How to Get More Sales from Public Relations and Marketing Dollars
Embrace social media technology to save time, by Julie Keyser-Squires, APR
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) November 16, 2009 -- Chris Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton Hotels Corporation, suggested at the 2009 ALIS Hotel Leader's Outlook panel that the rebound would not be immediate because "the psychological impact was too great." Many have been psychologically impacted over the past year. Businesses in the global hospitality industry are in the wringer. The bright side is that when a company goes through a wringer, what remains is the true value in the business.
A firm can still squeeze more value from its public relations and digital marketing dollars with these four steps:
1. Assess company strength. Outsource the rest
Make an honest evaluation of the time plus digital marketing and public relations resources that are in-house - outsource the rest.
2. Develop high-value content. Export it consistently.
With the shrinking news hole and proliferation of social media outlets, it is tempting to get caught up in the excitement of the medium. In fact, the most important marketing exercise a company can undergo is a deep dive into its message. What is a company's true value-add? What is its differentiator? What business problem does the company solve? Answer these questions first, simplify the message and then consistently distribute it.
3. Search engine optimize everything.
Search is the new homepage. A company's keywords should be thoroughly researched, then sprinkled through every piece of writing and micro-writing that it distributes. Thanks to @stacywms for her blog series on "How to Leverage Social Media for Search Engine Optimization," which explores SEO for each social media tactic. Take a look.
4. Embrace social media technology to save time.
Social media will hit a tipping point of credibility and use in the hospitality and tourism industry in 2010 and will yield lucrative ROI strategies. Get started now, with one tactic at a time. Here is an effective tutorial on how to tap Twitter's power in 30 minutes a day.
Twitter Power Strategy
The below tactics assume that the company:
1. Has a PR and marketing plan in place.
2. Understands how twitter use fits into that plan and supports the business' goals.
Build Technology Savvy
Read with Tweetdeck.
Post with HootSuite.
-Lets users tweet from multiple profiles (ex: @Juliesquires, @SoftscribeInc).
-Lets users schedule future tweets.
-Ow.ly URL shortener gives analytics.
Post via a PDA with Tweetie on an iPhone, Twitterberry on a Blackberry.
Program the company's sources to provide as many interesting, relevant links as possible. Sources: Alltop.com: travel and hotel
SmartBriefs
Hotelmarketing.com
StumbleUpon
GoogleReader allows users to subscribe to select marketing blogs.
A good strategy is to follow everyone who follows your company, and to use the Direct Message (DM), which is more efficient than email. Use twimailer.com to automate follow backs.
Measure Success through Analytics.
Establish measurement goals before starting - increased followers, click throughs to landing page, search conversions.
Measure with Radian6, ObjectiveMarketer, or the company's homegrown approach that could include:
-Google/Yahoo alerts
-PRWeb news service metrics
-Inbound links
-Google analytics for landing pages and websites
-Coverage in blogs, other websites, publications
Develop a similar efficient strategy for each social media tactic that supports the company's goals.
May you "be in heaven in 2011," to quote Jim Burba, president of Burba Hotel Network, and squeeze more sales value from your public relations and digital marketing dollars.
Julie Keyser-Squires, APR, is CEO of Softscribe Inc., a digital marketing + PR firm that applies SEO and social media to help clients increase sales. Give her a shout on twitter @Juliesquires; comment on her First Light business blog softscribe.wordpress.com or sign up for her free quarterly video email snack at marketingsnacks.com.
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