9 Things to do Before Entering Social Media

"You’re going to give this social media thing a solid chance. You’ve heard that social media delivers leads, connects you with customers and you’re confident that you can avoid falling victim to the many social media myths. All that’s left to do is create the accounts hop in.

Wait! Not so fast."

via smallbiztrends.com

Your hotel's social media digital footprint is too important to be wandering aimlessly.

Social media can prove to be overwhelming to any business. Before you even start, here are some things that you will need to consider:

• Develop a social media marketing strategy for your hotel.
• Find competent personnel to create, develop and manage the multiple social media accounts for the best social impact.
• Find responsible personnel to engage interaction from your hotel on all the various social media sites.
• Develop tools to measure results.

With a recent report released last week by R2integrated, 65% of businesses surveyed did not see any measurable results using social media claiming it was because of the lack of valid metrics and data. What were the other 35% doing that made it successful?

They had a plan.

Of course having a plan without the personnel, time or resources to implement the plan or the tools to measure the results would render the whole effort useless.  The "free" sites, inexpensive intern and inexperience in what works in social media for hotels and what does not, can end up costing a  great deal with reputation, effort, time and effective results.

Define and develop your hotel's digital footprint on the right track, professionally, responsibility and effectively. Don't wander aimlessly. Your hotel's digital footprint is not something to be left to chance when it will linger on the web forever.

Plan your strategy, become part of the 35% of those who have made it a success. 

Until next time,

Rosella

CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Manager

Plan. Socialize. Engage. Measure. 

World Cup 2010 breaks records on Twitter but are the Tweets worth reading? Are your Hotel's Tweets worth reading?

Being a huge World Cup follower, I decided to do some research on the World Cup's impact on the web. According to Akamai's Net Usage Index, the game between USA vs Algeria on Wednesday saw a traffic spike to 11.2 million visitors per minute during the Landon Donovan goal in the 91st minute. It moved past the 2008 Presidential election!

Breaking it down further, on average Twitter normally sees about 750 tweets per second. During the World Cup Games, records were being broken to 3,000 tweets per second during the games goals.

That's a lot of Tweets. What had me curious was the quality of Tweets vs. the quanity of them.

So besides the typical "Gooooaaaalll" Tweets when a favorite team scored, what relevant information was actually being shared? I came across an article from Esquire which broke down the chatter on Twitter during the World Cup games, "10.6 percent meaningful conversation and 6 percent self-promotion, plus 8.4 percent spam, 30 percent babble, 42 percent re-tweets... and only 2.4 percent legitimate news".

So now I bet you're wondering why is she talking about the World Cup when she should be blogging about hotels using social media as a marketing tool.

Two reasons.

The first and most important reason:

You say your hotel already participates in social media and networking. But what exactly are you saying to give substance to your followers. Those statistics I mentioned from Esquire are extremely telling, on an exaggerated scale, but I believe make a very good point on the overall ratio of chatter.

If the intern you hired is only adding to the "30% babble" on Tweeter about your hotel, what is the value added to your hotel's business? How effectively is it meeting your social media marketing goals and objectives? Do you have a plan in place to achieve those goals?

It's time to have a strategy regarding your social media marketing plan. Tweeting babble can be fun, but effectively participating in the "10.4% of meaningful conversation" and "2.4% of legitimate news" is what will yield results for your hotel's business.

Now the second reason? I have World Cup frenzy - my favorite team got eliminated yesterday but Wednesday the USA advanced to the Round of 16!

Go USA!

Until next time,

Rosella

CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Manager

Plan. Socialize. Engage. Measure. 

Every hotel wants positive Trip Advisor reviews but is your hotel really listening?

Trip Advisor is a main source for many travelers in their decision process of selecting a hotel. These potential guests are visiting the site to read about past guest experiences and a general "feel" of other people's opinion about your hotel.

Of course every hotel hopes that the reviews will all be positive but we know that isn't always the case. Hoping won't help either, you need to be pro-active in your approach.

Traditional marketing allows you to share and control the information about your hotel in a positive light. With social networking at everyone's finger tips, there is a shift to the guest in control of that marketing information.

But this shouldn't discourage you nor should it be ignored. Just like potential guests that are 'listening' to past guests, so should the hotel. Reputation management in social media marketing is a vital part of any hotel's marketing plan.

Read the past reviews about your hotel. Listen to the positive and negative aspects of them. More likely than not, you will find a common thread amongst them.

You might learn that the majority loved the hotel but complained about the older beds. You could discover that people felt the hotel was gorgeous with wonderful amenities but customer service was not up to par or that customer service was fantastic but the resort fee was too high.

Whatever it is that you discover others are saying about your hotel, the best course of action is to respond. This allows the hotel property to join in the discussion that so many are using to make their hotel destination plans. It gives you a chance to change a negative into a positive, disseminate current information about the hotel and encourage a potential guest to visit by showing that you are listening and being responsive to all reviews, both positive and negative. 

Potential guests are listening and reacting to the social network of online reviews and so should your hotel.

Until next time,

Rosella

CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Manager

Plan. Socialize. Engage. Measure. 

Full Service Social Media Marketing Agency For Hospitality Is Launched

 http://www.CoMMingle.me

It's official! 

PARSIPPANY, NJ , June 20, 2010 - Lodging Interactive, an award winning leading interactive agency servicing the hospitality industry, today announced the introduction of its CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Agency operating division.  Through a dedicated team of social media experts and proprietary technologies, CoMMingle offers a focused approach addressing all aspects of hospitality social media marketing.

 

“It is increasingly important for hoteliers to build their hotel brands and to increase their level of interaction with consumers who frequent the major social media sites,” stated DJ Vallauri, Founder & President of Lodging Interactive, the parent company of CoMMingle. “Hotels must be positioned to be ‘seen’ and engaging on all major social websites and blogs at the time when consumers are making their travel plans. ”

While the demographic profiles of the hundreds of millions of social media website users are a clear match for most hotels and resorts, the challenges faced by most properties are the lack of qualified staff to interact online, the increasing time commitments needed and the multitude of skill sets required to effectively participate in social media marketing. These challenges continue to hamper the hospitality industry's ability to implement effective social marketing strategies that are required to manage guest reviews, measure results, build and communicate effectively with prospective guests through blogging and the growing number of social media sites.

"Research indicates that many hotels have already established entry level marketing profiles on popular social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.  However, nearly all hotels don't have the internal resources or intellectual capital to take their social marketing efforts to the next level," stated Mr. Vallauri.  "CoMMingle addresses these industry needs with a cost-effective and efficient solution."

Click here to read more about: Full Service Social Media Marketing Agency for Hospitality Is Launched.

Social Media Frenzy - Everybody's Doing It! Not good enough for your hotel's social media marketing - you need a strategy.

Businesses have doubled their presence on social media over the last year. But if your reason for social media participation is "Everybody's Doing It", you might want to take a moment before plunging your hotel head first into the social media ocean.

For any business today, having a social media presence is not enough. It is worse to have a presence that is laying dormant with no activity and no participation then it is to not have a presence at all.

Sure you can create a Facebook Page or Twitter account for your hotel's plunge into social media marketing. But then what? Think of it this way, just because you have wood, nails and a hammer doesn't mean you can build a deck on your house.

You need a professional plan. You need a strategy.

This frenzy of hotels creating a presence on social media without a clear strategic plan reminds me of those morning weekend shows on cable. You know the ones I'm referring to? Those home improvement programs that show you how to Do-It-Yourself.

My husband grimaces every time he sees me watching the newest episode of how to create an outdoor living space on a newly built deck. Usually about half way through the show, I'm sure I can build the beautiful deck they showed on television. Piece of cake, right? Not.

The excitement of watching the show and these 'experts' telling me how easy it is really doesn't translate in getting the job done well.

To build a beautiful deck I would need time to research, design and learn architecture, building codes, knowledge of tools, resources, etc. It's not much different than the numerous aspects of social media marketing. 

Those home improvement shows have you thinking everybody's doing it, so you can also! So now you've created a presence on social media, how do you create a strategic plan for that presence in order to bring results to your hotel's marketing plan?

Just like I did with my deck, you hire a professional.

Until next time,

Rosella

CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Manager

Plan. Socialize. Engage. Measure. 

Social Media is not just for kids - AARP's survey shows it! Is your hotel missing out on this potential market?

As I was gathering information for this blog post, the lyrics to an old song popped into my head. Of course I'll be giving away my age but all is fair in the land of blogging.

So what were the lyrics?

"Oh but Momma that's where the fun is"

Anyone venture a guess? Now all of you in your 40's and 50's are already singing the song, aren't you?

The song's title is Blinded by the Light, a 1977 song by Manfred Mann. What I discovered is that the song was written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen in 1973. I didn't know that!

Ok, back to the topic. Well, actually, that is part of the topic which is why this whole lyric thing came up!

Social media isn't just for kids.

A recent study by AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) interviewed 1,260 adults over age 50 on the phone. It found that 27% of Americans, age 50 and older use social networks. 49% between the ages of 50 and 64 were extremely comfortable using the Internet. 

What is interesting is that the younger generation have exposed the baby boomers to the beauty of social media. 47%  of those who responded to the interview questions had heard of social networking through a family member other than a spouse; out of those 70% were informed by a child or grandchild!

What do these percentages mean in terms of your hotel business? It means that 3/4s of AARP's survey group said they connect through social media. That potential audience is socializing where your hotel could be engaging and interacting with them.

The platform for your hotel to share it's information is not limited to one demographic on social media. Every age group in all parts of the world are delving in and discovering the benefits, interaction and excitement of social media.

"Oh but Momma that is where the fun is"

The baby boomers are listening to them and joining.

Your hotel should also.


Until next time!

Rosella

CoMMingle Social Media Marketing Manager

Cookie cutter social media marketing approaches don't make the cut and I have the dayglo pink, rhinestone studded camera shoulder strap to prove it.

Social media marketing is not the answer to every marketing goal for your hotel. But it is a vital part of the whole marketing plan.

The key critical point to embarking on a good, balanced and value added social media marketing plan is determining the goals for your hotel.

Your hotel has it's own unique flavor...destination, amenities, service, decor, demographics, facilities, dining and the list goes on. Your social media marketing plan should also.

No cookie cutter formula.

Not a one size fits all approach.

I recently set out to buy a birthday gift for my husband. As I went through this experience I realized how many things seemed parallel to a hotel embarking on social media. I know, I know I have social media on the brain!

Let me take you on my camera purchasing journey.

My idea was to purchase a digital camera for my husband's birthday gift. Your idea is to embark on social media marketing for your hotel.

I did some research to find brands of cameras and the features they offered. You did some research to find the social media channels and what they offered.

Not knowing much about cameras, I tried to figure out what he might need in a camera. I was overwhelmed. Everything I read made it seem as though he needed it all. But I knew he might not.

You are probably in the same boat when it comes to social media. There is so much buzz out there it would seem that you need it all. But you know you might not.

I did the only thing I could think of and went to someone who knows more than me about cameras. He pointed me in the right direction. Great. Now onto finding the camera and all the attachments needed.

You've done the same. You reached out to those who might know more than you for guidance. Great. Now onto finding someone to help you put it all together.

I found package deals for this great camera I was going to buy. You found someone who has a social media package that you are going to buy.

Oh wait. That camera case they have in their package doesn't hold the camera too well. The memory card is really not large enough. Is he really going to use the dayglo pink, rhinestone studded shoulder strap?

Now it's your 'oh wait' moment. On the outside, that package looks great. It hits all the social channels, monitors engagement, collects reviews. But does it really fit your hotel's goals?

Anyone can create a pretty report that scrapes information from social media sites. But does the information you will be getting contain any value to your social media plan and objective.

