by Anne Sweeney
January 2013
Social media gurus are busy posting New Year's Resolutions
with tips for making the most of the latest apps, new sites, and
marketing
opportunities in 2013. There is great advice out there and some dynamic
new
social media platforms to consider. They are perfect for hoteliers who
have
embraced Social Media, established their brand, gained qualified fans
and
followers, understand the basics and post useful and relevant content
on a
regular basis.
Our resolutions are made for those who don't. They are for
the property that last posted on Halloween, the hotel page with 75
fans, half
of whom are on staff. They are geared to the restaurant whose bartender
quit
and took the Facebook password with him. They are for the DSM who set
up Social
Media Pages on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+,
added links to
these pages to the property web site and never posted anything –
bringing
potential guests to a blank Social Media page. You know who you are, so
let
2013 be the year you resolve to Get Social.
I
resolve that...
- Rather than utilize the faceless,
might-be-a-serial-killer photo option, I will have a professional head
shot
taken and posted for all business-related social media sites. To do
otherwise
sends a message that I am hiding something, don't take social media
seriously
or am too technically inept to upload and post a photo.
- I will not assume that because someone is young and
technically savvy, that they are capable of producing appropriate
marketing
content.
- I will use clear, relevant and tasteful images that tell
a story and identify the subject and the people in any photos.
- I
will remember that social media is a conversation, not a one-way
advertising
campaign. It's a great way to see what my guests are thinking and to
reply to
questions and concerns. I will encourage fans and followers to post
comments.
- I will stop pretending that Social Media is a passing fad
and will show respect for the people who have spent time learning to
use it.
Yes, I worry about privacy and the fact that Social Media can be a huge
time
suck. If invited to join a network and I wish to decline, I will do so
politely,
without comments that are condescending, rude or paranoid. (Please
don't tell
me again that you are "afraid of Facebook." or " too old"
for it. Neither inspires confidence.)
- I will learn what a twitter
hash tag is and how to use it.
- I will own my Social Media pages. I will not set up a
page and never look at it again, while allowing an intern, my
restaurant's
bartender or my bother-in-law, to manage my marketing message. I will
remember
my password.
- I will not pay a consultant to create a Social Media page
for my hotel and then leave it to die on the side of the Information
Highway.
Even if the page is dead, it is lying there in cyberspace, sending a
very
negative message to anyone who finds it. I will not set up a LinkedIn
account
for myself or my property and then leave it to rot online with a
network of two
people, one of whom is my college roommate.
- I will target qualified followers - people who would be
interested in our hotel and services. I will not ask my staff or my
family to
mine their own social media pages to find followers or "likes" unless
they have friends who have a genuine interest in learning about our
business.
- I will learn the difference between
a personal page and a business page, between a friend and a like, .a
follower
and a member of my circle.
- I will focus on one or two social media platforms, such
as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and learn to use them effectively
before
branching out to other media. I will not be beholden to every Flavor of
the
Month or ditch or dis Facebook every time I read something negative
about it.
- I will remember that in Social Media, Content is King. That
content must be
useful, relevant, engaging and accurate. It must drive customers to my
web
site, telephone number or place of business. I will remember that I am
ultimately responsible for creating this content and defining my
marketing
message. There's no app for that.
One more very important point: Trip Advisor is a form of Social
Media and one of the most significant. It
is a key point of communication between hotelier and guest and you
ignore it at
your peril....
About the Author
Anne Sweeney is president of Anne Sweeney Public Relations
in South Brunswick, New Jersey. She can be reached at 732-329-6629 or
at [email protected].
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