Social Media

August 23, 2010

How Facebook ‘Places’ can lead Customers to your Hotel

Filed under: Blog — Tags: Facebook Places, Foursqaure, Geo-location, hotel Internet marketing, Hotel Social Media Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Markerting, social networking — admin @ 10:42 am

On August 18, 2010, Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced the launch of the highly anticipated geo-location product called Places. As of now, the product is only available in the US, but there is already talk of expansion for the future. According to Zuckerberg, the new service has three main purposes, to allow users to share their location with friends, find their friends and discover new places. With over 500 million Facebook users, this can easily become the next best way for businesses to attract new customers.

How it works

For users, Facebook ‘Places’ works very much the same way as other popular geo-location products, such as Foursquare and Gowalla. Depending on the phone, users can let others know their whereabouts by either using a special Places app or just locating the property themselves through Facebook’s easy-to-use program. After checking in, each user can add quick tips and reviews to share with all their friends. For now, the product is only available to smart phone users, so other Facebook fanatics will have to rely on their tech savvy friends to check-in for them.

Business owners interested in reaching Facebook’s extraordinary user base through Places will first have to claim their Facebook Places page. To claim a page, business owners are required to verify their affiliation with the location through a phone call with Facebook and, in some cases, uploading an official document. In addition, any location with an already existing Facebook business page can merge the two pages together to attract more customers. Once a location is verified, Facebook will direct people to a business’ Facebook Places page when they check-in, and this is where users can then look at the location’s contact information, specials and user reviews.

How Places can be utilized by hotels

There is no denying that this product, like other geo-location services, opens up a tremendous amount of opportunity for hotels because Facebook Places is made for all those social savvy travelers who are constantly on-the-go and on their phones. In addition, this great tool gives hotels the ability to effectively reach a localized crowd. For example, if there is a group hanging out at a nearby bar, they may decide to spend the night at the hotel down the street rather than going home if they see that the location has great reviews and a good deal through Places. This can also be an effective way to let people know about any hotel happy hours or special discounts. Facebook Places is especially useful for full service properties that would like to attract nearby audiences to each of its specific services within the hotel, including lounges, restaurants and salons.

As seen through these examples, by monitoring the dialogue taking place about your hotel online through popular sites like Facebook Places, owners can increase awareness, build a community of brand ambassadors and grow positive sentiment, so now is the time to join the social conversation and start building business.

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August 16, 2010

YouTube and Hotels: Best Western TV

Filed under: Blog — Tags: Best Western International, Brand Awareness, hotel Internet marketing, hotels on social media, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, social networking, YouTube, YouTube and Hotels — admin @ 11:12 am

For today’s social savvy traveler, static photos and text descriptions on a hotel website simply aren’t enough to paint a clear picture of any location anymore. This is why YouTube is becoming such a valuable marketing platform for businesses within the hospitality industry, like hotels, restaurants and resorts. Since its launch in 2005, YouTube has earned its spot as one of the top social media networks available online today because it attracts an extraordinary amount of traffic and it is used by a wide range of users. Knowing this, many hotels, like Best Western International, are embracing the popular marketing platform by using it to showcase the brand’s hotels, build awareness and increase exposure.

Best Western TV

Best Western International’s YouTube brand channel, known as Best Western TV, is successfully used to run video ads, hold fan contests and build a community around the brand. Created in 2008, the hotel channel has gained over 72,900 channel views, 180 subscribers and has over 50 videos. The hotel channel is filled with a variety of videos, ranging from tours of individual properties to footage of interviews with David Kong, CEO of Best Western. These visuals and media are used to display all aspects of a typical Best Western stay, and show video footage of quite a few individual locations, showcasing everything from the bar scene to the room décor. Most importantly, the channel is a central online location for customers to preview hotels, share their comments and upload their own Best Western footage.

Any business utilizing YouTube to build awareness should have consistent updates, customer engagement and informative videos. Additionally, as with Best Western, customers should be given the opportunity to upload their own video footage to a business’ YouTube channel because in most cases, this tends to be the most reliable source for other social travelers. Customer videos give others a chance to “tour” a property from an unbiased point of view.

A hotel does not have to be part of a major brand to grow an online audience. As seen through social media efforts of many hotel chains, a lot of the individual properties under a brand name successfully create their own individual social media channel and network to better serve customers that are fans of that specific location. So what are you waiting for, it’s time to pull out the camera and start recording!

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August 9, 2010

Hotels using Foursquare to Grow Brand Awareness and Increase Traffic

Filed under: Blog — Tags: Facebook, Foursquare, geo-location technology, hotel Internet marketing, hotels on social media, location-based media, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, social networking, Twitter, Wynn Las Vegas, Yelp, YouTube — admin @ 9:51 am

Not too long ago, a large number of business owners were constantly asking the question, “Foursquare, what’s that?” Now, in just a little under a year and a half since its launch in March 2009, a number of businesses are using this popular location-based social networking website to build brand awareness, engage with customers and ultimately increase traffic.

For those of you still trying to figure it out, Foursquare is an online game that allows users to earn awards and badges through “check-ins”. Whenever a user visits any type of brick-and-mortar venue, including restaurants, clothing stores and hotels, they can let their friends know where they are via a Foursquare “check-in”. In addition, the site also allows users to share quick tips and reviews, which makes it somewhat comparable to sites like Yelp. Anyone questioning this social media website’s potential should know that Foursquare sees over a million “check-ins” a day and has over 1.8 million registered users. Additionally, the social networking site adds an average of 15,000 new users every 24 hours. With these numbers, researchers are positive that Foursquare will become the next major player in the social media marketing game, so Twitter, YouTube and Facebook better keep a close eye on this one.

