ReviewPro's Hotel Blogging Guide

1

A Hotel's Guide to Blogging

A Hotel's Guide to Blogging by Josiah Mackenzie

December 2010

2


2

Contents

ReviewPro.com

Introduc)on and some background 3

Advantages of Blogging Big advantage #1: Higher search rankings and traffic 4 Big advantage #2: Blogs build your web presence 5 Big advantage #3: Blogging can make you a subject authority 6

Big advantage #4: More influence and reach 7

Big advantage #5: Blogs can be a hub for your social web presence 8

Big advantage #6: Blogs help your voice be heard 9

Planning for success

Have a purpose 10 What type of blog should you publish? 11

Who should blog? 14

What if none of your employees can blog? 15

What will you write about? 16 Who are your readers? 17

Getting Started

Best practices for blogging 18

Choosing your blogging tool 19

Creating an editorial calendar 20

Connecting content with your readers 21

Ways to increase your readership 22

Some parting thoughts... 24

About 25

3


3

Introduction and some background

Blogging is not new, it has been around long enough for many people to have an opinion of it. Whatever that opinion is for you, it may be Mme to reconsider blogging as a communicaMons strategy. It is a publishing channel that has evolved dramaMcally over the past couple years. Instead of just being a place for people to talk about their personal lives, top blogs today are like online magazines: conMnually being updated with fresh arMcles. Publishing plaQorms have evolved that allow even the most basic blog to quickly and affordably look like a high quality website. I encourage you to now think of blogging as simply a way to publish to the web. It is as easy as wriMng an email. Why this is so important is that it removes the technical challenges that used to exist for publishing online. Removing this barrier helps you act more like a publisher. You don't have to keep involving a web designer each Mme you want to put up some new informaMon or make a liXle change. This guide will present the case for blogging as an important communicaMons strategy for your hotel. We’ll explain why you should blog, the value it will bring to your hotel, and how to get started. We will also provide some helpful Mps and best pracMces along the way. Let's begin...

ReviewPro.com

4


4

Advantages of Blogging

Various research studies suggest 70‐90% of travel decisions begin with a web search. For this reason, it's important that your company appears near the top of search engine results for search queries important to your business. When you're on top, more people will visit your website ‐ leading to more sales. Search engines love fresh content. Sending people to a site that has not been updated for years can make search engines look outdated. Since blogs are the publishing tools of the web, it's only natural search engines tend to put them near the top of results pages. I know this, because I've experienced it myself...

Big advantage #1: Higher search rankings and traffic

ReviewPro.com

Case study: HotelMarke1ngStrategies.com My blog, Hotel MarkeMng Strategies, is at the top of Google for the ultra‐compeMMve 'hotel marke,ng' keyword. I've only been blogging two years, and in that Mme, I've outranked dozens of company websites that have millions in annual revenues and enMre teams of search opMmizaMon specialists. As of December 2010, HotelMarkeMngStrategies.com is: • #1 on Google for hotel marke,ng strategies • #1 for hotel marke,ng blog • #1 for hotel marke,ng ideas • in the top 3 results for hotel marke,ng All of these terms are very important for my website. Now, instead of paying a lot of money for people to find my site and hear my ideas, they find me naturally search results ‐ at no cost to me. I get 30‐50% of my daily new visitors for free from Google searches, and currently have over 15,000 unique readers each month. This experience ‐ along with many other blogs I've worked on ‐ has convinced me blogging is among the top internet markeMng tacMcs available to us today.

5


5


Your web presence is how ofen you show up on the web to people looking for what you offer. It's based on the philosophy of "distributed engagement" ‐ moving away from a publishing model that focuses on your company website, and working toward being seen in many places online. The more Mmes you show up to the people who are interested in buying what you sell, the more likely you are to make the sale. In the old days, you could get away with just puhng up an online version of a paper brochure. Not anymore. Websites with a lot of useful, interesMng content are the ones that aXract the most aXenMon. People go online to find things, so the more content you can publish, the beXer.

