It is of great importance for mid-market hoteliers to hire someone externally to train their staff on how to succeed with social media. Especially for economy hotels, I would advise that literally all social media activity is handled in-house. This will allow you to maintain full control over your activity. Furthermore, because you are tapped into your market, you will pick up on things and make connections that are personal; you will never achieve this by hiring an exteral agent or company to handle your social media accounts.
Google Analytics can give you statistics, but you can’t really pick up on what people want and respond to their needs using data and statistics alone. It is frustrating to see companies offering social media services to hoteliers; often they don’t care about your brand. There is a risk they will look at the market standard and repeat the norm without empathy.
As the general manager of a budget or mid-market hotel, there are so many tools you can use to streamline the entire process. My advice is to begin every Sunday by creating a content calendar for the week ahead – decide which hashtags to use ahead of time, research your market to see what is currently trending and identify your content for the week.
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Keep in mind that people are interested in themselves and their own interests – be careful not to fall into the trap of showing off all that is great about you; there needs to be soul, kindness and connection in your content.
In addition to your own content, you need to look at who your current users are, and identify who are your potential new users; then it’s simply a matter of identifying which hashtags they are using and which businesses they are following. You then use this information to align yourself with what is trending in your target audience.
Story telling is also a very important aspect of effective social media. In terms of content, I would say destination content is vital. Keep it visual and inspiring – this always works. People may trust you, but they only give each post a few seconds of attention – so give them a reason to ‘like’ and share your posts – and always make it beautiful.
User generated content will help connect you with your guests too. Repost holiday pictures, find local bloggers, connect and share external content. You can run a weekly blog, or even create a vlog: one minute videos shot using an iPhone, uploaded every week are good, but consistency is key. This is a great way to share knowledge, news, updates and events.
Ultimately we’re all affected by ‘millennial syndrome’ – you have to embrace the millennial market, and all that it entails. If you ignore them, they’ll ignore you – and trust me: they’re quick to comment, and quick to share their opinions.
About the Author:
Lisa Roberts is the managing director of VoltLab.
VoltLab is a branding agency with global clients including many in the hospitality and travel industry. The company is home to a team of specialised brand, marketing and digital marketing staff. VoltLab combines empirical data, creative vision and technology to generate a sophisticated end product. The company has an end aim to maximise its clients return on investment.
Contact VoltLab
http://voltlab.com
lisa@voltlab.com
Social media: Voltlabglobal
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