“If a picture’s worth a thousand words, the new Spruce Point Inn website’s worth a library,” said innkeeper Angelo DiGiulian. “Over this past winter, we have invested in makeovers for our guestrooms, an upgrade of the Main Inn reception area, new poolside and waterfront amenities and the creation of an oceanside deck café – Azure – that will bring a new option for waterfront lunch to Boothbay Harbor. We wanted our online presence to tell that story with the facts and the images that captured what we think the Inn is all about. O’Rourke has caught the timeless feel of a classic Maine summer vacation and the informal warmth of the Inn that keeps bringing people back, generation after generation.”

From spacious guestrooms to cozy Maine cottages, Spruce Point Inn Resort & Spa accommodates romantic getaways, family vacations and special events from weddings to executive retreats with a diverse selection of accommodations, including traditional and contemporary Maine lodges, guestrooms and suites in the historic Main Inn, classic Maine summer cottages and modern townhouses. During the renovations, the innkeepers have addressed the smallest details throughout the property, replacing wall and floor-coverings, adding new bedding, Keurig coffeemakers, plasma screen televisions and Green Natura bath products. Different color palettes accent the seaside cottage style or contemporary warmth of the furnishings. Each guestroom also now features photographs from the Inn’s storied past, including famous guests from astronaut John Glenn to the Kennedys as well as snapshots from the diningroom, dock and waterfront.

About Spruce Point Inn
In operation for more than 100 years, Spruce Point Inn is a distinctive and historic vacation destination for travelers from all over the United States. Its relaxing facilities have long been a part of the summer community and a backdrop for delightful “oceanside memories made in Maine.” Located in the seafaring village of Boothbay Harbor, Maine (an hour north of Portland) and situated on 57 acres of stunning oceanfront and sheltering pine forest, the Inn is a retreat of 56 modern rooms in eight lodges, 16 classic cottages and rooms, 9 historic inn rooms and 4 townhomes. The convenient location, peaceful setting and spectacular coastal views have made the Inn a premier resort for families, reunions, weddings and business events. For reservations, call 800-553-0289 or visit http://www.sprucepointinn.com.

Online video viewership continues to grow exponentially, but it doesn’t stop there – mobile video viewing is also expected to increase. According to eMarketer, the population of mobile video viewers in the US will grow nearly 30% in 2010 to reach 23.9 million, they predict it is poised to double by 2013. More viewers means more opportunity for revenue and eMarketer predicts that mobile video revenues, including direct downloads, subscriptions and ad-supported video, will roughly triple between 2009 and 2014, rising from $436 million to $1.34 billion.

There is no better time than the present to get in on the action, so grab a digital camera and hit record. As a hotelier, what video content appeals to users, travelers and potential guests and how do you create it? We’ve put together a few ideas to get you started.

The Tools

Camera

The cost of video equipment used to be one of the biggest hurdles to creating video content yourself. Now, with the advance of technology, you can be a budding film maker for under $200. Check out the various models of the Flip Cam or Kodak’s HD pocket camera line.

Platform

No way to put the videos on your site? No problem – link to them. It takes minutes to start up a YouTube Channel and don’t count out social media channels. Facebook is a great place to share helpful videos with your fan base.

The Script

Keep your content casual and make sure what you film is a resource to viewers. Think about subjects that travelers would be interested in.

No one really wants to watch a video of your bar opening party (unless there are celebrities present) but they’d love to watch your expert mixologists walk them through how to make the most popular cocktail. This way you highlight your staff, service and product while still providing guests with useful information.

Some other ideas are to have your Concierge walk through the neighborhood and point out his or her picks for the best places to go and see. Or, film your housekeeping staff with their best tips for packing and where to look before you leave to avoid a trip to lost and found.

Check out how the Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago used video to promote their fitness center with a Special Pumpkin Workout during the month of October. They also posted their video on their Smartstay mobile phone application for the iPhone and Android. Video is very popular with smartphone users and hotels can easily post their videos on the Smartstay app for their guests to enjoy.

The Campaign

Really want to attract mobile or traditional online viewers? Create an entire campaign around an idea. Pick a weekend or two to post special rates and hand out a few flip cams to lucky guests. Ask them to film their stay (this is a big hit with families with teens) for a chance to win a free trip with all the bells and whistles. Post all of the submitted videos to your Facebook page and have fans vote for the best trip video. You can also post the videos on your mobile app. And, don’t forget to film the winner when they arrive for their VIP treatment to bring it all full circle!

For more information about Online Hotel Marketing or the Smartstay mobile app for hotels, please call O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing at 978-465-5955 or send an e-mail to info@orourkehospitality.com.

If the saying that no two guests are alike is true, then it also rings true that no two marketing channels are alike – especially when it comes to social media and email. The good news is that there can be overlap.

According to a recent ExactTarget report shared with eMarketer, while email subscribers still make up a majority of engaged followers, there is actually a little overlap in email, Twitter and Facebook fans. This highly-engaged four percent of users are every marketers dream, but how do you increase that number for your brand and continue to keep fans of individual channels happy? Get back to the basics, know your audience and diversify your offers.

Email Subscribers

These folks are your bread and butter. They have invited you into their inbox and regardless of their click-thru rates, open rates or conversion rates, their opt-in attitude can pay off for you. This is also the group you have the most information about so don’t blow it. Sort through your data and segment, segment, segment!

-Email Them

Focus on offering this group the best loyalty offers and make sure you are giving them what they have requested. Remember, you should know if they were visiting for business or with their kids or for a romantic weekend. This group wants to see that you “get” them and are paying attention to the needs and desires they have communicated to you. Your promotions to them should reflect at least a basic level of personalization.

-Booking Window

Email subscribers move on their own timeline, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t build some urgency into your offers. Give them a promo with a few weeks booking window for travel in the near future and a book by date. Keep in mind though that like you, they have to sort through hundreds of emails a day so make your subject line screams deal!

