Research, the top two apps used by Australians traveling abroad are Google Maps and -- Facebook.

At the same time, the majority of people surveyed by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner said they were concerned about online tracking by marketers. Many had chosen to stop doing business with marketers due to privacy concerns.

Given the popularity of social media, what's a marketer to do? First, clearly and prominently explain what information is being collected and how it will be used. Also emphasize security. But don't lose the fun and sociability of social media along the way, which is why people are flocking to Facebook and other sites in the first place.