Using the Power of Social Media to Grow your Hotel Business

Transcription

1 Using the Power of Social Media to Grow your Hotel Business OAS Caribbean Small Hotel Forum July 12, St. Johns - Antigua

2 Agenda Social media and its impact on businesses Understanding the new business environment and new way of doing business How social media is transforming the hotel industry Making social media work for your hotel business Case studies Q & A 2

3 The Social Web 3

4 What is Social Media? Social Media - [Definition] It s a set of technologies, tools and platforms facilitating the discovery, participation and sharing of content. It is transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and turning readers into publishers. 4

5 Types of Social Media 1) Content-based Social Media Focuses on the content to be posted and passed around: blogs, videos, photos, news stories, podcasts Or bookmarks to the content Feeds viral marketing 2) Personality-based Social Media B2C and B2B companies create character profiles and fan pages Professionals and businesses create profiles and fan pages 5

6 Types of Social Media 3) Location-based Social Media Communities form around branded locations such as restaurants, cafés, museums, parks, retail stores, among others Still a lot of opportunities for smart Marketers as technologies evolve It is powering Mobile commerce 4) Interest-based Social Media Communities form around topics of interest, such as message boards and specialty search engines Marketers MUST get into these conversations and participate 6

7 Why is Social Media important for any Business? Connecting all of these tools and using them in the most effective, strategic ways possible extends your reach and helps build the community that supports your organization. Connect Discover Collaborate Publish Fig. 1 / The Social Media Continuum 7

8 The Future The Social Business Ten years ago it was e-business, ten years later business evolves again with the coming of age for social business as social computing and social media are integrated t into enterprise design. What is a Social Business? A business that embraces and cultivates a spirit of collaboration and community throughout its organization both internally and externally. It has 3 distinctive characteristics: 1. Engaged - deeply connecting people to be involved in productive, efficient ways 2. Transparent - removing boundaries to information, experts and assets to align every action to business results 3. Nimble - speeding up business proactively with information and insight to anticipate and address evolving opportunities Source: IBM 8

9 How are Organizations using these Platforms? Develop Market Research Improve Marketing Communications / PR Generate Leads + Sales Drive On- and Off-lineTraffic Enhance Brand Presence and Loyalty Customer Service Competitive Intelligence Support On/Off-line Events Enable 2-way customer conversations Deliver valuable content in real-time Create buzz around products & services Listen to the market and learn Connect with customers at a personal level Crowdsourcing (Mass Collaboration) 9

10 Agenda Social media and its impact on businesses Understanding the new business environment and new way of doing business How social media is transforming the hotel industry Making social media work for your hotel business Case studies Q & A 10

11 New Realities, New Business Environment Is your business playing by the new rules? 11

12 The New Rules of Marketing & PR Marketing is about your company MAKING $$$ Companies MUST drive people into the purchasing process with relevant, valuable online content, t not just advertising i Blogs, podcasts, ebooks, webinars, twitter chats, live streaming and other forms of online content let organizations communicate directly with buyers in ways they do appreciate People want AUTHENTICITY and PARTICIPATION Marketing is now about delivering the right content, at the right time when your audiences need it, forget old-school one-way interruption Evolve from maintream marketing to reaching many underserved audiences Content, content, content You are what you publish (and how you engage) Your audience is now a global audience 12

13 From Website to Online Presence Multiplatform Cross-Promotion through selected Channels 13

14 The New Website Components Main Features Business & Marketing Strategy-based Good web-design based on standards (W3C) Usability, Conversion and User Behavior-optimized Content, content, content Scalable CMS SEO/SEM Social Media powered Mobile ready Integrated to offline marketing, PR and sales initiatives Measurable (Web + Social Analytics) Main Goal: Turn Browsers into Buyers and Prospects into Leads 14

15 Agenda Social media and its impact on businesses Understanding the new business environment and new way of doing business How social media is transforming the hotel industry Making social media work for your hotel business Case studies Q & A 15

16 How Social Media is transforming the Hotel Industry Enabling One-to-One relationships between Hotels and Travellers Shaping how consumers view and experience Hotels Expanding brand reach and awareness to a global audience Creating new ways to gain new clients and reinforce loyalty from current ones Improving customer service 16

17 The New Type of Traveller is born SOURCE: Lab42 17

18 The New Tech-powered Traveller SOURCE: Lab42 18

19 The New Tech-powered Traveller SOURCE: Lab42 19

20 The New Tech-powered Traveller SOURCE: Lab42 20

21 The New Tech-powered Traveller SOURCE: Lab42 21

22 Most Common Uses of Social Media for Hotels The Information Concierge Discounts Contest, Sweepstakes and Giveaways Gaining + Maintaining Business Lead Generation Social Intelligence 22

23 Social Media & Marketing Trends in the Travel Industry Social Networking is becoming more private with selective content sharing options Entire companies are becoming involved in social marketing Mobile photo sharing went mainstream Niche social networks (ex. Pinterest) t) became valuable branding tools Guestsourcing (UGC) became even more important t The rise of the review economy Semantic technologies made sentiment analysis smarter 23

