I saw an interesting statistic earlier this week that showed videos posted on Facebook garner more engagement than any other form of media.
We’re talking way more—videos earn an average of 4,036 shares per post, followed by images at an average of 3,364 shares per post. Low Facebook performers are article links, which only got a measly 571 shares per post according to this research, and the old-fashioned status update, which got 538 shares per post.
This research from social analytics service NewsWhip looked in particular at publishers’ posting activity on Facebook, such as outlets like The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Buzzfeed and the like. However, I’d be willing to bet that these statistics are pretty consistent across the board, and hotel-specific data would show similar trends.
What’s interesting to me is that data like this might reflect a bit of a Facebook resurgence, which would benefit the hotel industry a lot. While millennials may be eschewing the classic platform for newer places like Snapchat, staid older folks who have money to spend still cling to old faithfuls like Facebook.
And while Facebook might be seeing younger users leave for newer platforms, it has been quietly investing in video in particular for a while. In May, The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting piece on the death of short-video platform Vine, asserting that “Vine stars are leaving for Facebook and other platforms.”
What does a trend like this mean for hotels? Investing in video is a solid tactic, and we’ve seen hoteliers up their game in this arena more and more over the past few years, blending guest content with slick, in-house content marketing to gain some pretty significant reach.
This also points to a trend in how people who are on Facebook like to get their news. If we know that younger people might have already participated in a mass exodus from Facebook—leaving their parents behind—and we know that even their parents like to engage with videos and photos as a way of getting news—rather than articles or status updates—then that’s telling.
You might already use video to market your property’s rooms and features, but consider telling your news through video and photos as well. Would a cute puppy or kitten help? It certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Share of the week
This funny post from The Onion, titled “The TSA’s plans for improvement,” pretty much sums up what all travelers feel like at the airport when they’re going through screening. Is this trip really worth it?
As always, if you’d like to share your thoughts, do so in the comments below. Or you can email me at sricca@hotelnewsnow.com or find me on Twitter @HNN_Steph.
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