Make sure colleagues keep their ears to the ground to provide you with content to boost online media presence.
Mistake 3: Not involving people on the front lines
Ideally, social media interaction will not be exclusively handled by one person on your team. It is much better for you to get as many people involved as possible.
This does not mean having everyone update Facebook, for example. It does mean setting up policies and systems that enable your staff to submit story ideas and interesting things they come across in their daily work.
Having “ears on the ground” will provide you with a wealth of information that makes your social media presence far richer.
It’s impossible for one person sitting in an office to be completely aware of everything that goes on around the hotel and in the surrounding community. To overcome this challenge, enlist your staff.
Best practice example: Hotel Max
http://twitter.com/hotel_max
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Mistake 4: Not staying true to your organisational culture
People should be able to get a sense of what you are like as a company when interacting with you in social media, so let your personality come through a bit.
Your offline experience must be consistent with your online presence. This means everything from graphic design to social media postings and updates that resonate with your target audience. This consistency is very important for how your brand is perceived.
Think through your brand positioning, and what that means in terms of how you will take part in social media.
Best practice example: Joie de Vivre Hotels
http://twitter.com/JDVHotels
Mistake 5: Thinking it’s all about you
As much as you may like to think it, not everyone is going to want to follow you online just because you’re special. The reality is that very few people just go into social media to follow every hotel they see. There needs to be something remarkable about your product if you want to build a loyal online fan base.
You must publish more than just special offers and promotions to build an engaged audience. Maybe you want to talk about lifestyle issues or other things that are important to your guests. These messages need to be consistent with your organisation and target market.
Best practice example: RSHotel
http://twitter.com/RSHotel
You must be aware of these issues, but don’t let them scare you off. Social media is a big trend and hotels using this have a distinct advantage over their competitors. Learn more in our report “10 Reasons You Cannot Ignore Social Media”: www.resnetworldarticle.com
Josiah Mackenzie runs the most popular hotel marketing blog (according to Google) and currently holds the position of director of marketing at ResNet World. Details: www.resnetworld.com or +971 (4) 448 7222.
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