A Hotel's Guide to Facebook

A Hotelʼs Guide to  Facebook A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 March 2011

A Hotel’s Guide to FacebookJust a few years ago, Facebook used tobe a closed network for college kids. Itsvalue for business was unclear. But a lothas changed since then, as the networkopened up to become what is nowarguably the most important socialnetworking service on the planet foraudiences of all ages, and a goodcommunications opportunity for brands. In this guide, we will look at how yourhotel can beneﬁt from Facebook as a wayto create community, cultivate loyalty, andultimately, increase revenue. A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 1

Table of contentsFacebook today 3What does (and doesnt) work on Facebook 5Five different approaches to Facebook 6New developments 11Designing an engaging brand page 14Moving beyond setup: integrating Facebook with your website 17Promotions on Facebook 18Case studies outside the hotel industry 19Action steps: Planning your Facebook strategy 24Bonus: Reputation and Facebook 25Whats next? 26 A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 2

Facebook todayAs I write this, in March 2011, Facebook •  More than 30 billion pieces of content else offers unique advantages. As brands,has exploded in popularity past 600 (web links, news stories, blog posts, we have access to a depth ofmillion active users, and shows no signs notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared demographic information, providingof slowing down. each month opportunities such as ad campaigns •  More than 70 translations are available targeted to employees at selectedEvery 20 minutes: on the site companies, or speciﬁc university •  About 70% of Facebook users are graduating classes. •  More than 1 million links are shared outside the United States •  More than 1.8 million status updates are made •  There are more than 200 million active When it comes to return on investment, users currently accessing Facebook we have evidence - both anecdotally and•  More than 2.7 million photos are through their mobile devices through research - that Facebook can be uploaded more powerful than Twitter and other•  More than 10 million comments are •  People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on social networks for generating sales. posted Facebook than non-mobile users The Facebook press page shares morestatistics as of March 2011: But perhaps more important than these impressive numbers is the fact that Facebook is becoming more than just a•  50% of active users log on to Facebook social network: it is becoming a platform•  in any given day for social communication (something we•  The Average user has 130 friends will discuss in more detail later).•  Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events From a marketing standpoint, the fact that•  Average user creates 90 pieces of people share more personal details about their identity on Facebook than anywhere content each month A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 3

Facebook today (continued) “Dan Sherman of Ski.com attributes a$70,000 sale to Facebook – but it was not A number of studies have been done to quantify the value of Facebook activity. Facebook is allfrom a special offer. It was simply a photoof a beautiful fresh snowfall. Recently, ChompOn tried to determine the value of a tweet compared to a piece of about reaching content shared on Facebook. According to them, a tweet was worth $5 in sales, people through“In my opinion, Facebook is all aboutengagement - allowing you have more ofa dialog with more people in one place. If while Facebook shared content was worth $14. Clearly, the value of a referral will people. I post a sales message, I donʼt get a lot of depend on what you are selling, but research like this suggests Facebook Reaching youraction. But if itʼs just relevant informationfor our business, like a photo of a freshsnowfall, people like to engage with that.” drives more transactions. fansʼ friends. The caveat? Selling directly to your Facebook fans rarely works. Facebook is“The great thing is that when peoplecomment on anything on Facebook, all all about reaching people through people.their friends see it. Because of this, we Reaching your fansʼ friends. This conceptreceived a $70,000 booking from is called “Transitive Trust.” Your job is tosomeone who had never heard of us create material fans will pass along, introducing that brand to their network.before.” A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 4

