Social Media News For The Week Of 3/22/13

Pinterest Aims for Businesses

The social media network, Pinterest, is in the process of making the platform more attractive to businesses. This is according to a recent report by InformationWeek. The fourth most popular social network is adding new analytical tools along with new features to assist businesses in getting better traction from their content. Also, a separate site for business owners is now available to further help in the process of network engagement analysis. Full Story Here:


‘Triple C’ vs. Triple I’: Which Kind of Company Are You?

Social media has virtually eliminated the void between businesses and their customers and prospects. As the world has gone increasingly social, the relationships between companies, their employees, and their customers is changing. The old cultural business model was for a top down, Command-Control-Compliance company. Businesses marketed at their customers while vigorously controlling their message and the relationship between employees and customers. The new social business model is for a Inspire-Involve-Imagine company where customers and employees are inspired to imagine a brand experience and involved through ongoing dialogue. Full Story Here:


How to Run an Effective Social Media Program

A properly executed social media marketing campaign can go a long ways toward leveling the playing field between a small business and its larger competitors. There are three crucial factors to take into consideration to achieve lasting success with social media marketing, however. A clear strategy must be established first, followed by compelling content, remembering always that success takes time and requires a commitment. Full Story Here:


5 Social Media Marketing Tips to Boost SEO

It is vitally important that a business show up in the first page of a search engine result when consumers are looking online for products and services. Social media is increasingly driving the search engine rankings now. This article provides strategies for increasing rankings and better leveraging of social media to accomplish SEO goals for businesses. Full Story Here:

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

OnFast Launches Coupon Builder App

OnFast launched their new Coupon Builder application into the Apple App Store today, allowing businesses to easily create Apple Passbook-compatible coupons with their iPhone or iPad and distribute them to Facebook and Twitter. The coupons can either be sent out immediately, or may be scheduled for distribution at a later date. Coupons can be tailored by choosing from a variety of themes and images can be added using the built-in photo editor with special effects. In addition, the number of coupons offered at any one time can be easily controlled and tracked.

"With the Coupon Builder app, we made it possible for virtually anyone to quickly create and send out a coupon that looks great." states Michael Burrock, Vice President of Business Development at OnFast. "In just a couple of minutes a merchant can put a Passbook-compatible coupon on their Facebook page" he continued.
 
Device Requirements:
* iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch and iPad
* Requires iOS 5.0 or later
* 8.7 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Coupon Builder 1.0 is $1.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Business category. Customers can learn more and sign up for the service at OnFast online. Contact Aaron Shepherd. Follow us on Twitter @onfast.

OnFast
Coupon Builder 1.0
Purchase and Download

OnFast is a cloud-based software as a service (SAAS) provider for the burgeoning online and social marketing space. OnFast's management team brings more than 25 years of experience in the software and Internet industries to provide customers with innovative and effective technologies. OnFast is headquartered in beautiful Naples, on Southwest Florida's Gulf Coast. OnFast is a registered trademark, and other OnFast product names, service names, slogans or logos referenced in this document are trademarks of OnFast, LLC. All other company, product or service names referenced in this website are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Driving Restaurant Revenue With Social Media - Part 2 - Facebook

Facebook is the benchmark social network platform and it’s where any restaurant should begin their social media marketing efforts. With over a billion users worldwide, it is by far the largest potential social network audience. It is skewed slightly more in numbers toward female active users, 58% female vs. 42% male. Facebook provides a venue where restaurants of all sizes can set up a page to interact with the people who love their food and reach out to future patrons. Here are a few tips for restaurants on Facebook:

 

Engage With Your Fans

Interacting with your restaurant’s fans will make them feel special and welcome. Great food, service, and atmosphere will make them want to come back to your restaurant. But an interactive experience with your page will keep your restaurant at the forefront of the audiences’ mind, which will make them come back more often. Engage by asking users questions, conduct polls and giveaway contests. Seek the fans input on your menu, asking for suggestions for new items they would like to see. Ask them for their opinion whenever you make changes: listen and respond.

 

Include Lots Of Images

The introduction of the timeline format to Facebook last year has given all brands a wonderful place for a splashy cover photo. The food and beverage industry is highly visual, so create the proper impression with a colorful and representative image that you switch out periodically to keep it fresh. Make sure all posts feature images as well, to ensure they stand out and receive the attention they deserve. Also, all images should be of the highest resolution possible.

 

Give Them Something

Facebook is a great platform for offering promotions and highlighting specials. Giving the audience something is a benefit to both you and your fans. However, keep it occasional enough that you are not giving away the store one day and then they won’t come back unless you are. Another idea could be to let your chefs share recipes and cooking secrets. With the immense popularity of cookbooks, chef sites, and culinary television shows, this will keep them coming back for more.

