Improving Online Visibility is the primary outcome most Hotels today look to achieve with their Social Media Marketing strategy. But most Hotels find it challenging to create immediate results in a disruptive and crowded marketplace.
In the digital world, we live in today transactions between brands and consumers happens in real time.
You need a strategy that adapts to this reality and offers multiple digital mechanisms that position your Hotel in new unique ways to provide a unique digital experience.
Why do Hotels need a Social Media Marketing strategy in the first place?
Hotels will achieve quality online visibility with their Social Media Marketing strategy when it is implemented in an effective Social Media Marketing Framework.
A lot of the reasons many Hotels struggle with improving Online Visibility is that their focus is on quantity, not quality.
Many Hotel brands do the same cardinal Social Media mistake, believing it is a numbers game.
Well, to be fair there are several other brands and people that done the same mistake.
I will also say that at one-point quantity will become important, but quality will always triumph quantity. It really doesn’t matter how many likes, followers, connection or friends you have if the majority of them don’t have a clue or recognize your Hotels value proposition.
This is why it is so important to understand that Hotel Marketing makes up the marketplace, and Social Media Marketing makes up the community.
Social Media Marketing represents various tools that help Hotels generate awareness and amplify their value proposition in combination with their community.
An effective Social Media Marketing Framework has the potential to help Hotels with;
Brand awareness
Increased quality inbound traffic
Improve Search Engine Optimization
Higher Conversions – increased Direct Bookings
Customer Performance
Customer Experience – brand loyalty
Brand authority
Improve transparency
More Cost-effective
Grow marketplace insight
Become a thought leader for the Hotel Industry
According to Social Media Examiner, 97% of small businesses use Social Media to attract new customers, but 85% of business owners aren’t sure what Social Media tools to use. Unsettling is the statistic that 63% of consumers who search for businesses online are more likely to become consumers of brands with an established Social Media presence.
This demonstrates a huge potential for Social Media marketing to increase direct but a lack of understanding on how to achieve those results.
How Value Proposition helps with clear expectations
It is very important for Hotels to identify how they can close the gap between Hotel Marketing and Social Media Marketing.
To build your Hotels marketplace a lot of data is gathered for research, surveys, forums etc. This data is a valuable asset that is available for the Hotel to start personalizing the customer experience.
Today a lot of this data is siloed in traditional Property Management systems, Point of Sale, Central Reservation System, Call Centers etc.
We now experience many Hotels starting to comply with GDPR requirements. As a result of this, we have to start implementing new innovative smart Social Media Marketing strategies.
Hotels really have to bring out the values that make up the marketplace. It will be critical that Hotels consolidated with the rest of the guest’s extensive online data, such as email records, web analytics, guest satisfaction surveys, and Social Media platforms. From this data, Hotels need to learn how to identify patterns without jeopardizing the guest privacy and integrity. It is important that all segments of your Hotels Social Media Marketing Framework are compliant with GDPR.
It is important to start implementing a smart framework that is clear on what people can expect, and what their roles and responsibilities are, at each step moving forward after the booking process is complete.
Fulfilling a promise and meet customer expectations is appealing to a passionate community of influencers and storytellers. This community willingly shares tips about places to go and stay.
Hotels that build their branding on a true community identity will be able to improve the experience and the value they bring to their stakeholders.
Humanness identifies a process where Hotels brands implement a humanistic process, which inspires people’s confidence to own and drive the process for effective execution.
Reputation management represents the business function concerned with influencing, often through diverse communication practices, stakeholders’ perceptions and estimation of a Hotel brands economic, social and Social Media practices.
The impact of improved online visibility
The research from the Social Media Examiner shows that almost 90% of marketers say their Social Marketing efforts have increased exposure for their business, and 75% say they’ve increased traffic.
Today as much half of digital consumers follow brands and Social Networks is actively used for research of products and services. But at the same time, there is a disconnect between research and clicking the ‘Book Now’ buttons.
This just verifies the misconception many Hotels have focusing too much on likes, followers, connection or friends. But focus on building a community that brings a group of quality people together.
Your Hotels community wants, and needs will shape and outline the features of developing a more transparent and relevant Social Media Marketing business page.
Authenticity, transparency, and humanness are what sparks quality connections.
