A new study from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration details that hotel reviews posted on social travel websites, such as TripAdvisor and Travelocity, positively impact a guest's willingness to book reservations at a premium rate for a reviewed hotel. "The Impact of Social Media on Lodging Performance," by Chris K. Anderson found that the number of reviews as well as the willingness of consumers to assign credibility to hotel reviews has increased over time. Anderson also found that a 1-point increase on Travelocity's review scale – such as increasing a hotel's review from 3.3 stars to 4.3 stars – drives an 11.2 percent premium in a hotel's rate, while still maintaining occupancy and market share. Given these results, it's increasingly clear that hoteliers must dedicate resources to monitoring their social reputation, actively review online hotel reviews and invest further in guest experiences on-property to create engaged guests. (Read more on who writes hotel reviews) Beyond Travelocity, Anderson determined through regression analysis that a 1-percent gain in a hotel's social media reputation is worth 0.89% in average rate lift and a 1.42 percent increase in RevPar. The full social media impact study is available online from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. The post New Study Shows Hotel Reviews Drive Rate & RevPar appeared first on Kevin Donahue.
-
I posted to blog.kevindonahue.com
New Study Shows Hotel Reviews Drive Rate & RevPar
http://blog.kevindonahue.com/archives/2012/11/29/hotel_reviews_drive_rate_revpar/
November 29 2012, 2:39pm | #
-
I posted to blog.kevindonahue.com
How to Convert Social Media Followers to Buyers
http://blog.kevindonahue.com/archives/2012/11/12/convert_social_media_buyers/
Since the rocket-like launches of Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest years ago, organizations have been asking the million dollar question in regards to social media, "How can we convert fans into buyers?" Countless books, seminars, blogs have been devoted to the topic of social media ROI, but (sadly) most seem to miss the most obvious point. While I don't proclaim to have all of the answers, the answer to the question of converting social media followers to customers seems a rather obvious one: The same way you converted your existing customers. From my perspective, there's too much status placed on 'fans' and 'fan counts' by most social media "experts". The people who "like" your brand are essentially giving your company a virtual high five. They appreciate something you've done or a perception you've created about your products. They may or may not be your current customers. And – unless you work to convert your followers into buyer – they may or may not be your future customers. In a traditional sense, your Facebook fans and Twitter followers are the digital equivalent of window shoppers. Some of them know your brand well, they enjoy your products and actively share their experiences with their friends. But some of your fans – a large majority – are standing on the sidewalk. They like your window display, but it hasn't compelled them to open the door and try your brand. And this is where your business acumen and experience - more so than your social networking skills – come into play. Social media is a tool for increasing your sales, not the solution. So ask yourself and your team: What do you do as a brand that brings potential customers in off the sidewalk? If you can answer that question, then you can convert social media followers into buyers. The post How to Convert Social Media Followers to Buyers appeared first on Kevin Donahue.
- Tags:
- Uncategorized
- howto
- sales
- marketing
- socialmedia
- selling
- customers
- brands
November 12 2012, 10:51am | #
-
I posted to blog.kevindonahue.com
How To Position Yourself as an Expert – ROLL UP YOUR SHIRT SLEEVES!
I happened upon a curious article entitled "How to Roll Up Your Shirt Sleeves" via a luxury company's social media and it really struck me. As a man who wears shirts, I suppose I am well-within the blog's target demographic for this post; however, what really interested wasn't the content, but rather the positioning. The article details (with photos AND videos!) different ways for men to roll up their shirt sleeves. This is, I suppose, interesting information for a number of readers. Beyond the content, I think this is a great example of how to position yourself as an expert. Each of us has a number of interests in which we have a great depth and breadth of knowledge. Be it personal or professional, I'm sure there are several areas in which you could be considered an expert. And therein lies the opportunity. By taking the next logical step and SHARING your expertise, you can not only impact your audience but also establish yourself as an expert – a status that can reward you handsomly in career pursuits. After all, who would you rather hire/work with/buy from? An expert or the other guy? In what areas are you an expert? Find your niche and roll up your sleeves!
September 14 2012, 3:12pm | #
-
I posted to blog.kevindonahue.com
5+1 Changes to Make to Your Resume NOW!
http://blog.kevindonahue.com/archives/2011/12/12/51_changes_to_make_to_your_resume_now/
I read an interesting article on Glassdoor entitled, "5 Changes to Make to Your Resume NOW" in which some often overlooked points were resurfaced. It's worth a read. One point that was not mentioned and should be emphasized is how important it is to communicate your social media handles along with your contact information. Your social media standing is a direct reflection of your professional interests and network. and can demonstrate industry engagement. This important engagement element should not be overlooked. After all, there are (literally) hundreds of studies showing that prospective employers are going to seek you out through social media. If this is a point of distinction for you, then you should showcase it, right? If you're actively promoting yourself professionally through a blog, Facebook page, or Twitter, you should definitely include a handle or link in the header of your resume. Don't miss a chance to make this positive impression!
December 12 2011, 2:34pm | #
-
I posted to blog.kevindonahue.com
How To Make Press Releases "Twitter Friendly"
http://blog.kevindonahue.com/archives/2011/11/29/how_to_make_press_releases_twitter_friendly/
PRNewser had an interesting read this week on the importance of making your press releases Twitter friendly. Why should you tailor a press release to be easily distributed via Twitter, you ask? Simple. Twitter drives more traffic to press releases than any other top-level social media resource. So, how do you make your press release "twitter friendly"? PRNewser has some obvious steps as well as some a-ha steps that can greatly impact how your release gets distributed via social networks.