Facebook Fans

Research has shown that your Facebook fans were most likely already fans of your property before they hit the “I Like” button. So, the key to keeping these followers coming back for more is delivering a blend of rich content that reminds them of their fond memories and fun and unbeatable offers that they can share with their friends.

-Post

Focus on offering this group the most inventive and impressive offers you’ve got and remember, the more interesting, quirky or fun the better. Be creative with this audience, a casual tone and exciting offer goes a long way. This is also a great place to give away need period nights or weekends with contests so don’t just limit your offers to the usual rate deals.

-Booking Window

Facebook fans flock to this outlet for 24/7 updates on friends and deals, they are regular users so you don’t have to worry about them “missing out” on something you post at the beginning of the week. Try working with announcing a promo at the beginning of the week with a close at the end. If you are trying a contest, make sure to make a big deal out of winners.

Twitter Followers

Fast and furious is the name of the game with these 140 character addicts. They are tuned into Twitter for only the latest information, deals and developments.

-Tweet

Think “fire sale” for this channel. Focus on offering this group the cheapest rate possible. The offer should be clear, direct and of course, 140 characters. This is also an ideal place to push promos for your F&B offerings. Pack the bar for the evening with a Twitter happy hour deal or hype a new menu item and offer perks to those who try and tweet about it.

-Booking Window

The booking window here is the shortest of all avenues. The offer should go out early to mid-day and the booking deadline at the end of the day. Remember that this audience has a super short attention span so it is a great place to get rid of a few rooms a few days from the offer date.

Once you have established a promo pattern for each of these channels, your followers and fans will make note and that is where you’ll see an uptick in cross-pollination – they’ll realize the benefits of being dialed in to all of your messaging if you have diversified your promos. After all, nobody wants to miss out on a deal.

You have a solid list of email contacts that you’ve built up over years, but do you have any other information about the recipients besides their email address? Did they travel with kids, on business, for a particular conference or on a romance package? All of these little details can help you improve your email marketing results and your relationships with your guests. Today’s tech-savvy travelers are used to personalized, targeted messaging and they are expecting you to deliver the same level of service to their inboxes.

A recent e-Dialog survey of US and UK internet users revealed that email recipients are interested in emails that show the company’s knowledge of their likes, dislikes and if they were a returning customer or not.

If you do have some of this personal information about your guests it is time to start segmenting and creating emails around specific traveler types. Here are a few ideas to get you moving in the right direction.

Identify Segments – Take a look at the calendar from last year. Map out particular conferences or events that may be happening again this year. How about weddings? One-year anniversaries are a happy time to send out special romance deals.    Did you run any popular children packages? Target those folks with a kid-friendly promos and watch the tikes toddle through the doors. Internet users love deals so hit up past guests with a fantastic “Thank You” rate to come back and they will.

Be Consistent When Highlighting Interests – From your subject line to the imagery and text within in the emails, keep your targeted group in mind when developing creative. Your road warriors may not respond well to photos of the pool filled with kids and your returning families won’t find a romantic candle-filled suite appropriate for pillow fights.

Close the Loop – Most marketers believe that their job is done once the email has gone out. But to really wow guests and remind them that you have their interests in mind you need to follow through. Make sure the front desk staff is aware of specialized email promotions that have gone out so they can actively look at the profiles of those checking in and offer them the appropriate amenities and services according to their likes and dislikes.

Clean Up Your List – You can’t get a good idea of who your guests are and what they like if you have a list littered with duplicate names and ancient email addresses. Make de-duping and updating your contact info a habit so that you have a better sense of the actual data you have.

Is Your CRM Light on Details?

It is never too late to start collecting more information on the likes and dislikes of your customers.  There are a few easy touch-points to hit up guests for more personal data.

-Reservations Desk - Adding a few questions to the end of your reservations script can make a huge difference in being able to segment your customers for email marketing purposes.

-Front Desk - Check in can be the perfect place to fish for details. It may add a few seconds onto your average check in time but it will be well worth it. Offering guests an incentive to fill out a quick card for you can also do wonders for data collection.

-Online Reservations – While you don’t want to delay potential guest from hitting that “Buy Now” button, you can still ask for a bit of info on the confirmation or “Thank You” page or even follow up with them in the confirmation email.

You’ve toiled tirelessly to work through and gain approval for your hotel’s social media strategy and now it is ready for action. Goals and measurement objectives have been put in place. You have identified team members to monitor your online reputation and set up a procedure to respond to guest comments. The executive team is on board. The sales and marketing teams are ready to participate. Online accounts and profiles have been carefully crafted. But you could be missing one crucial step.  Have you educated your front-of-the-house staff about the impact social media has on your business?

Online reviews and comments aren’t created out of thin air, they are based on experiences and the good news is your staff can influence them greatly. They are the first to greet your guests and the last to send them off. More than lobby decor, room amenities or facility offerings, your staff’s actions and reactions are what truly shape user reviews.  It is vital that you educate them about the viral power of the service they deliver.

Unlike the hard copy comment cards, online user reviews can be potentially seen by millions of travelers. Tripadvisor.com alone has more than 34 million unique monthly visitors and more than 35 million reviews – Yelp.com isn’t far behind with around 31 million visitors a month. Add Expedia and all of the OTA reviews and you can see how magnified the service levels at your property can become.

The sheer number of eyeballs alone is staggering, but what is even more compelling is the the impact user-generated reviews have on traveler purchases. According to a study conducted by comScore with The Kelsey Group, nearly one in four online users reports using online reviews before purchasing and 40% of those who consulted an online hotel review actually stayed at the property. Of review users, 87% reported that the review had an impact on their purchase.