What does (and doesnt) work on Facebook “"I think people are just on Facebook torelax, have fun, and chat with their Seventh Art Media conducted some more interesting research into what works best How can youfriends.” on Facebook. They found that it is content which conveys a unique sense of brand use FacebookSome variation of that sentiment hasbeen shared with me over and over again and place and makes a personal connection with followers. Photos are the to make yourfrom hotel executives. As someone whouses Facebook extensively for both clear winner. Facebook users like the quick-hit satisfaction of a witty post or a fans happier,business and personal reasons, it seemsto be a fair assessment. Successful beautiful or clever picture. Some of the highest performing photo content was not better informed, necessarily professional level quality butbusinesses on Facebook understand andrespect this reality, creating connected on a personal level. A quick and rewardedcommunication that fits the mindset ofpeople using it. snapshot of the first snow of the season and a giant pumpkin are examples of financially? connective content that required little effort.Why do people become a fan of companies on Facebook? A recent reportreleased by ExactTarget and CoTweet All of this comes back to adding value. How can you use Facebook to make yourfound the two primary reasons whyconsumers ʻlikeʼ brands on Facebook: for fans happier, better informed, anddiscounts and as a ʻsocial badge.ʼ Nearly rewarded financially? 40% of Facebook users become fans to receive special discounts and promotions.39% do so to show their friends theysupport a brand - it is an identitystatement for them. A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 5

Five different approaches to FacebookApproach 1: Facebook as an exclusive source Hotel Seven in Paris uses Facebook as the exclusive source of both hotel news and the lowest available room rate. By focusing attention here, they have attracted an audience of over 12,000 fans: signiﬁcant for a single property of their size. This is undoubtedly an extreme approach, but the results are hard to argue with. If you want to make building your follower numbers on Facebook a priority, think about what exclusive content you can deliver through this site. ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 6

Five different approaches to Facebook (continued)Approach 2: Facebook as a local community hub Poetʼs Cove Resort & Spa uses Facebook not only to connect with guests, but also to engage with the local residents of Pender Island, British Columbia.    While local residents may not be interested in staying at your hotel, they could be a valuable source of revenue for your restaurant or spa. Positioning your property as a local hotspot can be an effective strategy for your Facebook page. ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 7

Five different approaches to Facebook (continued)Approach 3: Facebook as a local guide Distrikt Hotel in New York City uses Facebook to update their community on what is happening in the city. This is helpful because by becoming a resource for visitors to the city, Distrikt Hotel increases the likelihood of people passing the page along to others. ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 8

Five different approaches to Facebook (continued)Approach 4: Facebook as a sales tool The Beacon in South Beach focuses on making sales by creating and promoting a special offer on their welcome tab: 2 free mojitos and a 15% off discount. As you saw from Hotel Seven, delivering an exclusive offer is a powerful way to focus attention. This does not have to be just discounts or coupons. Put together a value-added Facebook package that is compelling and only available through Facebook. Not only does this draw trafﬁc to the page, but it gives you another way to measure results. Ecommerce is likely to become an increasingly important part of Facebook activity, with powerful integrated booking engines now available. We will look at this topic in more detail later in the guide. ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 9

Five different approaches to Facebook (continued)Approach 5: Facebook as a website One & Only Palmilla uses advanced design to create an experience like browsing their website. (This will become easier in the future because of some new changes to the page structure, which we will discuss later.) Experiment with some of the new Facebook functionality to show beautiful photography and video to your visitors that attracts them emotionally. ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 10

New developmentsFacebook has quickly evolved, #1 - New Page Layout #2 - Separate Business Profilesrendering many prior marketing tactics obsolete or ineffective. Here are three On February 20th, 2011, Facebook This was included in the February 2011of the most important updates I see for released a complete overhaul of the update, but it is so significant that webusinesses. pages system. There were many need to consider it separately. updates – you can read the official announcement here – Previously, personal accounts and but the basic concept was to make business profiles were linked, which business pages look more like personal made engaging in conversation an profiles. Among other things, you now awkward mess. have the ability to receive more advanced reporting on your communityʼs activity, and can easily With the new format, you can switch embed pages from your website into between personal and business profiles your Facebook page: as you surf Facebook and interact with communities. This gives you the option to post in your own voice or that of your Read more: brand. http://sixrevisions.com/web- applications/new-facebook-page/ A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 11

