Bowen: I run the online marketing team, responsible for all digital communications from Virgin America; there's four of us working on social media: 2 from marketing, 2 from corporate communications.

My workday is 50% managing content development, 50% on promotional activities generating direct revenue

We're focused on fare promotions, and also on telling people about our unique amenities

People may say something online, but do something else. On our recent Facebook promotions, for every person that complains, 5 are buying a ticket

We have a matrix approach to promotions: if we only did one type (discount, giveaway, etc) it would burn out the audience. It's all about creating a mix.

Twitter a year ago was totally different than Twitter today. Facebook is the same way.

Early adopters used be the only ones on some social media; now it's more mainstream

For me, Twitter is a newsfeed; for others it may be something else

We plan some social media promotions months ahead of time

Our editorial calendar is pretty lose and open, so we can change and update as needed

Our most successful channel in terms of views, clicks, and sales is Twitter

Facebook is growing, but user behavior is different. Facebook can bring a very engaged audience.

Nick Schwartz is our voice on Twitter

If there's a basic question, Nick takes care of it. If it's bigger, we work closely with our guest services team to resolve issues.

A big project for us right now is finding the right buzz channels. Last week we launched a promotion around "awkward family photos," where people send in photos for a chance to win prizes.

It's great because the photos are viral and funny, but it's also a good offer for our customers.

Our website is intended to be fun and user-friendly. It's meant to be relevant and intuitive. We're using big photos and less text to quickly get the message across.

If I could start over, I would have focused more on search optimization. I'd work on deeper integration of the social media into the website.

One of the best things we ever did was in emails to our Elevate members: including a "tweet this" button in our emails.

Different people at different times need different things from email. Sometimes people aren't buying, but want to share an offer with their friends.

Social media takes a lot of work. What you invest, you get out. You need to invest in people, thought, time and strategy. It's not like buying traditional media.

See Bowen next week at EyeforTravel's Travel Distribution Summit North America 2010.

www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com/bowen-payson-interview

About the author
This blog is written by Josiah Mackenzie, who enjoys exploring the relationship between emerging technology and the hospitality industry. 

www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com