You can take steps to help your staff understand the significant part they play in your social media strategy and how much weight their actions carry with guests both during and after their stay. Here are some tips to help you get started.

1.  Start on Day One

Staff orientation is the perfect place to introduce the importance of social media. See if your human resources or training team will allow you to hijack a section of their agenda to impart this crucial message to new hires. Keep the presentation simple and powerful and use examples to illustrate your points. Consider using real reviews and have staff role play how they would have dealt with the guest.

2.  Share the Love

If your managers currently use comment cards to call out the stars of your staff, they can do the same with glowing online reviews. This is an easy way to incorporate the power of online reviews into everyday discourse. Of course, they’ll want to be sure to showcase a balance of fantastic reviews and some items that need working on as well.

3.  Buzz

Create and distribute a monthly social media Buzz Report that pulls together a range of reviews from a variety of online review sites. This report will help tell the story of your online reputation, identify trends month over month and give your front-of-the-house managers some benchmark data that they can easily share with their team members. If you don’t have a reputation monitoring tool that can help with this, consider creating it in a simple Powerpoint document.

4.  Reward Five Star Service

Creating an award that is given to a particular department or team that was regularly mentioned in five star online reviews over the year is a fun way to involve staff and get them as excited about positive mentions as you are.

Our clients often ask us if they should use Facebook ads. Many hotels are skeptical about using the ads and question if they will be effective or not. We recommend that hotels do use Facebook ads, but that they do so with clear goals in mind, and that they follow best practices when it comes to designing, targeting, testing, and tracking their ads.

Before using Facebook ads, hotels should understand the advertising platform. As with any advertising medium, the objective of using Facebooks ads is to increase your business. Facebook ads have the power to do this, but as their representatives often state, their platform is primarily in demand generation rather than demand fulfillment.¹

In other words Facebook considers itself to be a platform where you can generate interest in your brand – demand generation, which typically happens at the top of the sales funnel. Once consumers have decided to take action, they may conduct more specific searches on Google, which can be used for demand fulfillment.  Facebook ads are used more to stimulate interest in a brand, and engage with customers early in the buying & decsion making cycle.  As the Facebook marketing slogan states, ‘Find your customers before they search.’

What are Facebook Ads?

Facebook ads appear on the right-hand column of the Facebook pages and are highly targeted to the users’ profiles and interests. Advertisers can easily create ads through their own account, and can set a minimum budget for as low as $1 a day. You can choose to bid by CPC (cost per click), or by CPM (cost per thousand impressions).

Only three ads may show at a time on a page, and the ads to be displayed are determined by an algorithm that takes into account the ad performance and the bid. Advertisers can run multiple ads simultaneously, and can set up start and end dates up to 30 days in advance. You can then track the performance of your ads through the Facebook reports and your analytics software.

How can my hotel benefit from using Facebook Ads?

Targeted Messaging

Facebook compiles personal information from its users’ profiles and interests, and will display your ads to people who match the criteria you specify. This is extremely beneficial for hotels, because they typically have different segments with different target audiences that will require different ads.

For example, you may want to create an ad to promote weddings at your hotel. You can specify that your ads be shown only to females, who are engaged, between the ages of 20-35, and who live in a specific state, or province. You could also create ads about your spa, restaurant, or meeting space, and select different demographics for each ad.

The targeting options you can choose from include location, age, birthday, sex, keywords, education, workplaces, relationships, interested in men or women, languages, connections, and friends of connections. Below is a brief description of how these options can help your hotel send targeted messages:

Target people in different countries, cities, or states: This option is very useful to hotels. For example, a beach resort that is a short distance from a city may run a summer campaign targeted exclusively to people who live in that city. You may also want to run an international campaign to promote your hotel to an overseas market.

Create ads that will appeal to different age groups: Different types of hotels may appeal to different age groups.  For example, a golf resort may want to target an older demographic than a modern urban hotel.

Send people special offers on their birthdays: Create a separate ad with a birthday image and perhaps a special offer.

Target to men or women: Different ads will appeal to different genders. For example, you could create two ads for the same weekend getaway, one that would appeal more to women, and one that would appeal more to men.

Use keywords that match users’ interests: This is the most important targeting option. When a Facebook user sets up an account, they can reveal a lot of personal information about themselves, including their basic information, where they went to school, and where they work. There is also a personal profile where users can list their favorite activities, interests, favorite music, favorite TV shows, and favorite books.

As an advertiser, you can select words (keywords) to target, and your ad will be displayed to people who have used that word somewhere in their profile. For example, if I am creating an ad to promote my hotel restaurant, I would need to think of the words that someone interested in food and dining might include in their profile, such as such as, ‘dining out,’ ‘gourmet food,’ or ‘cooking.’ If I include these words in the keyword section, my ad will be displayed to people who have used these words in their profile.

You should create different versions of your ads to match different profiles. For example, think of the city or town you are in. Why do people go there? Some go to ski, to see a sports event, to shop, to see the sights, to go to a show, to visit a museum, etc. You could create an ad for your hotel that includes an image of a museum in your city, and display it to people who are have expressed an interest in art or in visiting museums. You could take the same ad, and include an image of a famous sports event in your town, and display it to people who are interested in sports, a specific team, or a specific event.

Customize your ads to students of specific universities: Send an ad to students of a specific university, and offer them a special discount for family members. For example, if I was a student at Emerson, and I saw an ad that said, ‘Hey Emersonians – Special Discount for Your Parents!’ it would get my attention. The National Center for Education Statistics can give you a list of all the Universities in your area.

Include the name of a specific workplace in your meetings ads: Create a meetings ad and include the name of the company that you are targeting. For example, employees of ‘Compstar Rhode Island’ would be interested in an ad that stated, ‘50% Discount on Weekend Retreat for Compstar, Rhode Island Employees!’

