HSMAI Foundation And TIG Global Release Social Media White Paper Designed For Brands And Management Companies

According to a survey commissioned by Forrester Research, 86 percent of marketers believe that social media usage will increase more than any other marketing tool during the next three years. To explore the methods in which hotel brands and management companies can engage consumers through social media channels, the HSMAI Travel Internet Marketing Special Interest Group (SIG) and Internet marketing company, TIG Global, have released a new white paper focusing on implementing social media tools for marketing.

“Marketers are still gaining an understanding of social media and how to use this medium to listen to and engage with the consumer,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CAE, president and CEO of HSMAI. “This white paper provides a unique perspective for hospitality marketers and offers guidance for creating a comprehensive social media plan.”

“Hotel brands and management companies face a different set of challenges when creating a social media strategy,” said Fred Malek, CEO at TIG Global. “Their social media plans need to promote a range of hotels with different strengths and amenities and monitor a large amount of traveler reviews and content. Determining who can best execute and manage the plan, at the property level or at the corporate office, is also a difficult decision. This paper addresses all of the common social media concerns management companies and hotel brands face and provides direction on how to grow a successful strategy.”

Key highlights from the white paper suggest that social media engagement creates powerful relationships that will more likely generate sales in the long term, especially as more consumers rely on their peers for endorsements and word of mouth referrals to make online decisions. While marketing communication in the traditional sense focuses on brand and product awareness, social media works to engage with the consumer. From a marketing and brand building perspective, social media is a way to generate awareness and credibility, maximize conversion and traffic, and increase SEO and organic search engine rankings.

The white paper is a compilation of ideas and feedback from the Travel Internet Marketing SIG Advisory Board, led by advisory board members Isaac Gerstenzang, corporate director of e-commerce at Destination Hotels & Resorts, and Tiffany Tchida, Senior Manager, Ecommerce at Best Western International.

The social media white paper is the fourth white paper in a series sponsored by TIG Global, a subsidiary of MICROS Systems, Inc., and published by the HSMAI Foundation. Copies of the white paper are available at www.travelinternetmarketing.org.

About HSMAI | The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners, and is the industry's leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals & their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as HSMAI's Affordable Meetings, Adrian Awards, and Revenue Management Strategy Conference. HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at www.hsmai.org, www.facebook.com/hsmai, www.twitter.com/hsmai and www.youtube.com/hsmai1.