Facebook is latest tool for hotel marketing – Sun

Looking to score a deal at a hotel on a room, meal, spa or special event? Check Facebook.

Consumers who read the Facebook pages of individual hotels – and especially those who “like” the Facebook pages of hotels – can snag discounts and also, receive insider information.

. And it’s particularly useful in South Florida, where residents have lots of full-service resorts nearby and plenty of out-of-towners visiting and where hoteliers are reaching out to draw more locals.

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Lauderdale-by-the-Sea resident Lawrence Ciambrello recently saved more than 25 percent staying at the nearby Royal Palms Resort Spa in Fort Lauderdale with out-of-town friends, thanks to Facebook.

“It’s all about making contacts,” said Ciambriello. “And once you make contact, they love you.”

Facebook expands deal options beyond hotel Web sites, Hotels.com or other travel sites. . “Like” the resort, and it can send offers directly to your Facebook newsfeed, said Susan Aichele, director of sales and marketing at the Atlantic Resort Spa on Fort Lauderdale beach. A sample deal might be: Our masseuse has slots free today from 3pm to 6pm. Come in this afternoon for massages at 20 percent off, she said.

Hoteliers say Facebook does more than help promote unsold rooms. It promotes dialogue with guests that can help improve service, build customer loyalty and increase business long-term. That applies both for out-of-towners and locals who may want to dine at a hotel restaurant, use its spa or attend its events.

That helps explain why the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel Casino entertainment complex in Hollywood has racked up one of the largest Facebook followings among South Florida hotels. More than 26,000 people have “liked” its Facebook page since he page launched in May 2009. The complex celebrated reaching 20,000 friends this spring, with a contest for fans and a free night’s stay as the prize.

The biggest group of Seminole Hard Rock fans are young adults, 25-35 years old, who often attend its night-time activities. More than half of its fans are women, said Ana Lanzas, the hotel’s public relations manager.

The Hard Rock engages the followers with more than discounts. It regularly posts photos and videos to draw interest. Those include “behind-the-scenes” shots, including some from its recent Motley Crue rock band concert. It also posts coupons and giveaways, such as a $10 casino voucher, Lanzas said.

To keep fans coming to the page, it also makes sure to monitor fan comments and address concerns in a timely way. Friends want to “know there’s actually a person responding and listening,” Lanzas said.

Starting a Facebook page and not updating it can backfire, pushing fans away, analysts say.

That’s why some hotels – including The Atlantic Resort Spa on Fort Lauderdale beach — are turning to outside contractors for help. Specialists assist in setting up the pages, supplying news and content, answering fans and building a fan base. They also help monitor results from the page, such as the number of rooms sold or spa sessions booked from Facebook offers.

The resort keeps a separate “deals” page among its Facebook pages, so that people seeking specials can find them fast and those not interested “are spared the posting clutter,” said Lori Menze of Incite Response from the Denver, CO area, which helps hotels develop their Facebook programs.

Menze suggests consumers use hotel Facebook pages not only to find deals but also request them. She told the story of a traveler who recently told The Atlantic it was his birthday that weekend and wanted a deal. Within 10 minutes, the resort responded with a phone number to call to reserve a deal for a night.

“Don’t be afraid to tell a hotel or resort what kind of deal you would like to see offered,” said Menze. “If you don’t see a deal you love, ask for it.”

dhemlock@tribune.com, 305-810-5009

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Five Truths About Social Media Marketing

Editor’s Note: Mikal Belicove’s recent post Five Lies About Social Media Marketing generated a lively debate among our readers. The following is a guest post written in rebuttal.

Earlier this week, Mikal Belicove published a well-written but misguided article entitled “Five Lies About Social Media Marketing.” While several of his suggestions may be useful for marketers in certain limited situations, most of these social media “lies” are, in fact, truths.

1. Size matters. It just does. Much like the size of a company’s email list has obvious importance to a brand, so does the distribution a brand has on Facebook. Of course, quality of userbase is of utmost importance. Having a large, engaged group of self-identified “fans” or “followers” on Facebook represents a highly valuable distribution channel. Take, for example, American Express. They have over 2 million Facebook fans, or 2 million people to whom they can deliver customer service, notify about new offers and engage with on a recurring basis.

   Ultimately, social media is about sharing, and sharing to a vacuum is useless. The more people signing up to view your message, the more likely you’ll be able to effectively cultivate and monetize these relationships.
    

2. The medium is the message. The medium is completely tied to the message in social media — the two are inextricably linked. This isn’t an issue of substituting technology in place of relevant brand messaging. Rather, this amazing “new media” (we’ll get to that point later) has given brands and marketers an opportunity to position their products and messaging in a unique way. The best brands are doing a phenomenal job of seamlessly integrating the two, and the best and largest platform, Facebook, is working tirelessly to empower brands in every way possible. (Check out facebook.com/marketing, facebook-studio.com, and Facebook communities like Clinique, Starbucks, Audi and American Express.)
    
3. Social media gurus really do exist. They certainly do. I’d qualify many of the talented social-media marketers and Facebook employees I’ve interacted with as social media gurus. And if you need names, consider Gary Vaynerchuck from Wine Library TV and Nick O’Neill from AllFacebook.com. If you’re suggesting that too many people are trying to own the title of social media guru, then I can agree with that. However, there are incredibly bright people innovating within social media. Consider these folks; they’re gurus and worth engaging with.
    
4. Social media is ‘new’ media. Yes, textbook-marketing principles (the 4 P’s, Porter’s 5 Forces, etc.) are still the backbone of brand marketing, and still hold significant weight today — as they should. However, the past few years have proven that certain traditional forms of marketing and advertising are yielding way to this wild and crazy “new media” (see the magazine, newspaper and radio industries for more info.) The best social-media marketers are expertly displaying the basics of marketing and their corporate goals within this “new media” — be it with likes, hashtags or check-ins.
    
5. Social media can be effectively outsourced to a PR firm. If you want to qualify that statement by saying that hiring a PR firm doesn’t necessarily equal social-media success, then I would agree. However, there are many PR firms and social-media agencies that consistently make sure they understand a client’s values and goals before publishing to the social-media ecosystem on their behalf. We really like what Rockfish Interactive is doing Bicycle Playing Cards, for instance. Rockfish, a digital-marketing agency that’s based in Rogers, Ark., recently helped the 143 year-old playing-card maker relaunch its online social presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These firms are doing amazing things to harness the power of social media for their clients.

– Greg Lieber is the vice president of business development at GraphEffect, a Facebook advertising platform for brands and agencies based in Santa Monica, Calif.

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