Social Media | eTourism https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com Hotel, Motel & Resort Marketing Tue, 06 Apr 2021 00:39:00 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Instagram Guide for Hotels – 7 Simple Tips https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/instagram-guide-for-hotels-7-simple-tips/ Tue, 06 Apr 2021 00:39:00 +0000 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/instagram-guide-for-hotels-7-simple-tips/ If your hotel or resort isn’t on Instagram, it’s time to take that step. And if it is, there may be a few ways that you’re not getting the most out of its marketing power.

Instagram is one of the biggest social media marketing platforms going, and it doesn’t cost a thing to use – just a little bit of effort, time and know-how.

From us at eTourism, here are 7 easy tips to get your hotel started on Instagram – as well as increase your current Instagram following.

1) Know Your Audience

It’s crucial to know your audience. And if you know your brand values and the experience you’re trying to sell, it’s not as hard as it may seem.

Knowing your audience helps you to better tailor your whole marketing strategy, and that includes the content you’ll be putting on your Instagram. Think about age demographic, what pulls travellers to your location, etc.

2) Decide On a Theme and Style

Once you know your audience, synergise this with your brand and guest experience to devise a content theme and style for your Instagram.

What are your hotel’s strengths? What do your hotel and location offer? If it’s a relaxing beach holiday, for example, you’ll want to design – and edit – your visual content to be bright, bold, warm and inviting.

Your Instagram feed is your canvas, and the best Instagram pages use their feed as one continuous reel, each post connected to the rest.

3) Master Captions and Hashtags

Captions and hashtags can be daunting, but they don’t have to be. Again, the key here is to know your audience.

A good starting point is to be succinct, using relatable, conversational language (and emojis) that engages your audience, either through a simple thought-provoking idea or question.

Hashtags, on the other hand, are there to accompany your caption, and are often “invisible”. They can be used entertainingly, as well as for marketing and networking – see what’s trending about your post, and use it.

For best effect, less is more – include no more than 10 hashtags on each post.

4) Go for Quality, Not Quantity

What can make Instagram intimidating is the thought of having to maintain it – which, of course, requires time and effort. However quality, not quantity, is the key to a booming Instagram page.

You can upload to your feed every few days, even once a week – what’s most important is that your content is consistently compelling and engaging. Posting too often can be annoying. And if the content is poor in addition to this, the higher your chances are of losing followers.

5) Plan in Advance

Following on from the above, you can make maintaining your Instagram easier by planning your content.

A good reserve of high-quality, visually appealing photography will go a long way. Keep this regularly updated, and simply use as desired, uploading when is most convenient for you. That way, it doesn’t have to be a chore that you have to squeeze into your busy schedule.

6) Incorporate Video Content

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a video is worth a thousand pictures. Short, visually appealing videos are a highly effective way to transport and make your audience feel that they are there, enjoying what your hotel and location has to offer. And that feeling (the “FOMO”) is what converts to bookings.

Just like your hotel photography, it’s best to get a professional to shoot and edit. Go further by adding stock music to your video – something that evokes a feeling and complements the visuals of your video.

7) Get Creative with Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories are a “relaxed” and more casual alternative to uploading to your feed. They disappear in 24 hours (although these can be saved: “Highlighted”) so they are a good opportunity to simply get creative and engage with your following.

Images, videos, competitions, questions, polls – Stories can be anything you like. These are also a channel for user-generated content, i.e. sharing the content your guests upload. Encourage tagging, engage with your audience and always, always sell the guest experience you have to offer.

Is your hotel on Instagram? Let us know in the comments below!

RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:

– How to Market Your Hotel with Social Media User-Generated Content
– Hotel & Resort Marketing on Instagram – Tips Hoteliers Need to Know
– Start Focusing on Social Media Marketing to Give Your Brand a Boost

]]>
How to Market Your Hotel with Social Media User-Generated Content https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/how-to-market-your-hotel-with-social-media-user-generated-content/ Wed, 12 Feb 2020 00:48:00 +0000 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/how-to-market-your-hotel-with-social-media-user-generated-content/ Customers don’t always directly trust brands or marketers, but they do trust other customers, and that’s why user-generated content is the next best leap in your marketing strategy if you’re not already reaping the benefits it offers in authenticating your brand and strengthening the relationship you share with your audience.