Target wedding ads to couples who are engaged, or offer weekend getaways for married couples: Relationship targeting is very useful to hotels. You could promote weddings at your hotel to couples who are engaged. You could even go a step further and create a separate ad for the bride-to-be, and another one for the groom-to-be. With Facebook ads you can also target married couples of various age groups, and offer weekend getaways.

Create ads targeted to the gay and lesbian community: Facebook ads allow you an excellent opportunity to create ads that will reach the gay and lesbian community. Most ads on the market are very generic and cannot target specific groups. People in the gay and lesbian community will become more aware of your hotel, and perhaps choose you over your competition.

Create ads in different languages: People respond better to ads that are in their own language. Create ads that will appeal to foreign language speakers and tap into new markets.

Create ads exclusive to your fans with Connection Targeting:

Connection targeting allows you to send ads targeted to people who are fans of your page, people who have used your applications, members of any groups you may have, or people who have RSVP’d to one of your events.

Send your connections a special offer, and encourage them to share it with their own network of friends and family. Your connections have already proclaimed their interest in your brand, and they will be happy to engage with you. You also have the option to exclude your connections from seeing an ad, for example if you are sending an ad to promote your Facebook page, you may not want to send it to people who are already fans of your page.

You can even send ads that target the friends of your connections:

One step further than connection targeting, you can also target friends of your connections. For example, let’s say that Sally is a fan of your hotel Facebook page. When your hotel sends an ad, you can select the ‘friends of connections’ option, and all of Sally’s friends will receive your ad. Even more exciting, the ad will also announce that their friend Sally is a fan of your hotel Facebook page. Sally’s friends are more likely to click on your ad because they trust Sally, and they will be curious about your hotel.

Facebook users who fit a specific profile will welcome your ad

There has been some controversy whether ads should appear on Facebook, because it is mainly a place to socialize, not shop. However, the Facebook ads targeting options allow you to target people who have already proclaimed an interest in things related to your hotel or to travel. For example, they may have expressed an interest in your city, an interest in an activity your city offers, an interest in dining out, or an interest in leisure travel. These are the people who will see your hotel ads, and they will welcome the opportunity to learn about a special offer at your hotel.

Awareness building

Another benefit to using Facebook ads is that your ad will gain a lot of exposure, which will build more awareness about your hotel. Every time your ad appears on a page it is called an impression. Even if your ad doesn’t receive many click-throughs, it will still be effective because the impressions will generate awareness.

Facebook ads can affect search behavior

Studies have been conducted that explore the impact of a brand’s exposure in social media on users’ search behavior. One such study, conducted by GroupM, revealed that searchers who engage with social media, especially those exposed to a brand’s influenced social media, are far more likely to search for lower-funnel terms compared to consumers who do not engage with social media.² (Lower-funnel terms express action and loyalty including campaign brand terms and brand product terms. Upper-funnel terms express awareness and consideration such as industry relevant terms or general product attributes.)

You have less competition (if you advertise now)

Facebook ads are still relatively new, and many hotels haven’t figured them out yet, but they will. Some businesses are afraid to advertise on Facebook because they believe some of the other ads appear spammy or low quality. The flip side of the coin are the large corporations who also advertise on Facebook. If you create a well-designed ad with an attractive image and clever copy, your ad will stand out, and you won’t be competing with hundreds of other hotels.

It is wise to start advertising on Facebook now while you have less competition. Businesses are becoming more aware of the opportunities that Facebook ads present. Tim Kendal, Facebook’s Director of Monetization, stated in a September article from ‘Daily Finance,’ that the number of advertisers on the platform has more than tripled over the past 12 months.¹

FACEBOOK AD TIPS

Set up a Facebook business page

Regardless of whether you are using Facebook ads or not, you should definitely set up a Facebook page for your hotel. Encourage your guests to become fans of your page. Any action a fan takes on your page will go into the news feeds of all their friends’ pages. For example, if Sally signs up to become a fan of your page, all of her friends will be notified. They will also be notified if she takes some action on your site, for example if she RSVP’s to an event. You can also create ads to promote your Facebook page where users can sign up to become a fan without even leaving their own page.

Set measurable goals

Outline your goals. What do you want to achieve from your ads? Once you have identified your goals, you will have something to compare your ad campaign performance to.

Create compelling ads with relevant landing pages

Create copy and images that will stand out and capture attention. Specify what makes you different from your competition, and have clear calls to action that will tell users what they can do when they arrive at your landing page, i.e. ‘Book Now!’ It is also smart to include a special offer or promotion.

Facebook has outlined some suggested best practices you can follow. Make sure that your landing page is relevant to your ad, and allows users to follow through on your calls-to-action. You should also change your creative often to keep users’ interest. Don’t forget to optimize your ads and landing pages with your keywords.

Test, Test, Test!

As with most online advertising, you can greatly increase the effectiveness of your Facebook ads through testing. For example, you can send two different ads to the same audience to see which one performs the best. You can test ad copy, imagery, landing pages, and experiment with different targeting options. A trick of the trade is a tool called Facebook Ads Manager, and it can help you conduct split testing and multivariable testing. It can also help you automatically create thousands of Facebook ads.

Start big, narrow down

Start out by creating many ads, and then narrow it down to the ads that are most effective. You may also want to experiment with bidding by cost-per-click and cost per thousand impressions to see which option is most profitable for your ads.

Track your results

You must monitor your ad campaign’s performance. With your account, you can analyze data about your click-through-rates, impressions, and average cost-per-click or cost per thousand impressions. You will start to notice what works well, and what doesn’t, and then you can decide what action you need to take to improve your campaign. You can also integrate your ads with Google Analytics so you can track conversions on your website.

The best way to learn if Facebook ads are right for your hotel is to give it a try. Here at O’Rourke, we believe that Facebook ads are an effective way to build awareness about your hotel, and generate new business. It is an inexpensive platform to use, and if you test your ads, and follow best practices, you could have a lot of success with Facebook ads. According to the Facebook statistics, there are more than 350 million active Facebook users. That is a large audience that your hotel could tap into. The targeting options available, and the popularity of the site, make it a perfect advertising platform. Start advertising now to get ahead of your competition, and as the Facebook ad slogan states,  ‘Find your customers before they search.’

¹ Facebook revenue guru says demand generation is secret to ad success

² Group M, The Influenced: Social Media, Search and the Interplay of Consideration and Consumption

If you would like to learn more about Internet Marketing and Social Media Strategies, please call us at 978-465-5949 or send an email to info@orourkehospitality.com.

Dan Siroker, former deputy New Media Director of the Obama Presidential Transition, gave a keynote presentation at SES Chicago in December about how he and his team used Data to win the Obama presidential election, and the lessons they learned along the way. Your hotel can learn from these lessons and apply them in your own internet marketing campaign.

Before joining the campaign, Siroker was a product manager for Google Chrome. He saw Obama speak at a visit to Google¹ and he was inspired to help him with the new media aspect of his campaign. Two weeks later, Dan moved to Chicago for a month where he did whatever he could to help the campaign. He then officially joined the campaign as the director of analytics.

Dan showed us how the campaign structure worked with Barack Obama on the top tier, followed by David Plouffe, the campaign manager, and then the departments of correspondence, field, policy, operations, communications, new media, paid media, and finance. New media was then divided into marketing, e-mail, blog, analytics, design, video and organizing.

Before going into the details of the campaign, Siroker reminded us that Obama won with 365 electoral votes as opposed to 173 electoral votes for McCain. In the popular vote Obama had 53% percent of votes (69,456,897), and McCain had 46% of votes (59,934,814).

As we all saw, the Obama new media campaign triumphed over McCain’s. Below is a screenshot of one of Dan’s slides which reveals the drastic difference in the number of Facebook friends, YouTube video views, and unique website visitors that the Obama campaign attracted as opposed to the McCain campaign.

Through their online efforts, the Obama team dramatically surpassed the McCain team in terms of money raised. The Obama team raised a total of $656 million and $500 million of that came from their online campaign as seen in the slide below.

The online marketing campaign was unprecedented in any other presidential election. You have probably read articles and seen interviews about the innovative process and the talent of the people involved. Barack Obama wrote about it himself in his book, ‘The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.’ Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, also recently wrote a memoir about the campaign titled, ‘The Audacity to Win.’

Dan Siroker helped mastermind the online efforts and we were eager to hear what he had to say about the campaign. Below is a re-cap of the lessons they learned, and our thoughts on how your hotel can benefit from those lessons.

Lessons Learned

Lesson #1: Define Success

Or rather, Define Quantifiable Success Metrics. Obviously the main goal for the Obama team was for Obama to win the election. For the team managing the online campaign they defined it this way: website > email signup > raise money. They could measure the success by cost-per-click, sign up rate and money per recipient.

What is the definition of success for your hotel’s online efforts? Most likely it is to increase bookings and revenue. Have you set specific goals for your internet marketing campaign? Are you measuring the success of your campaign?  Success can also consist of increasing your online presence, building a brand voice, capturing e-mail addresses, managing your online reputation, or building relationships with your audience through social media.

Lesson #2: Question Assumptions

Dan never just followed assumptions that their online material would be effective in achieving their goal of gaining supporters and raising money. Instead he and his team tested different layouts of the material and used the data to determine what elements motivated people to take action.

As an example, Dan showed us how his team used testing on a splash page they created to encourage people to sign up for the e-mail list. They did not just create a page that thought would be effective, rather they created different versions and used multivariate testing through Google Optimizer to test which button and image proved most effective in getting people to sign up. They tested four different buttons, Sign up, Learn More, Join Us Now, and Sign Up Now. They also tested 3 images and 3 videos.

Before Dan showed us the splash page that was most effective, he tested us to prove his point that assumptions are often wrong. He showed us the variations of the splash page and asked us what we thought would work the best. In the end only 2 people in the audience had assumed correctly. Below is the image of the winning splash page which was most compelling in encouraging visitors to sign up.

The new layout resulted in an increase in conversions from 8.2% to 11.6%, which is an observed improvement of 40%. This means that they went from 1000 conversions to 1500 conversions. Dan explained that it may not seem like much presented that way, but through the life of the campaign it would translate into 4 million more people that signed up.

Does your hotel make decisions based on assumptions about what will appeal to your audience, or do you test to see which layouts of your online material are most effective? You should test everything from website pages, landing pages, e-mail campaigns, and PPC ads. You can also test landing pages for free with Google Optimizer.² Testing helped the Obama team increase conversions, and it can also help your hotel increase bookings.

Lesson #3: Divide and Conquer

Another lesson the team learned is that different elements appeal to different users. This became clear when the team attempted to test a donate button.  The variables included, Donate Now, Please Donate, Why Donate? Donate and Get a Gift, or Contribute. Again Dan conducted a quick test with the conference audience to see what we thought would be most effective. Again, we were wrong.

This time it turned out that there was not just one correct answer because it depended on who you were as a visitor. Through testing they discovered that people who had never signed up before favored the ‘Donate & Get A Gift,’ those who had signed up but didn’t donate preferred the ‘Please Donate’ button, and those who previously donated preferred the ‘Contribute’ button, as seen in the slide below.

Your hotel can also divide and conquer. You must profile your guests which will allow you to send very targeted messaging to individuals. Learn about your guests and record if they are at your hotel for leisure, a wedding, a meeting, or business. Note their interests. Did they use the fitness center or visit the spa? Did they dine at the restaurant or do they prefer room service? It is also important to segment your guests into new guests, return guests or regular guests. Once you have this information you can create e-mail campaigns that will appeal to the individual guest. Again, test your landing pages and e-mail campaigns to learn which combination of design elements will be most effective in encouraging conversions.

