Hotels and restaurants 2.0: practical advice to take advantage of social networks

That's it? Everything you've heard about social networking has finally convinced you and you're ready to embark on the adventure? Good idea. But still need to know how to do it and most importantly, what to say. Hoteliers and restaurateurs here are some tips and examples to guide your communications on these networks and expand your virtual community.

At the last meeting of the National Restaurants Association, the adoption of social networks has been considered one of the top ten current trends. According to Damian Mogavero, president of the consulting firm New York Avero all use social media in the future, but it will be in how to integrate them into the culture of the company, some will differ.
some tips

While social networks are proving to be appropriate tools to test new promotions or original ideas, it is not their primary mission. In fact, social networks provide an opportunity to bring something useful to your customers. Most of your communications should have this idea in the background.

Also, play on your strengths. Do not pretend to be what you are not. Your hotel is not the fanciest, but it is really well located? Bid on this asset.

Here are some tips for using social media by a restaurant or a hotel.

     Encourage testing new menu. Offer your Facebook fans of electronic coupons for free trials.
     Encourage your customers to review the new menu items.
     Turn your employees into ambassadors connected.
     Maintain a dialogue with your customers and potential customers. Rick_Bayless Follow on Twitter, a renowned chef from Chicago, this will give you a good example.
     Keep your virtual community informed on various projects or new (new facility, renovated rooms, etc.). So you create the expectation around an event.
     Increase your traffic by creating unique competition, distribution of freebies and RT (Retweet) positive feedback.
     Communicate regularly and at peak of your readers.
     Be visual! Share pictures of your mouthwatering dishes, videos of what happens in the kitchen, images of special events. In fact, images other than those on your website.
     The messages of "buy this or that" are not effective. Social media tend to focus on interactivity and there must be room for criticism. Express yourself on topics of interest to your community (eg, travel advice, shows to see, etc.). Les Chalets d'Emilia (ChaletsdEmelie) and the Opus Hotel (OpusMontreal) do it very well.
     Learn from the experts. Follow hoteliers, restaurateurs or experts in your field to see how they build a community.
     If you talk to people who are interested in your business, there are chances that they work in this industry. This is a good channel for post positions and recruit.

In addition, a presence on social networks increases your SEO Web since Bing (and soon Google) lists the contents of the Twitter and Facebook pages. The image below shows the Twitter account of the Auberge du Littoral near Quebec appears in the first page of results.

La Joie de Vivre hotel chain uses different channels of communication with Mobile Mondays, Twitter Tuesdays and Facebook Fridays. Special promotions are offered on these channels for days and specific institutions. On Mondays, we offer discounts to restaurants and spa, on Tuesdays and Fridays, discounts on rooms. To be informed, you have to subscribe to their text messaging, follow them on Twitter and be one of their Facebook fans.

The success of pop-up restaurants is largely based on social media and its ability to reach customers directly and in real time. For example, the Kogi truck (kogibbq) moves his Mexican-Korean specialties throughout Los Angeles. It was through Twitter that nearly 50,000 fans know where to find them.

L'Anima, a London restaurant, provides a good example of crowdsourcing (see also: Crowdsourcing, an emerging phenomenon), having used the Internet to develop its wine. The restaurant had already organized a tasting with six sommeliers recognized, but they do not agree on the best choice. It was then that customer would come in and voted for their favorite wines, presented in videos by experts. In addition, a competition was attached to the event for individuals who spoke about the experience on Twitter.

Social media is a good channel to promote customer loyalty and chain. Starwood uses precisely for its loyalty program Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG). The company has developed a suite of applications for Twitter, Facebook and iPhone to communicate, share information, photos, etc.

Uses can be diverse, but it is important to keep in mind the notion of utility for the customer.

The success of your social media use, that is to say the creation of an active community around your business, take time and a strong commitment on your part. In addition, the results will not necessarily feel overnight. But for a reasonable cost, the benefits of a good presence on social networks can be amazing!
source : http://veilletourisme.ca/2010/02/02/hotels-et-restaurants-2-0-conseils-pratiques-pour-tirer-profit-des-reseaux-sociaux/