neha social media workshop 2013

NEHA & Social Media

By CloudMarch 2013 @ Copthorne Hotel, Newcastle

Richard Spencerrichard@cloudcontent.co.uk07708 488895Chris De Jong07905 285116@djiconsultingchris@dji-consulting.com

The Day Ahead

• Introduction to social media• The Channels• Facebook • Twitter • Tripadvisor/Blogs/LinkedIn• The next big thing?• The Buzz + ROI• NEHA social media• The future

Introductions

• Introduce yourself• Your position• Your property – 3 words!

Introductions

• Social Media bigger than a 4 hour session• Short sharp shock• Find out what issues you are facing in

hotels• …and with your GM’s• Do more in more detail if demand• And can provide a social media

management service

Getting to know each other…quickly!

• Who uses social media?• Have you updated anything in the last

24 hours?• Do you have a Linked In profile?• Which is your favourite SM site & why?• Are you mobile?• Do you need a social media strategy?

• YouTube – 800m users, 4b views per day

• LinkedIn – 200m users

• Facebook – 1.06b active users, 40m pages

• Twitter – 500m users of which 200m active

• Tripadvisor - 60 million unique monthly visitors,

75 million reviews

• Blogging - 391 million people view more than 4.1 billion pages each month (Wordpress)

• Flickr – 75m users• Pinterest – 25m users• Instagram – 90m

users, 40b photos• Google+ - 343m users• Foursquare – 25m

users, 1m businesses• Yammer – 6m users• Websites

Social media is like teen sex. Everyone wants to do it. Nobody knows how. When its finally done there is a surprise that it wasn’t better…

• Transparent• Inclusive• Authentic• Vibrant• Consumer driven

The desire to be part of a group that shares, co-operates, or acts

in concert is a basic human instinct

In the past you were what you owned. Now you are what

you share

• Authenticity

• Openness• Honesty• Listening

1. Attention is now earned not bought

2. The means of production and distribution are shared

Social Media v Old Media

Where it fits…

What’s your personality?

….Of consumers don’t believe that companies tell the truth

76%

“Consumers are now more questioning about marketing

biased information and are far more

interested in unfiltered, peer

driven insights, free of corporate

influence and spin”

What’s your personality?

Trust me…

Hotels & Social Media

You are already good

at this!!

What’s your personality?

What’s your personality?

What’s your history?

What’s your personality?

What’s your story?

What’s your personality?

It’s a people industry

The Face of Revolution: Facebook

"How on earth did we stalk our exes, remember our co-workers' birthdays, bug our friends, and play a rousing game of Scrabulous before Facebook?” Entertainment Weekly

• 500 million active users• 50% log on in any given day• Av number of friends 130• Av time = 700 mins a month• 350 million access via mobile device• In 20 minutes – 3m messages sent; 2m friends

requests, 1m links shared

What Is Facebook?

• “Social networking website”• Simple enough: socialising, networking• How?

• Profile/Timeline – your virtual person

• Add friends (other virtual persons) – your network

• Post content – comments, links, photos, polls

• Send and share messages• Set up groups – private networks• Share movements – location

tagging

It’s About Connection

• Sharing events, moments and memories• Staying in touch• Expressing identity• Exploring views• Expressing opinion• Making friends and new connections• Developing intimacy – crossing geographical

boundaries• Accessing alternative views• Maintaing and nurturing relationships• ‘You heard it first’

It’s Not About

• Shopping• Work• ‘Personas’• Impersonal voices• Spin

5 Star Tips for Hotels• Did you know Facebook creates more referrals that led

to room bookings than Tripadvisor?• Getting onto Facey allows hotels direct interaction with

customers that has been taken away by the OTA’s• It also removes their commission!• Facey is just another channel for you• Your hotel website is your best sales rep, your Facey

page is your best Public Relations rep• Marriott Hilton and Best Western scored highest for

social engagement on Facebook in 2012 • Marriott 888,00 likes in 7 months to today• Brand voice – conversational, edgy and humorous

5 Star Test!

• Describe your hotel persona/ tone of voice in 3 words

• Give me a short example post• If you had to think of someone to

get you into the mindset – who would it be?

• Personalised reward

Being Effective On Facebook

5 Star Tips for Hotels• Display hotel logo prominently• Think about your colours• Invest in photography – cover photo v. important (851x315

pixels; Profile pic 180 x 180 pixels – use them all!)• Take photos of guests and then tag them – they can then find

and share with their friends• Watch your nav!• Discount your distressed inventory – offer sweepstakes• Spillover traffic + checking availability (widgets)• Partner with nearby attractions for promotions and you get a

contra – look for good partners with high likes – social promotion from another source

• Have you liked their pages so you see what they are talking about?

Match the names with the likes:

• Baltic Contemporary Art• Sunderland Football Club• Sage Gateshead• BUPA Great North Run• Newcastle United• Alnwick Garden• Eldon Square• Durham cathedral• Tiger Tiger• Newcastle Uni Students Union

• 21,000 likes• 8,000 likes• 18,000 likes• 368,000 likes• 19,000 likes• 10,500• 7,000 likes• 11,000 likes• 71,000 likes• 3,500 likes

Building your audience…

Top Tips for Hotels• Facey is an indirect marketing tool – build relationships 1st,

business second• Follow the 80:20 rule• Customise your page – pagemodo, tabsite, shortstack• Note the share button drop down• Get visitors involved – offline encouragement; tag people,

share photos and videos of visits• Discount announcements and special offers/deals only on your

Facebook page• Offer something to your “Likers”• Encourage guests to leave positive comments• Are you watching other social media?

5 Star Tips for Hotels

• You have to be quick to respond• Be proactive about negative criticism• Reward Loyalty• Proof your copy!• Have you added you’re your Tube, Pinterest and Blog apps to

your page?• Receive new conversations as e mails/Texts - Account Setting –

Notifications – is it turned on??• Is your “Message” button enabled? (In Manage Permissions)

5 Star Tips for Hotels

• Most effective postings between 8pm and 7am – 20% more user engagement

• Wednesday and Sunday best day to post• Posting one to two times a day produces 40% higher user

engagement• Highest engagements from briefer posts (80 characters or less)• Asking questions – increases comments, lower engagement• Fill in the blank v effective – “I like…..”• Key promotional words – “£ off” “offer” “deal”

Being Effective On Facebook

• Promoting local insight

• Showing your human face

Being Effective On Facebook

• Showing your human face

Being Effective On Facebook

• Showing your human face

Being Effective On Facebook

Creating Your Presence

• Creative, engaging content

Grow The Conversation

User Generated Reviews Tripadvisor

User generated reviews

One of the earliest examples of sites providing

• 75 million unique visitors a month• 15 million members of the community• 30 million reviews• Over 500 000 hotel reviews• 2.5 million businesses• 1.1 million accommodation businesses• 14 million traveller photos• 60 reviews per minute• 90% of topics posted replied to within 24 hours• Employs 1,600 people

According to a recent PhoCusWright survey: 83% of respondents surveyed usually or always consult TripAdvisor reviews before booking a hotel

The reasons they consult:

•accuracy of the actual guest experience - 98% of respondents found TripAdvisor hotel reviews to be accurate of the actual experience, with 69% stating the reviews to be highly or extremely accurate.

•92% of respondents agree that TripAdvisor hotel reviews “help me pick the right hotel for my travel needs”

Key Features

• Basic listing:• Contact details• Description• Images and videos• User reviews and

rankings• Nearbys

• Enhanced listing:• Special offers• Slideshow• Improved presence on

mobile and results

Business Tools

• Registration• Management centre:

• Edit basic details• Edit photos and videos• View statistics• Respond to reviews

Tripadvisor policy:

•Family-friendly •Unique and independent •Original •Professional •Relevant to all TripAdvisor users•Respectful of Personal Privacy •Same Language •Written with standard e-mail etiquette •Submitted using a valid e-mail

Management Responses: Stay Positive

Encouraging Reviews

• Owners Centre resources – reminder cards and flyers

• Email follow up• Listening and acknowledging

(make changes, thank the visitor)

• Positive and frequent engagement

Growing The Conversation

Growing The Conversation

Expanding Our Definition of Quality

Opinion Leaders: Blogging

"a personal journal published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order so the most recent post appears first” Wiki

There are an estimated 200 million travel-related blogs on the net“Thanks to the wealth of blogs – "web logs", or diaries, on the internet – we can access thousands of travel reviews and commentaries from travellers who provide candid, up-to-the-moment and on-the-spot reports. They are a great place to unearth local gems, get news updates and read about specialist topics… and the ultimate antidote to saccharine tourist-office films and advertisements are video blogs – vlogs – anonymously filmed by paying customers and then published on travel websites”

The EssentialsFormats•Blogs•Vlogs•Tumble-logs•Article and time based•Distribute via RSS

Content•Consumer insight•Industry knowledge and developments•Sharing personal experiences

Purpose: Why Consult A Blog?•Specialist, in-depth and expert opinion•First-hand perspectives•Connectivity

Business ApplicationsYour own blog:•Thought/expert leadership•Providing more human face to your business

Remember:•Expert•Intimate•Trust - no spin/sales•Content rich•Regularly updated•Community connection•RSS distribution/SEO

Tools:•Wordpress•Blogger•Typepad

Social Media

Key Facts:

• Officially launched May 2003• Sept 2004 – 1M users• Jan 2012 – 200 million members• 2 new ones per second• 5.7 billion prof orientated searches in

2012• 45% growth in last year• Its your very own personal PR tool!!• 2.7million companies have company

pages (Wynyard, Marriott Durham?)

• Profile is 1st impression• Your LinkedIn profile is what people

searching for you may see first….increasingly so

• Best profiles “rich with relevance”• A candid conversation about you• Not just a list…yawn!• Make those strengths STAND OUT

• Make it a cartoon if you work for Disney…otherwise just don’t!

• Photo – head and shoulders; simple background

• Logo if you must

• Think about it…if you were looking for you what search terms would you use?

• Use them in your profile

• Make that public profile available for everyone

• Remember the people with the most friends don ’t always win!

• True value in people you’ve met or talk to online• Less is more!

• Get contributing• Be social• Join Groups• Ask and answer

questions

• Use LI in a dignified way

• No over sharing• Act like Obama not

a tabloid celebrity!

Lets have a quick look in:

• Set up an account!• Look at the Groups• Check your companies represented

Top Tips:

• VISIBILITY - add connections to increase probability of being seen

• CONNECTABILITY - show all your affiliations – companies, education, activities

• ENHANCEBILITY – SEO through links to your blog/website

• CHECK – your in box for mail• DECLINE - You do not have to accept

every invitation• Make LinkedIn your digital business

card

Top Tip:

Don’t forget to update!!

Join the Conversation:

• “Lets Talk Tourism North East”• Ask a question; do the poll; join the

debate; search for a job!• “North East Hotels Association”• Apply to join

NEHA Social Media

Increasing integration…

• Plugs into your booking engine• Easy sharing at point of

arrangement• Voucher generating for friends• Never leave your hotel website• Hear what they are saying

(Analytics)• Let your guests spread the word• Generates buzz and bookings

What’s your personality?

Google Hotel Finder

• Launched in US 2011

• Integrated with Google Places

• Visual map• Lists and shortlists• Popular tourist spots• Manage your hotel

product info through Google Places

• Travel time from a location (foot, public transport)

• Started placing Hotel Finder at top of search listings

Mobile Social• Location based social

networking• “Check in” using your

mobile• 3 million check-ins per

day• Collect points and

badges for checking in• Add tips on things to

see and do• Become “mayor” of a

venue

Foursquare action…

• Claim your venue!• https://foursquare.com/business/

merchants/claiming

Exercise

• Download the app• See what’s hiding near your business• Go hide something – a voucher for a

BOGOF?• In your grounds/Inside the hotel?

QR Codes • Quick Response to new content

• Static v Dynamic• Vouchers/Coupons• Building history• Menu info

• Another social network• Easy in• Easy interface• Circles• +1• Hangouts – video calls

To Conclude - Some social media truths…

• Control is out of your hands• But you never had control in the 1st place• Customers can make better decisions than you• Not what you know but who you know• Quality of interaction not quantity• Opinions increasingly syndicated• Can you live with criticism?• Converse in a human voice?• React quickly to emerging conversations?• Social media is just about people having

conversations online

What’s your personality? Be human

Be interestingBe relevant

The 3 Rules

What’s your personality?

• Get some training done on social media• Assign roles & responsibilities• Quality over quantity• Tell your story!

What’s your personality?

• Define your goals• Choose your networks• Choose your people• Create a routine• Monitor

What’s your personality?

Remember it’s a

marathon not a sprint

The good guide

• You don’t have to be on every network• Invest time (it doesn’t work overnight!)• Do you have a company policy on SM

deployment• Make it part of your marketing strategy

NEHA Social Media

• Find us on Facebook – search for “North East Concierge Club”

• Find us on Twitter – search for “Colin Concierge”

• Find us on Linked In (open group) – search for “Lets Talk Tourism North East”

• Find us on Linked In (Private room) – search for “North East Hotels Association”

NEHA Social Media

• More on the North East Hotels Association at www.nehotels.co.uk

• More on PartnershipGlu at www.partnershipglu.co.uk

• E Mail – richard@partnershipglu.co.uk

• 07708 488895

Thanks for watching!!