Add an effective and relevant value proposition on top of this your community will become tied into your Hotel and bring additional traffic to your site that is bound to lead to converting community members to guest or getting corporate clients to join the community, so you can later upsell them with additional products or services.
Not only will an effective and relevant value proposition create growth through word-of-mouth for your Hotel, but it will also new values to the local community.
How can you build an effective Social Media Marketing Framework for your Hotel?
Within the Social Media Marketing Framework, we break the challenges into small, concrete actions so that Hotels have the confidence to act on them step-by-step.
A Social Media Marketing Framework will allow your Hotels to see things you never saw before and realize the need to change yourselves.
I recognize Hotels for their intellectual and emotional worth, building trust and inspire voluntary cooperation.
Hotels now have to build a strategy to that leverage consumers and their team at ground zero.
People are paradoxical. All want to aspire to make a difference. We want to change the world. That’s what makes our energies soar, our hearts beat faster, our adrenaline surge. Yet, simultaneously, most of us fear we can’t. We need reassurance.
As Hoteliers, we need to innovate and identify new creatives that trigger both emotions and rationale.
Within a Social Media Marketing Framework, we break each challenge down into, small concrete steps that move the team forward in increments that inspire and build confidence.
When we create this type of process it comes down to three principles;
Engagement
Actively involving people in strategic decisions that affect them by asking for their input and allowing them to refute and challenge the merits of one another’s ideas and assumptions.
Explanation
Providing people with a clear account of the thinking that underlies the proves and the strategic decisions reached each step.
Clear Expectations
Stating clearly what people can expect, and what their roles and responsibilities are, at each step and in moving forward with the process.
Hotel Experience Ambassadors the new innovative frontiers
The key principles of Social Media Marketing are to curate and present local micro-moments that will add new unique values to your Hotels community.
You want the Hotel Team and Community to be knowledgeable about important shareable micro-moments.
Are your Hotel Team provided tools and resources that help them create a guest experience that exceeds their expectations?
Is your Hotel Team making Social Investments that close the gap between Hotel Marketing and Social Media Marketing?
With a new cultural shift, a new position as Hotel Experience Ambassador will need to be defined.
Revenue per Human Interaction will become the most important metric for Hotels, and this account for both online and offline interaction.
A Hotel Experience Ambassadors need to possess skillsets that helps close the gap between Hotel Marketing and Social Media Marketing.
Building a Social Media Marketing strategy for Hotels that optimize online visibility and creates immediate results requires a framework that empowers your Hotel Team and Community.
This is a process that creates an outbound ripple effect when executed the right way.
When your Hotel serves your community they will reward you back with serving you.
From a Hotel and Social Media Consultant’s standpoint, the Social Media Community can offer Hotels a one-stop-shop for managing their Social Media marketing such as the community infrastructure, database, listening functionality, profile management, collaboration, content marketing and management, and of course, the analytics.
A Social Media Community will help your Hotel to grow smarter and faster when you focus on the value proposition and collaborate in effective ways.
If your Hotel need help to put it all together then make sure to the let us know.
Today’s Social Media Management tools provide advanced options that will help Hotels with these tasks. If you need a quality team the help your Hotel pulls this off, then get in touch with my partners at Founders Media.
With the right team behind your Social Media efforts, it can become cost-effective and generate a new revenue stream for your Hotel.
Social Media Mastery for Hotels
Social Media Marketing Mastery for Hotels is NOW Open! Click Here if you are ready to take your Hotel to a new level!
To get your Hotel started here are a few FREE gifts and resources from me and my partners Founders Media.
1. FREE access to my Hospitality Gone Social Vault (Click Here to Unlock)
2. FREE ebook from Founders Media (Click Here to Unlock)
3. FREE 21 Days To Social Media Mastery for Hotels email course (Click Here to Unlock)
4. FREE access to #HotelPodcast – A Podcast about Social Media Mastery for Hotel (Click Here to Unlock)
5. FREE access to our Facebook Group – Hospitality Gone Social (Click Here to Unlock)
About the author
Are Morch is the founder and owner of Are Morch – Hotel Blogger and Social Media Consultant. Get more from Are on Facebook | Twitter | Google Plus | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Instagram
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