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Friday, October 11th, 2013: The Basics of Hotel Website Content, Part 5: Writing for OTAs and BBEs
Tuesday, October 15th, 2013: The Basics of Hotel Website Content, Part 6: Maps, Landmarks, and Area Attractions
It's Hotel Marketing Tuesday once again and today I'm discussing what social media is and the benefits of engaging your potential hotel guests online. This blog is Part 4 of our latest series on The Basics of Hotel Websites.
What is Hotel Social Media Content?
When people hear the term 'social media' they instantly think of Facebook and Twitter. Social media is actually a lot broader than that, including any channel a business can use to market themselves that depends on word-of-mouth marketing. In other words, you stay active marketing your business in the space and people like you or share your posts thereby growing your audience. This includes blogging for your hotel, Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor, Foursquare, Pinterest, Google +, and the like.
Why is it important to my hotel's success?
By being involved in social media channels you are more accessible to the public, more approachable to potential hotel guests, and best of all more likely to be seen. With Google's new Hummingbird algorithm, websites with the most relevant content will be rewarded with higher placement in Google search engine results. You're also more likely to engage guests who love your hotel and are advocates in attracting new hotel guests through good reviews, sharing your posts with their friends, and telling every friend they know.
Where should I begin with social media?
My best recommendation is to be involved with TripAdvisor, Facebook, Twitter and Google + at the very least. You can easily use these channels to run promotions, communicate information about your hotel, respond to guests reviews, and provide additional booking channels. Google + has the added benefit of improving your hotel's placement in search engine results pages (here's a free guide to get you started).
What should I write or post for my hotel's social media channels?
Be responsive to reviews and interactions via these channels and follow hotel industry news sources to share content through Facebook and Twitter to build your following. I follow news outlets like Hotel News Now, Tnooz, and Hotelmarketing.com on Facebook and Twitter to find news worth sharing with others in the hotel industry. To start out, find people to follow and like, and start sharing news articles you find interesting. Perhaps invite former guests to share a photo from their trip or tell you their favorite thing about your destination. Your goal is to gain likes or follows before you can properly use these channels to successfully market your hotel. People have to like you before they'll buy from you.
Ok, I've gained a decent following, now what?
Once you have reached roughly 100 Twitter followers, 50 Facebook likes, or consistent Google +s, you can slowly work in hotel specials. Once a week at most, while still keeping up with the posting activities we just discussed.
A few things to keep in mind when writing hotel social media content:
Make a plan. Plan out your posts for the next 6 months and when you plan on posting them. For more ideas, check out our previous post on promotions.
Keep a positive tone. Try to avoid words with negative connotations.
Stress the benefits. Remember, you have to tell the guest what's in it for them.
Generate interest. Share a fun, interesting factoid or humorous quip. It doesn't even have to be true. Did you know that 46% of facts are made up?
Don't make overstatements or use overly-flowery language. It seems spammy and fake. And no one likes that.
Be accurate, be specific, be organized. Stay away from false advertising claims. Include specific details about promotions or hotel descriptions. Organize the information with a logical, smooth flow.
Appeal to emotions rather than intellect. The majority of consumers make purchases based on emotion rather than rationale. Booking a hotel room is no different. They don't need to know about the low-flow toilets you installed, but they would love to hear they will be greeted by your frontdesk with a warm cookie at check-in.