News for the Hospitality Executive |
Social Media and Storytelling for Hotels
By
Daniel Edward
Craig
February 11, 2011
“Good storytelling makes
people sit
up and listen … It is worthy of their attention, worth remembering and
retelling.” My dual
careers as a hotelier and novelist couldn’t be more different, and yet
they’ve
overlapped in unexpected ways. As a hotel manager, I learned to pay
close
attention to detail, to be more decisive, and not to drink on the job.
As a
writer, I’ve learned to be focused, how to cope with a bad review, and
how to
invent clever excuses for missed deadlines. Surprisingly,
it’s the storytelling skills I’ve developed as a novelist that have
helped me
most as a hotelier. Hoteliers are natural storytellers. We can often be
spotted
at social gatherings regaling crowds with tales of impossible guests
and
improbable situations, all the while carefully editing details to
ensure discretion
and inflate our importance. Hotels are a
rich, virtually unlimited resource for stories, and social media has
created
unprecedented platforms and audiences for sharing them. And yet this
storytelling talent isn’t always apparent in social media, where hotel
content
often leans toward the bland and unoriginal. The
challenge is, when we’re already scrambling to keep up with the
technical and
operational demands of administering a social media program, who has
time for
creativity? And yet as travel research and purchasing increasingly
shifts
online, our ability to communicate our unique offerings, to drive
advocacy, and
to build loyalty has never been more important. And nothing
accomplishes this
quite like good storytelling. To that end,
I thought I’d share a few storytelling principles I’ve learned as a
writer that
have equal relevance to social media in the hotel industry. Start with your core
story. A
good story has compelling
characters, an appealing setting, an intriguing plot, and an easily
identifiable
genre. For a hotel, these elements are your staff, location, guest
experience,
and style of property. Write these elements into your core story and
post it to
your website and social media profiles. Then share fragments of this
story on
social media channels that compel readers to click to find out more.
The
subtext to every story? Your brand promise, key value propositions, and
core
values. "In
crafting your story, work as a group to imagine the stories you want
your
guests sharing with others once they leave your hotel," advises Bill
Baker
of BB&Co Strategic
Storytelling,
whose clients include Relais &
Châteaux. "Envision what you want those guests doing, thinking,
and
feeling to create those stories and, most importantly, get your staff
to see
their role in making those stories happen." Dramatize description. Lists of features and
benefits are
helpful but a bit dull; they’re far more compelling when woven into
stories.
Packages are great for this, as are slice-of-life updates on Facebook
and
Twitter. Like this Facebook update from Brewster House in Freeport,
Maine:
“Cute couple got engaged here last night. Now enjoying champagne and
blueberry-stuffed French toast.” The subtext? Romance, excitement, and
scrumptious breakfast. Speak to your audience. When we read a book or
watch a movie,
if we identify with the universal needs, desires, and values of
character, we
form an emotional connection. Similarly, travel shoppers want to know
how
they’ll fit into our story and how we’ll fulfill their needs and
desires.
Ultimately, our guests become our critics, assessing in reviews and
social
media feedback how well we communicate and deliver on expectations
through the
stories we tell. Take a page from the book
of online
reviews. Travelers
tune out hotel marketers because of our propensity to tell fairytales
and
fantasy. Instead they turn to online reviews for the real story.
Reviews
contain all the elements of good storytelling: a gripping lead, a
strong point
of view, lessons learned, humor—and yes, occasional myth and melodrama.
Use
these techniques and a healthy dose of reality in your stories to
capture the
attention of travelers and earn back their trust. Resist the urge to
explain. Be concise, and let words
and images speak for
themselves. Advises Martin Soler with Hotel le Seven in Paris, “Treat content
like a news story. Break it down into
sections and
give it to them bit by bit to maximize yield. If you do a photo shoot, write
that a shoot was done, and then a little later release one photo, then
a few
more, then the restaurant photos, now the single rooms, etc. Don't just
dump
the stuff on them.” Editorial, not
advertorial. Blogs and social media
platforms are
often used as dumping grounds for media releases, specials, and the
latest
discounts on discounts. Those aren’t stories, they’re commercials. Put
a
unique, non-salesy spin on promotional content, and balance it with
original,
editorial-style content. And remember that the most compelling,
authentic
stories are told by your guests. Listen to them, learn, and encourage
them to
share. End of story. A few
examples of good storytelling: 2. L’Apostrophe
Hôtel in Paris tells its story in video format by
accompanying une jolie femme
around the city, creating a powerful sense of place. 3. La Basse Cour in
Normandy and Fort Putney Road
in Vermont create intrigue by sharing the story of how they came to be
innkeepers. 4. Story
Hotel in Stockholm lets guests do the storytelling by scanning
their handwritten notes and posting them to its website. 5. Diverse and engaging content by Hotel le Seven
in Paris has helped attract over 12,000 Facebook fans. 6. Hopton
House's blog in Shropshire, England conveys its distinctive
pastoral setting and appreciation for nature through compelling
photography. 7. Best
Western’s vintage videos show that someone at the company has a
sense of humor (and that there were some seriously bad hairdos in the
70s). 8. Sheraton and Fairmont have created online communities for guests and staff to share their stories on Better When Shared and Everyone’s an Original.
Copyright © 2011 Daniel Edward Craig |
Contact:
Daniel Edward Craig |
Also See: | A
Round-up of Social Media and Reputation Monitoring Tools for Hotels
/ Daniel Edward Craig / February 2011 |
The
Confidence to be Transparent: Why Accor Hotel Group Posts TripAdvisor
Reviews Directly to its Website; An interview with Jean-Luc
Chrétien, Executive VP Marketing & Distribution, Accor /
Daniel Edward Craig / December 2010 |
|
A
Positive Spin on Negative Reviews / Daniel Edward Craig / November
2010 |
|
Walking
After Midnight: How to Avoid Being Bumped from Your Hotel / Daniel
Edward Craig / October 2010 |
|
Why Everyone Gets a Hotel Room Upgrade... But You / Daniel Edward Craig / April 2008 |