In our first blog for February, we’ll send you in the right direction for utilising user-generated content effectively to market your hotel, motel or resort!

What is User-Generated Content?

Simply put, user-generated content is internet content produced by the wider public that promotes and advertises your products, or services, for you – either by their own volition or with a little encouragement.

UGC is cost-effective or cost-free altogether and has become more widespread now that social media has merged with everyday life, where its users, especially millennials, are keen to post about their everyday lifestyle and experiences.

As it’s promotional content coming straight from customers who have had a direct experience of the product or service, user-generated content is a powerful marketing tool for businesses in building trust and boosting brand reputation.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

As a hotelier, you can market your hotel using user-generated content available to you on your social media channels. If your hotel isn’t on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, start with Facebook, then set up the others once your Facebook page garners a small following, as each platform offers its own marketing methods and benefits.

By simply providing fantastic service, there’s a good chance your social media-using guests will casually share their experience online, be it via a Facebook status, Instagram post, Instagram Story, Tweet, blog or vlog. With their permission, this user-generated content can be yours to share across your platforms – essentially free marketing in which your guests have kindly put out a good word on your business’s behalf.

Not to mention, this level of interaction displays your online savviness as well as how you both appreciate and engage with your guests. You can even implement a section on your website dedicated to guest user-generated content, which will have major influence over customers browsing what your hotel, motel or resort has to offer.

Devise a Social Media Marketing Campaign

You don’t have to wait for your guests to post – spur them on by devising an effective social media campaign that gives your hotel some exposure. This can be engaging your followers with a question, or creating a competition or giveaway that inspires social media users to share, comment and tag a friend – all the while stirring up a buzz around your hotel.

Examples include asking followers what their favourite thing to do is around your location, or offering a one-night free stay/meal/spa session to the person who gets the most “likes” on an uploaded photo snapped at a nearby tourist attraction, such as your local beach. Think one-off posts, as well as drawn-out campaigns that keep your followers interested till the very end.

Simply get creative, then come up with a unique and catchy hashtag that followers can use, which will also group together all user-generated content using the hashtag for everyone to see.

Don’t Forget Online Guest Reviews

Your online guest reviews are also a form of user-generated content, having a powerful influence on other customers reading about your hotel – sometimes even being the deciding factor on whether they book depending on what past guests have expressed.

That being said, go the distance to provide the best service you can, then encourage online reviews each step of the guest experience. Along with actively utilising social media user-generated content, showcasing, and responding to, your best guest reviews is an invaluable way to show others your close customer relationship and the trust they have in your brand.

Does your marketing strategy involve user-generated content? Let us know in the comments below!

RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:

– 5 Powerfully Effective Ways To Boost Engagement On Facebook
– Start Focusing on Social Media Marketing to Give Your Brand a Boost
– Hotel & Resort Marketing on Instagram – Tips Hoteliers Need to Know

]]>
Hotel & Resort Marketing on Instagram – Tips Hoteliers Need to Know https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/hotel-resort-marketing-on-instagram-tips-hoteliers-need-to-know/ Thu, 09 Jan 2020 05:31:00 +0000 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/hotel-resort-marketing-on-instagram-tips-hoteliers-need-to-know/ Instagram isn’t just an online fad or photo-sharing site; the Facebook-owned social networking platform with more than one-billion monthly users has produced businesses and entrepreneurs in terms of social media influence; boosting brand image and promoting products to a wider audience on what is now one of the best free online services available.

If your hotel or resort isn’t on Instagram, it’s time to take that step. With patience and a dedicated marketing strategy, you can shape your Instagram page into a powerful online medium for extending your reach, showcasing what your brand is about and boosting guest bookings in the process.

Pens at the ready – here are the Instagram marketing tips you need to know.

What to Post?

First, what to post – the key here is to know your brand’s selling points, as well as your audience, merging the two to create niche, high-quality content that’s both eye-catching and engaging.