New developments (continued)#3 - Sponsored StoriesSponsored stories is a new ad format thattakes your friendsʼ actions - like checkingin to a place - and turns them into anadvertisement. The story ﬁrst posted toMashable provides a good example: ! Read more: http://mashable.com/2011/01/25/facebook-sponsored-stories/ A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 12

New developments (continued)#4 – Booking Engine Integration Starwood sees opportunity to drive revenue through the site, and has introduced a “Shop” tab on the pagesRecent changes to the Facebook pagestructure are likely to make ecommerce for all properties of their Westin brand. On this tab, visitors can book a roomintegration with embedded bookingengines increasingly common. directly without leaving to the Westin website. From the time they began working onFacebook, Starwood Hotels and You can expect to see Facebook playResorts has provided booking an increasingly important role in howfunctionality for all of its brands. hotels generate room revenue as this trend continues. In a recent article article published byHotel News Now, David Godsman, VPof global Web for Starwood, said, “Conversion on Facebook is smaller butclose to conversion on our brandwebsites. (Starwoodʼs Facebook fans)start to see other peopleʼs experiencesat the properties....What we are seeingnow is an emergence of technology thatthat we didnʼt see six months ago.There is an opportunity for ourselvesand other hotel brands to enable thesetype of transactions within Facebook.” A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 13

Designing an engaging brand pageSetting up a page is fairly straightforward. An inviting welcome tabYou start here and just follow the directions. Since most of you already A custom welcome tab can serve severalhave pages set up, rather than repeating purposes:the entire process here, I recommend the following tutorials if you are still in theprocess of setting things up: •  Welcome people to the page •  Explain your purpose for the page •  Wildfire •  Describe the benefits of your hotel •  AllFacebook •  Invite visitors to Like the page •  SixRevisions Your welcome tab is basically a landing page. Use the same best practices youWhat are the elements of an engaging would use for a landing page on yourFacebook brand page? website: images that draw people into benefits-oriented copy, with a strong callWhether you are setting up a page for the to action. first time, or looking to optimize an existing page, there are a few items of Example: The Westinspecial importance to consider. The Westin Dragonara Resort in Malta uses an attractive welcome tab that engages their community through feedback and competitions. ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 14

Designing an engaging brand page (continued)Exclusive content •  City guides? experience. Share video interviews with •  Insider access? key personnel at your property. Why should someone join your page? •  A discount coupon? •  A value-added incentive that does not For marketing research and developingSmart marketers know the best way to cut profit margins? new ideas, Facebook can be used todrive action is to make perceived value source new concepts and refine existingexceed perceived risk. That is why email ones. This form of crowdsourcing also A focus on photos and video gives your fans the feeling of being ansubscription rates increase when an insider.incentive like a free guide is given away inexchange for a personʼs email address – Referring back to the Seventh Art and permission to send the content they research study mentioned earlier, photosrequested. and video generate the most engagement from Facebook fans. Facebook is a platform that favors rich media, so makeThe same principle works on Facebook. posting this type of content a priority. Facebook allows you to create hidden The feeling of being an insidercontent that is only visible when someone becomes a fan of your page. If someone is engaged with your hotel or brand enough to become a fan onWhat incentives could you offer to Facebook, then provide them with a littleencourage people to become a fan of more insider access. Share upcomingyour hotelʼs Facebook fan page? news and announcements with your Facebook community first. Share the process you go through to create your A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 15

Designing an engaging brand page (continued)Example:Marriott Napa Valley Hotel &Spa is a good example of anengaging brand page. A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 16

