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Whether or not you're an avid user of the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in your personal life, there's no doubt that your hospitality business could benefit from boosting its presence on these channels.
We live in a social, connected world and harnessing the power of social media when it comes to promoting your venue not only helps you to differentiate from the competition, it can encourage more guests through the door. Social media also extends the reach of your business, allowing you to tap into networks of potential guests while continually providing up-to-date information on upcoming events, deals and promotions.
If you've been dragging your heels with regards to social media, you might be interested in the stats from our recent guest survey. The majority of guests (66%) told us they would look up a venue's social media page before visiting - you don't want your business to be the one with a glaring gap.
Our research also revealed that the preferred channel of communication with a hospitality business is Facebook - 64% of guests would communicate with a restaurant venue via this medium. The next most popular social channel for communicating with restaurants was Twitter, though that had just 13% of the votes.
Of course, a hospitality business needs to ensure its social channels provide what guests are looking for. We found that 30% of guests use social media to look for a menu while 22% are hoping to read through reviews. A further 13% use social media to scan for special offers - so businesses must ensure their pages are kept up-to-date with the correct information for guests to peruse. This also demonstrates the importance of ensuring the guest experience is of a high quality and that happy guests are encouraged or incentivised to leave some positive feedback online.
Interestingly, while only 32% revealed they had communicated with a restaurant over social media, 58% of guests felt that they would be more inclined to visit if a restaurant interacted with them online. Be sure to respond to online reviews, share content generated by guests and develop a consistent voice to bring your business to life and inject it with personality.
By promoting your venue in this way, it's likely you'll boost your visibility, reach out to new customers and create relationships that encourage guest loyalty.