As a hotelier, your Instagram will benefit from pro shots of both your hotel and experience you bring to the table – pre-captured, curated and edited with a keen eye – supported by secondary content that can include special offers and hotel updates, location and local attractions, deals with partnership brands, your best employees in action and guests (with permission) having the time of their life.

Videos are just as important, packing serious punch when it comes to visual/auditory stimulation with the capacity for customers to dive behind-the-scenes and get a feel of the guest experience you’re offering. Also effective are competitions and giveaway posts, styled around a “tag-a-friend” marketing tactic that will instantly pull visitors to your page.

Be Consistent, But Not Repetitive

Like all endeavours, it’s important to set an achievable goal, such as posting two or three times per week and focusing on quality, not quantity. This is where consistency is crucial, at the same time avoiding the pitfall of losing your audience’s interest with repetitive, predictable content by mixing up the above.

Take your Instagram to another level by joining savvy Instagram businesses that colour-coordinate their feed, focusing on warm pastel colours that relax and appeal – ideal for selling your holiday experience. Peak times, such as evenings, lunch breaks and weekends when Instagrammers reach for their phone, are also worth thinking about if you’re eager to get your content seen.

Mastering Captions

Captions are a whole new area that needs to be mastered, there to complement your visual content with essential information, effective hashtags and ideas that encourage engagement. In a nutshell, captions display your Instagram savviness, your brand’s overall message and the way you relate and engage with social media users.

The general idea here is to keep captions simple and casual, using conversational language, appealing emojis and making sure that each caption provides one clear takeaway message alongside something that encourages a response, such as a light and engaging question.

Hashtags, in addition, are your toolset for linking posts to trending topics, categorising brand content – like competition and giveaways – and, quite simply, for fun: widely used for humour and fashionable internet slogans that show user ingenuity. Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags on each post, but you should aim to use under a third.

Instagram Stories – How to Use Effectively

While the main Instagram feed acts as your online canvas of curated brand content, Instagram Stories is an invaluable feature that allows rapid posting of photos, videos, GIFs and stylised text that can be implemented a multitude of ways.

Displayed immediately on both the official site and app, Stories are ideal for grabbing user attention, through which you can provide your followers quick, digestible updates about almost anything: special offers, upcoming events, new local attractions/eateries and fun behind-the-scenes insights.

For your Stories, just get creative, while maintaining a steady stream of updates that gives your followers the feeling that something exciting is going on. Make sure to avoid, however, overwhelming followers with spam content and overloading your Stories with a chain of identical posts that never seems to end.

What’s more, Stories can be crossposted and shared, allowing these to go direct to Facebook Stories, plus giving you the means to share guests’ Stories that your hotel has been tagged in – of course, with their permission.

Get Pro with Instagram

Take the final step on Instagram by upgrading to a Business account – these are free and simple to set up and come with exciting features that include promotional Stories – used for linking products and website pages – as well as Instagram Analytics, which provides insightful data on followers and the audience your Instagram page is attracting.

Lastly, if Instagram eludes you – or you simply don’t have the time – bring in a pro to manage your account; ideally someone who understands your brand, has a knack for engaging online content and can dedicate the time to long-term marketing strategies, replying to customers and keeping your page alive, trending and growing – eTourism is the pro for you!

Is your hotel or resort already on Instagram? Let us know in the comments below!

RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:

– 5 Powerfully Effective Ways To Boost Engagement On Facebook
– Start Focusing on Social Media Marketing to Give Your Brand a Boost
– How To Choose The Right Visual Content To Captivate Your Audience On Facebook And Instagram

]]>
Facebook Hiding the Number of Likes – Like or Unlike? https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/facebook-hiding-the-number-of-likes-like-or-unlike/ Tue, 22 Oct 2019 06:03:00 +0000 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/facebook-hiding-the-number-of-likes-like-or-unlike/ Since the end of September, Facebook in Australia has seen a notable adjustment in which the number of likes, reaction emojis and video views is hidden from the public – only visible now by the original poster of the content.

You may have noticed this already either on the website or on the app, where likes and reactions on user posts are no longer accompanied by the familiar number count which, for many of us, is one of the first things that grabs our attention.

Why Facebook Is Hiding One of Its Trademark Features

The experiment, which arrived not long after a similar test was carried out on Facebook’s sister social media site, Instagram, in July – comes as a result of the ever-growing discussion over social media and the negative effect it has been reported to have on its users’ emotional wellbeing.

Voiced by Facebook as a trial working to reduce the negative effects of sustained social media use, such as lifestyle envy, competitive posting and online validation – attributed to a rise in depression and online anxiety among younger generations – Facebook has taken both the advice and criticism of psychologists and social media analysers for its recent change, which is still being assessed in regards to overall user experience.

The Online Reaction So Far

The change has been an interesting development for Facebook, which has prompted various online discussions, social media comments and reports – with the general consensus suggesting that the majority of Facebook’s casual users are indifferent.

The main backlash, so far small, lies with online influencers, who rely on the positive reactions of fans and social media regulars to display their influence as well as garner further popularity – something that also works to the benefit of marketers, brands and businesses. Additionally, it’s seen as an important feature for content creators, who view reaction counts as a way to discern what online content is currently in demand.

Is It Permanent and Will the “Like” Lose its Status?

Facebook hasn’t revealed how long the experiment will be continued, whether it’s soon to be rolled out to other countries or even made permanent, but with the reaction having been mostly neutral, leaning more towards the positive side, it might soon be the case that the hiding of like and reaction counts is gradually set in stone.

This, if universally implemented on both Facebook and Instagram, may well trigger a new phase of social media in which the “like”, an internet symbol and colloquial term synonymous with its various social media platforms, could later become a disregarded feature without its current status – given that a post’s “significance” or power of influence lies in the number of likes or reactions it has successfully accumulated.

Despite this, the invisibility of these numbers might work to Facebook’s advantage, providing everyday social media users with the confidence to express themselves and, as a consequence, increase their social media use and online content output without fear of competition or comparison.

What are your thoughts on Facebook’s current social media experiment? Let us know in the comments below!

RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:

– 5 Powerfully Effective Ways To Boost Engagement On Facebook
– Start Focusing on Social Media Marketing to Give Your Brand a Boost
– Facebook Marketing Is Changing: 3 Crucial Updates You Need To Know About

]]>
Start Focusing on Social Media Marketing to Give Your Brand a Boost https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/start-focusing-on-social-media-marketing-to-give-your-brand-a-boost/ Tue, 09 Jul 2019 04:30:00 +0000 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/start-focusing-on-social-media-marketing-to-give-your-brand-a-boost/ In the fast-developing world of digital marketing and mobile technology, have you asked yourself how much of your online content is reaching smartphone users?

It’s crucial that your hotel’s website should be approached with responsive web design in mind, but with social media being such a driving online force in networking and marketing, it’s just as important to cultivate an inquisitive social media following who you can regularly influence into making another booking.

Smartphones and tablets are here to stay, and one big step for your hotel is setting a focus on compelling mobile-friendly social media content that will put your brand in the palms of holiday shoppers worldwide.

Join the Crowd

Social media has taken over the internet: out of around 4 billion internet users, 3.5 billion of those are on social media, which, staggeringly, is just under half the world’s population.

With social media also playing a big part in the everyday usage of smartphones and tablets, this is where social media marketing can mean a serious boost for your brand. The first step is finding the most suitable platform, then devising an achievable social media strategy that will get people noticing, talking about and sharing the good news.

Facebook, the largest social media site, connects us to friends and names we follow, Instagram pleases the eye through aesthetically styled images and videos, and Twitter is great for keeping up-to-date with trending topics and the latest must-have offers and deals.

These are just a few, and as a hotelier, there are many ways your business can grow on social media using these fundamental points, which, utilised individually or together, can build up a solid online presence that will begin to turn heads.

Make Social Media Your Megaphone to Mobile Users Worldwide

If your business isn’t on Facebook in 2019, then you’re missing out. With over two billion monthly users, Facebook is an invaluable platform for honing in on your dedicated smartphone-using audience, who can even act as a free marketing team in the form of content likes, shares and raving reviews.

