Social Media 2014
RILEY SMITH
STANFORD HOTELS
Summary of Topics
- 2014 Trends & how we see our hotels fitting within these trends
- GM To-Do: Planned vs. Spontaneous Social Media
◦ Ensure that all channels have planned and spontaneous coverage (people and technology)
- Our channels – Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Hotels In A Nutshell, Video
◦ Purpose, strategy, execution, advertising, and ROI
- BIG IDEA: Embedding Social Media into guest experience
- New this year:
◦ Social Media training for all employees
◦ Social Media GM call quarterly
◦ Social Media newsletter – internal & external happenings and successes in ‘social media & hospitality’
Pre-Reading
http://blog.milestoneinternet.com/web-2/top-8-social-media-trends-for-2014/
GM To-Do: Planned vs. Spontaneous Social
Currently we have…
◦ A Point Person for Social Media (who takes care
of planned social media)
◦ Works primarily from desktop
◦ Focuses on Facebook
What is Desired?
◦ We still want that Point Person
◦ Add a small tablet, so this person doesn’t have to use
personal phone when about the hotel
◦ Need to add a team member(s) from F&B and
Front Desk to address ‘spontaneous social’
◦ Typically, a salaried, manager-level employee
◦ Having a team member who primarily works
nights, to address ‘spontaneous social’
◦ Performs most of work from a mobile phone (for
apps: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
1. Facebook
Purpose: Engage show fans our hotel personality and the great location/city you are in.
Execution:
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Engaging posts done by ‘team leader’
Well-designed contests that attract a specific segment (no more than 4 a year)
Campaigns and/or ads done by Riley
**Mobile photos captured by rest of team (best to be sent to ‘team leader’ via email)
Advertising: We can target groups, citywides, hotel events, specific interests
ROI:
◦ A) Traffic and clicks
◦ B) Leads
◦ C) Depending on Brand, reservations
2. Twitter
Purpose: Real-time customer service and information
Strategy: To have 15-18 hours of coverage and direct customers to
this tool.
Execution:
◦ Riley is plan B from 8 am - 6 pm; will still receive notifications however
throughout rest of day.
◦ **2-3 employees have Twitter (or Hootsuite) on phone, w/
notifications
◦ **Riley trains these employees
Advertising: Target #hashtags for events/conferences, zip codes,
or market segments.
ROI:
◦ A) Traffic and clicks
◦ B) Emails
3. Hotels in a Nutshell - Blog
Purpose: SEO, marketing pieces, & social engagement
Strategy: To write pieces that are of interest to general traveler; and to market our expertise in
an area
Execution: Planned: 15-20 pieces/hotel/year (via 4-5 authors)
**Spontaneous: When topical events/stories happen, feel free to write a post about that
topic. This blog does not have to be all pre-planned.
Advertising: Only if attached to another marketing campaign.
ROI: Traffic to our hotel sites; potential leads
4. Video (YouTube)
Purpose: Engagement, marketing, and informational
Strategy: Produce videos that market a specific goal of yours
◦ Make videos to boost staff morale
Execution: Informal videos can be done on hand-held devices and posted on social media
(staff).
◦ Professional videos should have a fully-developed plan behind creation and future marketing (Riley
& outside agencies)
Advertising: Only if attached to another marketing campaign.
ROI: Views, clicks, traffic
5. Foursquare
Purpose: Attract locals to your restaurant (not a priority for every hotel)
Strategy: Set up generic Foursquare ad & time-specific ads (ex. Restaurant
week)
Execution: Riley will handle all campaigns involving hotel and restaurant
Advertising: F&B team can help me write copy for the ad (ex. Highlighting
‘happy hour’?)
ROI: # of check-ins or ‘taps’ (equal to clicks) cost $
FACEBOOK BIG IDEA: Embedding social media in guest
experience
Facebook’s Algorithm
◦ Preventing/reducing # of business page posts
that appear in people’s newsfeed
◦ Thus, the content has to be really good to be
seen
Facebook’s Graph Search
◦ You can search ‘hotels in [city name]’ in
Facebook’s search bar
◦ Our hotel’s placement in that search depends on
# of likes, photos taken at location, and check-ins
of that person’s social network.
◦ My prediction: there will be a booking link soon
on these searches
We need ‘in-hotel’ engaging experiences…that
are photo-worthy!
TWITTER BIG IDEA: Embedding social media in guest
experience
Push Twitter to Guests as a Customer Service
Tool
◦ Inform guest at arrival (ex. @SheratonUptown)
◦ … and in room!
Generate additional revenue – souvenirs, snacks,
brand swag
*Roll these out starting with Honors floors. Build
up to capacity with rest of rooms.
Neither of these are “logistical nightmares”.
It’s training employees & guests.
New this Year
◦ Social Media training for all employees (on-site
or in-person)
◦ Social Media GM call quarterly
◦ Updating the social landscape
◦ New opportunities
◦ Reporting back successes
◦ Social Media newsletter – internal & external
happenings and successes in ‘social media &
hospitality’