Big advantage #2: Blogs build your web presence

ReviewPro.com

6


6


People love insider informaMon. When you can provide that, you get aXenMon. How does this look prac)cally? • Tourism marketers can share what's cool in their region, and when to see it. • Restaurants can have their chefs talk about special new dishes. • Hotels can provide insider guides to their city. Now more than ever, people want to be educated before making a purchase. Publishing insider informaMon and going behind the scenes can make your guests more likely to engage with you online.

Big advantage #3: Blogging can make you a subject authority

ReviewPro.com

7


7


Being seen as a subject expert has many advantages, online and off. You'll get people talking about you, and this helps you lead your market niche.

"Wri,ng is the basis of all wealth." ‐ Jeffrey Gitomer I'd say wriMng is also the basis of every successful markeMng campaign today. Blogs are the ideal plaQorm for sharing ideas. Each post you write is saved into a library of knowledge that visitors can browse through. And it also gives you material to re‐use in other markeMng iniMaMves. There are three popular ways bloggers re‐package their content for further distribuMon: 1. RSS newsfeeds can syndicate your content to other websites, mulMplying the number of people that hear about you and from you. 2. Automated email updates can be sent automaMcally to your subscribers. 3. Digital or print newsleBers. You can use your best blog posts as arMcles in your newsleXers.

"I edit a month's worth of blog posts and create a newsleBer out of it, which goes to my address book of 20,000 past guests, colleagues, and past enquirers.” ‐ Chris, Whale CoXage Guest Houses Blog

Big advantage #4: More influence and reach

ReviewPro.com

8


8


You'll noMce the most effecMve markeMng campaigns today use a mix of media formats to spread their message. Photos, video, and social networking services provide an interesMng supplement to wriXen content. IntegraMon with sites such as YouTube and Flickr make it very simple to publish mulMmedia content on your blog. Ofen, all you have to do is click a buXon to include it. Again, this is one of the biggest benefits of blogging: you don't have to constantly rely on your web developer to publish. A blog is an easy way to bring all these types of media together in one place. Having a central access point means more people will see your content. With all the buzz about social networking, blogging has conMnued to quietly perform because it helps you develop a repository of quality content people can access in a single locaMon.

Big advantage #5: Blogs can be a hub for your social web presence

ReviewPro.com

9


9


Publishing informaMon through a blog and elsewhere is important for reputaMon management, because it helps ensure your side of the story is told. When someone types your name into a search engine, having your blog and websites come up near the top of results gives you the power to share the message you want people to hear. If you do nothing, what people read about you could come exclusively from guests, other websites, and even compeMtors. It's a smart pracMce to make sure your voice is heard in the mix.

Big advantage #6: Blogs help your voice be heard

ReviewPro.com

10


10


Have a purpose for publishing a blog. Successful blogs exist for a specific reason. What are you trying to accomplish? This reason should align with your other business goals. Instead of being a quick‐fix soluMon, blogging should be viewed as a long‐term strategic investment. Your reason might be: • To increase website visitors and direct reservaMons • To build loyalty with exisMng guests • To help with recruiMng talented staff • To posiMon your organizaMon in your industry Whatever the reason, you will be more likely to devote the energy required to make your blog a success when you have a clear purpose for doing it.

Have a purpose

ReviewPro.com

11


11


There are five general categories of blogs: 1.  Independent blogs ‐ ofen used by independent hotels and restaurants, these blogs can

contain all the funcMons of the blogs below, including informaMon on the business and topics of related interest for potenMal guests

2.  Brand blogs ‐ narrower in focus than a single property blog, the purpose of these is to promote the hotel brand by sharing news about what’s happening within the company

1.  Management blogs ‐ ofen a more personal supplement (or even replacement) to the

corporate brand blog

2.  DesMnaMon blogs ‐ rather than promoMng an organizaMon directly, these blogs provide informaMon on the surrounding area and upcoming events (in an effort to aXract new visitors)

3.  Internal blogs ‐ these are wriXen for your own staff ‐ to share knowledge and collaborate

What type of blog should you publish?

