Marketing in todays business worlds can be challenging at times. Many, if not all industries have changed there advertising approach. Today I am going to blog about one particular type of industry,the hotel industry.
Prior to the web many businesses had few choices to get attention to there organization. They depended on purchasing expensive advertising media like TV, Radio, newspapers ,and print magazines or getting a third party ink write up . In todays internet world its a whole new game , especially for the hotel industry.
Most Hotels no longer rely on the USA TODAY or the travel magazines. Many rely on our(meaning the public) reviews that we post on the web.One of the biggest fears among General Mangers in the industry is getting a negative review in on any online booking agents. For example, Trip advisor has thousands of reviews for hotels. If a hotel has a poor public reviews there prices and occupancy will suffer.
It is not uncommon for some hotels to have there own social media department.
The internet is not just another Medium . it is a valuable communications tool. Hotels today are better today at finding out what there guests want. Most hotels have there own website, they have a fan page on Facebook, are members of twitter, you tube, and even there own blog.A simple tweet from a friend saying that they stayed at the Delano hotel in south beach can be seen by thousands of potential guests Utilizing these tools help them communicate better with potential clients. These tools also help the Delano show who they are. Before when we used travel gents or the phone book very few times we could see the what the property and surrounding area looked like. Today we do not even consider a room at a hotel that does post any pics.
http://www.milestoneinternet.com/html/web2.0-social-media-optimization.asp
http://www.milestoneinternet.com/html/web2.0-social-media-optimization.asp
You are difinitely right. I ALWAYS book a hotel after readin the reviews from other people who have stayed there. I definitely take into account the experience that a fellow consumer had rather than a simple advertiser. Hotels, and any industry is smart to use e-marketing in this aspect to make sure that they keep getting business. I think reviews are a big part of how companies should approach customers. They need to say, "look how happy the smiths looked while they stayed with us, we want you to feel the same way." E-marketing this way, in my opinion will only help.
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