ZMOT and Social Media

Who knew you could book your hotel rooms on Facebook? Ok, not really, but sort of.  Google recently published a paper describing a new marketing model called ZMOT, or ‘Zero Moment of Truth’ which refers to the moment between the advertising touch point and the end purchase for consumers.  The ZMOT is when consumers resort to the internet for product and pricing research, user reviews, and even discount coupons.  Using traveling as an example, the average traveler browses at least 10 sources of information before making their end purchase, making it imperative for travel websites to have strong presence in social spheres.  

A study was done to assess social scores for a number of travel websites.  These scores measure their social presence across a number of social media sites, like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Linked In.  The purpose of the study was to determine which travel site had the most effective reach in social media, which incorporates revenue driven through each source.  According to the study, Booking.com wins the battle.  More importantly, this study reveals that the major online travel businesses are using social media to drive bookings, something completely alien to the travel consumer a couple of years ago.

These shifts in a consumer’s purchase journey dramatically alter the fabric of digital and search marketing for a number of e-shops, who now must account for relevance during a consumer’s ZMOT in any way possible.  Read more about it at:

http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/10785-why-prs-need-to-get-to-grips-with-google-s-zero-moment-of-truth

http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/10796-booking-com-outperforms-hotel-brands-on-social-media