GETTING
INFLUENTIAL
• Be specific : “ Think of the touchpoints or the sell points of the property ” – like the restaurant or guest room – “ and then make the directives for the influencers fit into that ,” Krista Simmons says .
• Consider paid media : Paying the influencer for their content means you can control deliverables , Evan Asano says . “ You can have an offer , you can have a click-through link , you can really specify what to feature .”
• Ask for previous results : Mark Grenoble , Enchantment Group hotels , Scottsdale , Arizona , says require influencers to show past results .
• Mind the FTC : Hilton ’ s Stuart Foster advises hotels in the U . S . to follow FTC guidelines , such as mentioning that the post is sponsored content or an advertisement .
• Make sure it ’ s a fit : “ Really look at ( an influencer ' s page and see if the hotel ’ s goals or verticals ( spa , food , design ) line up with the influencer ’ s content ,” Simmons says .
Travel writer Krista Simmons ( above and top left ) says hotels should give specific directions to social media influencers around what to post — for instance , what features of the hotel property should be highlighted . your brand and making sure the influencer can best represent that , and can reach your target demographic , is important ,” he says .
Engagement also is critical , especially since followers and likes can be bought . “ It ’ s better to work with smaller influencers who have higher engagement than really big influencers just because it ’ s a big name ,” he says . Mediakix recently did an experiment where they created two fake Instagram accounts and bought followers . It wasn ’ t long before the accounts received offers from brands to post sponsored content on their behalf .
Stuart Foster , vice president of global marketing for Hilton Hotels ’ Curio Collection , says the brand chose influencers with strong engagement for its # CitiesbyCurio campaign , but other factors included how they share their stories and engage with their audience , and whether their photos matched Curio ’ s brand presence . “ Finding influencers who can share compelling original video and photography is key ,” he says .
WHAT TO POST What , where and when should an influencer post ? Krista Simmons , a Los Angelesbased travel writer and digital media producer , says hotels should be specific about what they want the influencer to post , particularly if the influencer is known more for fashion or lifestyle content than travel . “ Dictating exactly what someone has to shoot isn ’ t advisable ,” she says . “ However , it would be helpful to say what features of the property need to be shown .”
Asano says hotels can better control deliverables with a paid media trip versus a room barter . “ If all the influencer is doing is three Instagram posts and they tag the hotel , I don ’ t think there ’ s much value there ,” he says . A paid media trip gives the hotel a better chance to dictate content , timing and offers , with the influencer retaining creative control .
Hotels also can ask the influencer for deliverables that don ’ t make it onto social media . The Four Seasons Resort in Seychelles last year invited travel Instagrammer @ pilotmadeleine , who has over 700,000 followers , to stay at the resort . Each of her posts gained over 15,000 likes , and the resort got rights to use photos from her stay on its own social media and marketing channels .
One hotel has gone so far as to invite influencers to help design the space . The Trafalgar St . James Hotel in London will reopen this month after a multimillion-pound renovation overseen by a “ peer panel ” of young influencers from the city ’ s art , design , fashion and lifestyle worlds . Each offered up their ideas of what Londoners and visitors want to experience at the hotel , from bars and furnishings to services . No doubt , these influencers will post regularly from “ their ” hotel .
TRACKING ROI How much influence do influencers have ? Measuring the increase in followers and tabulating likes are ways to track a campaign . Using promo codes for booking or creating custom booking links can show a direct effect on bookings . But it ’ s not exact .
Strodel of C & R Communications looks at it as another way to reach specific consumers . “ If it ’ s not displacing revenue and it ’ s reaching your target demographic , then it ’ s more exposure for your brand ,” she says .
Simmons sees influencer marketing as similar to advertising , where the content is more about familiarization . “ It ’ s not going to make you go and buy something right away ,” she says . “ But it seeps into your subconscious so you make travel buying decisions without realizing why you made it .”
Hotels can ’ t simply expect a huge ROI from one trip with an influencer , Asano says . “ Hospitality is different because it ’ s not a US $ 50 shirt with free shipping . It ’ s a decision about a vacation that people might book six months later ,” he says .
October 2017 hotelsmag . com 59