Now that you know the Start, Stop, Keep strategy and have a plan in mind, let’s get down to work. Before you start, it will help to have the spreadsheet or password log for all of the accounts you want to audit. We recommend that you also have a list of any new social products or features that you are investigating, and if time permits, a basic understanding of how they work and what you want to get out of them. Finally, your historical stats will be helpful–in whatever shape they are in!

The following is a very thorough dive. The broad categories such as profile, admins, etc. are a quick review to make sure they are current and reflect any changes in brand or team. Spend more time on the Content and Channel sections–ideally on a quarterly basis. Most of all, enjoy the adventure!

What Should I Look For?

Look for…

• What’s working and what’s not
• If your account is still on brand
  • This doesn’t just apply to colors in graphic design. Evaluate the tone of lifestyle photos too–to make sure they are in line with the brand.
• Areas to improve upon for engagement
• Ways to grow your following
• Opportunities to use new social platform features

Audit Categories

• Social Profile Presence
  • Your presence refers to the visibility of your brand and reflects your hotel’s digital footprint.
  • Actions
    • Google search your hotel name + social media platform
    • Look for duplicate pages under your name. Guests will sometimes create additional pages by way of geo-locations. It’s important to monitor your presence and flag any additional pages that pop up
• Profile Photo Branding & Sizing
  • Your profile photo should be an easily recognizable, high-quality image that’s sized properly to each platform.
  • Actions
    • Review the profile picture across all of your social media profiles
    • Determine if they are the correct size & ratio based on the following…
      • FB: Minimum 180 x 180 pixels
      • IG: Minimum 110 x 110 pixels
      • LI: Minimum 300 x 300 pixels
      • TW: Minimum 400 x 400 pixels
      • PI: Minimum 165 x 165 pixels 
      • Customized CTA
        • A customized CTA encourages your followers to engage with your content beyond the social platform you’re engaging with them on.
        • Actions
          • Determine how you want users to engage with your content
            • This could be heading over to your website, commenting on the post, retweeting, etc.
          • Create a brief statement inviting your audience to engage in that way
            • The CTA should have a sense of urgency/timeliness and include a link (preferably shortened) if necessary
• • About Sections
    • The “about” sections are brief descriptions of your business that are aligned with brand tone and platform restrictions. Tip: Remember that this content impacts your SEO, so be sure to include relevant keywords. 
      • Actions
        • Review each current “about” section and compile them into one document
        • With them side-by-side, identify discrepancies in content or tone
        • Refresh the descriptions for branding and tone, ensuring that the length of each description is aligned with the platform’s character restrictions
  • Contact Information 
    • The contact information is a section of each social media platform that provides the necessary information for users to contact you. 
      • Actions
        • Review the contact information on each platform for accuracy and clarity
        • Update where necessary
  • Address/Hours
    • The address and hours sections of each social media platform provide users with information about your location and hours of operation. 
      • Actions
        • Review the address and hours on each platform for accuracy and clarity
        • Update where necessary
  • Website Links
    • The website links section of each platform easily directs users to your website.
      • Actions
        • Review the website links for accuracy and be sure that the webpage that you’re directing users to is relevant and can be easily navigated
        • Update where necessary
  • Content Review
    • A content review consists of pulling top-performing and low-performing content to identify common trends across all content.
      • Actions
        • Pull social reports dating back about six months
        • Identify the top performing content
        • Identify the lowest performing content
        • Look for common themes 
        • Create a plan for future content that implements more of the top trends and less low-performing content
  • Auto Responses 
    • Auto responses are a way to acknowledge DMs using a bot that make the user feel acknowledged and provide them with initial helpful links. 
      • Actions
        • Review auto responses for any necessary updates (links, tone, etc.)
        • Review the success of auto messages in the past and look for any confusion that an update message could resolve
        • Update where necessary
  • Admins/Owners 
    • Admin and owners of social pages are the primary managers of your social media account’s backend and publishing. 
      • Actions
        • Review the current admins and owners of your social platforms
        • Determine who should be removed or added
        • Refresh the admins and owners
        • For platforms that don’t allow for admins, such as Instagram, consider doing a password reset to avoid past managers still having access to the accounts
  • Privacy Settings 
    • Privacy settings control who can see your content.
      • Actions
        • Review the privacy settings on each of your accounts
        • Ensure that all accounts are published and public to make sure that your content is being seeing by as many people as possible
  • How frequently should you audit social media
    • Quarterly
      • The algorithms, platform tools and trends are ever evolving. A quarterly audit allows you to stay on top of the changing social world while still giving yourself the 3-month space to test your theories. In social, there’s time to dig in and there’s time to let things play out. You need both, and a quarterly audit allows you just that. 
  • What other considerations should I think through?
    • SEO considerations
      • Consider what links you’re sharing via social media and if those webpages are optimized for relevant keywords.
      • Use alt text on images when the platform allows it.
    • What content types should you focus on? 
      • Review trending content types for each platform and consider how your business can begin implementing those, if not already. 
      • What content types can you improve on? 
      • What is your best performing content format?
      • What is your best performing content type? 
      • What types of content promote the most engagement?
      • How does the same content perform differently across platforms and how can you best utilize each platform based on that data?

