Become a Home Based Travel Agent

ABOUT FACE (Book)
By Tom Ogg

I can always tell when an agent has gone to one of the many “Social Network Marketing” seminars put on by various presenters in the travel industry.

“John Doe became a fan of www.JohnDoeTravel.com on Facebook and suggested you become a fan too.”

Groan!

Why in the world would anyone want to become a “fan” so that they can get free advertisements to clog up their email accounts?

I am not saying that Facebook doesn’t provide a very necessary element for hundreds of millions of people, it does. But, is Facebook a valid vehicle for travel agency promotion? I am beginning to think not. Here’s why.

Companies that have successfully used Facebook to promote their brands (In-N-Out, Southwest Airlines and to a lesser extent, cruise lines) have an existing brand relationship with their “fans”. They can drive demand for their products by focusing promotions to create demand during off hours or periods. It makes lots of sense. However, travel agents or not in a position to do anything other than promote supplier’s products and services, for the most part.

That said Facebook can be an excellent way to market specialized travel and groups to a very specific niche that would be interested in obtaining up-to-the-minute information regarding their special interest. That only makes lots of sense. The element that I am referring to regarding Facebook’s viability as a marketing channel has lots to do with market positioning and a unique value proposition, but it also has more to do with security.

Scammers love Facebook (and other large social networks) Social networks offer a whole new opportunity for those scammers looking to defraud people by using identity theft to obtain money, sell spamming services, pornography and so on. And, Facebook, Twitter and other social media seem helpless to do anything about it.

Do you really want to stake your marketing future on a platform that cannot guarantee security? Think of the damage a scammer can do to your hard-earned “fan” list of followers if they started sending them request for money, Viagra ads, Porn ads and such.

“Help! I have had my wallet stolen and am in immediate need of $850.00 to settle my hotel bill before I can depart London to return home. Please send it to XXXXXX via Western Union. I will repay you the second I get home. Thanks for helping, this has been quite an experience!” reads one popular scam. Of course, your “friend” that is sending this to you isn’t really your friend, but a scammer who has either hacked or phished your friend’s username and password and has taken on your friend’s identity to try and get as many people as possible to send money, which is collected and then the scammer vanishes. I personally know several people that this has happened to. One couple who had hundreds of friends was so embarrassed by the occurrence that they have stopped using social media all together.

The first thing that a scammer does when he or she obtains someone’s login information is to then spam their friends with a message apparently from their “friend” to obtain their username and password. Usually the message contains a link to something appearing to be on Facebook, “(your friend) has tagged a picture of you HERE” and when you click on the link to see the picture, you receive what looks like an official Facebook request to enter your user name and password. Once you do your computer screen goes blank and you have just given your login info to a scammer who is about to wreck havoc on your reputation.

Other popular scams are when your “friend” sends you link to watch a video. When you click on the link it advises you that you need to download a plug-in, or Flash update, or Windows patch or some other .exe file. Of course, you are actually downloading malware, adware, spyware or a virus. In the worst case scenario, you download an .exe file that will crawl your hard drive for user names and passwords to attack your personal bank and credit card accounts

“I can strongly suggest XXX online pharmacy as a wonderful source for Viagra” reads the spam apparently sent by you to your friends and fans. “XXX.com is one of the best porn sites on the Internet. Check out my new video at www.XXXXX.com”. Of course, your friends will be anxious to see you new porn video, only it isn’t really you sending the message, just some scammer who has hacked you info.

I suspect that you get the idea. Security is a major issue for those using social media. If you intend to continue using Facebook and others to evolve a presence, then I would strongly suggest that you take the following precautions;

1.   ALWAYS change you username and password frequently and be sure to use a unique username and password for each social network that you belong to.

2.    NEVER use the same username and password for your financial accounts that you would use to access social media. I know one guy that had his PayPal account cleaned out because he made this mistake.

3.    NEVER click on a link in a Facebook or Twitter message. If you are prompted to login, go to the social network site directly and do it. If you are prompted to download a plug-in, update, patch or other .exe program, exit the social network and go directly to the download site of the company that produces it.

4.    If you believe that you may have been phished or hacked immediately report it to the support team of the social media that may be affected and change your username and password immediately.

5.    NEVER trust your friends! As much as I hate to say this, you should always confirm and links that are sent you by contacting you friend directly by using their email address for that purpose.

6.    ALWAYS advise your friend via email if you receive any message that may be questionable. Usually the person that is being victimized is the last to know and unless someone tells them that they are being used to send spam they will never know

See ya on Facebook!