This is an excerpt of our free guide, The Definitive Guide to Guest Feedback for Hoteliers. CLICK HERE to download the full guide.
Twitter is a great place to connect with travelers on the go with real-time ideas and up-to-the-minute information. The world’s largest microblogging site, what makes Twitter different from Facebook is its focus on simplicity. Ideas are neatly segmented into categories by hashtags and geo-located trending topics.
60% of Twitter users connect using a smartphone, and travelers are no exception. But, in addition to searching for specials and events during their travel, and connecting with the property long after they have returned home, guests are using Twitter as a customer service resource. Hotels who are engaging on Twitter are finding many more opportunities to perform service recovery than they are with Facebook. Emarketer reported in 2011 that 77% of hotel and airline Twitter accounts experience customer service inquiries and complaints. Only 46% of Facebook accounts dealt with customer service.
It appears that more customers are engaging on Twitter in real-time to get their service issues resolved. It is critical that all businesses on Twitter be prepared for this. But, there are also everyday functions of Twitter to consider for maximum engagement. Here’s our roundup of tips.
Utilize #hashtag Searches
In addition to the services mentioned above, Twitter allows you to search for and save hashtags from both your desktop and mobile application. Search for hashtags for upcoming events near your hotel, like #ParisFashionWeek. Use trending hashtags for your geographical region for inspiration for tweets. You can also use hashtags for your city, not only to get your own Twitter activity noticed, but to keep yourself up-to-date on events happening near your hotel.
Schedule Your Tweets
Low-cost applications like HootSuite, TweetDeck and Buffer App may be worth a trial as they are convenient for tweeting on the go from a mobile device, and they provide auto-scheduling functionality (allow for scheduling your tweets at optimal engagement times). These features are especially important when capturing behind-the-scenes looks of your property’s operation in real-time or, more importantly, maintaining an active social media presence over evenings and weekends when social media activity remains significant.
Flash Deals
Make your Twitter followers feel special by offering last-minute or limited time deals. Make sure your tweet includes a link by which to contact you directly.
Visit the Discover Page
Twitter’s Discover page offers a helpful way to uncover compelling re-tweetable content that you may have missed by showing you what content your followers have shared, favorited, and re-tweeted. The discover section also allows you to explore the browse category, which is extremely helpful when looking to follow travel-related brands, thought leaders, and small businesses.
Limit Your Tweet’s Length
To ensure that your content is most shareable, limit your tweet’s length to 100 to 120 characters. Nothing is more annoying to an active tweeter than when a message is not easily re-tweetable (RT) due to its maxed-out length. By limiting this length, you allow your user to share the content easily, add a comment to your message and ultimately give your content the best chance at maximizing its reach.