Lesson 4: Take Advantage of Circumstances

Dan stressed the importance of taking advantage of circumstances. He gave us an example of a time when Sara Palin specifically mocked Barack’s experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago. David Plouffe and his team then sent out letters to their supporters explaining the situation and asked them to make a donation. This e-mail resulted in 10 million dollars within 24 hours! Below is a screenshot of the letter.

Is your hotel taking advantage of circumstances? Circumstances can include everything from the weather, the economy, holidays, school vacations, your competition, to conferences or special events in your town. Listen in social media to find out what people are saying about your hotel, or your town, or upcoming events. You can use Twitter search or Tweetbeep to listen in. If you see that someone may be looking for a hotel in your city, respond to them. Take advantage of circumstances and you can greatly increase bookings.

Lesson 5: Turn Your Customers Into Evangelists

Dan said they turned their supporters into evangelists everyday through their blog and YouTube channels. Here they focused more on the supporters rather than the candidate. He feels that other campaigns missed the boat here.

For example, the Obama team created videos that motivated others to get involved. One such video, Charles Meets Barack³, focused on one of the volunteers who won a raffle to meet Barack. This video was released only 28 days before the election but generated over ½ million YouTube views. The video also received a lot of press coverage because of the process story of social media transforming politics. Social media made it easy for supporters to share content and recruit new supporters.

Do you have evangelists for your hotel? You probably do have regular guests who recommend your hotel to their friends and family. Encourage them to share your offers and content by placing Share With Your Network icons on your e-mail campaigns. These icons can link to Facebook and Twitter and make it very easy for them to pass your message on to their own contacts. Find out who your evangelists are and encourage them to write a review of your hotel. Encourage guests to create their own photos and videos about your hotel. Again, listen in on social media to learn what people are saying about your hotel and create new relationships that could result in new evangelists.

Create Evangalists for your hotel with Spreadly

Dan took the idea of social media and combined it with affiliate marketing to create a new program called Spreadly⁴.  Spreadly is a social affiliate marketing program any online merchant can use to turn their customers into evangelists. The idea behind Spreadly is that a business can help support a cause and the cause is the reason why people start talking about the business.

Spreadly provides users with a widget that they can place on their purchase confirmation page. Customers can then choose a cause they are interested in and Spreadly creates a referral link where users can easily share the information through Twitter, Facebook, or E-Mail. Your company vows to pay $5 (or amount agreed) for every purchase that their friend makes. If you are interested in using this program you can request an early partner account on the site www.spreadly.com.

In closing, below is a quick re-cap of the Lessons Learned From the Obama Campaign:

Lesson #1: Define Success

Lesson #2: Question Assumptions

Lesson #3: Divide and Conquer

Lesson #4: Take Advantage of Circumstances

Lesson #5: Turn Your Customers Into Evangelists

Try some of these tactics in 2010. If they were effective enough to help win the presidential election there is a high probability they can help your hotel increase bookings.

If you would like to learn more about how Internet Marketing can help your hotel, please call us at 978-465-5955 or write an e-mail to info@orourkehospitality.

* Slides courtesy of Dan Siroker

1 Candidates@Google: Barack Obama Video

2 Google Website Optimizer

3 Charles meets Barack

4 Spreadly

Ever since social media arrived on the scene there has been speculation that it would be the death of e-mail. Some claim that e-mail is on the decline, and it is the old way of communicating. That is not exactly the case. E-mail is not threatened by social media, in fact it is the home base of all accounts, it drives social web activity, and it can work in sync with social media to increase overall message reach and engagement. We will discuss how social media has affected e-mail usage, explain why your hotel should use the two in conjunction, and give you some tips on how to use the two tactics together.

There have been many research studies aimed at finding out which is the most popular online activity, e-mail or social media. These reports have had conflicting results. The Nielsen Company released a report in March 2009 which revealed that social networks/blogs rated 4^th in the most popular online activity – ahead of personal e-mail.¹ However, other reports reveal the opposite, such a September 2009 report from Pew Research which revealed that on an average day, 58% of internet users send or read e-mail, as opposed to the 27% who use social networking sites.²

This is not to say that internet users use only e-mail or social media sites, as many people use both. So the next question is, does the use of social media decrease e-mail usage? The Nielson Company speculated that it would, and set up a research study to prove their hypothesis. However the results of this experiment, released in September 2009, revealed that social media use makes people consume e-mail more, not less, as they had originally assumed.³ Below is a chart of their findings on how many minutes low, medium, and high social media consumers spent on e-mail over the course of a year.

This chart reveals that social media doesn’t decrease e-mail usage. E-mail is actually a driver of social web activity and the currency of all social media accounts. Most people who use social media sites have their settings set so that they will be notified by e-mail when there is activity on their social media sites. People who participate in social media may also make new connections, and once the initial contact is made, they often move their communication to e-mail.

Why Should your Hotel Combine Social Media with E-mail Marketing?

“The use of e-mail in social networks will be one of the biggest challenges for direct marketers. Over the next five years, marketers must bridge the gap between social and traditional inboxes with social sharing tools,” states David Daniels, Forrester Research Vice President.⁴ This challenge is here now. Your hotel can improve the reach and engagement of your messages by combining e-mail with social media. Below is an outline of why your hotel should use the two together.

• You can listen to your audience and develop your e-mail campaign accordingly

Before you speak, you should listen in social media. What are people saying about your hotel, your competition, your city, or travel in general? This could affect the type of message you want to send. For example you might learn that people are talking about an offer from your competition i.e. a hotel package that includes a free ski pass. You can then beat their offer by offering a free ski pass and include a free spa treatment.

