How to respond to an online review in real-time

When customers take to social media to voice their grievances, how you respond to that review is important. Below are some tips on how you can acknowledge and address the issue at hand.

• Be open and honest - you will of course be upset by the comments, but make sure that you address the negative review in a genuine manner. Be upfront and honest with your customers. 
• Respond in a timely manner - be prepared to act fast, preferably within 48 hours. Even if it is to respond and update your customers that you are working on rectifying the situation, your customers will appreciate that you are listening, you care and you are trying to do something about it
• Apologize - take ownership of what happened. Your customers will appreciate this
• Turn a negative into a positive - don't just stop at an apology - take this situation as an opportunity to show everyone that you are listening and you're doing something about it. Take advantage of the situation to engage with customers, build and establish a relationship with them and impress potential customers
• Be professional - don't write your reply angry. Draft your reply, come back to it and relook at it and if need be, send it to someone to view.

How have you responded to a negative review online? What other tips can you add to this list?

Build brand loyalty with Twitter

Below are some tips on how you can use Twitter and build brand loyalty.

Tweet about something worthwhile
This seems obvious, but what will your corporate Twitter account say and will your followers actually read it? You would never follow a brand that constantly sent out marketing messages all the time, so make so you don't do this. Just remember that every post that you tweet should provide some value to the reader. This could include links to interesting articles or news, relevant articles, blog posts, photos, videos, upcoming events or places to see and do around your area.

Let your staff tweet - with guidance
Get your staff involved! People like to feel they are connecting with actual humans online and your staff will be the best people to answer questions, provide advice and respond to feedback.

Respond to feedback
If customers complain on Twitter, make sure you respond in a timely manner.


Give something of value to your followers
This could include special Twitter' specials or offers or run a competition with genuinely attractive prizes. While specials and competitions is a good way to enhance brand loyalty, make sure your tweets don't become too spammy.

Keep it fun
Show some personality and keep it fresh and fun for your followers. Let them see the lighter side to your brand. By making your brand more personable, it will help people feel a greater connection with it and enhance feelings of brand loyalty.

10 things you should be doing on Facebook

1. Create a customised URL name for your Facebook page
If you haven't already created a customised URL for your Facebook page, make sure you do it now! To do this, just visit http://www.facebook.com/username and follow the instructions. Remember that once you confirm your URL, it cannot be changed, so make sure you choose it carefully. 


2. Embed videos 
Nothing sells your hotel, facilities, location and apartment rooms like video. Host them on Youtube and share them on your Facebook page, or upload them directly onto Facebook. Videos are also great for SEO as they will appear in search results.


3. Use Facebook insights
As an administrator of your business page, you will have access to Facebook insights, which is a powerful tool for tracking the fan growth of your facebook page. You can analyse which types of posts were the most popular and engaged fans to respond, you can also monitor fan growth and interaction, see page views and track impressions. Monitoring these key metrics will enable you to better adapt your posts and facebook marketing strategy.


4. Add your hotel on Facebook places
Encourage users to 'check-in' via Facebook places. Offer an incentive, like a free drink voucher, or discount when they check-in. Every time a facebook user checks-in, it gets promoted across their network, thus giving you extra exposure and boosting brand awareness. 


5. Use the reviews app
Facebook has a reviews app which you can add to your page and allows guests to leave their reviews of the hotel. These reviews can give new and potential clients what to expect when they stay at your property. You can also pull reviews from Tripadvisor into your page if you like.


6. Run a competition
A competition is a great way to increase fans and encourage engagement. Just remember that you will need to comply with Facebook's promotions guidelines.


7. Include a welcome page for new visitors
It's so much better for a new visitor to land on a customised welcome page instead of seeing your wall. Your Facebook welcome page can include links back to your website, photos, videos, a book now button and more.


8. Use Facebook questions
Create a poll and gather opinions about what your fans are interested in, or create a fun poll to encourage interaction. 


9. Facebook ads
You can fully customise your facebook ads to target a certain demographic, location or interest. 


10. Most importantly, allow your fans to book directly from Facebook
The average Facebook user spends over 15 hours a month on Facebook, so it makes sense for them to be able to book with your hotel directly from Facebook. You can include a book now button in your welcome page.


If you would like more information about Facebook marketing, or if you are interested in a Facebook welcome page design, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

How to improve Facebook fan engagement

Give your fans the opportunity to engage and comment
Enable the comments functionality on your wall so that fans can post content on your wall.

Ask questions
Ask your fans advice on a certain topic, get them to share their favourite tips, photos, videos, ask open ended questions, use polls and surveys and get them interacting with you!

Request feedback
Ask your fans to share their thoughts on a new product or service you are offering or about to launch. Listen to what they have to say and thank them for their feedback. Make them feel like a valued member of your community.

Start a discussion online
Use Facebook's discussions feature to get feedback on what your fans want, like or think, either about your business, a certain hot topic or industry issue. You might learn something new about your fan base, which you could use to bring your hotel to another level.

It's all about participation!
Don't just sit back and watch - get involved! You should be an active member on your page too! Join their conversations, thank them for their comments, feedback, ask questions etc.

Let us know if you have any other tips you would like to share or if there is something you tried and worked!

How to generate positive reviews online

1. Start by paying attention to the reviews you already have - make sure you resolve any complaints or issues. Following up on existing negative reviews show potential customers that you care and you're listening and you are doing something about it
2. Ask for reviews - Don't be pushy, but at the end of the transaction, ask customers to review you online or to fill out a survey
3. Always respond to negative reviews straight away - thank the customer for the review and apologize for the bad experience. Often, the customer just wants acknowledgement that the hotel understands there is a problem is wants to fix it. If the bad review is unwarranted, it's especially important to resist the urge to get defensive. 
4. Reach out to negative reviewers directly - take it offline and provide your contact details. Alternatively, try to contact the reviewers directly and try to resolve the issue.

For help with social media reputation management, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today.