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Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

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Grab a Flip Cam and Go

Friday, November 5th, 2010

The explosion of YouTube has been a boon to hundreds of industries. Music, dance and entertainment careers have been launched, the how-to revolution has flourished, the do-it-yourselfers have found a perfect home and creative marketers have made a name for themselves – all by harnessing the power of video.

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. (more…)

Posted in Hotel Websites, Mobile Marketing, Smartstay, Social Media, Videos | 1 Comment »

Crafting High-Performing Promos for Email and Social Media Channels

Friday, July 30th, 2010

You’ve got your OTA offers out, your auction site offers, your email offers and now your Twitter and Facebook offers. Do you know what promotions are returning the best bang for your buck? Chances are if you are offering the same thing through all the different channels you aren’t targeting users enough and could be missing out on revenue and engagement opportunities.

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.

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Posted in E-Mail Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

Social Media Education – Your First Line of Defense

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

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? (more…)

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Posted in Social Media, Travel Review Sites | 1 Comment »

Should My Hotel Use Facebook Ads?

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

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

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Posted in Internet Marketing, Social Media | 1 Comment »

What’s the Link Between E-Mail Marketing and Social Media?

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Tips on How Your Hotel Can Use Both Tactics in 2010


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.

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Posted in E-Mail Marketing, Internet Marketing, Social Media | 3 Comments »

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