This relatively popular social media site is particularly great for hotels because it offers properties an easy way to entice users to give their location a try. There is valuable information sharing going on within Foursquare and it is important for hotels to capture users’ attention to help spread the word about the wonderful amenities their properties offer. Most people trust their friends and family more than any other resource, so this site allows people to see the type of places their closest companions are visiting.

Quite a few hotels are already using Foursquare to actively reach out to guests and visitors, including the Wynn Las Vegas, Doubletree Hotel in San Jose and James Hotel Chicago. These hotels use the site to run contests, offer incentives and give discounts when customers “check-in” at their properties. Due to this outreach, users have already filled the tip section of these particular spots with tons of advice for other guests, like where to eat in the area, which rooms have the best view and what kind of drinks to order at the hotel bar. There is a gold mine of opportunity within Foursquare for properties both big and small, so it’s important to grab this audience before the competition swoops in.

As with all other social media marketing platforms, Foursquare alone is not the answer. The only way to capture a wide range of Internet users is to develop an integrated strategy that incorporates all the most popular sites together in a way that is most useful to each specific property. That being said, it’s time to get in line to be the next player on Foursquare!

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July 26, 2010

Twitter Success Story: Omni Hotels

Filed under: Blog — Tags: hotel Internet marketing, Omni Hotels, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Twitter — admin @ 9:32 am

With over 50 million tweets sent a day, a number of businesses are finally recognizing the opportunity that lies within Twitter. While most companies are still trying to figure out how to work the popular 140 word micro-blogging website, others, like Omni Hotels, are already successfully using Twitter to build brand awareness and better serve their customers.

Executives at Omni Hotels know that today’s travelers are constantly connected to the Internet through their computers, smart phones and other mobile devices, which is why their employees are very careful about the way they manage the company’s social media network. In order to ensure a pleasurable customer experience for all of the people actively engaging with its brand on Twitter, the company has a corporate team that is responsible for consistently updating tweets and responding to its audience. Rather than leaving its online reputation in the hands of the people, Omni takes the precautionary steps needed to immediately address any complaints to avoid the spread of negative sentiment. When someone tweets something negative about his or her stay at one of Omni’s hotels, the company sees it as an opportunity to turn this person into a brand ambassador.

Here’s a great example of how Omni Hotels uses Twitter:
While staying at an Omni property in Florida, a well known social media expert tweeted about the slow Internet connection coming from his hotel room. Immediately after the tweet was sent out, the Omni Twitter team contacted that specific hotel about the complaint. While the hotel’s IT expert looked into the problem, the GM and VP of sales at the property informed the displeased guest that the Internet should be fixed shortly. Within the hour, the hotel fixed the problem by adding additional routers and the additional capacity needed for high speed internet access. The guest was amazed, and now he uses Omni as an example when giving presentations on social media strategies.

As seen through Omni’s success story, companies that are not part of the social conversation are missing out on the opportunity to dramatically increase awareness, build a community of brand ambassadors and grow positive sentiment. Hotels have a wide range of customers, so it is especially important for them to listen and connect with their audience on every popular marketing medium available. Social media takes time, but with a knowledgeable team and a winning strategy, it is possible for any hotel to reach Omni’s social success.

Written by Jacquelynn M.

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July 16, 2010

Out with the New, In with the Old Spice

Filed under: Blog — Tags: Internet marketing, Old Spice, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Viral Videos — admin @ 10:37 am

Take a look at the newest Old Spice campaign…still questioning the power of social media? In a matter of days, Old Spice took over the social media realm with a set of viral videos that strategically targeted the right mix of influential bloggers, celebrities and everyday fans.

The campaign started with a few commercials featuring the overly masculine, yet very comical Old Spice guy, played by Isaiah Mustafa. After these commercials went viral, the creative minds behind the ads, Wieden+Kennedy, decided to take the campaign to the next level. Sticking to the original theme of the commercials, the Old Spice team created a series of videos with the Old Spice guy personally thanking fans for promoting the brand and also answering fan questions that were posted on different social networking outlets. Within hours Old Spice received a multitude of tweets and Facebook posts from people hoping to receive their own personalized video from the Old Spice guy himself.

Social media is taking over. Old Spice left these videos in the hands of the people, and the fans essentially became brand ambassadors for Old Spice by sharing these ads with friends and writing positive reviews about the new campaign. Within a day, these very personalized, comical videos reached the computer screens of hundreds of thousands of internet users. It’s safe to say we have come a long way from the pony express days.

As seen through the Old Spice campaign, there is a gold mine hidden within the Internet, and it’s important to take advantage of this new social media revolution because it is only getting bigger.To get started with your own videos, all it really takes is a strategy, a flip camera and a few willing fans. So it’s time to jump on the social media train before it passes you by with your competition on board. With the right strategy, this relatively new medium will give you the power to create a network of fans that will embrace and promote your business on a grassroots level.

There is one last thing to be said about Old Spice, a brand that has been around since 1930s…who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

Written by Jacquelynn M.

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Blog

August 23, 2010

How Facebook ‘Places’ can lead Customers to your Hotel

August 16, 2010

YouTube and Hotels: Best Western TV

August 9, 2010

Hotels using Foursquare to Grow Brand Awareness and Increase Traffic

July 26, 2010

Twitter Success Story: Omni Hotels

July 16, 2010

Out with the New, In with the Old Spice

March 9, 2010

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