For a restaurant just starting out with social media marketing, Facebook is a great place to begin. The most important thing to remember is to make your restaurant’s fans feel appreciated and that serving them is your pleasure. In part three, we’ll see what Twitter can do to assist the restaurateur.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Mobile Technology And The Hospitality Industry - Part 1

During the last several years there has been a global explosion in the technology and usage of mobile devices. According to figures from Google, 21% of all searches originate from mobile devices. This includes both tablets (7%) and smartphones (14%). These are 2012 figures and the numbers will be higher for 2013. For many types of businesses, especially the hospitality industry, it is crucial to embrace the opportunities presented by mobile and integrate the technology into everyday operations and marketing.

 

Hotel Mobile Marketing

Having a hotel app is the key to leveraging mobile technology for the hospitality industry. A specifically branded hotel app that is available from the app stores for each corresponding technology is the best way for hotels to take advantage of mobile technology. At the very least, websites must optimized for mobile users. This means it looks good and functions well when used on a mobile device. With many different sized devices, it is also critical that none are overlooked. Websites must be created for desktops, mobile smartphones, and tablets.

An important feature of mobile technology, from a hotel marketer’s perspective, is their geo-location capabilities. Location-based marketing has grown right alongside the mobile phenomenon. Hotels can easily distribute marketing messages and services to customers based on where they are. Having your hotel listed on local listing websites will steer customers who are already looking for a place to stay to your hotel, while being helpful at the same time. Special offers can be made through social media sites like Facebook or Foursquare with “check-in” features for guests who tell others about the hotel at which they are staying. Another facet of mobile marketing is the use of Quick Response or QR codes. QR codes can be used to steer mobile users to specific landing pages featuring more detailed information or for the redemption of coupons.

Hotels must meet their guests and potential customers where they are spending their time and increasingly this is on mobile devices. In part 2 of this series, we will look at the ways that mobile is transforming how guests experience a hotel and hotels conduct their day-to-day operations.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

 

 

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Social Media News For The Week Of 3/8/13

San Antonio chef sizzles on social media

Chef and restauranteur, Jason Dady of San Antonio, provides a perfect example of how restaurants can correctly engage in social media marketing. Jason, who now owns three thriving restaurants and a food truck, was an early adopter of social media. He has successfully grown his businesses by properly balancing a clear marketing strategy  with the personal interaction so necessary on social media. Full Story Here:


B2B Businesses and the Potential of Social Media Infographic

This interesting infographic offers facts and figures to explain the impact social media is having on business-to-business companies. The numbers provided in this graphic also present the enormous potential that awaits companies who have yet to integrate social media into their overall marketing strategies. Full Story Here:


Your Social Media Reputation Can Attract Employees

A study by the staffing services company, Spherion, has found that quality, professional employees are drawn to firms with good reputations on social media. Almost half of the employees surveyed, at 47 percent, believe online reputation to be an important factor to be considered when contemplating the acceptance of a job offer from a firm. This finding comes despite only 27 percent of businesses believing social media to be an influencer to their job candidates. The survey also states that almost 75 percent of employees who are pleased with their employer’s social media reputation, are satisfied with their jobs as well. Full Story Here:


Businesses Have No Real Plan For Facebook and Twitter

The management consultant firm, Altimeter Group, has uncovered a lack of strategy on the part of businesses and their social media marketing efforts. Only 12 percent of companies engaged on social media during 2012, did so with a clearly planned strategy. While just 34 percent reported having data connecting their social media marketing with goals for profit growth. Just 52 percent in the survey believe the top executives of their firms are in alignment with the social strategy of the company. Full Story Here:

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Driving Hospitality Revenue With Social Media - Part 10 - LinkedIn

The social network LinkedIn is sometimes overlooked, which is unfortunate since it has much to offer a hotel’s social media marketing efforts. LinkedIn’s purpose is to serve as a network for professionals to interact with their peers. LinkedIn’s value lies more in networking than in direct promotion and it is not a format for hard selling. With over 200 million members worldwide now, LinkedIn is however an extremely powerful network of professionals and a valuable resource for the hospitality industry.

 

The LinkedIn Company Page

For a hotel, or any business, the LinkedIn Company Page is the central key to the network. This is the place that LinkedIn has set aside where a company may talk about their business and offers your hotel the opportunity to openly promote itself. Here you can provide a summary of your hotel, showcasing all of its features, services, and products offered. Provide a link to your hotel’s website. Post news about upcoming events and promotions on the page, linking videos or images about everything new about your hotel.

Actively promote discussion and feedback, using the likes, comments and shares to tweak your content and gain marketing insights. Be sure to include hospitality industry relevant keywords throughout the page for effective search engine optimization (SEO) purposes and to aid searches by your target audience. Present your hotel properly by making sure the Company Page is as thorough and complete as possible. Ensure it fully represents your hotel.

