Social Networking and Hospitality

Online technology is challenging business to evolve their marketing practices to engage their customers in all new areas online. And right now, one of the fastest growing segments of online traffic has been seen in the social networking websites like Facebook, MySpace, Hi5 and YouTube. Social media is hot; representing a new low-cost avenue for engaging with consumers at a much deeper level than is typically achieved with traditional advertising.

Harnessing this connectivity with so many potential customers for little or no cost would seem to be a no brainer. But simply having a free MySpace or Facebook account doesn’t guarantee that the business will be pouring in. Moreover, if you attempt to join or create a social network solely to promote your company to other member, you might find little or no success or even worse you’ll be marked as a spammer.

You will need a carefully planned s-marketing campaign. Try to focus on a mix of marketing and customer service. Learn how to interact with other members of the network.

Much like email marketing, it is crucial to have a strong qualified list of social networking customers in that you can segment their interests, demographic, etc.
Another hurtle to overcome is the sensitivity to anti-commercialism. The consumer is constantly being bombarded with meaningless ads online, which can send users running away. These social websites know this, and have strict rules on spammers. A successful social networking campaign will be the careful mix of content your customer finds valuable and marketing at a frequency that doesn’t overwhelm them.

One of the strengths of this media is building brand presence. You will have a chance to become more interactive with your customer giving them a tangible relationship to your business. So it is important that you devote more effort than just sending out offers and promotions. Connect your customers with photos and stories of your property that can then virally spread get customers interested. Below you’ll find a couple social networking standouts you’ll want to take a look at.

Facebook: Is a popular free-access social networking website with more than 150 million active users. More than half of the users are outside of college and the fastest growing demographic is those 30 years old and older.* Users can join networks organized by geographical region, workplace, school and even businesses.  Facebook has created a niche among the college crowd and has seen a huge boom in user sign ups.

MySpace: Much like Facebook, MySpace is an online community that connects friends and others who share similar interests. MySpace has a reputation for being more for a younger crowd however MySpace has been experiencing a older demographic shift with more than half of MySpace visitors 35 years or older**

Twitter: Started just a couple of years ago but has rapidly become one of the most talked about social networking services. Twitter is a very simple service compared to its other social brothers but can be an effective tool to organize impromptu gatherings, create a quick buzz or send quick updates to your customers.

There is no exact science to Social Marketing but if you are looking to gain exposure among the next generation of customers its time you get acquitted to the burgeoning medium.