SAN FRANCISCO—The fragmented media landscape has turned the traditional marketing funnel on its head, making it more difficult than ever for hotel marketers to either control their message or distribute it to a wide enough audience, according to panelists Monday during the “Essential insights” opening session of the 7th annual Social Media & Mobile Strategies for Travel conference hosted by EyeforTravel.
Today much of that power has shifted to content-creating consumers, armed not only with smartphones but also a bevy of social networks on which to shape and steer the conversation.
Hoteliers need not throw in the towel, however. For those with a deft hand and authentic approach, the social landscape actually can be leveraged to foster brand loyalists like never before, according to panelists.
Here are eight ways to do just that.
1. Find your voice
“Authenticity is huge, especially on Twitter,” so it’s important to have a unique voice, said Mike Grady, who works in Twitter’s travel vertical.
“Find your voice on social,” said Will Pinnell, TripCase director of sales and marketing for Sabre Holdings.
There is so much noise in the social stratosphere that being different helps to differentiate. Hoteliers should start by asking themselves, “Am I unique?”
2. Be transparent
Consumers are savvy, Pinnell said. They realize brands don’t speak for themselves and instead want to know the people pulling the levers. That’s why Sabre has made photos of its social staff accessible throughout various online mediums; it allows users to put a face to the social interactions.
3. Regularly update your content
The best way to keep customers close is to keep them engaged, Pinnell said. If hoteliers can’t regularly update content on a given social network, they shouldn’t be playing in that space at all.
That’s especially true on Twitter, Grady said. “We’re an interest-based platform. You’re only going to be interesting and relevant if you’re engaging with your audience on a regular basis.”
He suggested semi-regular Tweet-ups as one way to keep followers engaged.
4. Keep content rich
Rich media, such as posts with photos or videos, has three times the engagement rate as text-based posts, Grady said.
Photos and videos also provide hoteliers a better way to showcase amenities or experiences, he added.
5. Take a risk on a new platform
While hoteliers should never leap into a new social platform without looking first, sometimes it’s worth making a splash before fleshing out a full-fledged plan, Pinnell said.
Pinterest proved one such example for Sabre. The visually driven network was something of an unknown commodity when it launched in 2010, but the company took a risk and it’s paid off. With more than 500,000 businesses now with Pinterest accounts, the site has surpassed email as a way companies drive people to their sites to make purchases, he said.
A one-platform approach never addresses all, Pinnell added. Certain platforms have emerged as viable means to reach different customers segments.
Facebook, for instance, has seen users aged 13 to 17 years old decline by 25.3%. Snapchat, meanwhile, is now being used daily by 73% of all college students, he said.
6. Be prepared for real-time customer service
Consumers are beginning to use social networks as customer service channels, and hoteliers must be able to respond, said Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying, an aviation marketing consultancy.
The social sphere must not operate in a silo, he said. If a guest tweets a hotel with a complaint about a room, for instance, the associate fielding that complaint must be able to turn it into action with the property’s operations team.
7. Be crisis-ready
Along the same lines, hoteliers must have crisis plans in place for their various social mediums, Nigam said.
When Asiana Airlines flight 214 crashed at San Francisco International Airport on 6 July 2013, for instance, the airport began tweeting real-time updates almost immediately, alerting travelers of closed runways, delays and safety concerns. By comparison, it took Asiana nearly eight hours to release its first announcement, Nigam said.
8. Measure, measure, measure
“We really need to measure our social performance to be able to justify the investment we make in social,” Pinnell said.
Shaun Aukland, head of social media – travel for Google, said success should be measured by engagement—not impressions. “It’s very stupid,” he said of relying on the latter measure.
“Returns are there if you aim for it. It’s about thinking if you’re measuring the right things,” Nigam said.
“What is that one goal that you want to walk away with?” he added. “Is it loyalty? Is it revenue? Is it growth in a certain city of your target market?”