Ms. Murphy

Social Media & PR

Selecting the Right Channel for the Right Message in Social Media Marketing

By Hilary Murphy, Professor & Researcher, Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne

Both academic and industry research shows that social media has an impact on the consumers’ decision-making in relation to travel and hotel decisions and marketers are investing heavily in social media channels to reach customers. Though social media marketing $$ spend is comparatively conservative, time spent on constructing presence and customer communication is not!

Social media and user generated content which are considered most relevant to the hotel sector are; commercial review sites ( eg Tripadvisor), Social Networks ( Facebook), Supplier Sites ( Hotel websites, destination websites ) and content communities ( Youtube, Flickr) The information on the different categories of social media exert influence at various stages of buyer behaviour (awareness, information seeking, evaluating alternative, purchase and post purchase evaluation).... all of which leads to challenges and opportunities for marketing decision makers i.e. which channel, what message, when and how to use social media?

Which Channel?

There are many different types of user generated content/social media sites e.g. social networking sites (e.g. Facebook), collaborative projects (e.g. Wikipedia), blogs and microblogs (e.g. Twitter), content communities (e.g. Youtube), virtual game worlds (e.g. World of Warcraft) and virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life) plus other specific websites related to the hospitality sector e.g. commercial review sites (e.g. TripAdvisor) and hotel related blogs such as hotelchatter not to mention location based systems (e.g foursquare). In 2011, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs were the top four social media sites used for marketing. Social media channels vary by country and regions, all customers do not use Facebook! In Holland, Hyves is a popular social media channel, in China renren and SinaWeibo are more popular, whereas in Germany the StudiVZ Group is still a market leader.

Customers utilise these platforms of social media in different contexts and for different reasons. Companies need to understand the motivations and contexts to effectively adapt their marketing strategy to these various platforms which supply a variety of content which include facts, rankings and opinions in text, video and image formats.

Social media channel choice is also heavily influenced by overall “trip planning behaviour”, e.g. the length of time spent planning their trip in advance, internet usage, booking frequency and the number of trips taken per year. Our research shows that the earlier that an individual starts planning and the fewer trips they make per year, the more likely they are to consider subject specific blogs and forums, in preference to social media or review sites, in their trip planning. Hotels can launch content on these platforms targeted for early stages of buying and then direct customers to property specific content during their planning process. Though we cannot drive the customers’ internet journey we can guide (and track) them, particularly if our own website is a port of call.

Companies which offer very specialised trips (e.g. safari) or “once-in-a-lifetime-opportunities” that have to be planned well in advance, involve high risk, appeal to collective decision makers (such as families) or companies with a very low number of repeat customers, should also consider using blogs/forums and content communities like youtube as initial communication channels.

When?

Recent research indicates that individuals are interested in “getting ideas and information” about the destination on social networks such as Facebook. In contrast, they are looking for specific information on hotels on commercial review sites like Tripadvisor. This implies that at the beginning of the purchase decision process and to create awareness and/or stimulate interest, social media presence is required on these platforms even though they are not “ready to buy”. There is also an opportunity at this stage for “lost customer” recovery!

At later stages hotel marketers can attract consumers by implementing tactics that respond to their needs as they progress through the decision making process, e.g. make sure that reviews on commercial review sites are mainly concerning the hotel and facilities, while a blog or a picture based content platform continues to promote the context of the destination and/or introduces special activities available at the destination. Presence on these sites may not guarantee purchase; however, they may curb customer defection. These types of marketing tactics ( posting comments, pictures, videos) are likely to improve loyalty and engagement with your hotel and would also help to “tangibilize” the experience by providing evidence to the potential consumer, more relevant in high risk purchases.

At post purchase stage, hotels should try to involve customers in their social media tactics by encouraging them to post their own pictures onto their site or to add an article in the company’s blog. Some hotels do this by giving cameras to customers and asking them film/make pictures during their stay and helping them afterwards to upload it on social media websites. Photo opportunities and incentives encourage customers to share positive content.

What Message?

In all channels authenticity is obligatory and marketers need to make sure that the information distributed is authentic and credible. Examples to increase credibility are, for example; authentic pictures and videos which are not overtly glossy or “touched up”, responses to both positive and negative content from an “authoritative “member of the hotel staff. Tone of voice and adopting the relevant “persona” is also critical on social media channels with a less personal/ familiar tone adopted at the earlier stages whereas a more familiar/ intimate tone can be used at later stages.

Who’s on Social Media?

Getting to know your customers social media channel of choice is critical. Various statistics profile the social media user as 25-34, females (56%) and more likely to be unmarried, though use of aliases can distort demographic data! Nonetheless, research shows that significant differences can be seen between the social media behaviour of men and women e.g. women see social media as a way of connecting with others and developing relationship, whereas men engage in a more purposeful way to complete specific tasks. Next to gender, age is a very important variable for marketers to consider and our study shows that younger customers, in particular, frequently consult social media and are influenced by the content when planning a leisure trip. Nationality also plays a large part on customers’ choice of channel, e.g. our research shows that in Europe, more text content is posted in the UK and more pictures, 3D content and videos are posted by the Spanish.

What to do?

However, it is your customers’ social media consumption that counts. To understand this, the most important first step is to “listen and understand your customer” i.e. the language used and the type of conversation on these social media sites. This can easily be done by signing up for a service such as Google alerts or following a particular hashtag on Twitter. After understanding who and where your customer is then the next stage should be to “participate and publish” by either replying to conversations or sharing information. The next step is to “get closer and share stories” which are particular to your product and market. Then, if you have the time and social media skills in your organisation “building and leading your community” would be the next stage. However the last stages requires more time and a defined market strategy that is measurable in outcomes and critical decision are required in terms on integrated marketing communication management, brand management and overall integration of social media into strategy. Like any marketing activity the return on investment should be measured and tools, such as Brand Karma, are available to measure these socio-metrics.

Finally

Social media has mass reach but is not a mass market communication channel. Members and participants of social media share explicit information about themselves, which they expect others to process and use appropriately! Channel choice can be, somewhat, driven by hotel marketers, e.g. inside events and exclusive offers available only on social media platforms, however, it is difficult for one hotel operator to change customers’ media consumption. Rather, it is easier to communicate to them in their channel choice, though avoid flagrant “flogging” of products and services as this may only serve to alienate them from your product or service.

Though social media is not expensive compared to traditional marketing tactics like advertising there is still an opportunity cost. Time is money and you may find yourself overloaded by trivial complaints from low value customers and/or rebutting content that is unfavorable or untrue! A large amount of time can also be wasted by loading or typing content into websites that are never visited by your customer.

Finally, the strength of relationships, i.e. “tie strength”, on social media can be very weak and much marketing effort is wasted on building content and community only to find they decline in popularity or your customers migrate to the next, best social media site!

Hilary Catherine Murphy PhD, MPhil, MCIM, PGdip BIT, BA is a professor and researcher at Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne, Switzerland (University of Applied Sciences- University of Western Switzerland) and, additionally, an Honorary Research fellow in the Marketing Faculty at Strathclyde University, Glasgow. She has a PhD in the diffusion of information and communications technology in the hotel sector from the University of Wales, UK; an M. Phil, also from the University of Wales; a post-graduate diploma in business information technology, a Bachelor degree in business administration, marketing and law from the University of Strathclyde and a diploma in data processing from Louisiana State University in the USA. Ms. Murphy can be contacted at 41-21-785-1496 or hilary.murphy@ehl.ch Extended Bio...

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