"How Social is Your New Zealand RTO?"

Abstract: We were asked the question, "How Social is Your New Zealand RTO?" and, we provided an answer. This overview will explain how we determined the measurement methodologies to determine what New Zealand RTO uses social media best, along with why and how they stack up against a sub-set of US destination marketing organizations.

Biography: Dave Serino is a travel, tourism and meetings industry veteran who has leveraged internet technologies to drive the sales and marketing process. Prior to joining Think! Social Media as a Strategist and Educator Dave founded and managed Gammet Interactive – an interactive marketing firm – for eleven years. In the July of 2009, he developed the first tourism focused social media ranking system titled- “How Social is Your DMO?”. The study is a comprehensive assessment of the 50 state tourism offices and benchmarks each organization’s efforts on several social media platforms.

He is also the founder of the Symposium on the Use of Social Media in the Tourism Industry. This unique event, that allows attendees to participate throughout the planning and development process, debuted in 2010. It is quickly becoming the premier social media education and networking event for the tourism industry. The 2011 program was held in Tunica, Mississippi with nearly 200 social media professionals in attendance. For more information, visit the Facebook fan page – www.facebook.com/SoMeTourism.

To-date, Dave has presented internet marketing and social media educational sessions at more than 90 conferences and events. He is a featured presenter in the Certified Destination Management Executive Program (CDME) which is sponsored by the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI).