In a hotel social media manager's shoes: Answering positive and negative feedback (samples)

The following are sample hotel reviews, which I am answering for a class assignment as if I were the hotels' social media manager. I do not actually work for either of these companies.

Dear Travelwith3kiddos,

We're so happy to have had you with us not once, but twice! Thank you for choosing Hyatt Regency Orlando and for taking the time to tell us about your stay.

Mother nature certainly throws our pool maintenance team a curve ball from time to time -- but from the the hotel's three pools to our full-service spa to your comfy bed, our Hyatt family strives to exceed your family's expectations. We hope you'll be back soon, and we hope you won't see a single unsatisfactory thing. But if you do, please don't hesitate to report it to the front desk right away. We want to know if there's anything we could do to make your stay better, and we want to do it as soon as possible.

Corey Crawford is the culinary genius behind the B-line Diner, and we'll be sure to give your compliments to the chef. Cappricio Grill is now Fiorenzo Italian Steakhouse. Fiorenzo's open kitchen allows you to enjoy the creation of your steak, seafood, pizza or pasta dinner as well as the taste. Reservations are required at Fiorenzo, which ensures that guests won't wait to be seated due to walk-ins.

During your stay, we do our best to keep your car happy and safe in our covered parking areas, and we're glad to hear that you were pleased with our shuttle service. If you bring your family back between now and Dec. 30, 2014, be sure to check out our "Park and Ride" package (http://orlando.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/offers/offer-detail.html?offerId=52945012). You'll get complimentary hotel valet for one car, plus five I-Ride Trolley tickets per night during your stay.

Thanks again for your stellar review, and please let me know if I can answer any questions for you about Hyatt Regency Orlando. We hope to see you soon!

Sincerely,

Julie McKinney
Social Media Manager
Hyatt Regency Orlando

Dear Luv2TravelWithHubby,

I hope you'll accept our deepest apologies for not making your 10-year high school reunion the enjoyable experience it should have been. Your room should have been ready at 4 p.m., and your bed and towel requests should have been honored when you asked the first time. Your room and our grounds should have been in tip-top shape, as well, and we regret that this was not so during your visit.

We would love to host you and your husband at Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina again -- and this time, we'll blow you away with our service. Please email me at julie@hilton.com, and I will be happy to help you book your next stay at a discounted rate. Take advantage of our hotel's concierge services to book tours and visits to the best attractions in the area. We'll get you set up to go on a snorkeling adventure, play a game of golf or explore the Everglades on an airboat excursion. Without even leaving the hotel, you can enjoy an outdoor heated pool, full-service spa and fitness center. After a full day of fun in Fort Lauderdale, we'd love to have you join us for dinner at Nanking or The G. (Peruse the menus here: http://www.fortlauderdalemarinahotel.com/activities-en.html)

Thank you for your constructive criticism, and I hope you'll give us a chance to redeem ourselves and win your confidence in Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina.

Sincerely,

Julie McKinney
Social Media Manager
Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina

Events and multimedia communication: How I think the ISPA did with promoting their 2013 expo

The International Spa Association hosted their 2013 ISPA Conference and Expo on Oct. 21-23 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here's how I think they did with digitally promoting their event -- before, during and after.

Before the expo

The ISPA did a great job blogging up until the event. They posted helpful items like Packing 101 for the ISPA Conference and Expo and Prepare Like a Pro for the ISPA Expo ahead of the event. Posts like these say "This event is coming up and here's how to get ready for it" without obnoxiously shouting "Come to our event! Now!" But the organization could have also kept up the blogging during and after the event. They could still be telling interesting stories about the people or products at the expo or the history of the event or a company -- something to keep people talking about the expo. The blog posts during the event could have even been shorter, including photos from the expo, to make posting more manageable. Then they could have written up a wrap-up post after the expo concluded -- a "we had fun; hope to see you next year!" kind of post. There are surely people out there who couldn't attend the event this year who are interested in how it went. Also, the ISPA could have used such blog posts to attract people to future expos and push them out to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The ISPA pinned these blog posts, as well as several YouTube videos, to their Pinterest page in the days leading up to the expo. However, their Pinterest account has been dead since then. If they had done those blog posts during and after the expo, they would have had more material to pin.

