Top 5 mistakes most hotel social media accounts contain

Social media together with the hospitality industry can make a great pair. Too bad very few hotels actually know how to make that happen. Instead, the hotels’ social media strategies are full of mistakes, which results in countless number of missed opportunities.

No proper signage at the property: Many hotels that have social media presence either hide it in an offline   world on purpose or do so unintentionally. The hotel may have a Twitter and Facebook account, yet when you are staying at the hotel, you would never know. Does it make any sense? No, but it often is the case. Having signs at the front desk, on the flyers, newsletters, feedback cards, receipts etc. would go a long way when it comes to encouraging the existing customers to join the hotels’ social media world. Without the signs, the hotels make the customers dig deep, which is something very few will do.
Doubtful or non-existing widgets on the hotel’s website: Many hotels with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc. accounts don’t link them properly to their website. The widgets (small icons) are either not there or hard to notice. Even worse, some hotels don’t even link their social media accounts to the website at all. Talking about hindering your social media strategy.
Let’s copy all other marketing materials: When you look at Four Seasons (twitter.com/fourseasons) for example, all you see are the stiff updates made out of everything you can learn from the website or printed marketing materials. Whoever runs this account doesn’t realize what my Twitter friend, @iconic88, once tweeted: “The power of Twitter is in your sharing, not your selling.” The social media channels are unlike any other marketing channels and have their distinctive advantages, like first-hand contact with existing & potential customers, so copying other marketing messages should be a secondary factor.
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