Integrating Facebook with your website What should you do once you have your Like Box Social PluginsFacebook page set up? Integrate it with The Facebook Like Box can be your website. This is where we see some placed on any webpage, allowing of the most creative innovation and your visitors to become fans of yourremarkable results from companies using Facebook page without leaving theFacebook. website. This approach has worked very well for some hotels, like Like Buttons Mosaic House in Prague. ! Perhaps one of the simplest integrations, !placing a Facebook Like Button on your website allows people to share that with It is powerful because you can taketheir friends. It is recommended you add advantage of the huge social network this to your homepage and select pages that exists on Facebook, and use it toon your website that contain the best enhance the web experience youcontent. (But check privacy laws to make provide. Sites such as TripAdvisor aresure the button is in compliance in your using this to personalize the websitecountry.) with tailor made content. ! Details: Details: Details:http://developers.facebook.com/docs/ http://developers.facebook.com/docs/ http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like/ reference/plugins/like-box plugins/ A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 17

Promotions on FacebookThere are three primary categories of Advertisements Dealspromotions that can be conducted on Facebook: contests, advertisements, and The power of Facebook advertising is the Facebook is creating pages for eachdeals. ability to reach highly targeted segments business address in order to give the of people based on demographic criteria. business an opportunity to offer deals.Contests You can filter the distribution by age, When a customer checks into a place on location, gender, hobbies and interests, Facebook Places via their mobile phone, employer, and many other criteria. If pay- businesses will have the opportunity toContests can be run through your page per-click advertising in search engines is offer coupons or discounts to them. Whilewith no charge from Facebook. Tools likethe ones from Involver and Wildfire make for “what,” on Facebook you are it is unclear how Facebook Places willthe process easy, and help you navigate advertising for “who.” fare among their geolocation competitors,Facebookʼs tight policy on contests. this remains an area to watch and experiment with. The downside is that many people on Facebook ignore advertisements, so the When planning a contest, configure it in away that attracts the right type of fan for clickthrough rate can be low. Additionally,your page – people who will stay engaged it is debated whether people are looking to make hotel reservations while browsinglong after the contest is over. If the wrong Facebook. This is something you need toincentives are used, you will end up withpeople who enter just for the chance to test and see if it works for you. It could bewin, and then leave the page after the that the call to action on thecontest is done. advertisement should be simply to attract people to Like your page. A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 18

Case studies: Outside the hotel industryWe have looked at a number of casestudies of hotels using Facebookcreatively. To broaden your perspective, Iwanted to share a few examples ofcompanies outside the hospitality industrythat are doing interesting things onFacebook. Volkswagen Volkswagen created individual pages foreach of their vehicles, and then wrappedthese up into one corporate page. Oneparticularly innovative feature they offeredwas an application that analyzed yourproﬁle, taking all the demographicinformation you posted, and then usedthat to recommend a vehicle it believedwas best suited to you. What if youcreated a similar “Hotel Selector” tool? ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 19

Case studies: Outside the hotel industry (continued) The Travel Channel A while back The Travel Channel did something that could work well for hotels: they encouraged fans to share stories of the role Facebook plays in their travel experiences. Inviting discussion around topics like this is a good way to engage people with similar interests. ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 20

Case studies: Outside the hotel industry (continued) Coca-Cola Coca-Cola has developed a reputation for running creative photo contests. This works well, since photos are viewed more often than anything else on Facebook. By encouraging fans to upload photos of themselves with Coca-Cola cans, hundreds of thousands of potential new fans will be exposed to the brand as the uploads appear in the news feeds. What photo contests could you run? Running a contest like this for your hotel can be a powerful way to make the campaign viral. ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 21

Case studies: Outside the hotel industry (continued) Red Bull Red Bull has a solid understanding of their audience, and does a great job of delivering rich media content that attracts new fans. Look at their creative use of design on the welcome page. As a hotel, make sure you understand what your audience expects (and wants) you to provide. Use videos to share interesting content that people will pass along and introduce your brand to others. ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 22

Case studies: Outside the hotel industry (continued) Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson uses an interactive welcome page that provides a rich, immersive experience for their fans. Make use of the new changes to Facebook pages described earlier in the guide to deliver more information to your visitors in a compelling way. Your Facebook page does not have to become a duplicate of your main website, but can be a good opportunity to share stories and other engaging content. ! A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 23

