Copyright © 2017 by Brian N. Lee All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2017
Experience Revelation Publishing 222 N. Midvale Blvd. Suite 18 Madison, WI 53705 www.experiencerevelation.com
Table of Contents
Stories Snapchat Instagram Facebook About
Snapchat Stories
Introduction
Snapchat is a messaging app that allows users to send each other photos and videos. These “Snaps” come with an optional sender-set time limit for how long the recipient can view them before they disappear. The platform’s popularity continues to increase, as it reported that 10 billion videos are watched daily. To set up a Snapchat account, download the app from the app store and click “sign up.” Fill out the prompted information and create a password. On the next screen, you’ll create a username, or the name your followers will see in their contact lists. If possible, choose the same username your property is using on other social media channels. This is especially important for Snapchat because there isn’t a place to add a description about the company, like Facebook or Twitter allows. If your property is called Metropolis Hotel, you may consider a username such as MetropolisHotel. Put yourself in your followers’ mindset—how would they search for your brand? Once your username is approved, a thumbs up will appear. After you’ve verified your phone number and the fact that you’re a human, you will be prompted to add friends. Initially, you can add a few of your real-life friends who are on Snapchat, but eventually, you’re going to want to build followers from your existing customer base. First, make sure your privacy settings are set so that everyone can see your Snaps. Go to “Settings,” then choose “Everyone” under “Who can view your Story?”
Stories
Although Snapchat has been in existence since 2011, it’s just now starting to make lasting impressions with businesses and organizations, mostly due to the “Stories” function. These stories can be found in the “Discover” section when you launch Snapchat and swipe right to left. To create a story, open Snapchat and you’ll be at the main screen, which is the camera. You’ll create a Snap by tapping the circle button on the bottom to take a photo or holding it down to record a video of up to 10 sec. When you’re done, tap the square icon with a plus sign on the bottom to save the Snap as a story, which is the equivalent of an update on other social media channels. You also can tap the down arrow icon to save the Snap. Stories, which remain on the platform for 24 hours, are viewed on the screen next to the main screen as you swipe from right to left. You can customize your Snap/story in several ways, after you take the photo or video. Tap on the “T” to add text, tap on the pencil to draw, tap on the sticker icon to add emoji stickers, tap on the scissors icon to make your own stickers, tap on the paper clip to add a link and tap on the stopwatch to set the time limit (1-10 sec. or no limit). Think of your stories as an ongoing vlog (video blog) to stay top of mind with your guests, especially with a demographic that may be more inclined to use AirBNB. Since you cannot use existing photos or videos, your followers will know that your stories will likely be spontaneous and unscripted. Different members of your team can capture moments—such as room service delivery or a manager’s hosted happy hour—throughout the day. Remember to cross-promote your Snapchat account on other social media accounts and marketing efforts, since it’s very difficult for users to find brands on Snapchat. Guests can add you by username or by a Snapcode, which is like a QR code that Snapchat can scan. To get yours, log into your account through accounts.snapchat.com, click on “My Snapcode” and then click on “Download Snapcode.” Make sure to add your hotel’s name to the resulting PNG image file using photo editing software. To measure your Snapchat marketing efforts, click on your Stories and look at the numbers next to each title. The numbers show how many people have viewed each particular Snap. If you want to see a list of exactly who viewed the Snap, tap on the Snap and the names will appear below.
Instagram Stories
Introduction
Instagram is a photo and video sharing app that launched in late 2010 and has more than 800 million users. It’s fairly simple to use. You take a photo or video, add an optional filter and caption and then post it. Instagram presents a good way to engage others because it’s visual— just like how Facebook and Twitter posts with photos or videos often have more engagement than those with only text. After you’ve downloaded the app, click “Sign Up,” enter your email address and click “Next,” or you can log in with your personal Facebook account. You will then be prompted to create a username and password. As you would do on other social media accounts, make your username recognizable. Fill out the rest of the profile information and then click “Done.” Besides the main feed, photos and videos you post will appear on the web at Instagram.com/your_username. This is another way to share your content, even with people who don’t have Instagram accounts. One last tip is that you can include hashtags on the images themselves— e.g. use the “Aa” tool to write words on the images—so people who see the photo out of context can still follow its original intent.
