Extra Benefits
Wait! There’s more! Google+ offers a variety of tools, which you might find useful. Like on Facebook, you can create events and invite people.
Unlike Facebook, such events can be “virtual” and hosted via Google+ “Hangouts” (live audio/video chats) — great for press conferences, presentations to travel agents overseas, or even live coverage of occasions like openings, festivals, exhibitions, etc. To make things even neater, you can record “hangouts” at the click of a button and upload them to your YouTube channel.
By combining your Google+ company page with other Google tools, such as YouTube or Google Local and Google Maps, you can create a vast and totally connected online experience for your visitors.
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Adding a Google+ ‘share’ or ‘like’ button to your website, blog or email campaigns not only allows users to share your content with others, but also increases the search rankings of such content.
So what does it take to create a successful Google+ company page? Google+ is a lot more visual than Facebook with more space for your page’s banner photo and a more elegant and stylish way of displaying visual content posted to your page.
Not surprisingly then, you should post a large number of good quality pictures or even videos. Also make sure that you complete the “About” section of your company page fully and include as many links to other sites of interest as possible.
You can link to your other social networks and your website, of course, but also include links to recent press coverage or your listings on review websites.
Create as many “circles” as you find useful — the importance of targeting and segmenting in today’s marketing world cannot be underestimated! For example, why not create a circle for guests living locally? You could then share last minute food and beverage offers with a local audience in a matter of minutes.
Unlike Facebook, Google+ offers you the option to alert your connections about your update by email automatically and in real time, which increases the numbers of people who see and read your updates dramatically.
Google+ is a far less hectic place than Facebook or Twitter, so don’t feel forced to update your company page daily. Once every couple of days will do nicely. The slower pace does have its advantages, because it makes it easier for users to see your updates and also means that they’re more likely to read longer updates. Because of this, your hotel may be able to create a much more direct and personal relationship with its audience.
Lastly, don’t forget about analytics – Google+ integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics and makes it easy to track clicks, referrals, and other useful data. Recently, I have taken a closer look at the analytics data for some hotels with active Google+ company pages and compared it to hotels without a presence on Google+ and I was surprised to see how much traffic Google+ referred to the hotels’ websites.
Whatever you do: Keep it social!
About the Author:
Martin Kubler is owner, director and chief cook and bottle washer of Iconsulthotels FZE, an ultra-boutique hospitality consultancy in Dubai.
Email: info@iconsulthotels.com or visit facebook.com/iconsulthotels
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