5 things your hotel should do right now with social media

If you're on social media, have you considered what you will be doing next year? Below are some things your hotel should implement 2012.

Put your staff to work.
Your staff members are a wealth of information and you need to use it to your advantage. For example, your reception or concierge are experts on the area and can provide customers with tips on the best place to eat, best shopping or places to see that no one else know about. Your chef is an expert on food and could provide tips or recipes.

Get your staff to write a few sentences every month on various topics, and you’ve got yourself some tremendous social media content with hardly any effort or time at all.

Include more social media only offers. 
Give your fans something of value that they can't get anywhere else, such as updates on events, sneak peek previews, news updates on your hotel or special offers that aren't available on the website.

You can use social media specific codes that can only be redeemed online and the codes can only be found via Facebook or Twitter if they are a follower.

Someone to really take a big foursquare/Facebook Places leap. 
Many places offer people a free glass of wine if they check-in using Foursquare or Facebook Places, but why not go all out and really create some buzz! Give away a free room or upgrade for customers who check-in often.

Cross promote. 
People need to know that your property has a social media presence, so make sure you include your facebook link on your website, in your email marketing messages, under your email signature, in ads in newspapers or magazines etc.

Fewer minutias. 
There was a time when a post like “it’s sunny today” did the trick. It was simple, felt personal, and kept a social presence active. These posts aren't bad now, but the problem is everyone's doing this. Include more depth to your general posts. For example, tell your fans about an interesting event going on in the area that people from outside your location might not know about. Post a photo of the sunset, or wildlife near your property.

Social media can no longer be ignored and although it might not be perfect for every accommodation, it is an important option for most. There are many benefits to using social media and with a bit of effort, your hotel can use social media to generate leads and raving fans.

If you would like more information about social media marketing, speak to TA Fastrack today on 1300 659 289.

How to always have great Customer Service on Facebook

Always reply to your fans

Facebook is all about engagement and interacting with your fans. Make sure you respond to questions, comments and feedback.

Enable your wall

Make it easy for your fans to comment or post photos on your wall - it's a two way street. Fans don't want to be bombarded with your marketing messages without the ability for them to post on your wall.

Monitor your page throughout the day

Just as you monitor your emails and answer phone calls throughout the day, make an effort to check in on Facebook throughout the day and try to respond as quickly as possible to questions.

Add some personality to your posts

It's ok to let your personality shine through. Let your fans see the light side to your company - a touch of humour can put a smile on the face and this will help to keep your brand in the minds of your customers.

It's not just about marketing

Mix up your posts with marketing messages, but engage your fans with photos, open-ended questions, surveys or get their opinion on something.

If you would like help with social media marketing and Facebook, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588.

What's in your marketing plan for 2012?

Start the new year with a solid approach to your marketing! Below are some tips on what you should look at for 2012.

1. Improve the way you handle customer feedback

Analysis from more than 400 entrants in the 2010 Telstra Business Awards suggests it's worth taking customer feedback seriously. It found that 79% of entrants could identify their best customers and that 64% of Australian businesses frequently seek feedback from customers.

Set up a complaints handling process and make sure your staff are well versed in it.

And most importantly, don't forget to answer any negative reviews on Tripadvisor!  According to PhoCusWright, 87% of travellers found guest reviews from people they didn't know influential in their travel decision. Research also shows that online reviews are second only to personal advice from a friend as the driver of purchase decisions.

2. Become the thought leader in your industry
Customers buy brands they trust and one way to build trust is to become a thought header in your industry. Send out a regular newsletter to your customers with interesting news articles, let your customers download a whitepaper or set up a blog.

3. Get on social media
Social media is a great way for you to engage with current and potential customers - and it's free. But before you get into Facebook and Twitter, make sure you have a solid social media strategy. For example, how often will you be updating your posts? What will you post? It's all about trying to find ways to communicate with your customers and add value to their lives.

4. Get a professional website
First impressions count, so make sure that your website looks professional with high resolution photos, there are no spelling errors and it's easy to read and navigate. Make sure you update your site regularly to encourage repeat visits and improve Google rankings. And Remember, it's important that you have original and quality content on the site - and Google will reward you for this.

Speak to a web design company to design a website that is user-friendly and  SEO friendly.


5. Create a loyalty program
Securing a loyal following is not easy, but it can be worthwhile. It is around five times more expensive to find a new customer, than it is to keep a current customer. A loyalty program could include offering your customers discounts, freebies, invites to VIP nights, or a buy one get one free offer. What you decide will depend on what your customers will value the most.

A loyalty program also gives you a great opportunity to capture valuable data about your customers, so you can send them more targeted marketing messages, for example, birthday, hobbies, interests, wedding anniversary etc.

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!