 

LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn Groups allow professional industry peers to talk about their respective professions. There are literally thousands of groups related to the hospitality industry alone on LinkedIn. Join as many relevant groups as possible. LinkedIn groups can be an effective way to get marketing exposure for your hotel. Interacting and engaging in group discussions or sharing relevant information is a way of indirectly marketing your hotel.

Showcase your expertise by answering questions posed on the answers page. This will also help you connect with others in the group. To make sure you are on top of the current discussions in your groups, sign up for each group’s daily digest. If you have joined many groups, only subscribe to a weekly digest. Whenever you get the email update, take the opportunity to read it and then dive into the conversation on the site and engage.

LinkedIn provides an opportunity to use your expertise and experience to highlight and present your hotel in new and creative ways. The professional social network is an excellent tool for leveraging customers from among your connections on LinkedIn.

 

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

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Driving Hospitality Revenue With Social Media - Part 9 - Flickr

The photo sharing website, Flickr, is another social media website that can be successfully leveraged by hotels. Once again, the highly visual nature of the hospitality industry easily lends itself to social media marketing via Flickr. Blatant and direct marketing is strictly forbidden on the website and its most active users are photographers, both professional and amateur. However, Flickr is a powerful tool to gain global exposure for images shared on the network. Being a part of the Yahoo network affords Flickr a considerable web presence, resulting in greater search engine optimization (SEO) attention by Google.

Images may be shared in a “slide show” format and link back to the hotel’s website, which helps SEO rankings as well. Hotels could include high quality images taken of their location and showcase what makes their destination unique and desirable. A few images may be included of the hotel property in a classy way, without the slideshow becoming a direct marketing message.

A definite advantage to the Flickr platform is its low cost. Basic accounts are free and upgrades are nominal. Flickr shares its images with other websites also, therefore spreading your hotel’s visual message even further. The artistic emphasis of Flickr has resulted in the network having a truly international audience that transcends language.

Interaction with the audience takes place most effectively in two ways. Commenting on photos shared by others results in exposure for your account username and associated links to your images and information. The second way is through Flickr Groups. These groups are a collection of people interested in a particular subject or topic. The members of the group share relevant images with the rest of the membership and discuss them. For example, a hotel could join a group related to their city and find plenty of opportunity for engagement and sharing with other members of the group, who can then share the hotel’s uploaded images outside the group. Flickr Groups can provide a powerfully viral element to a hotel’s photographic efforts.

As with other visually oriented social media websites, the images shared should be of the highest quality and resolution possible. Your hotel’s Flickr images will become a reflection of your hotel and should always be complementary to your reputation. In the last part in this social media series, we will see how the hospitality industry can benefit from the social network LinkedIn.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com

Driving Hospitality Revenue With Social Media - Part 9 - Flickr

The photo sharing website, Flickr, is another social media website that can be successfully leveraged by hotels. Once again, the highly visual nature of the hospitality industry easily lends itself to social media marketing via Flickr. Blatant and direct marketing is strictly forbidden on the website and its most active users are photographers, both professional and amateur. However, Flickr is a powerful tool to gain global exposure for images shared on the network. Being a part of the Yahoo network affords Flickr a considerable web presence, resulting in greater search engine optimization (SEO) attention by Google.

Images may be shared in a “slide show” format and link back to the hotel’s website, which helps SEO rankings as well. Hotels could include high quality images taken of their location and showcase what makes their destination unique and desirable. A few images may be included of the hotel property in a classy way, without the slideshow becoming a direct marketing message.

A definite advantage to the Flickr platform is its low cost. Basic accounts are free and upgrades are nominal. Flickr shares its images with other websites also, therefore spreading your hotel’s visual message even further. The artistic emphasis of Flickr has resulted in the network having a truly international audience that transcends language.

Interaction with the audience takes place most effectively in two ways. Commenting on photos shared by others results in exposure for your account username and associated links to your images and information. The second way is through Flickr Groups. These groups are a collection of people interested in a particular subject or topic. The members of the group share relevant images with the rest of the membership and discuss them. For example, a hotel could join a group related to their city and find plenty of opportunity for engagement and sharing with other members of the group, who can then share the hotel’s uploaded images outside the group. Flickr Groups can provide a powerfully viral element to a hotel’s photographic efforts.

As with other visually oriented social media websites, the images shared should be of the highest quality and resolution possible. Your hotel’s Flickr images will become a reflection of your hotel and should always be complementary to your reputation. In the last part in this social media series, we will see how the hospitality industry can benefit from the social network LinkedIn.

Written and produced in beautiful Naples, Florida by OnFast.com. Visit OnFast.com today to get your free trial subscription to our Social Media Marketing Service.

Posted via OnFast - http://www.OnFast.com