Were halfway through the summer, but while plenty of people are kicking back and enjoying their vacations, the social media development teams likely arent doing the same. In the past two weeks alone, weve seen four big new updates that can directly impact the social marketing campaigns of hotels, resorts, and other businesses in the hospitality industry. Lets take a close look at each one.
We’re halfway through the summer, but while plenty of people are kicking back and enjoying their vacations, the social media development teams likely aren’t doing the same. In the past two weeks alone, we’ve seen four big new updates that can directly impact the social marketing campaigns of hotels, resorts, and other businesses in the hospitality industry. Let’s take a close look at each one.
Twitter Releases Full Desktop Experience
Twitter has been testing the newer version of its desktop interface for the past few months, and now the full roll out is happening.
| Image source: Twitter The new desktop changes include the following: - Explore is now available in desktop, and not just the apps
- More live video and local moments based on your location
- Bookmarks for easier navigation
- Improved direct message viewing for easier management
- Easier swap between Twitter profiles
- Personalized profile abilities, with different themes and color options
What This Means for Hotels and Resorts: The new desktop version of the site is significantly improved, which will make it easier for hotels and resorts to navigate the platform. There is one big change though that we want to note, and that’s the more live video and local moments (the latter of which are based on your location). These will be prioritized in users’ feeds, so take advantage of this and create this content to improve your reach and connect with more members of your target audience. Instagram Rolls out Stories Chat Stickers We’ve gotten yet another new feature for Instagram Stories, and this time it’s the Chat sticker, which allows you to invite Story followers to join in on a new group chat. Instagram is currently advertising this as a way to jumpstart big group conversations or make plans. | | |
| Image source: Jan Manchun Wong What This Means for Hotels and Resorts: For hotels or resorts with large accounts, this sticker type could get a little chaotic, but it may be a great option for either accounts with smaller followings (think 10,000 or under) or those who are showing some of their Story content only to exclusive targeted groups of high-value customers. In the latter scenario, you could ask these specific users via Story if they want to participate in a new rewards trial program, and if so to join the chat. LinkedIn Explains Recent Algorithm Changes Facebook typically comes out swinging when they make algorithm changes and quickly explain what’s in store as a result, but LinkedIn hasn’t always done that. Instead, they just recently went into detail about changes they’d made over the past 12-18 months that prioritized high-quality conversations while trying to lower the reach of “viral” content or clickbait. Before the changes, LinkedIn had reportedly noticed that the majority of the attention on the platform was going to the top 1% of power users. Now, people who are engaging regularly will be seeing more notifications, and more engaging conversations will show up in their feeds. What This Means for Hotels and Resorts: A lot of hotels and resorts often overlook LinkedIn, but it’s an excellent way to connect with new employees, people looking to book conferences, and those looking to stay while at a professional event. Make an effort to engage in meaningful conversations on the platform from your personal profiles and start interesting discussions to maximize your reach on the platform. LinkedIn Announces New Company Page Features LinkedIn may keep quiet about their algorithm changes until long after the fact, but they’ve happily announced new features for Company Pages. These new features include: - Custom CTA buttons for your Pages, which include “contact us,” “learn more,” “visit website,” “register,” and “sign up.”
- An improved analytics dashboard that can offer more details about who is clicking through the profile and on your CTA.
- Communities Hashtags, which allows you to associate your Page with relevant hashtags so you can find and join in on important conversations.
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What This Means for Hotels and Resorts:
All of the new features for Company Pages are a great asset to hotels and resorts using the platform.
The custom CTA option may increase the likelihood of people taking action, and you can customize it based on what actions you want to prioritize. If you’re trying to encourage people to simply book, a “visit website” is a good option, but “contact us” is a better choice if you want to entice people to get in touch over custom event packages. You can track how different CTAs will impact your success through those new analytics and optimize your Page accordingly.
The Communities Hashtag feature is also a great one, and it’s something we haven’t really seen before on other platforms. Use this to look for this engaging, meaningful discussions we talked about in the last section and stay relevant in all the conversations that could be connecting you with new guests.
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