Emilie Couton,: Making an impression is important
As part of WIT’s 10 anniversary international hotel group, Accor, shared the “Little Big 10” highlights of the 2014 Accorhotels Social Media Monitor, a handy guide on the 101 of using social media by hotels to enhance service delivery and promote the brand
Emilie Couton, vice president, guest experience of Accorhotels, in presentiing the 10 essential “rules” from the Monitor listed “making an impression” as the first of the 10.
According to the Monitor, in response to the question on ‘How do you feel about ads on social media?”, 39% of the respondents said they did not mind them while 14% found them “interesting and useful”. However, 12% regarded the ads as “harassing and not useful” while 15% “never noticed them”.
The other “Little Big 9” are:
• Be platform relevant: Know which social media platforms are being used geographically. For example WhatsApp is popular in Malaysia, Singapore and India, Line in Korea, Kakao in China, Facebook in most parts of the world etc.
“Be on the lookout for new players”, advised Couton.
• Be travel focused: Know how travellers are using social media for travel. Facebook dominates on most stages of a traveller journey according to the Monitor. Instagram is popular for sharing experiences, while travellers prefer traditional media to research before travel.
• Be country specified: “One common driver in this is age.” said Couton. The younger travellers are more social savvy and adapt to new platforms, while the older generation like in Australia or Japan use social media least.
“So be country specified to address such needs.
• Content: Provide content on a daily basis, like what’s happening in the hotel, for example, or around them. Photos are important too as people are inspired by photos.
• Be active on social media network: Engage with your clients. Post live images on platforms like Instagram.
• Connect online to real people.
• Feed the foodies: 44% of people pose photos of food. “This is a major opportunity to feature F&B, bars, restaurants.
• “Talk to me”: On asking what kind of answers do guests expect from hotels, 48% wanted acknowledgement, 37% explanation, and 21% an apology.
Couton said only 59% of hotel guests hear back from hotels. “This is an opportunity for hotels to stand out”.
• Like a human..: Answering reviews is marketing time,
“So take time to craft call answers,” Couton added.
