In late October Bing announced that it would integrate Twitter into its search engine results pages, and within hours Google announced that it too would include Twitter updates. I am sure people thought, 'That's great news, but how will that impact me and my business?' As hoteliers, this could have a huge impact on your business if you are not participating in social media and communicating through today's social platforms.
Google's goal is to create the most comprehensive, relevant, and fastest search in the world. It doesn't get much faster than if you are including up to the minute data. Their view is that the next time you search for a hotel, you can be aided by a real-time observation.
For illustration purposes we conducted a search query on the 'Roger Smith Hotel' in New York. The third result in the organic section, highlighted in yellow below, returned a query related to Twitter. Admittedly, this result links back to the Roger Smith Twitter profile, and not a live tweet, but we surmise that this could happen.
What a great service that would be for the user. Not only do they get a result that will bring them to the hotel website, but they would also have the opportunity to look at a social comment like, 'Great night stay at the Roger Smith Hotel, service was amazing and the staff was very courteous.' Highly useful information for the end user, but equally as important to the property for organic search engine optimization.
As the saying goes, 'There is no time like the present.' As hoteliers, you need to be participating in social media now. Start building a network of fans, followers and friends who trust you and your hotel. If you don't move in this direction, you may quickly become irrelevant in not just social media, but in search as well.
If you would like to learn more about Internet Marketing call at 978-465-5955 or send an e-mail to info@orourkehospitality.com.
O'Rourke Hospitality Marketing, 44 Merrimac Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. www.orourkehospitality.com.
