When it comes to events at your hotel, your dedicated team works like a well-oiled machine to pull off the impossible. From catering to lighting, no detail goes overlooked, and by the time attendees begin arriving, everything is perfect. Or is it?
If you’re not fully integrating social media into your events, you’re missing a huge piece of the puzzle. It’s a way for hotels to enhance the guest experience and extend the visibility and shelf life of a dazzling event.
Whether you’re looking to start from square one or simply need a quick refresher, I’ve put together a brief checklist you might find useful.
- Create a timeline for potential content opportunities, a shot list for essential photos to capture, and a Facebook Event page.
- Use shortened links and a unique hashtag to track clicks and engagement. Point guests in the right direction by including on-site materials with prompts, hashtags, and account handles.
- Publish content across various social channels, prior to, during, and after the event, and create ads that drive traffic to your event page.
- Watch for questions, comments, and engagement and tag any relevant brands, pages, or people. Be on the lookout for posts that use geo-tagging and other indirect mentions of the hotel or event.
- Create photo albums and recap posts for various social channels. You can even get extra mileage well into the future with throwback or #TBT posts.
- Measure and analyze. See who was talking and what sort of content was successful, and use those data points to make your next event even more dynamic.
Here’s just one example of how a hotel smartly supported its social events through social media: The Ritz-Carlton Chicago (A Four Seasons Hotel) hosted a bridal event on THE dec, the hotel’s outdoor bar, on August 13 featuring spring 2015 bridal gowns.
On the day of the event, the hotel live tweeted and posted photo contents to its brand channels using relevant hashtags such as #WeddingWednesday. The property also actively engaged on photos posted by partners and attendees of the event through channels such as Instagram.
Following the event, the hotel posted a video from a presenting partner highlighting the event and dresses on Facebook.
