Driving value from your hotel website using Social Media

The 2014 ShareThis Travel Study has just been published and makes interesting reading for anyone involved in hotel and leisure marketing.

ShareThis collected data from its 52 million users recording more than 1.9 billion social posts. Incredibly it found that 10 percent of all shared content was related to the travel, hotel and holiday market – making this sector the most socially shared content on the web.

Travel is a highly social topic with 10% of all travellers sharing content about their trips and holidays within their social networks. Marketers looking to boost engagement across social platforms should note that on average, each travel-related share generates 18 click-backs. This is 40 percent more than other types of shares and actually increases for those who are in the process of planning a trip who are even more likely to share and engage with travel content.

The research also shows that web users are quite social about hotel deals and special offers, with the UK taking a lead in much of this activity. UK marketers should note that the most shared travel destination on Social Networks by a considerable margin is the United Kingdom.

As expected, when browsing and researching travel and hotels, web users tend to use their desktops and tablets rather than mobile devices. However, sharing is generally done from smartphones and tablets. Facebook and Twitter are the most popular social destinations but for travel and hotels, platforms such as Pinterest are increasingly popular.

Research shows that 35% of all travel sharing came from users aged 18-35, with sharing on social networks being driven predominantly by women delivering a massive 71% of all posts. Getting down to detail, travel sharing is generally done during the morning with planning, research and bookings taking place towards the end of the day.

The key things to take from this report are:

• Social sharing is very important to the hospitality and leisure sector – travellers are very engaged with social media and will share content if it’s presented to them in the right way.
• Know your audience and create content that is appealing to them. Women and 18-35 year olds are more likely to share your website content than other groups.
• Diversify your Social Media Channels beyond Facebook and Twitter. Research shows that users engage with Pinterest,Google+, blogs and email especially during the planning phase.
• Create well-planned and relevant content that people will want to share to truly unlock the value from your website visitors.

For more information view the research on SlideShare

Talk to Wisetiger about how to get the most out of social sharing from your hotel website.