About the Author

PART 1: The Start, Stop, Keep Strategy

What’s a social media audit? And what does a good one look like? A social media audit is a top-to-bottom review of your social media efforts. At first glance, it might seem obvious. You know what channels you use. You post and look at the results. That’s an audit, right? Yes and maybe not. Taking the audit a couple of steps further allows you to have a solid overview of what’s working, what’s not and what could be improved.

I like to implement the feedback process known as “Stop, Start, Keep”. I learned about this process during my training to become a yoga instructor. It is a great way to make sure that when in the feedback process we are not stuck too much in either the positive or the negative. It gives balance. When working with others it’s beneficial in giving the good and the bad.

Sometimes one of the three is harder to identify. Evaluating based on Stop, Start, Keep encourages you to take a deeper look at all aspects of the social media audit.

The Start relies on an understanding of trends and a willingness to be on the cutting edge of the platform. Over the past year, the application of Reels on Instagram created a need for research and education to be on the forefront of that trend. It wasn’t chasing trends, it was auditing the new opportunities and evaluating the benefits.

For Stop, I look at the performance of content over the past 3-6 months and evaluate the lowest performing content. It is very tempting to concentrate on reports that only feature the top performers. Rarely do the lower performers get noticed–and we know why! However, to evaluate them is a great way to learn more and identify what caused it to underperform–and maybe try again. Or not.

Keep is tricky. It doesn’t always imply what has the strongest upward trends. Over the past year of data, let’s look at, say, Reels again, and if over the past year there is an increase in engagement then you want to keep implementing and improving. Keep isn’t about staying where you are and being stagnant. It is identifying the trend that is working and taking it further. 

Why is it important? Social media audits are important because the platforms, trends and algorithms are constantly changing. Without regular review, a process that worked for you last year could be tanking your performance in the current year.

Ready to get started? Check out our detailed Hotel Social Media Audit Checklist here.

About the Author

These days when someone searches for a resort or high-end travel destination, they are inundated with hotel social media ads. So what elements make some ads stand out? There are definite constants in crafting great ads to deliver ROI for luxury properties.

It starts with the eyes.

Striking images are the backbone of a great social ad. The exact mix of visuals varies based on the platform, but we recommend a healthy rotation of lifestyle and still imagery. Taking the production up a notch, these visuals are best leveraged as video or dynamic creative. Use most of your creativity to highlight the product or service with a little wow factor. For hospitality, think of different suites, amenities, or on-site dining. Demos also raise awareness and get consistent engagement. From a design standpoint, frame your creative for mobile viewers first. Then start work backward from a mobile view to a format that also works for desktops.

It moves to the head.

Headlines are the most powerful way to move a viewer to a click. If the job of the visual is to showcase a stunning focal point and stand out in the newsfeed, the headline needs to keep you from swiping. The best headlines work seamlessly with the layout. They are simple enough for users to understand at-a-glance before deciding to click the call-to-action button on the ad–and engaging enough to make them want more.

Think of it as a game of connecting the dots. Is the headline paying off a visual and an offer for a seasonal or holiday promotion? Does the property offer a special service for certain demographics, such as couples or families, during a specific time or at a discounted rate? Is there special pricing for a limited time? These details qualify the viewer you’re hoping to reach. Follow up with some supporting copy, and you’re on the path to conversions.

The Heart of a Great Social Ad Campaign is Targeting & Testing

Creating ads that connect with people is key–as long as you’re connecting with the right group. For targeting, you will want first to consider your goal. Are you trying to drive revenue or awareness? Is your goal to generate engagement? or clicks? From there, you can determine whether it is better to target users based on known data points, for example, their location, their interests, or their activity across the website and/or the property’s social pages. Once you have your base targeting down, A/B testing is a proven way to optimize your campaign. For example, you can test the same creative with two different audiences, such as interest-based vs. remarketing audiences. Or try testing two different creatives with the same audience. Another classic testing model involves tracking how a single audience engages with two different offers. Targeting and testing will help you increase conversions as you learn more about your audience.

Hit a Nerve with the Right Call To Action

You generally test how your campaign performs based on your objective, i.e. engagement, reach, clicks, etc. The CTA is critical to driving this engagement. The succinct, compelling message needs to fit with the tone of the graphic and the headline. For the mobile ad format, a call-to-action is best incorporated within the creative and should be simple, straightforward, and engaging, ultimately helping guide users through the immersive ad experience without interrupting the flow. For in-feed placements, we think along similar lines to what we have in our headline, something that connects the dots and is equally engaging and catchy.

Great Examples of Hotel Social Media Ads

Now that you have the anatomy of a great ad, have a look at some examples of our work. Our paid media team puts together case studies on a quarterly basis for different ads, audiences, and objectives to showcase optimal campaign results. And they love to share those case studies from highly successful campaigns. Send us a note and indicate if you’d like to see one of these case studies, or something on another topic.

About the Author

Instagram reels are the hottest feature on the platform and allow users to create short, engaging videos set to music. There are a few key advantages of using Instagram reels for hotel social media marketing. They’re short and sweet. Reels are only 15 seconds long, so they’re perfect for busy social media users who need more time to watch a long video. And they’re easy to make. With Instagram’s simple editing tools, anyone can create a reel without any prior video editing experience, including adding filters, stickers, and text.

A considerable part of social media involves connecting through storytelling. We all understand it’s much easier to allow glimpses into a brand’s story with a video than a static image. You can take followers through a unique aspect of a property so that users feel like they see the property firsthand. They are not only reading the story but feel like they’re part of it. Video creates space for guests to see through a more personal lens. Static images trying to convey a story have to rely on lengthy captions that most followers won’t read, whereas a video can get that same message across and hold the user’s attention. It also allows brands to try a more creative approach that they may not be used to – it’s easier to test the waters for different strategies with video.

Instagram Reels are a bit different than TikTok because the trends don’t change as quickly. Typically a trend that has been on TikTok will show up on Reels two weeks later, giving us more time to go without posting. This time lets us approach video concepts by looking at the target demographic a property is trying to reach at that time, looking at what types of content are trending for that age group, and building concepts out from there.

Knowing your audience and what they like to see makes coming up with creative concepts much easier. I like to use BCV’s trend decks to see how I can implement them into video concepts. I will also spend a lot of hours looking at TikToks, commercials, reels, and YouTube videos to try and understand how I can turn those into short clips that may fit a hotel. Trends are incredibly ever-changing, but you can usually pick out something similar between all of them, whether that be an emotion they’re trying to convey, the way they tell a story, the transitions between video clips, etc. After you watch enough trending videos, you start to see a template and how you can mirror that for your own properties and goals.

You have the concepts. You have your talent, crew, and locations. Now it’s time to get as much great footage as possible. When on a shoot, we tend to try and build out at least 6 reel concepts before we go. The key is to capture content that can overlap with concepts and isn’t tied to just one. We try and capture vertical videos from each area of a property. With photos, you can capture 50 images of one scene in a matter of seconds. With video, the important thing to remember is to shoot the same scene from various angles so the content can be repurposed for different concepts throughout the year. We try to think of social media holidays and quarterly campaigns ahead of a shoot to ensure we’re getting videos that can be used for those as well.

Here are a few examples of how luxury hotels are using Instagram reels. I hope they inspire you to swipe through these and other reels in search of great ideas that can be used to promote your property and attract new guests.

ESPACIO, The Jewel of Waikiki

This reel celebrates the property being nominated for Conde Nast Traveler–with a strategy of encouraging votes. To showcase the location, we used footage from multiple shoots to differentiate the angles and models. To amp up the prestige, we included shots of previous awards. Having amazing amenities like the private infinity pool inspired a creative drone shot that literally put this production over the top!

The Hythe Vail

We created this First-Anniversary reel by jumping on a TikTok trend to showcase the property. Just because a brand is luxury doesn’t mean it is “above” trends happening in the now. The concept here pulls together drone and close-up footage from shoots and edits them to a trending soundscape. We wanted more engagement and we knew that the sound, paired with the quality image, would get that.

Mugen Waikiki

While Mugen has its own page, we highlighted the restaurant on ESPACIO’s Instagram. The strategy was to highlight each unique aspect of the restaurant in a chronological format. We wanted users to feel like they were seeing an up close and personal, first-hand look at what goes into a dining experience at Mugen before they click book on their reservation.