Aside from your mobile-friendly website, the next best way to show off your hotel and location is on Instagram. This may seem a bit niche, but with more than a billion active monthly users, a few eye-catching photos paired with your latest offer in the feeds of a few hundred followers might mean your next busiest season.

There are various social media platforms that you can use to your advantage in getting your brand seen – it all boils down to where your audience lies and what kind of content you’re trying to push. Social media will continue to connect people and businesses, and using it to get into the hands of smartphone users worldwide is a surefire strategy in extending your brand’s reach.

Which social media platforms is your hotel active on? Let us know in the comments below!

RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:

– 5 Powerfully Effective Ways To Boost Engagement On Facebook
– How To Use Social Media As An Online Reputation Management Tool
– How To Choose The Right Visual Content To Captivate Your Audience On Facebook And Instagram

]]>
5 Powerfully Effective Ways To Boost Engagement On Facebook https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/5-powerfully-effective-ways-to-boost-engagement-on-facebook/ Fri, 07 Dec 2018 01:52:00 +0000 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/5-powerfully-effective-ways-to-boost-engagement-on-facebook/ At the start of the year, Facebook switched up its news feed algorithm to give priority to content from users’ friends and family over posts from brands and businesses. Frustratingly for marketers, this made it more difficult than ever to maximise organic reach on the platform.

However, all is not lost. As the company puts it: “posts that inspire back-and-forth discussion in the comments and posts that you might want to share and react to” can still achieve high visibility in the news feed.

What does this mean for your hotel’s Facebook marketing campaigns? To even have a chance of getting noticed in your guests’ newsfeeds, you’ve got to publish posts that generate comments, sharing and discussion.

So how do you do it?

In today’s post, we’ll look at 5 ways to inspire meaningful interactions with your audience and improve your organic reach in the newsfeed.

1: Create An Enticing Offer To Generate Messenger Connections

Messenger bots are on the rise across the major social platforms, and across digital marketing in general.

Many of the bot solutions out there allow you to set up automated responses whenever a comment is added to a post. You can encourage guests to comment on your post to receive a special discount or freebie via Messenger. This is a great way to share a voucher or build a contact list in Messenger while simultaneously generating plenty of engagement on your post and signalling to Facebook that your hotel is sharing quality content worth giving greater visibility to.

2: Share Content Created By Your Guests

Sharing photos, stories or reviews posted by fans will demonstrate to your community how much you appreciate them while providing some valuable social proof for your wider online audience. Just be sure to ask permission first.

3. Hold A Comment Contest

One of the quickest and most effective ways to boost engagement is to hold a contest on your hotel’s Facebook page which requires people to comment to enter.

If you ask entrants to share a photo with their comment, you’ll also generate a pile of fantastic user-generated content to share, but remember to state clearly that you intend to do this.

Even the simplest of questions can make for a fantastic giveaway – you might ask fans to share a photo which captures their favourite holiday memory, for example.

4. Ask Guests Their Opinion

We all like to feel included and that our opinions really matter. Whether it’s asking guests which new dishes they’d like to see added to your hotel’s restaurant menu or which renovation design they’d prefer for your guest rooms, asking your audience for feedback or help making choices with your business will make them feel appreciated while generating lots of engagement.

5. Get Topical

Creating posts which tap into something significant in the news or current cultural climate is a great way to generate responses. It allows you to join in with conversations that are already taking place, so you can position yourself more as a friend than a business that’s trying to promote room bookings.

As well as making the most of obvious celebrations such as Christmas, Easter and the World Cup, take a look at calendars of national and international days for less obvious occasions you may not have considered. You can also post about local events within your city or community that may interest your fans, as well as drawing on significant TV events such as the X Factor final. If you’re stuck for ideas, try monitoring the topics trending highly on Twitter for inspiration.

What are you doing to maximise engagement and boost visibility on the Facebook newsfeed? Let us know in the comments below!

RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:

– 3 Marketing Trends To Watch In 2019
– How To Engage Your Guests And Drive Bookings This Holiday Season
– Facebook Marketing Is Changing: 3 Crucial Updates You Need To Know About

]]>
Facebook Marketing Is Changing: 3 Crucial Updates You Need To Know About https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/facebook-marketing-is-changing-3-crucial-updates-you-need-to-know-about/ Thu, 06 Sep 2018 01:41:00 +0000 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/facebook-marketing-is-changing-3-crucial-updates-you-need-to-know-about/ Following a spate of concerns about privacy and data protection, it’s safe to say Facebook has suffered a blow to public trust in recent months.

In response to a string of bad headlines, the social network is once again marking their dedication to improving user experience by giving people more control over what they see on the platform, who sees them, and how their personal data is used.

Inevitably, most of these changes make life more difficult for marketers trying to boost their organic reach, but that doesn’t mean you should abandon hope completely.

In today’s blog, we look at 3 of such recent changes, and how you can work with them to maximise your chance of reaching your audience on Facebook.

A Revamped News Feed

The Facebook News Feed has been getting a big makeover, with the new algorithm increasingly favouring interaction with people over interaction with brands. Facebook also anticipates that its users will spend less time on the platform.

Pretty disheartening for those of us who have spent significant time striving to engage our audience on the platform, right?

But here are a few strategies to consider:

Teaming up with influencers: now that Facebook is foregrounding content from individuals over content from business pages; it’s a great time to think about building relationships with key figures from the travel industry or local community you could potentially collaborate with.

Facebook Stories: the platform’s insiders have recently stated that Facebook Stories is likely to be the “future” of brand engagement on Facebook – become an early adopter and you may secure an advantage over your competitors.

New Data History Tools

Personal data control is the hot topic of the times. Consumers want to know how companies are using and storing their data and crucially, they want the power to access and delete it for themselves.

Facebook’s soon to be released Clear History feature is a response to this need and allows users to see the websites and apps that store their Facebook information, and delete that data if they wish to.

What exactly does this mean for your hotel’s Facebook marketing campaigns? If you use Facebook plugins on your website (“Like” buttons, for example), your guests now have access to the information that these plugins collect and they can choose to delete it – erasing its connection to their own Facebook profile.

Depending on adoption rate, there’s no denying that the new Clear History feature could make it a lot more difficult to effectively target your guests with ads.

However, on a more positive note, the change may mean having to take a fresh, deeper look at who your audience really is, which could reveal some new and interesting findings you hadn’t considered before.

Negative Customer Feedback = Less Ad Visibility

Facebook wants the ads it displays on its platform to lead to positive consumer experiences only, so it’s now banning ads from brands that have poor satisfaction ratings.

Brands will be given fair warning to improve though, according to the network’s statement on the change, but: “If feedback does not improve over time, we will reduce the amount of ads that particular business can run.”

This one is a no brainer: the better customer experience you provide for your guests, the more ads you’ll be allowed to run and the more successful your marketing campaigns will be. A big part of this means honing in on transparency within your ads and paying particular attention to the photos and videos you choose. The more clear and honest you are, the more likely you are to reach and exceed guest expectations, which leads to better satisfaction ratings.

Facebook is evolving to put user experience front and centre. But that doesn’t mean it no longer holds great marketing opportunity for brands willing to roll with the times and adjust their strategies.

Are you ready to adapt your hotel’s Facebook strategy in the wake of these changes? Let us know in the comments below!

RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:

– The 5 Social Media Trends Ruling 2018
– How To Use Social Media As An Online Reputation Management Tool
– How To Choose The Right Visual Content To Captivate Your Audience On Facebook And Instagram

]]>
How To Choose The Right Visual Content To Captivate Your Audience On Facebook And Instagram https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/how-to-choose-the-right-visual-content-to-captivate-your-audience-on-facebook-and-instagram/ Thu, 16 Aug 2018 01:52:00 +0000 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/how-to-choose-the-right-visual-content-to-captivate-your-audience-on-facebook-and-instagram/ Social media is rapidly changing. Twitter is losing users, Instagram is trying out longer-form video content, and changes to the Facebook newsfeed have made it more difficult for brands to reach their audience organically on the platform.

