Social media specialist Travelshake.com has developed a facebook application for tourism and travel businesses that lets business owners offer their facebook fans the ideal travel shopping experience on facebook.

Travelshake launched their social media microsites on Travelshake.com last year, which are currently in use by over 1,000 travel firms in 77 countries worldwide and are now enabling companies to incorporate that content onto their facebook pages.

Travelshake’s Marketing Director Laughlin Rigby explains “With facebook now commanding up to 38% of total internet traffic, travel businesses need to give real thought to their facebook presence.

However, some travel businesses are putting the cart before the horse on facebook, they are installing booking apps without giving their visitors any reason to book with them. It’s like creating a website that only has a booking engine.”

Rigby continues “Our app addresses this problem by providing visitors to facebook pages with inspiring rich media and information that will help convert lookers to bookers. We even have a direct booking link permanently on the app to facilitate this.”

The unique app, which can be set as the default landing page, includes a video player, photo galleries, a map that can send a business’s directions to an iphone, twitter feed, offers and a lead generating contact form. The app also provides a custom colour palette to create a branded skin.

Laughlin Rigby said the app will offer potential customers a cleaner, more inspiring facebook experience, combining many old tabs into just one “Studies continue to prove that rich media can increase conversion by 25 per cent and that a branded landing page can more than double the number of facebook likes, so with our app you are increasing your conversion rate and the likes to your facebook page.”

Businesses can sign up for free to Travelshake.com to get their basic microsite and smartmap app or can avail of all the facebook apps with an enhanced microsite for $25 a month here.

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