ReviewPro.com

12


12

MarrioB es,mates that CEO Bill MarrioB’s blog has generated $5 million in bookings for the company. If you can’t decide whether to start a blog to promote your hotel, then perhaps this will move you to acMon. Kathleen MaXhews, head of communicaMons at MarrioX, came up with the idea for Bill MarrioX to start an execuMve blog. The blog was launched in January 2007 to much fanfare, with the media wondering if a blog was a legiMmate plaQorm for sharing informaMon. Now, with over $5 million in addiMonal revenue, it’s clear the project has been a success. Mr. MarrioX seeks to make a personal connecMon with his readers, appreciaMng how the blog makes him look like a human “just like everyone else.” His use of experienMal and observaMonal posts helps him do this. While you may not have the plaQorm that Bill MarrioX has as chief execuMve of MarrioX InternaMonal, there’s not doubt you could reap similar benefits from starMng your own blog. You may even get proporMonately beXer results. Mr. MarrioX is not using his blog as a markeMng tool in the way I'm going to show you.

ReviewPro.com

Case Study: Bill Marriott's blog

13


13

Today we’re joined by Dina Nishioka, a blogger for Hotel Preston in Nashville (USA). Though she is Director of PR at Provenance Hotels ‐ which also owns designer hotels in SeaXle and Portland ‐ she regularly communicates with staff at their Nashville locaMon to give the blog a local flavor. How long have you been blogging? Dina: Since September 2007 when the Preston blog went live.

What topics do you write about and how do you get content ideas? We write about anything that’s happening around Nashville – events, aXracMons & happenings around the hotel. We try to provide guests with addiMonal info about Nashville, and even provide some recommendaMons on our favorite restaurants, bars, and so on. We want guests to “know” Nashville before they arrive.

I like your blogging voice. Do you consciously try to be personable (instead of ‘corporate’)? I think readers relate beXer when we write in a real human voice. So, I keep it light‐hearted and conversaMonal. We wanted the voice to fall in line with our relaxed, bouMque atmosphere.

Who are your readers? Current and potenMal guests. The blog has actually been the first touch‐point for some of our guests, which is great. They get to see our fun side first.

What results have you seen from blogging? We see about 800 visits per month, which isn’t bad considering I’m not able to spend as much Mme as I’d like blogging. Guests have commented on the blog when they stay, and we’ve been wriXen up in the Tennessean a few Mmes as well.

How do you promote your blog? We promote the blog through our TwiXer & Facebook accounts. We also include a link to the blog on our website.

Do you have any advice or recommenda)ons for other hotels on blogging? Be yourself and include acMviMes, advice, and content that you would be interested in!

ReviewPro.com

Case Study Interview: Hotel Preston

14


14


There is no universal rule here. In some organizaMons, there is a strong personality that prefers to run the blog alone. (At small independent hotel properMes, this is ofen the owner or manager.) For others, sharing the responsibility of wriMng among mulMple staff members is the easiest opMon. The Mme factor is perhaps the biggest consideraMon when creaMng a blog. Blogs are easy to start but difficult to maintain. Publishing a good blog is going to take you a significant amount of Mme. WriMng takes the most Mme. But you must also allow Mme for interacMng with your readers and promoMng your arMcles if you want to grow.

"I get a good deal of help from our chef/bartender teams. If we have new menu items, seasonal wine/cocktail/food changes etc., then I ask them to feed me some info so I can write a blog. "

‐ David Yusen, Heavy Restaurant Group You might consider these quesMons when deciding who should author your blog: • Do they have strong wriMng skills? • Are they passionate about what they are wriMng about? • Do they understand your business very well? • Are they adequately familiar with blogs and blogging? • Do they have enough Mme to consistently produce quality content? • Are they authorized to make statements for your organizaMon?

Who should blog?

ReviewPro.com

15


15


Some businesses find outsourcing their content producMon to a writer or communicaMons professional is the easiest way to ensure consistent, quality content. When hiring an outside personality to represent your brand, it's especially important to be sure that they're passionate about your hotel and are adept at social media communicaMons.The key to working with an outsider /externa writer is to give them sufficient access to your internal operaMons so they can write as an insider.

What if none of your employees can blog?

ReviewPro.com

16


16


Depending on your blog's purpose, you may choose to write a few of the following types of posts: • Strategic ‐ a CEO or brand blog is a good plaQorm to announce strategic organizaMonal informaMon. It serves as another media outlet. These types of posts are usually planned in advance, and not spontaneous. • Experien)al ‐ uses personal experience to share informaMon. • Analy)cal ‐ an in depth discussion on industry trends or business strategies. • Crisis ‐ addressing an important corporate or customer service issue that could affect your reputaMon • Trivial ‐ an off‐topic post about personal experiences or observaMons. • Interviews and Profiles ‐ showcase your talented staff by posMng short interviews on their area of specialty • Announcement ‐ breaking news is a great way to build readership • Instruc)onal ‐ "4 things to pack for your visit to our city" • Informa)onal ‐ "5 easiest ways to get to our hotel from the airport" • Reviews ‐ "What we think of the new _____" • Lists ‐ "Top 10 ____ in _______" • Case Studies ‐ "XYZ Company's meeMng experience" • Links ‐ cool stuff you find & want to share • Contras)ng Two Op)ons ‐ two packages, things to do, ciMes • Rant ‐ just get something off your mind! • Inspira)onal ‐ make people's day beXer • Research ‐ careful analysis • Colla)on ‐ Summarize a collecMon of posts from other blogs on one topic • Predic)ons ‐ "Upcoming trends in ...." • Debate ‐ "Here's why...” The type of blog post you write will depend on your intended audience and markeMng goals. You will probably seXle on 3 to 5 different types of wriMng styles ‐‐ but I encourage you to add some variety by occasionally wriMng in a different style.

What will you write about?

ReviewPro.com

17


17


The best content usually is wriXen with specific guest personas in mind ‐ the target profile of people you're trying to aXract to your hotel. If you want guests to find and subscribe to your blog, you need to understand how they communicate, what they care about, what concerns them most, and why they travel. Basically, you'll need to get very personal and specific. David Meerman ScoX does an excellent job of explaining this concept in The New Rules of Media and PR:

“It can be daun,ng for many of us to consider who, exactly, is visi,ng our site. But if we break the buyers into dis,nct groups and then catalog everything we know about

each one, it makes it easier to create content targeted to each important demographic.”

Think about all the people that visit your hotel for a moment. How many disMnct groups can you create from your regular guests? If your hotel is like most, there are several categories. Business travelers. Leisure travelers. Conference aXendees. InternaMonal visitors. Families. And the list could go on and on. Each group has different needs, and uses a different set of criteria to select hotels.The business traveler might want a staffed business center and would be aXracted by your city center locaMon. Leisure travelers may appreciate a guide to local aXracMons. Visitors from abroad may need staff that speak their language. Conference aXendees may be looking for a hotel with a great fitness center. Everyone is looking for something different from your hotel. For this reason, you need different messages for each major category of visitors. Doing this helps you communicate your value offering, and improves the effecMveness of your overall campaign.

The “one size fits all” approach doesn’t work anymore.

Who are your readers?

ReviewPro.com

18


18

Getting Started

Ask any blog author or blog reader for the most important factor in a great blog, and they will most likely tell you it's all about the content. Content is the arMcles and media you will be posMng to the blog. It's very important you plan interesMng material if you want to aXract a following. To create this type of content, you need to think like a journalist. Ask yourself "what unique material can we develop that would engage, entertain, and inform our readers?» Your goal is to be exclusive and newsworthy. Exclusive so there is a reason to come to your blog. Newsworthy so that people care. Aim to produce content that becomes viral: people share it around the internet just because they love it. That's when your readers start to do your markeMng for you.