Stories
A collection of your photos and/or videos can be connected in a slideshow format to form your story, which will disappear after 24 hours. To view a story, scroll to the top of your Instagram feed, where you may see the profile photos of the people you follow. If you tap on them, their story will play. Here’s how to create a story. Scroll to the top of your Instagram feed and tap on your profile photo. A camera will load, and you can take photos (by pressing the circle) or videos (by holding the circle) and/or use photos or videos saved on your phone. Once you take or select a photo/video, you can either tap on “Your Story” to add it to your story, or select “Next” and choose “Your Story” as well as any individuals to whom you want to send the photo/video directly. You also can share your story to your personal Facebook account. Additional features in the camera allow you to add a Boomerang (a looping burst of photos), a replay of your live video and a Rewind (a video that plays in reverse), plus you can add overlaying filters, such as hearts on the eyes and cat whiskers, to your photos and videos. To mention up to 10 people in your story, tap on the “Aa” text button after you take a photo or video. Now type the @ symbol and their usernames, which become clickable links. You may want to tag your concierge, for example, so that viewers can click to see his/her profile. Or, tag a guest or influencer to draw their attention to your story. Make your stories interactive by adding a poll. After you take a photo or video, tap on the square smiley face, then tap on “Poll.” Ask a question such as “Which is your favorite? Our blueberry pancakes or chocolate chip waffles?” The default answers are yes and no, but you may change them to any two responses. Although you’re unlikely to do so, you may hide your stories from certain people. Go to your profile, followed by options. Tap on “Story Settings” and select “Hide Story From.” Choose the users—perhaps unwanted past guests—who won’t be able to see your stories. Regardless if your property is a hotel, resort or B&B, you should post stories that convey the guest experience. One idea: show the setup for an event that you’re hosting, plus photos/videos from the event while it’s going on. Another idea is to present an entire meal, from appetizers to dessert, to attract foodies. If your story is more timeless than it is timely, consider keeping it forever. Open your story, choose options and select “Share as Post.” The story is converted to a post, and you can add a description, add hashtags and accept comments. To see who has viewed your stories and track which types are the most popular, open your story and swipe up on the screen. Instagram will tell you the number of views and the names of the people who have seen each photo/video in your story. Facebook Stories
Introduction
Facebook is best used by hotels as a customer retention tool. Think about it: guests who like your page are already familiar with your brand and your property. Thus, your objectives should be to stay top-of-mind (customer relationship management) and get those guests to stay again (loyalty marketing), upgrade their next stay (up-sell), submit ideas/feedback (research) and/or tell all their friends (referrals). You need to have a personal Facebook account before you can create a (business) page. Click on the drop-down menu in the upper right corner and select “Create Page.” You’ll need to fill out your contact info—address, hours, phone number, etc.—add your profile photo and cover photo and write a description about your property. Facebook will offer you the option of creating a username so that you would have the website address Facebook.com/username. Note that it can’t be a common word like Facebook.com/hotel and it can include a period such as Facebook.com/Metropolis.Hotel. Unfortunately, many usernames are already taken, but pick one as close as possible to your property’s name. Tell your existing customers--e.g. in person, through your website, in your e-newsletter--about your Facebook page and why they should “like” it. The “why” is very important. These days, there are so many Facebook pages, so what’s the incentive for someone to like yet another page?
Stories
It’s no surprise that Facebook, which owns Instagram, added the Story feature. However, Facebook didn’t allow business pages to access Stories until Q4 2017, which is the same time it merged the little-used Messenger Day feature into Stories. To create a story, you must visit your page through the Facebook app, as this feature is not yet available on facebook.com. Scroll down just past “Write something …” and you will see a small section called “Your Page’s Story.” Click on “Create Story” and you will see an interface similar to Instagram’s. (One main difference is the option to use Facebook Live from this interface.) Press the circle to take photos and hold on the circle to take video. You also can add existing photos/video from your mobile device by pressing the picture icon next to the circle. Tap the magic wand icon to add effects (e.g. a border of hearts), tap the sticker icon to add emojis, tap the Aa icon to add text and tap the pencil icon to draw. When you’re done, tap the icon of your logo (“Your Story”). For your followers, these Stories will appear in their news feeds—in the top box on mobile devices and in the upper right corner on desktops—for 24 hours. The Stories will not appear in your page’s timeline unless you also choose to post them there. Over the years, Facebook has made it harder and harder for a business page’s posts to appear organically in the news feeds of its followers, forcing businesses to advertise instead. Stories present a new method to stay in front of your guests. One way Facebook determines what posts should appear in a news feed is its metric called “time well spent.” For example, posts that generate comments or videos that garner a lot of complete or almost- complete views have a better chance of appearing higher in news feeds. Facebook hasn’t yet explicitly said that stories follow this formula, but they likely will. Thus, make sure your stories truly engage your audiences. An owner of a B&B, for example, could use stories to show off his/her personality through tours of the property, cooking breakfast and leading a workshop. Just remember not to make these stories into ads, as no one likes to be sold to, especially on Facebook. As of this writing, metrics for stories haven’t appeared yet on Insights, which is the analytics area of business pages. Once they do, you likely will be able to see your reach, your engagement (reaction, comments and shares) and minutes viewed for videos.
About
Revelation PR, Advertising & Social Media is a full- service agency specializing in hospitality marketing and PR. We’ve helped our clients spanning hotels, B&Bs and vacation properties increase their visibility and gain more guests.
We are a minority business enterprise (MBE), certified by the State of Wisconsin and the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
For more information, please visit RevelationHospitality.com.