Hotel Marketing: How to Use Twitter to Put Heads in Beds & Fill Your Meeting Space
One of the biggest advantages of using Social Media Marketing is the ability to engage prospects, just as you would at a trade show, chamber event or anywhere you might find someone you’d like to do business with.
One of the biggest mistakes people make with Social Media is not using it conversationally. I see it with almost every hotel I see on Twitter.
Unlike TV spots, magazine ads, direct mail or yellow pages advertising, Social Media allows you to begin conversational networking with just about anyone, anywhere and anytime.
I have written about the importance of customer interaction and that social media use is on the rise. I wrote about Social Media leads being 25% more likely to become sales opportunities. I’ve written that it’s worth doing.
Now I’d like to address doing it the right way. Specifically, using Twitter in a Hotel Marketing Plan.
In a moment, I’ll give you three recommendations to make hotel marketing using Twitter more successful. But first…
The Biggest Twitter Mistake Hotels Make
They’re not conversational!
Here is an example of well-intentioned Tweets that fail to attract new followers who they can engage for conferences, receptions, room nights or customer satisfaction:
“Perfect for Valentine’s Getaway (link to web page”) In fact this property did similar tweets every day for a week. It was their only tweet of each day. A tweet like this is OK as part of your messaging, but it doesn’t project a benefit of booking your getaway or invite any conversation.
Asking a question helps build the conversation! How about something like, “Tell us what your ideal Valentine’s Day Getaway would be and you might just win it!” You’ll get people responding to you and the people who follow them will see their responses to you and may begin following. This is an example of viral marketing – getting a buzz going.
Another way to begin conversations is to re-tweet what someone says. (It’s also a good way to get them to begin following you if they aren’t) This works for meeting planners, local movers and shakers – any segment you’re interested in!
Another tactic is to ask questions about something that was tweeted.
Both of these tactics are great especially when you have a meeting going on in your hotel. Seeing your guests engage you on Twitter builds your brand among everyone in their respective networks. Find out if a meeting or conference in your hotel is using a hashtag to organize tweets. Most hotels never take advantage of this opportunity. You’ll benefit from following it before, during and after the event!
It can also help improve their experience, especially if someone has a question about the hotel, local attractions, traffic or even a complaint about service. (People are talking about you online. Wouldn’t you like to know what was being said and have the ability to respond?)
3 Recommendations for a Better Hotel Twitter Strategy
- Be conversational. Use Twitter search engines like LocaFollow or Twellow to find prospects based on terms they use in their profile or locations. LISTEN to them, then begin a conversation, just like you might at a trade show or even your kids Little League game. Interact with other properties. Whether you’re flagged Motel 6 or Westin, brand loyalty is important, so you’ll want to be active with other properties within you brand. Bonus Tip: Use hashtags. There are many people who follow hashtags who don’t know who you are but will when they see your tweets with hashtags they follow. You’ll notice meeting planners and tour operators using them. Sometimes it will be during an online chat.
- Update your bio. Search engines like LocaFollow, etc find people based on keywords in your bio and the location you use. Are you a Marriott property? Full service? Resort? Golf course? 45,000 square feet of meeting space? Put that in your bio. You have 160 characters in your bio. Try to use them all, but use terms people will use to find you, such as “St Louis wedding venue” or “Ft Lauderdale business hotel” or “Norfolk meeting space.” Bonus Tip: Put your main phone number in your bio.
- Design a useful background. You can always use the left margin of your Twitter page to promote your property. It’s fairly easy to have a graphic created that shows off your rooms, golf course layout or dining area. You can also list your property’s features or benefits. Don’t just use your logo. Bonus Tip: Always include your phone number!
Here’s a Super Bonus Tip!
I have seen hotels get business by monitoring Twitter for mentions of “Chicago hotel”, “Conference space in Chicago” and similar terms. Once the Tweeter was identified, a conversation began which lead to putting Heads in Beds and Butts in Conference Seats.
Want specifics? Call me at (630) 482-9323