The other reason to use the Promotions Tab is the control and rules you can create for you group. You groups rules are totally definable by you, the creator of the group. Now…what kind of rules or guidelines will you impose. You want to lay out some guidelines so that you group becomes a place to discuss and network not a place to self promote, or speak negatively about others. So if a member wants to promote something…anything…unless otherwise determined inappropriate by you..have them post in the Promotional Tab. Viola! Organization.
Another “rule” to keep in mind (use the word rule loosely as you don’t want your group to be a place full of dos and don’ts) Encourage your users to post in the appropriate sections and give reasons why content was removed and in return compliment good content to encourage similar behavior.
Now you can let out a sigh of relief and regain more control of your group. Once again LinkedIn is empowering its users to make the most out of their time on the site.
Hotels and the Hospitality industry as a whole has undergone some changes due to the rise and growth of social media. The industry has largely been changing because of social media with the advantage and disadvantage of unfiltered feedback. If a customer experienced a bad stay…watch out. We live in a world where an individual could make a large problem for an industry who aims to please.
People now go straight to various social sites to find good deals, customer reviews and more. Hotels have no choice but to go full speed ahead with integrating social media into their marketing efforts. Customers use their “voice” (more like a bull horn) when dealing with this industry and can be brutally honest. There are thousands of reviews to be read and hotels must listen… in order to provide the best service possible. If there are reviews out there… it is safe to say that other customers are probably reading them. Through the use of social media hotels can now focus their efforts by reading online reviews through Facebook and Twitter versus searching all over the web.
Facebook and Twitter are also great ways to drive users to the hotel’s website. Usually potential customers are new to your brand name and can be beneficial when measuring social media success. Also, hotels can set themselves apart by showing expertise (knowledge capital). Consider setting up a blog that details trips and activities to do near or at the hotel. Customers go where they feel secure.
When it comes to the dreaded negative comment… Social Media allows hotels to act quickly and be responsive. Instead of deleting negative reviews… highlight the positive ones. After reading the first 10 positive reviews people tend to quit reading the rest anyway. Another benefit for hotels is the ability to keep tabs on what their competitor is doing. Essentially, social media has given the Hospitality industry more value when marketing their services. Instead of people questioning where to stay, hotels can now market effectively with its other sites backing up its claims.
When telling a story how do you make it a worthwhile read? How do you captivate your audience? Reflect on your daily activities to look for life experiences to help reach and engage with your audience. How do your use your life experiences to shape your story?
One thing to keep in mind when writing your story is the focus. As storytellers we can easily go off on tangents and get distracted. Stay on track by sticking to the focus of your story. If your having trouble finding your focus then stop and think….
and think…
It’s easy to forget a fundamental key in storytelling…thinking.
After some reflection and thought the focus may come to you once the story’s been told. The focus is what the story is about…why it was told.
Ask yourself four questions when preparing your story:
1. Why does my story matter? Why are you telling your story? You think it matters but who else does? This goes hand and hand with understanding your audience and telling them a story they’d connect with… emotionally.
2.What’s the point? What’s the purpose of the story. To teach something? To share an experience that changed you? This is your focus. You should be able to define what that is with only a few words.
3.Why am I telling the story? Original content comes from people who are simply willing to tell their story not attention seekers. So what’s your motivation behind the story?
4.What does this story say about me? Does it reflect you in a good light? Does it tell you audience who you are? Does the story flow? Is there a clear understanding? You want to make your story understandable and relatable. You want to be liked but you want to leave them with something to chew on.
By answering the four basic questions… your audience may be able to make a real connection with your story and ultimately you (your brand).
Why is it important to focus? Because we want to know what the story was about.
We want to know why that story was shared.
We want to take something away from it… connect with it.
Stories are life. Stories are built off of every day occurences and the little things that happen in life. Where did we… as marketers… go wrong when telling the story? All businesses and products are built off of a story. What is the main point of marketing… Is it fulfilling a need? Is it creating a product that actually helps an individual? Is it selling your wares… period?
A story is something that creates a safe haven for an individual. You are building a message that should be involved in the story of your customer’s life. It should (and must be) the connection that brings in additional customer and evangelists for your brand.
You want your customer to get to a place… a place where they agree with your terms and conditions. A place where they say, “Yes. I do need, want, or should have that product or service.”
A place where they approve your service and believe/know it will work for them… in any capacity.
What is the series of events that drive a person to a specific point: buying your product. What are you telling your customers? Is your story bland… Boring… Normal?
I see normal marketing everywhere. Brochures… Smiling billboards… Postcards… Facebook updates…It is normal and plain. There are no new story lines. There is nothing to pull me into the brand. The stock photography you bought in 1980 is not going to sell me on buying a house. The telemarketer that just left a message on my cell phone is not going to trick me into buying your magazine subscription.
And… the direct mail piece you just sent me asking me about my retirement plans… is definitely not going to pull me into your luncheon.
My friends and MY preferences are going to sell me on your product. I want to pull your information at MY will… at MY discretion. Notice a trend here?
It is about me… how are you speaking to me? Nay… how are you listening? Do you know what I want as an individual… are you allowing me to interact?
If you are not…
You have a long way to go… shift that paradigm and interact.
We need you to be safe and courteous when using Twitter… period. It is important for all of us to remember three important rules when jumping into the world of tweeting.
1. Don’t Drive and Tweet
We should all know by now not to text and drive. Come on people! When Oprah says it… it’s LAW!
Yet we’ve still managed to find a loophole and (much to our grandmother’s horror) we’ve taken social networking to the streets. Although it should be common sense to not tweet and drive… sometimes you have a tweet that can’t wait. However fast you are at tweeting the consequences can be dire… like your car wrapped around a tree. This was the case for plastic surgeon, Dr. Frank Ryan, who was tweeting before his fatal car crash on Monday,August 16. This is an issue that has received a ton of attention but not much has been done to prevent these texting/tweeting related accidents.
Unfortunately, teenage drivers are not the only offenders. Texting while driving is a serious issue for ALL drivers.A recent report from Pew’s Internet and American Life Project found on Mashable… reported that 47% of adult drivers admitted to sending or reading text messages while driving. Legislation has tried to create a ban on texting by implementing fines for doing so. Yet the threat doesn’t outweigh the urgency behind getting tweets out or answering a text. So in a situation where you get the itch to tweet and just can’t wait, don’t scratch….pull over. The other drivers on the road, greatly appreciate it, as would your grandmother.
2. Personal Information
There’s such a thing as TMI: too much information. I don’t’ need to know certain things… as your follower… don’t get too graphic here so keep your personal business to yourself. Be careful when sharing information that could be potentially be embarrassing or even dangerous.
3.Give Props When Due
Tweeting can be a great way to share the love. That being said… give shout outs and retweets to others that have helped you out in the past. This will create good “Twitter Karma”… and we all want good Twitter Karma. Also when blogging about something you read be sure to give that author the credit for their post. Don’t claim ideas as your own. A retweet is intended to give proper ownership so follow suit and give props to rightful creators.
What do you think about this? Is it a soon to be epidemic?
