44% of consumers declare that their purchasing decisions were influenced by social media. What makes social media so important to customers and one of the most important factors in getting a guest? How to care for your social media accounts?
Social media help to reach a given community, facilitate gathering recipients in one place and spreading the most important information. It is worth to take care of it as much as you usually do when taking care of the guest staying in your facility.
“Good morning, nice to meet you” – welcome the visitor and introduce yourself
When inviting guests to the hotel, you make sure that the entire facility is well maintained, all passages and important places are properly marked and, of course, guests do not miss such information as e.g. restaurant opening hours, restaurant menu, Wi-Fi password or mini city guide. Treat your social media exactly the same.
Complete or organize hotel information in your bookmarks:
- “Information” on Facebook,
- “Bio” on Instagram,
- “About us” on Linkedin.
Carefully consider your navigation on the Facebook profile, i.e. the side menu.
Check that the URLs and names of your profiles match the name of your hotel and that all the places where you can link the reservation engine are properly configured.
In the case of Instagram, it is also important that you ensure that you switch your account to the company profile, thanks to which you gain access to the most important profile statistics.
“Thank you for the invitation, you look great!” – how a guest can be delighted with you
You have already encouraged the guest to visit you on social media. How do you present yourself here? Your profile picture, background picture, picture in the info tab …
It should all be attractive, consistent and have properly selected formats:
- Facebook and Instagram – profile picture: 900 x 900 pixels (px ), it will be best if it is the logo of your hotel. Remember that the logo should not take up the whole space, because the profile picture will be cropped into a circle.
- Facebook – background image: 820 x 312 px for computers and 640 x 360 px for mobile. Most importantly, it must fit the dimensions of smartphones – then you can avoid the risk that important elements are cut out. It is good practice to add a movie in the background photo.
- Facebook – photo in the information bar in the right column: place your best photo here – it can be a photo of the indoors or an element visible outside.
- LinkedIn – background photo: 1584 x 396 px, you can use ready graphics that LinkedIn offers, but it’s better to upload your own, presenting the advantages of your facility.
Remember that even the folder descriptions in the photo gallery matter. When a guest wants to see the interior of a hotel or conference room equipment, he will not click through the folder containing 5000 photos described as “Phone uploads”. Separate photos into thematic galleries – this way it will be easier to get to know your facility.
“What would you like? We have a lot to offer! “- how not to bore the recipient
Your recipient has managed to make themselves at home and plans to stay with you a moment longer. You should entertain him with something so that he does not abandon you in favor of other profiles. Diversity is the key – thanks to it you will avoid boredom.
Publish your content in a way that it is both diverse and associated with your brand at the same time. How to do it? You need to develop the right strategy.
Use a variety of formats and forms of posts, but avoid chaos and poor quality of photos and graphics. Be creative and fun. Social media can be compared to socializing, so go to the highest level of communication skills.
Facebook and Instagram are known for a loose, accessible company presentation focused on having an open conversation with the recipient.
On Facebook and Instagram you should publish:
- photo carousels,
- videos
- surveys
- panoramic photos or vertical graphics complementing the content when expanded.
Add hashtags, emojis, “mood/activity” and check-in at a given location. Play with the form and follow all the novelties, because new formats are a chance to attract the attention of guests.
LinkedIn has a more business-like nature of communication, but your industry knowledge and professionalism can be put in an attractive form that will encourage audience engagement.
On LinkedIn you should publish:
- advice,
- case studies
- industry stories
- shorter entries containing a photo, infographic, video.
Be a partner open to honest conversation.
“I’d like something special.” – appreciate those who are already viewing your profile
Notify your recipients about new offers and promotions in a timely manner – when they are most likely to see your posts. This is called prime time. On the web you will find many hints about the best days and hours to publish your posts, but no one will better match the time of publication and the form of posts to your fans than you.
Investigate the reactions of recipients and data from profile statistics, which are available on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. Collect the data and analyze it.
At the beginning of your profile activity, don’t be afraid to experiment and go beyond the limits suggested by statistics – thanks to which you will gather more valuable data that will help in creating your strategy for further activities.
“Is everything alright? Do you need anything else? “- keep everything under control and talk
Social media is a continuous online conversation with the most important people. If you’re expecting or counting on your post to attract a lot of interest, don’t post it if you don’t have access to your profile for the next few hours.
There may be a wave of comments that you should reply to and lots of private messages asking for details. If your posts have the highest reach on weekends, when you are not at your computer, do not stop publishing them on these days, but think carefully. Leave those focused on engaging recipients on the day when you have time to join the discussion.
The best form of post is one that encourages recipients to discuss it with each other in the comments. We expect an immediate reaction from social media. We are used to being online and will respond almost immediately. This is a trend that you just have to accept.
“Thank you for your hospitality, I will stop by more often” – what can I do to get the guests affection?
The strategy should be prepared by anyone who wants their social media to fulfill their function, i.e. bring together recipients and lead to sales. Most of your guests check your social media before buying.
Some of them, after reviewing your profiles, if they are attractive, will “save” them among their favorites using the “Like” or “Follow” functions. You should do everything to maintain this attractiveness.
Show your best side:
- Think of a series of posts published, e.g. every Wednesday at 10.00 – Your recipients will be waiting for those.
- Take care of the visual aspect of content. Do not take photos of poor quality. You can add decorations to them, e.g. the logo in the lower right corner or on the border. Just remember not to overdo it and stick to your visual identity and the nature of the facility.
- Show life inside the hotel – we are all voyeurs by nature, we like to observe what is happening at others.
Before you start…
Before you take a specific action, set up appropriate pillars for the hotel’s communication with customers. Such a framework will allow you to avoid chaos in publications, help in coming up with cyclical posts and thanks to them you will see the direction you want to go when it comes to creating the image of your hotel on the web.
Remember that social media is not just Facebook
There is also Instagram and LinkedIn, as well as YouTube and Twitter. If you undertake to run all of these channels, they must be consistent with one another. You should be consistent in the way you manage them.
If you need help in creating a social media communication strategy and in conducting running your profiles – contact us! The Profitroom Marketing Services team will help you get to the next level of social media activity.