A collection of your hotel's reviews copied from various sites by a computer program doesn't help you determine how you are rating overall in one scoring standard with a human approach. A cut and paste approach does nothing for social media marketing in an industry that is about customer service, engagement and customer fulfillment.

I could go on and on but I think you got the point. The package deals I kept finding for the camera weren't such a deal after all. The package you found on social media marketing might not be either.
 
So before you venture out there, think about your hotel's social media marketing goal and objective. Do your research and take a closer look at what these package deals offer.

You might just end up with a dayglo pink, rhinestone studded camera shoulder strap that really doesn't match your shoes.

Chatter Guard Social Media Monitor Report - May 2010 - Has been Published

Lodging Interactive, a leading interactive marketing agency servicing the hospitality industry and the publisher of the free Chatter Guard Monthly Benchmark Monitor Report has released its May 2010 report.

To receive the full report, sign up for our newsletter at LodgingInteractive.com.

 

After a stormy April, we were looking to May for sunnier dispositions from hospitality customers. A quick look at the average customer responses would seem to indicate a change of heart, with single-digit increases in almost every category. But looking closer tells a different story. While most hotel segments struggled with single digit dips in customer satisfaction, the reviews for Extended Stay hotels were so strong that they bumped up the overall averages from negative to positive territories. Let’s see if summer travel season will inspire consumers to be equally generous across all segments next month. On a scale of 1-5, 5 being “fantastic” and 1 being “poor,” the average lodger indicated a 2.54% improvement in Resultant Quality Score (3.55 to 3.64), a 2.47% increase in Dining (3.65 to 3.74), an impressive 6.08% improvement in Facilities ratings (3.78 to 4.01), a 1.15% rise in Room satisfaction (3.47 to 3.51), a 4.13% increase in Staff reviews (3.63 to 3.78), and a 1.2% bump in Value (3.33 to 3.37).The only decline was in the area of Housekeeping, which dipped 1.16% (3.45 to 3.41).

 

To receive the full report, sign up for our newsletter at LodgingInteractive.com.

Social Media and the Peach Stand – Should your hotel participate in social media? Find your answer by the peach stand at the fruit store.

Every where you turn all you hear about is social media – Facebook, Tweets, blogging, reviews. It can seem overwhelming and the thought runs through your mind that your hotel should participate. But that gnawing question never goes away – why should you?

Simple – it will go on with or without your participation. But that’s not enough to know, is it? Don’t sweat it, the answer really can be found by the peaches at the fruit store.

Growing up in Brooklyn, on hot summer nights we would take a stroll to the local fruit store to buy some delicious treat that was in season. So often my Mom and I would encounter Josephine at the store doing the same thing. 

So while they were selecting the good peaches from the pile, Josephine tells my mother that the best peaches she ever had was during a vacation in Georgia. My mother listened intently as Josephine often traveled and would know these things.

One thing about her was that she loved to talk. The conversation lead to the hotel that Josephine stayed while in Georgia and how the they had a small basket of fresh, juicy and delicious peaches at the front desk.

They didn’t realize that there were 3 or 4 other people standing around, quietly listening to them talk about her vacation. Mom shared the conversation with Dad as we sat in our backyard enjoying the peaches.

Our next door neighbor Helen was in the backyard with her husband when Mom called her to the fence so she could share the summer acquisition of the peaches. Helen said she heard Mom talking about Georgia peaches and vacations, so she began sharing experiences of her vacation last year. The next summer Mom and Dad decided to visit Georgia.

Social media isn’t a new phenomenon. It isn’t a new internet fad.

It’s that neighborhood conversation by the peach stand and in the backyard on a hot summer night now communicated through the world every day and in every season.

Those conversations are going on with or without your participation.

Now wouldn’t it have been an amazing thing if there happen to be a manager of a Georgia hotel at the peach stand that night?

Ok, now I want some peaches. It is peach season, you know. I’m thinking a weekend getaway to Georgia. I bet I can find some really good peaches there. That is what Josephine, Helen and my parents told me. 

Participate.