Mr. Bifulco

Social Media & PR

Learn How to Grow Your Fan Base on Social Networking Sites

By Ryan Bifulco, Founder & CEO, Travel Spike

Everybody likes to be popular. Whether it is having lots of friends in high school or going to a bar “where everyone knows your name,” we all like to feel a part of something larger. That is really what social networking is all about. You want to be a part of a group with common interests or a community that shares like ideas.

The same sentiments above apply to hotel marketing principles. Everything that your hotel does on Facebook or Twitter needs to play into this paradigm which centers on the connections within the community. As a result, make sure your property remembers these principles as you attempt to stand out on Facebook and Twitter. Understand that users are not logging on to Facebook to learn about your hotel’s breakfast package (Though we all know your Eggs Benedict are fantastic!) Most of them do not care. What does excite them is content related to their interests. Users like to create relationships with brands and with other users on social networking sites. Many of them are actually trying to “network” and grow professionally. Users want to rub elbows online with industry heavy hitters and with other social networkers that can help with this growth. Fans and followers also enjoy chatting online about a certain passion or hobby whether it is the Chicago Bears or fly-fishing.

So, what do you, as an hotelier, need to do? Offer value and don’t just post about your own hotel all-day long. That adds absolutely nothing to the social networking community. Let’s not forget that social networking is also a two-way communication platform meaning you must interact and engage with your fans if you want to keep them. You should not treat your fans simply as new customers similar to how you view a web visitor. Instead you (yes you, the hotel) need to connect with them as equals and maintain conversations with them.

Your hotel can pose questions to your fan base to help get the conversation started. You can also answer questions that your fans post to your hotel Facebook or Twitter page. If your hotel is a true resource, you are much more likely to be recommended to friends. This concept might include posting local event information or tips for traveling in your community. Your hotel might post expert advice on a certain topic. For example instead of saying “We have a spa with amazing treatments”. You might say “Did you know that 75% of people that get a massage once a month live longer”. This nugget or tip is something that users will retweet or comment on.

The main idea here is to NOT just sell like a used car salesman. Just by offering advice and positioning yourself as a resource with real tips, you will be way ahead of the game. Users gravitate toward people that add value without simply selling constantly.

One of your main goals should be to get retweeted so that you can gain exposure beyond your own fan base. Tweets that are a bit less than the maximum 140 characters have a much greater chance of getting retweeted. So whatever you have to say, say it quickly to increase your hotel’s exposure.

This concept of fishing in other ponds or getting some awareness with the fans of your fans is the exponential aspect of social media. As you create more buzz your fans will recommend you to their friends. This is precisely why it is important to post interesting content or valuable offers. Nobody is going to tell their friends all about your hotel if you only offer a breakfast package or a spa with amazing treatments. You must have fresh content that users actually enjoy rather than corporate marketing speak. Ask yourself if you would read or click what you are typing into Twitter. If the answer is “not sure” then you better make the Tweet or Facebook post more exciting or more valuable. Maybe your hotel offers Twitter and Facebook fans a special rate or discounted airport transfer. Perhaps you offer a spa credit or restaurant credit to social media users as a way to entice them to engage with your brand.

Another key concept to success with social media is to let the audience participate. You will reap the benefits big time if your hotel learns how to listen instead of just talking. Your property needs to listen to its fans in order to meet their needs and have actual conversations with them. So take a break from selling and have some fun.

Make sure you update Twitter 10 to 25 times per day. Update Facebook at least once a day as it is key to let your fans know that you have fresh content. Let them know about new events both on property and even down the street in your neighborhood. Remember you are a part of a larger community so every Tweet does not have to mention your hotel.

Keep in mind that you can utilize these tips yourself to get rolling with social media. I understand that most hotels do not have the time to manage social media on a daily basis. So try to do what you can and seriously consider bringing in some extra outside professional resources. To truly see massive amounts of fans and revenue you need to bring in the heavy artillery. It is so competitive now on both Twitter and Facebook. Many hotels have hired guns and top notch social media marketing firms running the show. So you can only get so far on your own. Many of our clients take things as far as they can internally before calling in our expert team to get them to a higher level. Other clients prefer to have a professional involved from the beginning so that they can develop a social media strategy.

Having a solid social media strategy that fits your hotel is certainly another critical factor to gaining more social media fans. Your strategy will set the tone as to where you focus your limited time and budget. If you want to reach businesses or business people, then you might look at LinkedIn. If your hotel wants to focus on a particular city, then you can target those potential fans. Your strategy helps you stay focused on matching your project to your demographics. That is why we talk a lot about quality and not just quantity. Anyone can get 10,000 followers from China, but a true social media success story happens when you get the right followers that fit your property.

Social media can yield plenty of revenue to justify the cost. Based on your budgets, your hotel can also advertise on Facebook and Twitter in order to increase your fan base. Just remember it is not wise to attempt to sell rooms with your marketing message since again the main purpose of social networking is about the network and community. Your marketing message should focus on building fans first.

So how do you translate virtual fans into real live guests visiting your hotel? Post often and be interesting so that your hotel adds value to the social community. Offer special rates and perks for social media users. They will in turn tell their friends and your property will benefit from the buzz. And make sure you participate in the conversations by not selling constantly. Your fans will thank you.

Ryan Bifulco is an Internet and travel pioneer with over 15 years of travel and new media experience. An expert on interactive travel, destination marketing, and tourism, Mr. Bifulco has been featured on Business Talk Radio's Travel Show, ABC Radio, NY Times, and USA Today. Mr. Bifulco launched the first ever luxury travel podcast in January of 2006 called journeyPod. He founded and leads Travel Spike, an interactive company offering custom marketing and technology solutions exclusively to the travel sector. Mr. Bifulco and the team at Travel Spike provide digital strategy, dynamic packaging booking engines, and online travel marketing to over 1500 travel clients. Mr. Bifulco can be contacted at Extended Bio...

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