HOTELMARKETING.COM

Has social media in hospitality come of age?

July 31, 2012 | Hotel Marketing

Has social media come of age, or we are just now learning to understand its advantages and limitations? By viewing social media marketing as the customers’ platform and not the marketers’ platform we can change our view of what we expect it to do for us.

Savvy hospitality marketing professionals have been exploring and implementing social media marketing since the advent of the term Web 2.0 in 1999. However, it was not until 2003 that the first customer-led associations with this platform were highlighted by the O’Reilly group. They said, "customers are building your business for you" and suggested that the activities of users generating content in the form of ideas, text, videos, or pictures could be "harnessed" to create value. Social media’s value is based upon the actions of users- including creating and sharing content. For social media managers this means that the medium is hard to control and value can be elusive.

Given the fact that we have been working with social media for almost 10 years, is there a return for the average hotel or restaurant? Has social media grown up to the point that we are fully utilizing its potential for value as the O’Reilly group envisioned in 2003? While clearly no longer in its infancy, is social media like a greedy teenager that draws time and resources and gives little in return? Or has it matured and changed the way we should view our role as marketers and managers?

Get the full story at the Revinate Blog

Visit our sponsors: