How can a hotel use Klout scores to improve customer communications?

Klout scores is online software which permits to measure your influence online regarding to some factors (it is not only the number of fans, followers that you reach...). The scores range from 1 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence. 

The use of Klout scores permits: 

•   To find and reach your social influencers, to communicate with them.
• To use your influencers in order to communicate a positive image of your hotel at their communities : potential guests,...
•   To observe and know better your guest’s reactions : more feedbacks, your image according to your fans, followers or influencers...
• To know better the preferences of your influencers : with that, you can offer them advantages in order to encourage your influencers to communicate positively about your hotel.
• To establish loyalty programs and rewards : a hotel can use Klout Scores, to know who are its influencers, and, can proposed some advantages like free wifi, free breakfast, free upgrades...everything that can permits to communicate better with your influencers and, so with their communities.
• To reach different types of targets, communities : Klout scores measures your influence on different social networks, where you are present, so, you can know who are all your influencers, and you can communicate better with different targets and communities.

Comments about Aude's article

I totally agree with Aude. I think it is a very good and interesting idea to develop comprehensive online booking in Chinese. As she said, China will be, in few years, the largest tourism market of the world, so it is essential to facilitate the reservation process for Chinese customers. 

Starwood has understood that and, as you said it is a plus to have a booking on hotel website in Chinese in regard to the others groups of hotels. 

To conclude, I think it is a very good thing because, when a Chinese customer does not speak English, it can have many difficulties to make a reservation online. Indeed, if you want to book a hotel in China, and the booking on the hotel website is only available in Chinese, I think you would have many difficulties to understand how to book a room online!! It is the same thing for Chinese customers when they do not talk and understand English. Then, as it is a huge market, for me, it is essential to propose on your hotel website the possibility to book in Chinese!!

Link to Aude's article

How Travelers consume hotel visuals?

In the hospitality, internet has a place more and more important in the marketing strategy of a hotel, because, it has a place more and more important in the decision process of the customers. In this sense, before to choose definitively the hotel,  most of the time, clients visit the website of the hotel, its social networks...

As this article explains, VFM Leonardo shared some statistics about consumer behavior in term of hotel visual content viewing across their social network. With these statistics, the owner of the largest media syndication network for the travel industry, gives five reasons to show why travel shoppers want to see hotel visuals.

1. Million of travel shoppers view hotel media online each month.
2. Travel shoppers view hotel visuals on a variety of sites (TripAdvisor, Travelocity...)
3. Number of hotel media views continues to rise year over year.
4. Travel consumers are sharing hotel visuals with their networks.
5. More hotel marketers are syndicating rich media and getting results.

Consumers want to experience hotels through rich visual content (videos, photos, pictures,...).



I think that when we search a hotel, and we go on internet to find the perfect hotel for our travel, we want the same thing : a hotel with a rich and good visual content ; a clear and attractive website with photos and videos; clear and attractive social networks with photos and videos but also with comments and reviews of fans and followers of the hotel ; a presence on websites like TripAdvisor...

For me, a good and rich visual content is a clear and attractive webiste, with imformation, but also with photos and videos of the hotel, in order to give a real image of the hotel at the viewer. It is also a hotel present on social media and it is easy to find its facebook page for example. And, a hotel with a rich visual content is also, for me, a hotel present on some reviews websites like TripAdvisor and Travelocity.

Personally,  when I need to choose a hotel, the two first things that it is important for me are : photos and videos of the hotel on the hotel website ; reviews and comments of persons who know this hotel on TripAdvisor and sometimes of the social networks of the hotel.

And you, How do you consume hotel visuals? Do you sensitive to the hotel visuals in your decision process?

What will delight today's customers who are mobile lifestyle travellers?

DDiH, think tank 2011, cmh oneglobe, hotel think tank

View more presentations from nenesse87

Comments about Lauriane's article

I totally agree with Lauriane. The combination social media + loyalty program is very clever and it is a very good strategy.
Today, it is essential to be present on social networks, like Facebook...with these social networks we can attract a larger number of people, fans, followers. Social media is a new way of communication , and permit to us to collect more feedbacks and reviews in a short time, and at a low cost, as Lauriane said.
Finally, I think that American Airlines is a very good example of a successful combination social media + loyalty program (or marketing campaign). American Airlines made this campaign on Facebook and on Twitter (post on February 22nd), two of the most important social networks, which have each a huge community.
The success of American Airlines' campaign will be to convince and encourage other companies to adopt this same strategy.

Link to Lauriane's article

10 Facebook Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

Today, hotels cannot ignore the impact of Facebook on their business. In this sense, social media in general, takes a place more and more important in a marketing and communication strategy. But, some small business owners think they do not have enough time, money or other resources to be present on social networks like Facebook, so they do not dare to create a Facebook's page. 

This article gives and explains 10 ways for these small businesses to maximize their presence on Facebook with minimum resources.

• Manage expectations: It is essential to set goals when we start on social media, but these goals need to be realistic. For example, a small business cannot expect to have more than one thousand fans in only one month, but it can be realistic to set the goal to have more than one hundred fans in one month

•  Make time: Have a Facebook’s page is not enough, it is essential to updates at least once by day our Facebook’s page with comments, status, pictures, videos,... We need to take the time to do this every day. 

• Learn as much as we can: In order to use sufficiently our Facebook’s page, it is important to read as much we can on the site help center.

• Start with a small budget: The advantage of Facebook, and several other social networks is that to promote our business is free. However, in order to be more sufficient and to maximize our presence, it can be better to buy advertising, but it is essential to start to do this with a small budget. 

•  Create a page, not a profile: With a Facebook’s page we can have more fans and followers than with a profile.

•   Post cool status updates: It can be comments, videos, pictures...Our Facebook’s page is not a marketing brochure but it is a new way to communicate with our clients and fans.

• Have one on one conversation: It can be by responding at a fan’s comment, by thanking and welcoming the new fans...

•  Do not spam : People do not like this.

•  Create coupons and promotions : It can be special facebook's promotions, it is essential to attract more fans.

• Encourage check-ins.

This article is very interesting and can be a great help for small businesses which think they do not have all the necessary resources to be present on social networks. These ways are for Facebook, but I think that the majority of these can be valid for the other social networks such as Twitter…

 This article shows that the small business owners can be present and can profit to the impact of social media like the big businesses...it is harder for the small businesses but with these ten ways and with motivation they can have the same benefits or higher benefits than the big businesses. On social media, I think the importance is not the size of the business but its way to use Facebook, to use these social networks.

Finally, for me there are others ways that we can give to the small businesses to maximize their presences on Facebook, on social media, like to be more confident and transparent with their fans and followers. 

And you, do you have any additional advise to help the small businesses to profit of the social media’s impact?