One-on-One
Features
Written by Matt Bolch   
Monday, 01 June 2009
One-on-One - Welcome - RedCoat Publishing
We take a close look at how hotels and restaurants are benefiting from social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter.
Social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and other Web sites and mobile devices featuring user-generated content have exploded in popularity, with millions of users across the US.

Users are no longer exclusively tech-savvy youngsters as people of all ages recognize the value of keeping up with friends and family as well as reconnecting with those who have been lost through time and/or distance.

Businesses increasingly recognize the value of social networking sites to generate interest, create brand loyalty, and allow users to share experiences about a particular company or a particular locale.

Dallas-based Omni Hotels has seen an increase in conversions “from lookers to bookers” since allowing users to post content about local restaurants, museums, nightlife, and special events at The Local Scoop Web site associated with each hotel.

“It’s good sticky content,” said Caryn Kboudi, vice president of corporate communications. “When people go to The Local Scoop, they tend to stay a while and take a dive into that information.”

The Web site, which showcases the collaborative effort among guests and locals to find the best of each city, made its debut last summer during a special promotion. The stated purpose of the site is to connect travelers with Omni Hotels before, during, and after their visit while enabling the brand to continue to build online relationships.

Even after the end of the summer promotion, 13% of visitors to the Omni Hotels Web site continued to click through to The Local Scoop from individual hotel listings. “We want The Local Scoop to be the living room to that destination and a launching pad to business and leisure travel,” said Kboudi. “It ties into Omni Hotels from a value proposition perspective and gives our guests an avenue from which to explore the city.”

Pick a platform
Social networking has evolved from a fad into an important information-gathering and decisionmaking tool. According to a survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 45% of Americans, regardless of age, said they were enthusiastic about socializing through the computer and mobile devices. However, 48% of respondents indicated they were indifferent to the trend, overwhelmed by the preponderance of electronic gizmos, or were avoiding the Internet altogether.

The key to a successful campaign is to establish clearly defined goals, then work backward to pick the social media platform that’s best suited for the purpose, said Robert Gourley, creative director at Mojave Interactive, a San Francisco-based company that specializes in participation marketing.

Participation marketing, which can include social networking, occurs when people actively seek out information about company products or services and contrasts with traditional advertising, which is considered interruptive. Mojave has done work for Whole Foods and Café Press and is currently developing interactive content for Rachel’s US, a division of WhiteWave Foods.

The trend toward participation marketing requires a shift in thinking from traditional advertising to creating one-on-one connections between a company and customers or potential customers. Gourley advocates identifying and reaching out to brand ambassadors to get the word out about new products. Gone are the days of putting out press releases and hoping some news outlet somewhere agrees that what you think is important
is actually news.

Brand ambassadors usually are the hub around which flows communication about a certain product or service. These people likely will appreciate the attention, but don’t be fooled into thinking they will be pushovers. On the contrary, ambassadors take their positions seriously and probably have more knowledge than the average person about the topic. A positive review from an ambassador can have a far-reaching effect.

“These hubs crave information and want to be at the center of the action,” Gourley said. “These people can create the kind of viral pass-along that money can’t buy.”

To reap the benefits of social media, a company needs a dedicated person (or staff, depending on company size) to manage these efforts, Gourley said. The creative director notes that Four Season’s Hotels and Resorts does a great job of using Twitter for providing personal responses to questions that others also can read.

One-on-one attention is vital to creating a user experience that will translate to the customer evangelizing to friends. Home Depot and Whole Foods also use Twitter to provide valuable customer service, he said. “Social media helps with ongoing brand reputation,” Gourley said. “If you can provide superior customer service in a public space, you’ll create customers for life.”

Dumping MySpace
The ability of social networking to create top-of-mind awareness has not been lost on Rocky Top Hospitality, which operates six full-service restaurants in Raleigh and one in Fayetteville, NC. The Raleigh-based company also has a full-service event catering division.

You name the social networking avenue, and the company likely has tried it, said Liz Wallace, executive vice president. Rocky Top has been active on LinkedIn. Managers use the site to find potential workers, and employees can join a company-specific networking group.

Rocky Top has dabbled with MySpace, developing a presence to promote the after-10 p.m. bar scene at three of its restaurants located in the same downtown Raleigh building. However, Wallace said the MySpace page required a lot of management and clean up after other businesses posted advertisements on the site.

Consequently, the company doesn’t use it much anymore and has turned its attention to Facebook, developing a site to tout its wedding catering capabilities. “We do a lot of networking with other vendors,” Wallace said of Facebook. “They are setting up their own pages, and we are gaining friends.”

Rocky Top currently is developing individual Facebook pages for each restaurant. Multiple administrators have access to Facebook and owner Dean Ogan’s Twitter account, which was opened in March. “Tweets” generally are about restaurant specials and discounts but do get personal at times. Company officials hope to launch a YouTube channel this summer to allow customers to upload videos about the restaurants.

So has all the effort been worth it? “It’s still too early to tell,” Wallace said. “But any time we get direct contact with guests is a good thing.”

Matt Bolch, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , is a freelance writer based in Atlanta.
 
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