These changes inevitably mean frequent switch ups in social tactics for marketers. But there is one thing that isn’t set to change anytime soon – and that’s the importance of making use of high quality visual content to grab your audience’s attention and pull them in. Whatever the platform, audiences crave compelling, eye-catching images and video over plain, text based content. And if you want to maximise the power of visuals, you need to ensure you’re selecting and optimising the right images and videos for the right platform. In today’s blog, we’ll look at some of the current best practices for sharing images on Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook

Short Videos With Captions

Facebook users have a big appetite for video content, consuming more than 100 million hours of it on the social network each and everyday.

That doesn’t mean your audience wants to spend prolonged periods pouring over your videos though. Like elsewhere on the internet, attention spans are low, with studies revealing that videos which last no longer than 90 seconds tend to generate the most engagement among Facebook audiences.

Another important consideration is that the majority of your Facebook audience are watching video content without sound, so if your videos rely heavily on narration or audio, your message may get lost without captions.

Include Multiple CTAs With Carousel Posts

Facebook’s new carousel page posts allow businesses and brands to showcase multiple images, links, and headlines, and most excitingly include multiple CTAs to drive different traffic objectives. For this reason, carousel posts are a great tool if your hotel is running a promotional campaign with multiple landing pages.

Instagram

Think Outside The Square

While it was once only possible to publish square photos with an aspect ratio of 1:1 to the platform, Instagram has switched things up by introducing both horizontal and vertical image content. The update impacts both regular photo uploads and Instagram Stories, so let your creativity flow with whatever orientation and ratio works best.

Drive Traffic and Bookings With Stories

Since links don’t work in regular image posts, Instagram hasn’t always been the best platform for driving traffic back to your website.

This has changed, however, with the introduction of Instagram Stories. The new feature allows content creators to attach a link to their posts which users can visit simply by swiping up – opening up valuable opportunities to drive traffic and bookings. The feature is available to all users with 10,000 followers or a verified Instagram account.
 

How does your hotel use visual content to engage your audience on social media? Let us know in the comments below!

PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:

– The 5 Social Media Trends Ruling 2018
– Your 5 Social Media Priorities For 2018
– 3 Tips For Better Video Marketing on Social Media

]]>
How To Use Social Media As An Online Reputation Management Tool https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/how-to-use-social-media-as-an-online-reputation-management-tool/ Thu, 21 Jun 2018 23:26:00 +0000 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/how-to-use-social-media-as-an-online-reputation-management-tool/ What is your hotel’s digital reputation?

Online reputation management (ORM) is all about proactively influencing the information people find about your business online by using strategies to hide unflattering content further down the SERPs by ranking more favourable content above it. Since the overwhelming majority of your guests won’t look beyond the first page of results, taking steps to manage your reputation in this way can have a significant impact on your click through rate, website traffic and ultimately, bookings.

Although ORM has traditionally revolved around paid media such as advertising, as well as blogging and content creation on your hotel’s website, your social media platforms are an extension of your brand and also present a valuable opportunity to put your best face forward online. In today’s blog, we’ll look at how you can use social media to help build and maintain a healthy reputation online.

1. Assess Your Current Online Reputation

Start by determining your hotel’s current reputation online. You’re probably already more than aware of your standing on TripAdvisor and the other most used review sites, but what about on the rest of the internet – on travel blogs, social media and forums?

There are a number of tools you can use to keep track of what people are saying about your property online, including Mention, Talkwalker Alerts and Google Alerts, which is totally free. Using these tools you can set up alerts via email to find out whenever a new piece of content is posted online that mentions your brand and can also keep an eye on what people are saying about your key competitors.

2: Design a Social Media Strategy To Boost Your Hotel’s Reputation

Once you have a better idea of your hotel’s reputation online, you can start a dedicated social media strategy to improve it and influence the kind of information people find about you.

Analyse your competitor’s social presence – if your main competitor has a thriving, engaged audience on a particular platform, chances are it would work well for your hotel too. Use tools like Talkwalker or Facebook Insights to analyse the activity of your competitors as well as key demographic information about your own audience. On Facebook, you can add specific pages to your watch list to monitor how well they perform.

Analysing what your competitors are doing on social media is a great way to come up with content ideas for your own campaigns, keeping in mind that the idea is to take inspiration from them, not copy them.

