Are you scared of Social Media?

If the answer’s yes, you’re not alone.  50% of companies are scared of embracing social media (2010 CIM Marketing Trends survey).  But it’s time to lose the fear!  Online marketing experts Ignite Hospitality are here to help with a series of excellent, easy-to-follow – and completely free - guides.

There are currently five key social media networks that hotel marketers should work with:

Working with all 5 ensures you reach a wider audience and allows cross promotion between them, increasing their impact.

The Importance of Planning

As with all marketing activity, utilising social media requires careful planning to ensure you maximise its success. Simply setting up the accounts and posting information will not generate an audience, and without an audience you may as well not bother.

Setting out a Social Media Strategy is essential, and will ensure you cover the necessary elements for your activity to be a success. Careful consideration needs to go in to who will manage the Social Networks, how your Social Media activity fits into your other marketing activity and include aims and objectives for each campaign.

Get Involved!

The best way to learn a game is to play it, so if you haven’t explored these channels yet go ahead and register.

Watch and learn before you do much and slowly start to join in. Once you’re comfortable with how everything works and you have each of the channels integrated together you can run a marketing campaign that encourages activity, Likes, Tweets, Followers and Check-Ins, building the audience you communicate with through this channel.

Remember you’re doing it for the good of your business and you might even have some fun in the process!

Ignite’s 8 Step Social Media Marketing Process

If you’re attempting to instigate social media marketing for your hotel, follow these steps to achieve the best results:

• Register and set up accounts with each of the key Social Media networks
• Watch and observe how people behave and how they work
• Slowly start to interact, following the rules that people tend to follow
• Ask your website developer to add Social Media areas to your website
• Ensure your channels interact with your website and each other
• Develop a creative idea with a special offer or competition with a clear objective such as more Facebook Likes
• Use each of your social media tools to communicate the offer or competition
• Interact with people and monitor how certain activity generates desired results

Follow the suggestions here and you’ll quickly build a significant audience that regularly interacts with your brand.

Free Online Marketing Guides

The above is an extract from one of five free guides that explain the basics of all the tools and techniques that will improve the performance of your online activity.
Each lesson is delivered by email over the course of five weeks, covering the following topics:

1. Convert bookings with the Perfect Hotel Website
2. Ensure customers can find you with Search Engine Optimisation
3. Get to grips with Internet Advertising (PPC & CPM)
4. Make the most of Social Media (Twitter & Facebook)
5. Maximise your return from Email Marketing

The service is provided by Ignite Hospitality Consultants.  To obtain the free guides, Click here

   Subscribe in a reader