Action steps: Planning your Facebook strategyAs we close this guide, what are the 2. Setup your page Facebook: news, videos, photos,action steps to take? offers, and contests. •  Register an account, then fill out •  How often will you post? How often1. Decide on your purpose for  your business profile. will you check for comments? It is Facebook:   important to publish consistently, but •  Customize your welcome tab with a graphic that encourages people to not too frequently. Once or twice a week is often a good starting point.•  Is it website traffic, community interact with the rest of your page. engagement, brand building, or •  Decide on some exclusive content •  What alerts system will you have in something else? place? Be sure to have a listening such as news, inside information,•  What will success look like for you? and special offers that will drive tool setup to be aware of what Will you know once you have attention to the page. people are saying about your hotels reached it? To recognize success, on Facebook. you must have metrics established 3. Establish a community from the beginning. 4. Integrate with your web presence management system•  What key performance indicators elsewhere (KPIs) will you be tracking? Number of fans is a starting point, but also •  Who will be involved in managing the page? Make sure this person is •  Use some form of Facebook website monitor how many people engage integration as described earlier to with the content you post – clicking someone who understands the brand you are trying to build, and expand the awareness and the Like button or leaving a can be trusted with posting content helpfulness of your Facebook comment. Additionally, some community. measure that leads back to sales, and interacting with your fans and such as Facebook website referrals, customers. is helpful. •  What will be posted? Put together an editorial calendar for the types of content you want to share through A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 24

Bonus: Reputation and FacebookSince we spend the majority of our time at At the beginning:  Unless you will be continually managingReviewPro helping hotels establish Duplicate (or unauthorized) content  the page, you may want to prevent fanspowerful online reputations, it would be a   from posting content. Several brandsmistake to underestimate the importance Too many hotels and brands I see have have set up insufficient page permissions,of reputation management on Facebook. three, five, or more different pages for the and their “set it and forget it” approachThis primarily affects two areas: same property. This often happens when resulted in the page being hijacked by different interns, seasonal workers, or spammers and their brand damaged with agencies are tasked with “doing inappropriate content. Make sure this Facebook.” It can also happen when fans does not happen to you. create new pages for your brand. Make sure to monitor official and unofficial Community management is an ongoing pages that have been created. process. To encourage maximum engagement, make sure to frequently As your presence matures:  post interesting content. Ask questions to Page moderation  your audience. Encourage them to submit   photos and videos of their travels. Just be Start by deciding on your Facebook policy sure to check in often to ensure no and management routine. How often will damaging material is posted. you be engaging with the page? What types of content would you like fans to be sharing with you and others in the community? Set your page permissions at a level that reflects how actively you will manage it. A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 25

Whats next?Keep learning! ReviewPro monitors what About ReviewPro Would you do us a favor?is changing in the world of online reputation management and passes ReviewPro enables hoteliers to efﬁciently Were committed to making these guidesalong practical ways to use that in aggregate, organize and manage their available to you at no cost. We only askhospitality. online reputation and presence in leading that if youve found it helpful, would you social media sites. ReviewPro provides share it with your friends?Read the blog for more articles and the analysis, customer intelligence, reports like this:   competitive benchmarking and reportinghttp://reviewpro.com/blog needed to help hotel professionals more effectively manage their organization.Follow us on Twitter for daily ideas and tips: Get a demo of ReviewPro todayhttp://twitter.com/ReviewPro About The Author Josiah Mackenzie is the publisher of HotelMarketingStrategies.com – a resource of guides and stories showing how to use technology to serve your guests and make more sales. Email Josiah: josiah@hotelmarketingstrategies.com A Hotelʼs Guide to Facebook, March 2011 26

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A Hotel's Guide to Facebook

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A Hotel’s Guide to Facebook — Presentation Transcript