"If you are looking to drive traffic to your site, make sure the topic is something that people are searching for. If you are looking to aBract a lot of comments, blog about a topic that is controversial or people have different opinions on"

‐ Rob Conaway, aGreatChef.com

Best practices for blogging

ReviewPro.com

19


19

Getting Started

Depending on your goal for the blog, there are two popular publishing plaQorms I recommend you consider. For blogs that will look and feel like a website: Wordpress Wordpress is the most popular CMS (content management system) on the web, and a powerful free open source publishing soluMon. The popularity of Wordpress means there are huge number of free and low cost themes (layouts), and a large pool of talented designers that specialize in this plaQorm. Some examples of Wordpress blogs: • Hotel MarkeMng Strategies • The Red CarnaMon Hotel CollecMon blog • The May Fair Hotel blog • Apostrophe Hotel • Roger Smith Life • Life is Suite blog by Kimpton Hotels • Room with a View blog

Choosing your blogging tool

ReviewPro.com

For quick and stylish publishing: Tumblr Tumblr is a newer publishing tool that is quickly gaining popularity because of its ease of use. If you don't have a lot of Mme or resources to commit to blogging, it may be the best soluMon for you. The applicaMon for mobile phones is especially convenient for those on the go. Some examples of Tumblr blogs: • The Standard Culture • Morgans Back of House

20


20

Getting Started

If you’re doing any sort of publishing it’s a smart idea to develop an editorial calendar. This gives structure to your content mix, and provides consistency for your readers. Here are some basics to keep in mind when creaMng your editorial calendar: 1. Develop a system that works for you. An editorial calendar can be made using a spreadsheet, word processor, online scheduling tool – or even just a paper notebook. Use whatever you feel most comfortable with. The goal is to make your notes coherent and organized.

2. Put in some detail. Format the calendar with different colors or secMons for each topic category as necessary. Although you don’t need to include details for each of your posts at the start, include enough informaMon to get you started wriMng.

3. Schedule enough Mme for peripheral items, such as interviews or research. They should be included in your editorial calendar as well. That way, you can spot potenMal conflicts and reorganize so they don’t get in the way of releasing your content on Mme.

4. Plan ahead. CreaMng your editorial calendar at least a month in advance gives you Mme to make any changes or switch around scheduled posts as needed.

5. Mark important dates and work towards them. Sehng goals and deadlines ensures sure you "ship" on Mme. A final Mp I’ve learned: leave an opening each week for breaking news or stories that will become irrelevant if they’re not published immediately. The structure an editorial calendar provides is good, but you need to build flexibility into this structure.

Creating an editorial calendar

ReviewPro.com

21


21

Getting Started

Unread content is useless. If blogging is going to be a part of your internet markeMng plan, then building its popularity needs to be a top priority. Too many well‐wriXen blogs go unread because of a lack of promoMon. Your investment into wriMng quality content is only worthwhile if it is read by the people that need to read it. The first step to building a popular blog is to view the project as an important piece in your markeMng mix. Top bloggers understand what they’re doing is serious business ‐ and treat it that way. This means you need: • Strategic goals • A publishing plan • A publishing calendar Remember, the content ofen is the markeMng. The quality of your entries will have a direct effect on the success of your blog. There are a few reasons for this: 1. Search engines will usually bring the most traffic to your site. If you’re not publishing relevant content regularly, less people will find you.

2. When visitors do find your blog through search engines, they’ll quickly leave if it’s not relevant to what they need.

3. If your blog content is interesMng, it will be linked to and shared on other websites, bringing you more traffic from those sites and through search engines. As you can see, it’s a virtuous cycle once you begin posMng good content.

Connecting content with your readers

ReviewPro.com

22


22

Getting Started

•  Link generously to other bloggers, and request they link to you. Links are the currency of blogging. Don’t be sMngy here.

•  Comment on other blogs, especially in your industry. The blogosphere is built on community parMcipaMon. If you want comments on your blog, take part in the discussion on other blogs. (And remember, there’s no need for comment spam ‐ post intelligent responses and you’ll be rewarded.)

•  Integrate and encourage social media sharing. This is easy to do, and the right post can receive thousands of new visitors if Dugg or otherwise shared in social media.

