News for the Hospitality Executive |
March 22, 2012 Recently, Margaret Mastrogiacomo, HeBS Digital’s Manager of New Media & Creative Strategy presented at EyeforTravel's Social Media Strategies for Travel North America 2012. Margaret had a professional chat with Ritesh Gupta, Managing Editor/ Global Correspondent at EyeforTravel, about converging social and mobile in an online marketing strategy. Ritesh Gupta/EyeforTravel: Social,
local, and mobile are huge areas of innovation and are lending a new
dimension
to plans of those travel marketers who are constantly looking for new
ways to
enable meaningful experiences with their target consumers. What new
trends do
you foresee for such areas and do you foresee them working in isolation
or as
part of an integrated initiative?
Margaret Mastrogiacomo: Here at HeBS Digital we consider
2012 to be The Year of
SoLoMo. In travel marketing, there is a major convergence of channels,
and
social, local, and mobile will work as part of an integrated
initiative. These
three initiatives speak to key components of a travel consumer’s
behavior.
Social speaks to what we do as human beings and how we share our
travel
experiences, mobile speaks to our “always on-the-go” nature, and local
speaks
to the need for information from our immediate environment.
The
power of these initiatives combined, fills an inherent need for
consumers and
allows the hyper-interactive travel consumer to stay hyper-connected
with
brands.
The future of SoLoMo looks promising. Local data drives better engagement and conversions and 1 in 3 mobile searches has local intent. As for future trends, SoLoMo is changing the way consumers access information. Instead of researching attractions during a hotel stay, mobile applications will detect a traveler’s location, what they are looking for, provide directions, push specials based on geo-location, and even allow guests to share their experiences in real- time. SoLoMo will ultimately provide more customer service solutions to enhance the travel experience. Check-ins will become increasingly more important. Mobile applications such as Foursquare, will be more deeply integrated into a mobile strategy and a key touch point in the mobile brand experience. SMS marketing and geo-location offers will become key in how hoteliers target travelers not after but during their travel experience. Hoteliers and travel brands need to begin thinking local and immediate. Ritesh Gupta/EyeforTravel: The
convergence of two technological shifts – with the rise of the
smartphone use and the popularity of social media – has created a
seismic shift
in consumer behavior. Now, wielding their GPS-enabled phones, social
media
users are more comfortable than ever before in sharing information
about their
lives, and also expect instantaneous access to information and
purchasing no
matter where they are in the world. What new trends do you foresee as
this
convergence is now a part of consumers’ lifestyle?
Margaret Mastrogiacomo: Over
50% of the US population will have a smartphone in 2012. With the rise
of
smartphones, now more than ever, travelers are accessing information
and
sharing their experiences in real- time. Mobile websites and
applications will
need to be more robust than ever. Capturing user preferences to make
the mobile
experience more customized will be key in providing instantaneous
access to
information and purchasing. Storing room and service preferences will
allow
seamless booking and allow the hotel to serve the most relevant content
on the
mobile website. Integrating loyalty programs into the mobile
website
experience will be key in delivering this customized user experience.
Mobile websites will also offer more sharing capabilities. Review site integration such as TripAdvisor will prompt guests to share their experiences in real-time and social sharing capabilities will allow guests to easily tweet and share information on social platforms. Ultimately, this convergence means that mobile travel and hotel websites and apps need to be viewed less as a content provider and more as an experience provider. HeBS Digital partnered with Loews Hotels to launch a mobile website www.loewshotels.com/m featuring ‘location-aware’ capabilities. The mobile website offers the ability to detect the location of the mobile device accessing the site. The addition of the ‘location-aware’ feature to the mobile site enables Loews Hotels to provide a potential guest immediate information and data that enables them to know where the closest property is to their current proximity. A mobile device holder in New York City will automatically receive a prompt to book the Loews Regency Hotel and indicate location-specific special offers and packages. The ‘location-aware’ capability helps streamline the guest experience by filling in addresses faster and providing directions personalized to the guest. Ritesh Gupta/EyeforTravel: How
can the travel industry leverage the combination of location,
activity, demographic and time targeting?
Margaret Mastrogiacomo: Before industry players even
consider
leveraging location based services, they need to make sure that all
local
content such as Google Places is accurate and optimized for the search
engines--this is where mobile directories and mobile mapping services
pull
location information. Once all local information across the web is
accurate,
travel brands can begin leveraging the power of location, activity,
demographic
and time targeting.
Effectively targeting potential guests means understanding who, what, where, and why. The ability to target a mobile audience based on social interests and demographics within any geo-location is becoming an important factor in the effectiveness of mobile campaigns. Mobile ads that tap into social interests, demographic, and time targeting, answer an immediate need for consumers. Based on this need, we are going to see a rise in social-geo targeting technology that accesses demographic data based on publically-available social media activity information to better target consumers. Imagine serving a mobile ad or coupon promoting your onsite restaurant’s happy hour from 6-8 to a business traveler located within 5 miles of your hotel with a particular interest in dining and entertainment. Suddenly, an ad impression no longer simply garners a click, it answers a consumer need. Ritesh Gupta/EyeforTravel: Travel
companies have been rewarding customers for their affiliation towards
social
networks and location-based services. A lot was expected from
location plus
social, and geo-location check-in campaigns were initiated regularly.