• Social media comments now appears in search

Social media comments now appear in the search engine results pages which will increase your online visibility and drive more traffic to your website. Google has also added a real-time search feature which streams tweets and articles. Obviously you would never send out daily e-mails, but it is perfectly acceptable to send out daily Tweets which will reinforce your message and create a stronger presence in the search engine results pages.

• Social media can help your message go viral

Social media has a strong viral component and can help your message be transmitted to new audiences. It is important to build up your fans in Facebook and followers on Twitter. Encourage your fans and followers to send your message to their network.

• Social media can reinforce your message

A message that is seen various times will help your audience retain it. You can promote your offer through social media but it should be a softer version than the e-mail campaign, as most people don’t particularly like to be sold to on social media sites. You could also use social media to send out ‘teasers’ of upcoming offers. Social Media can be used to create awareness, and e-mail can be used to solidify a message or encourage a call-to-action.

• Social media allows for real-time, two-way communication

Contrary to e-mail, your fans and followers have the option to respond to your message with questions or comments in social media. This can build trust and help you develop a relationship with your audience.

• Social media allows you to communicate at point-of-need

People often send tweets to their friends when they are traveling and they often ask for hotel recommendations. If you listen in social media you can catch this, and immediately send a tweet back saying you’d love to have them at your hotel. Tweetbeep is a free tool that allows you to receive alerts on the the words you choose. For example, you could choose to be alerted whenever your city is mentioned in conjunction with the word ‘hotel’.

Tips on Using Social Media and E-mail Marketing Together

• Co-ordinate your messages and have clear calls-to-actions

Don’t just rush into sending an e-mail out and then tweeting about it. Think about what your message is, and how you can communicate it to your audience most effectively. For example you could develop a social media campaign to generate interest in an upcoming promotion, and then send an e-mail with more details. Co-ordinate your messages and have clear calls-to-action.

• Follow a communication flow

Follow a communication flow and send e-mails to individuals, not a one-size fits all mass mailing. For example if someone has inquired about your hotel meeting space, or your wedding services, or your spa, you know they have purchasing intent and you can send emails with specific information, reviews, and offers about that particular segment. Once a guest has booked at your hotel, you could send them e-mails with more details.

You can also send direct messages to your audience on Twitter and let them know you are there to answer any questions they may have. Social media allows you to communicate with your guest before, during, and after their stay with you. Listen to what individuals are saying on their own social media sites to learn more about them. The more information you have about your audience, the more targeted your e-mails can become.

• Put social media links on your e-mail signature

Add icons to your e-mail signature that link to your social media sites. By doing so, you encourage your contacts, through your daily communication, to follow you on Twitter or become a fan of your Facebook page.

• Add Share With Your Network (SWYN) links

Add links on your e-mail campaigns that make it easy for recipients to share your message with their own networks. Most marketers are familiar with the Forward to a Friend (FTAF) feature, but many users may prefer to share your message through their social media sites because it is often easier than sorting through e-mail addresses. Many e-mail service providers include a sharing option that allows your e-mail subscribers to share your message with their friends or followers. The key to motivate people to share your message is good content.

• Promote e-mail with social media and vice versa

You can use e-mail to encourage people to sign up for your social media sites and use your social media sites to encourage followers and fans to sign up to receive your e-mails.

• Create profiles on your audience and learn what social media sites they use

Keep a database of the e-mail address of those who have chosen to opt-in. Create profiles of each person and track if they also follow you on Twitter or are fans of your Facebook page. You can conduct this research yourself or there are also tools available such as Forrester’s Social Technology Profile Tool⁵ which can help you identify where your target audience is online.

• Measure success

It is very important to measure the success of your campaigns to see what is working and what isn’t. Use Google Analytics to track your social media campaigns. There are many free tools available such as Twitter Analyzer which can help you keep track of shared links. For a longer list of tools see the blog post, ‘16 Ways to Track Links Shared on Twitter or Friendfeed’ by Chris Martin.⁶

You can also measure the success of your social media campaign by creating a Bit.ly account which is a free link shortener. You can use the shortened links in your tweets and then track how many times your link was shared.

• Incorporate social media in your offline campaigns

Incorporate social media in all your offline campaigns by letting your audience know that they can follow you on Twitter and become a fan of your Facebook page. You may even give them an incentive to sign up. For example if you send a direct mail piece about weddings at your hotel you could then offer a discount on a spa service for brides-to-be who opt to follow you on Twitter. They could enter a special code and you could track the effectiveness of the campaign. You could then follow up with a more personalized e-mail.

Future Trends in E-Mail Marketing

In summary, e-mail marketing is still a very effective way to reach your audience, and it is not being replaced by social media. However, it is no longer a stand-alone effort and should work together with SEO, PPC, Social Media, and Traditional Marketing. Many companies are increasing their e-mail marketing campaigns for 2010. Forrester Research forecasts that spending on e-mail marketing is growing in the low double-digits annually, and could hit 2 billion by 2014. They predict that each of us will be receiving about 9,000 e-mail marketing messages a year.⁴

Below is a chart from the Center for Media Research that shows the type of media marketers are aiming to include in their 2010 Plans.⁷

It is very important that you send only relevant messages to people who have opted-in to receive your e-mails or you may be losing money. Forrester Research Vice President David Daniels claims that, “by 2014 direct marketers will waste $144 million on e-mails that never reach their primary target.”

Hotels need to become very strategic with their e-mail marketing campaigns going forward. Take a step back and look at your own e-mail campaigns. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you building a database of guests who have opted in to receive your e-mails?

• Are you profiling these guests and only sending them e-mails that are relevant to them?

• Are you sending e-mails that are effective at each stage in the buying process?

• Are you including links that encourage recipients to share your message with their network?

• Are you developing a campaign that works together with SEO, PPC, Social Media and Traditional Marketing?