“It starts with the headline,” says Sarah Skerik, PRNewswire’s VP of social media. “The press releases that got the most shares and views were those that had headlines that were in the range of 120 characters, which makes them the perfect tweetable link.”
Obviously good headlines are important, but it's equally important to monitor the length of the headline. Since Twitter users will want to retweet your post and (potentially) add comments, you need to leave enogh characters to support the "RT @[yourusername]" device, at a minimum. A good rule of thumb would be to limit the length of your tweet to 110-120 characters maximum. Using twitter best practices is also important in making your press release twitter friendly and ensuring that you are hitting your core audience. One obvious device is through the use of appropriate hashtags. Hashtags make your content easy to find through twitter search, lists, and dedicated industry feeds. Another great tip is to make your pullquotes tweet-able.
Why not make the quote more interesting and substantive? “If I knew my audience was active on Twitter, I would make sure that quote is tweet-able, and include the brand’s or person’s Twitter handle….”
Including a twitter handle within your press release (or within the pullquote itself) is a really clever idea that could pay off in many ways. Not only will it get your important themes noticed and retweeted, but it could help to gain followers for your internal twitter accounts, further enhancing your brand's credibility in the marketplace. For more ways to make your press releases twitter friendly, check out the rest at PRNewser.
November 29 2011, 1:02pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
40 New Social Media Resources You May Have Missed
- Tags:
- web20
- socialmedia
- socialnetworking
December 19 2010, 1:14pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
StartupNation Blog » Blog Archive » 5 Ways to Use Foursquare to Market Your Location-Based Business
July 18 2010, 6:57pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
23 Essential Social Media Resources You May Have Missed
http://mashable.com/2010/07/18/essential-social-media-resources-12/
July 18 2010, 6:56pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Six Things You Need to Know About Facebook Connections
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/things-you-need-know-about-facebook
May 8 2010, 7:41am | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
What Facebook posts, tweets might say about the empty tomb
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/04/04/4708354.htm
April 4 2010, 8:59am | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
How to set up a Facebook fan page that works
http://www.directcreative.com/blog/facebook-fan-page
January 17 2010, 6:03pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
DM Deleter - Script / Bookmarklet / Hack to Delete old Twitter Direct Messages
http://dcortesi.com/?s=Direct+message+script
August 16 2009, 10:49am | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Roll Your Own URL Shortener with Wordpress in less than One Hour
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kevindonahue/~3/1NEbEoiDTR4/
August 13 2009, 10:54am | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
World's Best Social Network Icon Pack
http://www.komodomedia.com/blog/2009/06/social-network-icon-pack/
- Tags:
- internet
- useful
- social
- socialmedia
- socialnetworking
- free
- webdesign
- design
- 20
- icon
- icons
- services
- technorati
June 25 2009, 12:57pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Can You Handle the Truth? 10 Tips About Careers (That No One Ever Tells You!) : CAREEREALISM: Because EVERY Job is Temporary
April 21 2009, 8:52pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Tweetdeck Gets Facebook Integration - The Next Web
http://thenextweb.com/2009/03/16/tweetdeck-facebook-integration/
March 17 2009, 12:37pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Keep Your WordPress Blog Fresh With Content From Twitter and FriendFeed
http://mashable.com/2009/02/19/fresh-from-wordpress-plugin/
- Tags:
- tools
- web20
- social
- socialmedia
- friendfeed
- wordpress
- blogging
- YouTube
- plugin
- plugins
- xp
February 19 2009, 8:34pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Biz Stone: Twitter to Charge Brands for Use - MarketingVOX##
February 10 2009, 1:23pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Orlando sushi restaurant now accepting orders via Twitter
February 3 2009, 4:50pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know
http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/
February 2 2009, 8:19pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
140 Characters » How Twitter Was Born
http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-twitter-was-born/
February 1 2009, 9:00am | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Twistory - your twitter history in ical format
- Tags:
- tools
- calendar
- googlecalendar
- web20
- gcal
- socialmedia
- ical
- history
- apps
- microblogging
- Bookmarks
November 30 2008, 4:52pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Twistory - your twitter history in ical format
- Tags:
- tools
- calendar
- googlecalendar
- web
- web20
- gcal
- socialmedia
- ical
- history
- apps
- microblogging
November 30 2008, 4:52pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Free Twitter Backgrounds - Twitter Themes
November 30 2008, 8:32am | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
Free Twitter Backgrounds - Twitter Themes
- Tags:
- socialmedia
- backgrounds
November 30 2008, 8:32am | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
11 Ways to Use Twitter to Help Your Site Go Viral
http://www.twitip.com/11-ways-to-use-twitter-to-help-your-site-go-viral/
November 18 2008, 8:24pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
11 Ways to Use Twitter to Help Your Site Go Viral
http://www.twitip.com/11-ways-to-use-twitter-to-help-your-site-go-viral/
November 18 2008, 8:24pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
How Twitter Can Help at Work - Shifting Careers - Small Business - New York Times Blog
http://shiftingcareers.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/how-twitter-can-help-at-work/
- Tags:
- web
- web20
- productivity
- tips
- work
- business
- marketing
- socialmedia
- socialnetworking
- career
September 9 2008, 7:04pm | #
-
I posted to delicious.com
eBook: Getting Started with Social Media | Orangejack LLC
http://orangejack.com/ebook-getting-started-with-social-media/
August 28 2008, 7:36am | #
1