How do
you think the travel industry leveraged such trend in 2011?
Margaret Mastrogiacomo: In 2011, many hotel and travel
brands
opened their eyes to the power of a mobile check-in. Many hotels
offered
check-in specials on platforms such as Foursquare to encourage viral
awareness.
Multi-property hotel brands, such as the Ritz-Carlton, utilized
Foursquare as
an online-concierge tool by creating tips about local attractions and
landmarks
from concierges at its property locations. Any Foursquare user could
follow
these tips to guide their travel experience.
Another significant way the travel industry leveraged geo-location based services, was through loyalty program integration. Starwood partnered with Foursquare to offer members of the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) loyalty program additional points, badges and rewards for their check-ins at participating hotels. The allure of mobile check-ins will continue to flourish with travel recommendations and location-based special offers that drive local foot traffic, especially for local restaurants, spas, etc. Ritesh Gupta/EyeforTravel: Sales
and promotions are termed as the most popular types of information that
mobile
consumers are looking for when engaging with location-based services.
Also,
local deals are increasingly an integral part of the mobile shopping
experience. What do you make of the mobile shopping behavior especially
from
the travel industry’s perspective as this juncture?
Margaret Mastrogiacomo: Location-based mobile promotions
via
LBSN like Foursquare can be used successfully by local entities such as
restaurants, bars, lounges, and day spas, as well as by major travel
brands
that are focusing on local customer engagement. Another approach to
appeal to
mobile shoppers is to enhance the travel or hotel mobile website with
rich,
local content and real-time local specific promotions.
It is no secret that sales and promotions are the most popular types of information searched by the mobile travel consumer. According to Amadeus research, 82% of hotel mobile bookings are for same day of arrival. A special offer targeting mobile visitors is a great way to encourage same day bookings, and leverage an advantage over competitors. Hoteliers need to focus on this mobile shopping behavior to drive last minute bookings and to up-sell onsite amenities, such as spa, dining, etc. One great way hoteliers can tap into this mobile shopping behavior is to offer mobile-only “on the go” value adds (free breakfast, free wifi, extra reward points, free spa service, etc) targeting last-minute bookings through the mobile website. Also mobile can be a great channel for generating ancillary revenues from your current guests. Hoteliers can take advantage of mobile coupons to promote the onsite restaurant, spa, and services. Ritesh Gupta/EyeforTravel: Even
as geo-location apps are enhancing their offerings with new features,
it is
being mentioned that there growth rate hasn’t really taken off in a big
way
compared to last year. How should the travel industry go about such
opportunities
considering the current geo-social behavior or the adoption rate of
such
offerings?
Margaret Mastrogiacomo: We don’t believe that the future
belongs to standalone geo-location applications or services. We believe
there
is a huge opportunity for integrating geo-location mobile services into
the
overall marketing strategy. A great example of successful integration
is
Starwood partnering with Foursquare to offer members of the Starwood
Preferred
Guest (SPG) loyalty program additional points, badges and rewards for
their
check-ins at participating hotels.
Ritesh Gupta/EyeforTravel: Each
generation of smartphone provides even more opportunities for travel
companies
to enhance the user experience. How can the features of the smartphone
– such
as locations services, cameras, messaging – be tied into your social
media
campaigns?
Margaret Mastrogiacomo: Consumer-generated content is
king. As
mobile becomes an integral part of the travel experience, social media
campaigns will have a deeper focus on guests sharing their experiences
during
their stay. Social campaigns that prompt guests to share
photos and
video from their hotel experience and contests that prompt guests to
check-in
on social platforms for incentives will become more important than
ever.
Ritesh Gupta/EyeforTravel: How
do you think social location broadcasting and sharing is being
leveraged to
connect with consumers in the travel industry? What according to you
are the
latest trends in social location broadcasting and sharing in 2012?
Margaret Mastrogiacomo: Social location broadcasting
allows
brands to reach the right audience with the right message on a local
level. As
travelers share photos, video, and updates in real-time, travel is
inherently
social. From encouraging check-ins to offering local mobile coupons and
deals, brands
will continue to incentivize social sharing and focus more on local
engagement.
In 2012, the industry will focus on making local engagement and deals more targeted by accessing more than just a user’s location. Tapping into information such as a traveler’s social preferences and considering factors such as time of day will be key in reaching travelers with the right message. For instance, if a customer’s social data reveals a passion for wine and it is 5pm on a Wednesday, a hotel can push its Wine Wednesday happy hour to this particular customer. Ritesh Gupta/EyeforTravel: How
can hoteliers get started with SoLoMo in 2012?
Margaret Mastrogiacomo: In this SoLoMo age, travel brands
must
ensure they have the basic foundation for any successful SoLoMo
strategy. To
get started, travel brands must have a mobile website optimized with
fresh,
local content and location-based offers; accurate and optimized
listings on
local mobile directories; and mobile engagement via SMS and social
platforms.
About the Author Margaret Mastrogiacomo is Manager, New Media & Creative Strategy at HeBS Digital (Hospitality eBusiness Strategies), the hospitality industry’s leading full-service digital marketing and direct online channel strategy firm, based in New York City (www.HeBSdigital.com). |
Margaret Mastrogiacomo HeBS Digital Phone: 212-752-8186 www.HeBSdigital.com |
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