Establish a social media content production schedule and stick to it
If you’re serious about improving your online reputation, it’s essential to stay consistent and active on all of your profiles. Set up a realistic social media content posting schedule and make sure every member of your team is dedicated to it.

Commit To Social Customer Service
Encourage your audience to engage with your posts. Make responding to all questions, comments and feedback in a polite and timely manner a priority.

Monitor Results
The last step is to monitor key metrics on your hotel’s social media platforms. You can use a social media dashboard to keep an eye on the most important stats – a free tool like Cyfe makes this process quick and simple.
 

Building and maintaining your online reputation means being proactive in shaping the impression your hotel leaves on travel shoppers. Social media presents a valuable opportunity to leave a positive impression as an engaging, personable brand that really cares about its audience.

What are you doing to stand out from your competition and improve your reputation using social media? Let us know in the comments below!

RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:

– The 5 Social Media Trends Ruling 2018
– 4 Tips To Boost The Social Customer Service Experience
– Want To Drive More Bookings? Sell Experiences, Not Rooms

]]>
The 5 Social Media Trends Ruling 2018 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/the-5-social-media-trends-ruling-2018/ Sun, 27 May 2018 23:33:00 +0000 https://dev-etourism.etourismwp.com/the-5-social-media-trends-ruling-2018/ Social media is constantly evolving, and it’s crucial that your hotel’s marketing campaigns keep up or else risk falling flat. No matter what kind of technology you have in place, if the content you create isn’t resonating with your guests you’re not going to see the results you need in terms of website traffic and bookings.

The key to staying relevant on social media is to embrace modern trends while ensuring you always show the human side of your business to your followers. In today’s blog, we’ll look at the 5 biggest trends that have shaped social media marketing in the first half of 2018.

1. The Fall Of Automation

In 2018, automating your social campaigns and reusing the same content on each platform just won’t cut it. You need to be human.

The companies excelling at social media are those employing individuals with the skills and personality needed to bring a brand’s story to life and keep audiences glued across every channel.

2. The Rise and Rise of Mobile-Ready Content

Data from ComScore reveals that time spent on mobile represents 7 out of 10 digital media minutes, with Facebook emerging as the most used mobile app of 2017.

It’s not surprising then that this year has seen an upsurge in brands investing more time and money in creating easy to navigate content that can be accessed with little scrolling and minimal key presses, designed specifically with small screens in mind.

3. An Increase In Richer Content Types

“Rich” content which encourages user interaction continues to drive higher engagement rates than simple text and image based posts. This includes videos, contests and opinion polls – the latter being a great way to collect insights while simultaneously encouraging audience engagement.

4. A Turn Towards User Generated Content

It’s no secret that consumers trust the opinions of friends and family over messages from advertisers or celebrities.

Brands are capitalising on this fact by finding organic and interesting ways to integrate more user generated content into their social feeds and websites for a compelling form of “social proof” that drives bookings and engagement. One of the best ways to generate user generated content is to run a social contest – for example, asking your guests to share holiday and travel related photos around a theme with a discount or special package as an incentive.

5. An Ongoing Shift Towards Ephemeral Content

While marketers once strived to produce evergreen content which could be recycled and referred to over and over again, consumers now have an appetite for ephemeral content. Thanks largely to the popularity of Snapchat, content which offers brief, transient snapshots of a moment and then disappears has become increasingly popular, with both Instagram and Facebook launching their own ephemeral story features.

Perhaps customers are drawn to this kind of content because it feels exclusive, or simply because they know it won’t be around forever, but whatever the reason for its popularity, brands are rising to the task of developing engaging stories across all three platforms. Those that are doing so most successfully are keeping their audiences hooked and coming back for more.
 

What social media trends have you noticed emerging in the first half of 2018? Which do you still need to experiment with? Let us know in the comments below!

RELATED PAGES AND BLOG POSTS:

Your 5 Social Media Priorities For 2018
– 4 Tips To Boost The Social Customer Service Experience
– How To Boost Your Hotel’s Likeability On Social Media, Starting Today

]]>