•  Promote your blog on your website and other adverMsing material. Not doing this could cause you to miss out on valuable traffic.

•  Harness the viral power of TwiXer (TwiXer is now my own blog's #1 referral source) •  Do some keyword research to idenMfy which phrases people are using to find you in search

engines, and then write content on those topics. •  Add your blog to relevant directories. •  Promote on Facebook. You may even create a Facebook fan page for your blog. •  Promote on LinkedIn. •  Create videos for your blog, then share videos on YouTube. •  ParMcipate in discussion boards and online forums. •  AdverMse on StumbleUpon for important posts •  Write guest posts for other blogs in your niche. •  Let other people write guest posts for you. It helps them, it helps you. •  Create "link bait" ‐ resources and other free goodies that other people want to share. •  Be controversial. •  Run a contest •  Give away something free •  Focus on wriMng cornerstone content that will remain popular over the years. On several

blogs that I operate or manage, one post generates 25 to 40% of the overall readership ‐‐ even though there hundreds of arMcles on the site and tens of thousands of visitors each day.

Ways to increase your readership

ReviewPro.com

23


23

•  Syndicate wisely. You may want to establish relaMonships with other websites to syndicate your blog's content. Just make sure they link back to the original arMcle for search opMmizaMon purposes, and don't steal all of your search traffic. I have personally used this method alone to generate thousands of new readers each month on my blogs.

•  Consider using paid search adverMsing ‐‐ PPC ‐‐ in the beginning to generate recogniMon and visitors. I do this for all of my new blogs to generate traffic from the start and get things rolling.

•  Include an 'e‐mail this post' a link on all arMcles •  Invite people to your blog in person at conferences. •  Promote individual arMcles, not just your blog as a whole •  Create a mobile version of your blog if appropriate •  Write about what people are talking about or searching for. To use Google analyMcs and

trends tools to determine this. •  Distribute important arMcles to industry websites that get a lot of traffic. This was one of

the most effecMve methods I used at the beginning to build readership and search rankings.

•  Work hard, but have paMence. The most popular blogs on the web today required at least 2 to 3 years to achieve their success.

ReviewPro.com

"My number one ,p is to use TwiBer and Facebook as vehicles to drive blog traffic. I post a few sentences about an event or new promo,on and include a link to our hotel

blog for more informa,on. This strategy gives consumers a call to ac,on and improves blog visibility."

‐ Sarah Essary, The Ci,zen Hotel, www.ci,zenhotel.com

The big goal is to discover the best ways to connect what you write with who you want to read it. So ask what distribuMon channels your target audience finds most useful, and begin placing your content there.

24


24

Some parting thoughts...

"The biggest key to becoming successful at blogging is doing what you love and loving what you do. If you have a passion for a subject, it will show in your wri,ng.»

‐ Stephen, Manzanillo Blog

"Just start and Do It! Dare to make mistakes. The best learning is from your mistakes" ‐ Guido J. van den Elshout, Happy Hotelier

ReviewPro.com

Like this guide? Retweet it to your TwiXer followers!

25


25

About

Josiah is the publisher of HotelMarkeMngStrategies.com, where he shares a new idea each day for using technology to serve your guests and make more sales. Get a weekly summary of these ideas with a complimentary subscripMon.

Josiah Mackenzie

ReviewPro.com

ReviewPro offers the most complete global soluMon for online reputaMon and social media management for the hotel sector. The company offers hoteliers a web based analyMcal tool that enables them to maximize direct reservaMons and online distribuMon revenue as well as increase market share. By providing invaluable analysis, business intelligence, compeMMve benchmarking and reporMng funcMonality, ReviewPro gives hotels the means to improve guest saMsfacMon and make beXer decisions on where to focus markeMng resources and sales acMviMes.

Follow us on TwiTer to receive the latest reports: @reviewpro

ReviewPro

Request a ReviewPro Demo (+34) 934 520 070 / [email protected]

ReviewPro's Hotel Blogging Guide

Technology

Transcript of ReviewPro's Hotel Blogging Guide