As a hotelier, you may be wondering how to make your social media content more authentic, personable, and unique to your own hotel. Creating epic content to share on social media is more than simply posting about an event being hosted at the hotel. It is about creating an experience for your guests, driven by your brand voice.
Like your hotel’s website, social media provides an opportunity to showcase your unique personality. Your hotel’s social channels allow you to connect with the world and should work in tandem with your website and other marketing initiatives. Conveying contradicting hotel personalities across different platforms will create a poor user experience and ultimately hinder your relationships with your guests. According to the American Marketing Association, integrated marketing communications is “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.”
Keep your hotel’s brand voice consistent on social media with Blue Magnet’s Top 5 Brand Voice Tips.
Top 5 Brand Voice Tips for Social Media
While it is important to create a consistent picture of your brand across different marketing channels, you should also consider the audience and user experience of each platform when you determine the tone and language of your channel-specific content. If your hotel’s voice is business professional, then your Facebook and Twitter profiles should be consistent, but with the use of more relaxed language. Social media is a great opportunity to showcase your hotel’s personality and let your sense of humor shine.
1: Use Brand Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to unify your brand in the social sphere. You are able to create conversations, connect with brand supporters, and track what people are saying about your business. Hashtags act as a filing system in search and make it easy to distribute news to a group of users. Your hotel should have a designated hashtag that your fans can incorporate into their own posts. For example, if a guest is interested in Embassy Suites by Hilton hotels, they could easily search for the signature hashtag, “#PrettyGreat” and retrieve all posts including “#PrettyGreat” in real time.
While having a brand hashtag is fun, be careful to only use it where and when it makes sense. Do not try to incorporate your brand hashtag into every single post. The image below demonstrates how to successfully incorporate a brand hashtag into a 140 character tweet. Instead of simply describing the user generated photo, the hotel creatively incorporated the “#PrettyGreat” hashtag to recognize their housekeeping staff with brand association.
2: Repost Guest Photos and User Generated Content
It is common knowledge that travelers are inclined to take photos of their vacation and share them on social media. When guests post photos of the view from your hotel or of the delicious breakfast they enjoyed at your hotel’s restaurant, it is important to share those images with your audience. Even if the guest tagged your hotel in the post, it is unlikely your audience is following that specific guest, meaning they will not see the photo unless your team shares it. This organic content goes a long way. As a prospective guest, it not only shows me what I can expect at the hotel, but tells me that my experience will be worth capturing and remembering forever.
Below is a an image found on Gramfeed, a search engine for Instagram. Essentially, it allows one to filter by location to retrieve guest photos in a particular area. Reposting user-generated content lets you effectively share unique travel experiences with your followers.
3: Be the Local Area Expert
Much like your independent website’s local area page, your social media channels allow you to establish your hotel as the expert of all things to do in your city. While it is important to share hotel happenings and special offers, it is also crucial to speak to the local area because travelers will visit tourist attractions, restaurants, and events around the city during their stays at your hotel. Be an online concierge and provide them with helpful information to navigate the city.
Just like reposting your guests’ photos, sharing photos from recent travelers is also a great way to advertise your local area. Below is an example of a Facebook post in which the hotel shared a photo of a recent traveler flying over a nearby attraction.
4: Introduce Your Team
You may have a “Meet the Team” page on your website; however, this is not the best place to share photos of employees at your annual Halloween party. Social media provides an opportunity to humanize your brand through posting behind-the-scenes content. By putting a face to your name, you are able to showcase your hotel’s personality and invite guests to connect with genuine individuals.
It is no surprise that people do not relate to robots or automated systems, which is why having an authentic presence on social media is crucial for your hotel. The tone with which you write posts replaces any facial expression and body language the guest may experience face-to-face. It is important to use everyday language instead of sounding formal. Speak like you are talking to a friend.
Below is an image of a hotel highlighting multiple employees who were recognized by the US Army Portland Recruiting Battalion for their service. Sharing this photo allows guests to relate with people and connect with the hotel’s team.
5: Remember Your Signature
Do not forget what makes your hotel unique. Maybe your hotel offers complimentary made-to-order breakfast each morning or a chocolate chip cookie upon check-in. Whatever your signature is, remember to speak to it through regular posting. After all, it is in your DNA. This is a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors and feature what makes your hotel special.
The image below is a Facebook post highlighting a hotel’s signature omelets. Instead of just saying, “enjoy our wonderful omelets each morning,” the post paints a picture of guests eating their delicious breakfast. This picture not only illustrates free breakfast at the hotel, but also conveys the great experience the guests have while staying there.
Let Your Voice Be Heard!
Showcasing your hotel’s voice on social media begins with defining your brand voice and creating a cohesive strategy consistent with your overall marketing plan. When you follow these five tips, you can have a strong social media voice like Blue Magnet’s, demonstrated on our Facebook Page.
Contact our team to learn more about creating an effective strategy to showcase your brand’s voice on social media.
