Social Media 101
A Guide for Innkeepers
by The B&B Team�
Social Media is the ultimate buzz phrase these days for all types of businesses. Small businesses in general, and innkeepers in particular, are trying to figure out what, if anything, they need to do to "get in the game" and be truly relevant in the marketplace. You want to sell rooms, and your guests are using an ever greater array of media to get their information. And therein lays the challenge. How do you manage the expectations of your guests and maintain your sanity at the same time?
Since the 1990's when innkeepers started getting websites for the first time, the world has changed, and the past couple of years have seen an unprecedented rate of change. It seems like it's no longer enough just to have a website. So what's an innkeeper to do? The first piece of advice is not to panic. Take a deep breath, learn a few things, and address the most important things first.
If it's been a while since you updated your website, or if your website is not up to today's standards (and the expectations of your future guests), that's the place to start. It's simply not realistic to have a homemade site with amateur snapshots and expect increasingly savvy and sophisticated travelers to want to stay with you. So, take an objective and critical look at your primary touch point, your website, and ask yourself if it's good enough. If you can't be objective, ask some friends or a professional for a critique. If it needs work, fix it before you even think about doing anything else.
Everyone talks about blogs these days, and an increasing number of innkeepers are incorporating blogs into their marketing strategies. A blog allows you to become interactive with your guests and the public at large (those who might become your guests). After your website, a blog is the first "must have" social media tool. It's not essential, but it can be helpful for search engine recognition and for the information you can share and the relationships you can start to build. Stay away from politics and religion in your blog (and your website) unless you want to alienate large numbers of potential guests. Keep it fun. Write regularly (you'll find your own pace) and well (proof it, spell well, etc.), and get help if you need it.
If your website is great, and you're already blogging regularly and "have it down," then you might consider other social media tools like Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook is a place designed specifically for social interaction and communication between people who choose to be "friends." It has traditionally been linked to an individual. In 2009 Facebook decided to allow business pages, and since that announcement there has been an explosion of commercial usage of Facebook. You can do and say things in Facebook in a way that other media aren't suited for. Unlike a personal page, a business page in Facebook does not require you to "make friends" for people to see your page. They can view it and, if they want to keep up, can become a "fan." People often become a fan of a business and then invite their friends to become fans, too. That's the viral power of Facebook. And there's another advantage.
Facebook will allow you to advertise in a highly targeted way. Do you want your inn's page to be seen by married women over 50 who live in the Fort Lauderdale area? Boys between 18 and 25 who love football (only kidding, but you could!)? People planning a wedding in the next 6 months? You can select whatever criteria you want and the time you want the ad to be active (one day, a month, only Thursdays, whatever). Your ad will appear on the page of anyone who matches the criteria, and you only pay if they click on the ad. This is a potentially great tool to promote special events, target new brides-to-be, bird watchers, etc. Experiment. It's fun.
Twitter is the other, latest, most talked-about social media tool. In Twitter you have 140 characters to say something. Not a lot of space! It's a great way to draw attention to something by reference, but unless you plan to become a regular Twitter user, which is the only way to engage in the conversation, it may not be very useful. On the plus side, you can link your Facebook and Twitter posts so they show up in the sites. Ditto with your blog posts. These are good tools to spread the word about your blog to build popularity and, at the same time, develop links with a broad constituency, some of whom may like to read blogs, others who like Twitter, and others still who are avid Facebook fans.
Understand that with all social media, to understand it you have to participate. Start by listening, and then keep listening. Find, read, and subscribe to relevant blogs. Chime in when you have something to say. See how it's done well (and poorly). Emulate the best.
In the end, you have to decide what works for you. Experiment with the various tools. Make a plan. Then decide how much time on a daily or weekly basis you're going to devote to learning first, then developing a new marketing tool. Once you have a plan, try to stick with it. Nothing will happen overnight, so you need to be patient. Use each medium to develop the others, and you might be surprised how big your social network can become! In the process, you could sell a few rooms and even position yourself ahead of your competition.
And did we mention that a younger generation who actively uses social media is the future of the industry? Think about it. The choice is yours.