Special RepoRt : Social Media
SoCial media ’ S Roi ( Continued )
YukiCh : Bookings and engagement do not stand alone ; in many cases they are intricately connected , and the former is dependent on the latter . SiStaRe : Our systems are not set up at this time to track this information .
hotelS : Will customers become more transactional with hotels on social media , or will it remain primarily for engagement ? haRihaRan : Yes , we already see a few guests who have started displaying transactional behaviors on social media , either directly or indirectly . Social media is also becoming
ViSual appRoaCh
hotelS : Do you post photos by professional photographers , staff , guests or all three ? fanton : While we are still using a lot of brand photos , now guests ’ photos are just as important , as they are taking selfies and sharing pictures of their stay . How each guest ’ s followers respond with likes and comments is a new ritual for the vacation and a big organic contribution to the Meliá brand ’ s visual image . SiStaRe : We usually post photos by our staff and professional photographers . haRihaRan : We are open to posting and sharing good-quality imagery , whether taken by the guest , staff or a professional photographer . Radde : We utilize photography by guests , staff and professional photographers . SloSeR : Hilton leverages guest , staff and professional photographers .
hotelS : What are your marketing strategies with your visual content ? the primary channel in the planning stage of the guest ’ s travel booking . The impressions they derive from their interactions builds a perception of the brand online . SiStaRe : In Brazil , our experience shows that social media is primarily for engagement . Radde : I anticipate that customers are going to become more transactional with hotels on social media .
“ VideoS aRe an impoRtant paRt of ouR StRategY . in the laSt two YeaRS , we haVe made almoSt 160 VideoS .”
– Paul SiStare , atlantica HotelS international
SiStaRe : People usually buy what they see , so our posts and campaign are supported by a strong visual element . haRihaRan : We are ramping up the visual elements of our online marketing with video , immersive digital advertising , virtual walkthroughs of our properties and a visually driven social media outreach . YukiCh : Pinterest guides travelers further down the online conversion funnel . Also , with the strides Google is making with photo sharing on Google + we know that it is one to watch in terms of visual content syndication .
hotelS : What types of images are the most liked or shared ? fanton : The classic spectacular property images are still our kings of engagement . YukiCh : Our top-performing content includes destination and property photos , inspiration photos with quotes , user-generated photography and visual how-to recipe images .
Content is king
In addition to Marriott International ( see p12 ), ITC Hotels , Gurgaon , India , is investing in content marketing . Like social media , the goal of content marketing is engagement to boost referral traffic for booking as well as improved search engine optimization .
ITC conducts its content marketing primarily from its Luxury Travel blog , targeting global business and leisure luxury travelers . “ The ROI of content marketing is mainly the engagement and viral sharing of the posts we receive , which leads to positive impressions about the brand with online consumers ,” says B . Hariharan , vice president sales & marketing , ITC Hotels . “ Over the years , we have seen that content marketing does enhance overall SEO efforts capable of sending sizeable amount of traffic to brand websites .”
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts , Toronto , engages consumers with its Four Seasons Magazine and its accompanying website , its food blog Taste , its family travel blog Have Family Will Travel as well as local language sites for specific markets such as Revista for Brazil , Matices for Spanish-language Latin America and TravelNotes for Russia .
24 HOTELS March 2014 www . hotelsmag . com