Bastiaan Ellen, Director of Social Media Marketing for Hotels.com, is a very strong believer in personalization, especially in the travel industry. Just as people have conversations in pubs, living rooms and at work about where they’re traveling, they also have those conversations online, he says.

The difference is when it’s online, the conversation leaves a trail. We can start seeing what kinds of things people like, what kinds of vacations they’re going on, etc. Using those data points, travel companies can build a picture of the consumer and better market to him or her.

But there’s still a discussion around quality vs. quantity when it comes to social media, says Bastiaan. There’s no point in having tens of millions of followers if they’re not doing anything. On the other hand, without numbers, there won’t be anything that really affects the business.

So the argument persists: what’s more important – traffic or engagement? And more importantly, which leads to ROI?

Watch the below video and hear him talk a little more about these topics…

Thank you to our eTail Europe 2012 Blog Corner sponsor, Vitrue.