24 Social Media & Marketing Trends in the Travel Industry Increasing blur of online and offline worlds Real-world events and Advertainment is now critical for branding Location-based marketing adoption is growing Branding became paramount Systems for constant improvement are being created 24

25 Agenda Social media and its impact on businesses Understanding the new business environment and new way of doing business How social media is transforming the hotel industry Making social media work for your hotel business Case studies Q & A 25

26 But Where do I start? 26

27 One Word: Strategy Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win. Sun Tzu The Art of War 27

28 The 4 Pillars of Social Media Marketing Strategy 4 Categories of Audience Engagement 1. Communication 2. Collaboration 3. Education 4. Entertainment 28

29 Pillar #1 / Communication Social Media for Business is about enabling two-way authentic, real, relevant conversations among your audiences and markets with specific business purposes (informing, selling, collaborating, researching, educating, listening, among others) to build a community of fans, not just clients. You can influence (NOT control them) and measure those conversations to tailor effective communication strategies that really connect with digital consumers. s 29

30 Pillar #2 / Collaboration Social Media for Business is about enabling true, innovation-powered collaboration between employees, partners and clients to tap into and leverage the collective wisdom for the benefit of your organization. Your own think-tank, research department and product development unit to create next next generation solutions, products and services. 30

31 Pillar #3 / Education Social Media for Business is about a unique opportunity to educate your employees, partners and clients on your products and services in ways they appreciate. You are now a publisher and content curator. It additionally gives you an enormous business power to position yourself as an expert in your field and leverage an effective sales pull later. 31

32 Pillar #4 / Entertainment Social Media for Business is about connecting with your audiences mindshare in innovative, interesting, compelling ways to build and reinforce your brand positioning. Let your creativity lead! 32

33 How to create a Social Media Plan The Social Media Plan Structure: Social Media Objectives Target Audiences (Buyer Personas) Social Media Mix Key Initiatives Communication Competition Context People Social Media Policy Metrics Required Investment per Channel Social Media Marketing Calendar 33

34 Agenda Social media and its impact on businesses Understanding the new business environment and new way of doing business How social media is transforming the hotel industry Making social media work for your hotel business Case studies Q & A 34

35 Case Study 1 / The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel (NH) Need/Objective: Increase bookings and position the hotel as a top resort to visit in New Hampshire. Social Strategy: InnBedded Resorter campaign to find the 1 st ever resorter who would live for 2 months at the hotel and share all experiences on SM channels Blog + Twitter + Facebook + YouTube + Digg Conversational/experiential approach to connect with potential guests Support by Canadian SM Travel stars Alex and Luke Results: 20% increase in bookings in August Increased brand awareness Images Source: The Balsams 35

36 Case Study 2 / CitizenM Hotels (London/NY/Paris/Amsterdam) Need/Objective: Position a new, fresh hotel concept affordable luxury for mobile citizens Social Strategy: Create a social personality to be spread among a specific online persona mobile citizens Facebook, Twitter, G+, Foursquare and Digital Magazine Targeted content marketing with social monitoring/analytics Permanent research to identify trends and new, better communication channels with guests Results: Improved customer service which led to better Reviews, + WOM, + business Strong online community of 14,900 engaged brand advocates Images Source: CitizenM 36

37 Case Study 3 / The Motor Lodge (Prescott, AZ) Need/Objective: Get the word out to successfully re-launch and get more business for a revitalized motel Social Strategy: Promote user generated content (UGC) Facebook, Twitter, G+ and Yelp/Embedded Tripadvisor Reviews Conversational approach with followers Quality establishment with enhanced customer service + content marketing Results: 1,800 engaged fans on Facebook Increased business and brand awareness Must read local information center focused on why you must come to Prescott Images Source: The Motor Lodge 37

38 Questions & Answers 38

39 Thank You Ernesto Sosa LinkedIn: ernestososa Twitter Hashtag: #OASStep 39

40 About Ernesto Sosa Ernesto Sosa has devoted his professional career for almost two decades to helping startups, SMBs and large companies in LATAM and the US improve business and marketing performance through effective marketing, business development, public relations and business innovation programs, while bridging the gap between marketing, technology, information and innovation. He is president at SOWEB a leading interactive marketing agency that helps businesses grow by connecting them with the new digital consumers and founder/ceo of the Hispanic Social Media Institute (HSMI). His work focus is on marketing strategy, Hispanic marketing, international business development, strategic public relations, competitive intelligence, innovation management, and web/social business architecture. Ernesto also serves as Director at Asesoranet, a business consulting firm that specializes in international business development; and National Board Director at LATISM (Latinos in Social Media). He served in the past as Director and SFL Coordinator at AIIM (The Enterprise Content Management Association); COO at GA Technologies, Vice-Chairman and CEO for Avanxis, an International ECM Company; Vice-Chairman for Grupo Archicentro, a Document Management Company and Director at Cavedatos (Cámara Venezolana de Empresas de Electrónica y Tecnologías de Información). Ernesto holds a degree in Business Administration from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Venezuela) and professional certifications in marketing and information technologies. 40