Social Media Content and Hotels – Choose Wisely

Social media content is still king and queen. For brands, what you post and share and the messaging you communicate is as important as the channels you choose. Of course you need to pay attention to which channels you choose to post on, frequency and key words. BUT, if you lack content then you have no campaign or presence. Consider this when setting up your web site and social media channels.

A good friend of mine who works in this area as well refers to a wheel when explaining social media content and sharing. The spokes of the wheel all work together and drive traffic somewhere. SO, first determine where you want to drive traffic. If that’s your web site then make sure that vehicle has a few things: Great and responsive SEO built in, sharing capabilities and consistent content, with some HERO images and/ or videos to help keep it fresh and bring eyes into the virtual storefront.

Sometimes a blog built into the web site can be the best vehicle for fresh social media content. Maybe your hotel, resort or destination has a dedicated blog that posts once a week or once every two weeks even about something happening in your city. Or maybe you post about the new menu at your restaurant, or the new event you are hosting. Fresh content and Blogs go together beautifully.

In the wheel example, the blog is the centre of the wheel. Everything rotates around the web site and the blog. Easy sharing icons and widgets will help then to drive readers in and out of the site. The social media then is like the spokes of the wheel. One spoke is Facebook, maybe another is Twitter and a third and Fourth Instagram and Pinterest. Youtube might be there as well.

Confident and savvy brands will also often benefit from building influencer relations. I have been on many media fam tours and family stays as a Canadian lifestyle and travel blogger. For a short stay at your resort, or hotel, sometimes powerful travel and family influencers will visit and live tweet and post and then build blog posts or videos after they leave. That content can be invaluable as testimonial for your business.

In fact, social media is a great place to promote special events, discounts and special offers or anything else that makes your hotel stand out. The social sharing capabilities should be built into your site so that readers, customers and clients can effortlessly share straight to Facebook, Twitter and other sites. There are dozens of icons and widgets and plugins that can help you do this. I am not sharing those today but will another time.

Be sure to have someone on your social media channels responding and checking and tweeting or posting regularly. This is a conversation. Be yourself and use your personality. Find a meme, build a weekly or monthly chat. These are all ways to build social media content for hotels or resort destinations.

If your hotel is near a major airport, let your customers know and provide content that would benefit travellers. You’ll also want to talk about any special services you offer such as transportation to and from your hotel and the airport. If you’re located along the shore of a beautiful beach, talk about, and show, the scenery in addition to the fine restaurants, attractions and activities they can enjoy while staying at your hotel.

Three simple social media content rules:

• Only post quality content
• All content should be relevant to your brand
• Update your content regularly

Social media is a unique way of marketing that requires thinking outside the box. Your followers don’t want to be bombarded with advertisements telling them how great your hotel is. They do want to know what you offer. They want to know why they should choose you. And they want great customer service which can start with your web site and social media channels.

Readers and mobile phone, tablet users, want to see interesting content that peaks their curiosity. Add value to their experience and build your audience with topics that matter to people searching for hotels or travel destinations. Now how do you do that?

Perhaps, you can write a post about how your hotel got started and what makes your hotel different from the rest. Or perhaps you write a post about a unique Canada Day event at your hotel. You might consider starting a content calendar too. Create on line content and use it correctly and consistently. By doing this, you add value to your client, your brand and your business.

I’d be more than happy to talk or quote a price for your brand or business. Thrifty Mom Media is a social media strategy and consulting agency with a wide range of clients and a lengthy track record of exceeding expectations. inkscrblr@rogers.com