• Are you measuring the results of your efforts with analytics?

If you answered no to any of these questions, we suggest you include these tactics in your new year’s resolutions. You do not have to include everything at once. Start by taking baby steps. Any improvements you can make to your e-mail marketing / social media campaign will pay off and put you ahead of your competition.

If you would like to learn more about how you can improve your hotel’s e-mail marketing campaigns please call us at 978-465-5955 or send an e-mail to info@orourkehospitality.com.

References

¹ Social Networks & Blogs Now 4th Most Popular Online Activity

² Pew Internet & American Life Project

³ Is Social Media Impacting How Much We Email?

⁴ Forrester Forecast: US E-Mail Marketing Spending to Reach 2 Billion in 2014

⁵ Forrester’s Social Technology Profile Tool

⁶ 16 Ways to Track Links Shared on Twitter or Friendfeed

⁷ Percentage of Marketers who Aim to Include the Following Media in 2010 Plans

Jeff Jarvis, author of ‘What Would Google Do?’ kicked off the Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago last Monday.  He spoke about Google bigotry and how some traditional news corporations view Google as a monster, or Godzilla, and Google views itself as Snuffleupagus, who is harmless and just wants to help. He also addressed media as a process, not a product, and outlined some traits that make Google so successful. We took a look at how hotels can apply these same philosophies to build a better brand.

‘Vampires, Google Parasites, Content Kleptomaniacs,’ are terms that media baron Rupert Murdoch used to describe online news aggregation sites. Google’s defense is that Google is a great source of promotion, and they send online news publishers a billion clicks a month from Google News, and more than 3 billion extra visits from their other services such as Web Search & iGoogle. That is 100,000 clicks every minute.

Jarvis states that there is a fundamental shift happening in the media economy today in regards to website content and distribution. He stressed that content by itself is nothing, and it is the links to the content that bring it value. He identified the imperatives as follows; content must be searchable to be found, online content forces specialization (do what you do best, and link to the rest), it forces efficiency when you specialize in a subject you are an expert in, and the recipient of links monetizes links.

structural change in media process v. product
There is also a structural change in media process verses product. In media we usually think of content as a product, there is a start and a finish, and in the end we put it up. When content is considered a process it changes the structure. Jarvis thinks that Google Wave¹ will allow an opportunity to create content as a process. He believes that Google may have made a mistake by introducing Wave as a new e-mail. He sees that it also has potential to be a news distributor where people can constantly update content that can be presented on one page.

The problem with ‘the article,’ he says, is that it’s imperishable. However, news changes quickly, and the value of the article goes away. The idea of a news stream is more real-time, and tools such as Twitter and RSS feeds allow for more current information. Content should be thought of as more of a process. The idea of the beginning and the end is over.

distributed vs. centralized
Jarvis states that the audience and developers have becomes the new news distributors. ‘The Guardian’ launched Open Platform² last March, which is a feature that allows content to be repurposed in different ways. There is an API (Application Programming Interface) available that will allow third party developers to access their articles in formats that are geared towards integration with other internet applications.

Today the Guardian announced they are launching an Open 100 competition where you can nominate your top open/organizations in the world. As stated on a Guardian blog post,³ the competition celebrates the power of openness and mass collaboration. While there is no clear-cut definition of ‘openness’ there is undeniably a trend to democratize and de-centralize previously closed business processes. Some are formed from the start around communities, while others are opening up their intellectual property to share with others. This promises better, faster and more efficient innovation.

Google understands that collaboration from users, and input from developers, are necessary elements. Many applications and tools are in a ‘beta’ status where tests are being performed on the product, and users and developers can give their feedback.  As a Google spokesperson explained, “On the web, you don’t have to wait for the next version to be on the shelf or an update to become available, improvements are rolled out as they are developed.”⁴

Jarvis states that Google sees the world differently and that is what makes them so successful. He referred to his book, ‘What would Google Do?’ and said it isn’t just about Google, it’s about the profound changes taking place today and how you and your company should approach them. He highlighted some traits that have allowed Google to excel.

New Relationships

-give the people control, we will use it

-do what you do best and link to the rest

-join a network

New Public-ness

-if your not searchable, you won’t be found

-everybody needs a little SEO

-life is public, so is business

-your customers are your ad agency

New Economy

-Small is the new big

-Manage abundance

New Business Reality

-atoms

-new ethic

-make mistakes well

-life is a beta

-be honest

-be transparent

-collaborate

-don’t be evil

These philosophies apply to different fields in different ways. As a hotel marketing manager, digital media has opened up a whole realm of possibilities and your approach and attitude of how to work with your online audience will come through in every point of contact. Look at the four points listed above; new relationships, new public-ness, new economy, and new business reality. These should certainly resonate with the hotel industry.

Hotels now have the ability to create relationships with their customers. This can be done through many different channels such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs. Put some effort into developing these relationships with your guests, and you will be creating evangelists for your hotel who will speak highly about you to their own personal networks.

New public-ness, for better or for worse, is here to stay, and it has had a huge impact on hotels. It is now common practice for guests to write reviews and post their own photos and videos of your hotel online. Hotels have to embrace this public-ness and view it as an opportunity to learn how they can improve their hotel.

The new economy has affected hotels, but even small things you can do through internet marketing, such as posting images on a flickr account, can go a long way in helping create your brand image and direct traffic to your site.

Finally, the old ideas of how to market and brand your hotel need to change to fit the new business reality. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, be honest, be transparent, collaborate, and your guests will recognize this and feel a greater brand loyalty. When in doubt, ask yourself, “What would Google do?”

If you would like to learn more about Internet Marketing, call us at 978-465-5955 or send an e-mail to info@orourkehospitality.com.

References:

₁ About Google Wave

₂ Open Platform

₃ The Open 100 Competition

₄ Google defends its definition of ‘beta’