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From Dreaming to Booking: How Facebook Graph Search Plays
a Role for Hotels in the Travel Planning Process
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News for the Hospitality Executive |
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By
Margaret Mastrogiacomo
March 2013 With 87% of online users reporting that Social Media recommendations impact hotel choice, it is no secret that social media influences the travel planning process. With the launch of Facebook Graph Search, a feature that helps users discover common interests with friends and discover places to visit, social media’s impact on travel research and discovery will become even more significant. Graph Search, which is still currently in Beta and will be rolled out to all Facebook users in coming months, allows users to search for people, places, and things, based on various Facebook connections such as location, interests, places friends have visited, and more. What does this mean for hotel Facebook marketing? Facebook users will now be able to discover places their friends have visited and hotels where their friends have stayed with one simple Facebook search. This creates a unique opportunity for hoteliers hoping to reach new potential guests on this popular social network. Suddenly, the online travel planning process has become more personalized. To leverage this opportunity, read on to explore how Graph Search plays a role in each phase and learn how to prepare your Facebook strategy for greater visibility in search results. 1. The Dreaming Phase: Where should I travel
next? When online travel planners are looking for vacation
inspiration, they can now turn to Facebook Graph Search to see places
their friends have visited. This adds a more personalized element to
researching possible vacation destinations. Users can search phrases
like “Photos taken at places my friends have been to” and “Photos taken
at hotels by my friends” to see more personalized search results from
friends rather than conducting a more general Google search for
potential travel destinations.
 2. The Planning Phase: Where should I stay? Now,
choosing a hotel can go beyond TripAdvisor with more personalized
recommendations from friends. Once online travel planners have chosen a
destination, they can search for friends who have been to that
destination and conduct a more granular search to see hotels where
friends have stayed. To research hotels where friends have stayed,
users can conduct a Facebook Graph Search such as "Hotels in New York
my friends have been to."
 3. The Booking Phase: Am I making the right
hotel choice? Many travelers believe that choosing the right
hotel can make or break a vacation. That's why customer review websites
such as TripAdvisor play a vital role in confirming hotel selection
before making a booking. One of the main concerns for travelers who
have never stayed at a particular hotel is that the property will not
live up to their expectations. For instance, if a potential guest is
curious to see what a hotel really looks like with photos from guests,
they can conduct a Facebook Graph Search such as "Photos taken at Dream
Downtown." After conducting this general search, users can then narrow
the search to feature only photos taken by friends and reach out for a
personal opinion on the hotel before making a booking.
 4. The Experience Phase: What should I do?
Graph Search can get even more detailed with the ability to search
restaurants, museums, and tourist attractions friends have visited in
the destination. For example, users can conduct searches such as
"Restaurants my friends have been to in London," or "Places my friends
have visited in London" to receive more personalized recommendations of
"things to do."
 5.
The Sharing Phase: How can I make my friends jealous? Not only
can Facebook Graph Search help users discover recommendations from
friends on things to do, it also allows them to share their own
experiences on Facebook to add additional content to the Facebook
Graph. One guest's Experience and Sharing phase can potentially ignite
and influence a future guest's Inspiration and Planning phase when they
view friends' scenic and enticing travel photos in Facebook Graph
Search results.
How can hotels prepare for this new Graph Search feature?
From dreaming to booking, Facebook Graph Search will play a crucial role in online travel planning and discovery. While the true impact of Facebook Graph Search still remains to be seen, there are now more ways than ever for potential guests to discover your hotel content on Facebook. At the dawn of this new Facebook era of social discovery, it is important to optimize, engage, and put your best Fan Page forward.  About the Author and HeBS Digital:Margaret Mastrogiacomo is Senior Manager, Interactive Media & Creative Strategy at HeBS Digital, the hospitality industry’s leading full-service digital marketing, hotel website design and online channel strategy firm, based in New York City (www.HeBSdigital.com). HeBS Digital has pioneered many of the best practices in hotel Internet marketing, social and mobile marketing, and direct online channel distribution. The firm has won over 230 prestigious industry awards for its digital marketing and website design services, including numerous Adrian Awards, Davey Awards, W3 Awards, WebAwards, Magellan Awards, Summit International Awards, Interactive Media Awards, IAC Awards, etc. A diverse client portfolio of top-tier major hotel brands, luxury and boutique hotel brands, resorts and casinos, hotel management companies, franchisees and independents, and CVBs are benefiting from HeBS Digital’s direct online channel strategy and digital marketing expertise. Contact HeBS Digital’s consultants at (212) 752-8186 or [email protected]. |
| Editorial Contact: Mariana Mechoso Safer HeBS Digital Phone: 702-463-1857 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.hebsdigital.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hebsdigital Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeBS_NYC LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hebs-digital Google+: https://plus.google.com/107562536911518066194/posts |
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