The underlying goal of any social media strategy is to build corporate social habits for your organization.

In the same way that you and your staff interact with people in the "real world" you should be interacting with them in a similar manner in the social web.

The philosophies and techniques that you use to handle customer interactions face to face don't change when you handle customer interactions on-line, the only difference is the tool that you use.

If you are able to apply strong customer service and messaging standards within your organization, they will translate into a positive and successful social strategy as well. Why? Because how a customer perceives you is based on expectations that you give them.

If you provide the customer with the expectation that they will be cared for and treated fairly then they will come to expect that in the delivery of your service. As long as your service meets or exceeds their expectations, then they will have no problems with recommending you to their friends and business colleagues.

If you are there to make that recommendation easy and straightforward, then you have the opportunity to drive continued return customers, or at the very least, a strong source for word of mouth referrals.

A social media strategy does not live in isolation within your organization but rather becomes part of the fabric of your company and your customers' experience.

From the moment they see your promotion in Facebook to the moment they write a testimonial for your service online, the opportunity to participate, share, and contribute is part of the fabric of the social web and should be a part of your organization's corporate fabric too.

Stephen A. Joyce has been working as a travel & tourism technology consultant since 1995. In 2005 Stephen and his company, Sentias Software Corp., began development on Rezgo.com, a next generation Web 2.0 tour and activity booking engine for SME travel suppliers and tour operators.

In June of 2007, Rezgo.com was officially released and now boasts a user base of 900+ companies. Stephen is also very active in fostering tourism technology and is co-chair of the Board of Directors of the OpenTravel Alliance, a non-profit organization whose mandate is to develop and foster messaging standards for travel e-distribution.

http://tourismtechnology.rezgo.com