Social Media Hospitality Strategy
Every day companies question themselves about what kind of content their brand should use to curate their online presence.
Should we do fan promotions, focus on customer service issues, create contests, post like-minded interests, feature destination photos? The answer is simple, yes, yes, yes...
Social media is not easy, it is complex, different people have different opinions and it is non-linear.
Who ever tells you: "This is the right combination", the exact answer for your brand, does not have the perfect formula.
A well-informed social media marketer can achieve impressive results, making use of a series of strategies involving acquisition, monitoring and a positive attitude.
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY Social Media and Social Networking are like twins.
When you are networking in a room, after a Trade Show you do not walk up to someone and say "I can take 20% of your next ticket when you fly with us" followed by "BOOK NOW" and then repeat it several times during the conversation...
that is, quite obviously, obnoxious.
Networking is more about introducing yourself, letting people know who you are, finding out who the other person is, and making a connection.
Only after building a rapport do you explain how you can benefit them, offer your services, hand them a business card and remind them to think of you the next time they need your services.
Social Media is the about the same: You want them to be your fans so that when you advertise, or post a message, or send reminders - your fan base is listening and interacting with your brand.
Fans like promotions and discounts, but you cannot be pushy, you cannot continuously feed offers, it becomes intrusive and inhibits the interaction.
So what else is there? Maybe you've heard about "CURATION".
Your online presence, your brand, is the collection of the content you post, the content that you like and share, all boxed in how you say it.
First figure out what kind of personality you want to portray and to do it consistently.
For example, if you business caters to a young "hip" crowd, you can focus your posts on music, fashion and gizmos.
You can share content from like-minded brands (Maxim, Apple, etc.
), host events and upload photo galleries of the events.
If you are a business-oriented hotel, post funny business cartoons or share content from Forbes, Newsweek, etc.
Post polls about tools for business and host networking events publicized via social media.
The result is that over time, your potential guest will have a better understanding of your brand and how it connects to him or her in more ways than just the room size, the location and the rate.
This is important! A decision to stay at your hotel is in one part line-listed benefits, and one part feeling.
In the world of hotels, there are a large number of other hotels that fit the needs of a potential guest.
Most of the time, guests will have several hotel options, close to each other, for very similar nightly rates - at this point the decision will be made based on emotion rather than technicality.
What makes the difference is "Who" you are, "What" your interests are, and whether or not they connect with you.
If you are going through the trouble of being present in the different social media channels, then make use of it and tell people about it.
You are going to be using different channels to find you, be it PPC ads, contests, word-of-mouth, but do not forget to promote it via non-social channels as well.
It's simple, but you will often forget.
Your website, your ads, your business cards, your in-room cards, your POPs, elevator posters, key cards, ticket holders, local organizations, everything and anything can lead to more likes.
Take advantage of every option out there.
Social media is non-linear...
to catch the attention and the likes you need to look every way possible (print, talk, banners, events, forums, etc.
), simple leave as many leads back to your social media sites.
This is part of the strategy, but the truth is, it's only the beginning.
Fan acquisition is crucial, content curation requires detail, and monitoring is a every day changing world.
Should we do fan promotions, focus on customer service issues, create contests, post like-minded interests, feature destination photos? The answer is simple, yes, yes, yes...
Social media is not easy, it is complex, different people have different opinions and it is non-linear.
Who ever tells you: "This is the right combination", the exact answer for your brand, does not have the perfect formula.
A well-informed social media marketer can achieve impressive results, making use of a series of strategies involving acquisition, monitoring and a positive attitude.
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY Social Media and Social Networking are like twins.
When you are networking in a room, after a Trade Show you do not walk up to someone and say "I can take 20% of your next ticket when you fly with us" followed by "BOOK NOW" and then repeat it several times during the conversation...
that is, quite obviously, obnoxious.
Networking is more about introducing yourself, letting people know who you are, finding out who the other person is, and making a connection.
Only after building a rapport do you explain how you can benefit them, offer your services, hand them a business card and remind them to think of you the next time they need your services.
Social Media is the about the same: You want them to be your fans so that when you advertise, or post a message, or send reminders - your fan base is listening and interacting with your brand.
Fans like promotions and discounts, but you cannot be pushy, you cannot continuously feed offers, it becomes intrusive and inhibits the interaction.
So what else is there? Maybe you've heard about "CURATION".
Your online presence, your brand, is the collection of the content you post, the content that you like and share, all boxed in how you say it.
First figure out what kind of personality you want to portray and to do it consistently.
For example, if you business caters to a young "hip" crowd, you can focus your posts on music, fashion and gizmos.
You can share content from like-minded brands (Maxim, Apple, etc.
), host events and upload photo galleries of the events.
If you are a business-oriented hotel, post funny business cartoons or share content from Forbes, Newsweek, etc.
Post polls about tools for business and host networking events publicized via social media.
The result is that over time, your potential guest will have a better understanding of your brand and how it connects to him or her in more ways than just the room size, the location and the rate.
This is important! A decision to stay at your hotel is in one part line-listed benefits, and one part feeling.
In the world of hotels, there are a large number of other hotels that fit the needs of a potential guest.
Most of the time, guests will have several hotel options, close to each other, for very similar nightly rates - at this point the decision will be made based on emotion rather than technicality.
What makes the difference is "Who" you are, "What" your interests are, and whether or not they connect with you.
If you are going through the trouble of being present in the different social media channels, then make use of it and tell people about it.
You are going to be using different channels to find you, be it PPC ads, contests, word-of-mouth, but do not forget to promote it via non-social channels as well.
It's simple, but you will often forget.
Your website, your ads, your business cards, your in-room cards, your POPs, elevator posters, key cards, ticket holders, local organizations, everything and anything can lead to more likes.
Take advantage of every option out there.
Social media is non-linear...
to catch the attention and the likes you need to look every way possible (print, talk, banners, events, forums, etc.
), simple leave as many leads back to your social media sites.
This is part of the strategy, but the truth is, it's only the beginning.
Fan acquisition is crucial, content curation requires detail, and monitoring is a every day changing world.
Source...