On their YouTube channel, the ISPA has one recent video, "Insights into the Consumer Snapshot - Volume IV," which doesn't exactly pertain to the expo but does offer valuable background information to those in or interested in the business. The ISPA definitely missed an easy opportunity to video the crowd, the booths and the speakers at the expo. Posting short snippets from speakers -- the most inspirational parts, of course -- accompanied by crowd and booth footage could encourage their YouTube viewers to make coming to the expo a priority next year. Arm the team with Flip cameras or smartphones and go get that video! This also would have given the ISPA more content to share on Pinterest, as well as Facebook and Twitter.

On Instagram, the ISPA posted several photos of the set-up, which provides followers with a fun behind-the-scenes look at getting ready for the expo.

During the expo

I think the ISPA did a fairly good job updating their social media during their expo. The ISPA used the hashtags #ISPA2013 and, in some cases, #GrowYourWorld most of the time; however, they could have been much more consistent with their use. Potential future attendees would have definitely missed out on parts of the conversation from the expo if they had been following #ISPA2013 on Twitter or Facebook. The ISPA shared lots of photos on Instagram of the goings-on at the expo, and the photos showed a variety of subjects -- closeups of signs or food as wells as group shots of attendees. They updated Facebook and Twitter frequently with reminders/teasers about speakers, meals and other events.

My biggest criticism for their Facebook and Twitter accounts' activity during the expo is I think they should have shared more photos. When reminding followers about a speaker coming up, share a photo of that speaker -- a snapshot from the event or even a professional headshot. When inviting people to join you at dinner, share a photo of the place all set up; or if it's not all set up yet, share a closeup of one of the place settings or the chef preparing the food. According to Hubspot, 40 percent of people respond better to visuals than text alone.

How much more engaging would this post be if it had a photo of Lawrence Biscontini? Not only would it be more likely to catch your eye, it would also give the people at the expo an idea of who they're looking for at 6 a.m.



And how easy would it have been to attach a photo to this tweet of everyone gathering for lunch?



Also, neither of those examples has the event's hashtag. Womp, womp. However, overall, it seems the ISPA had the most interaction going on Twitter.

After the expo

The ISPA posted several times on Facebook after the expo ended, thanking sponsors and inviting people to share what they had gained from attending.

It's nice that they remembered to thank their sponsors on social media, but they could have taken the extra step on this post of tagging the sponsors. Unless the sponsors are closely following the ISPA's Facebook page, they could have easily missed this thank you. Tagging them could have gotten more engagement on this post, not to mention that it would make this a more adequate thank-you.



Here, they could have asked people to briefly share how they grew at the expo in the comments under this post -- in addition to asking people interested in being featured on the blog to email Christine. But because this post only directs people to email, the post got zero comments.



On Twitter, ISPA retweeted people as they posted their farewell messages and thanks, which is good engagement with those talking about the event. They also tweeted the same two Facebook items mentioned above, and my criticisms remain the same. They should have mentioned sponsors who are on Twitter and asked for people to briefly share how they grew at the expo using a hashtag.

Facebook and Twitter are really the only places you see any activity after the expo ended, and as I mentioned above, I think they easily could have done blog posts and videos during and after the show. This would have given them fresh content to share on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to remind the attendees how much fun they had and to entice more people to join them for the fun next year.

Clorox, I have faith in your products, but your content needs a little help

I'm what you might call a clean freak.

I have a cleaning schedule to keep the house how I like it. I vacuum (because sweeping doesn't get all the dust) weekly, and  mop every other time. I disinfect the kitchen countertops before and after preparing a meal, and then I finish them off with Windex to eliminate streaks -- and the appliances get Windexed, too. I scrub the bathrooms every week until they smell like undiluted Clorox, because they're not really clean until they do. I disinfect doorknobs and light switches throughout the house, and scrub away scuffs on the stairs and baseboards with a Magic Eraser. I could go on and on (but I won't).

In a perfect world, I'd stay on my little schedule, and everything in my house would be always be clean. But it's not a perfect world, and there are messes around every corner.


Luckily, my husband has enough sense to not do that. But, Clorox certainly makes it easy to clean up such messes quickly, which is why it's one of my favorite brands as well as one I'd be proud to represent.

Women (and to a degree, men) are embracing homemaking like it's 1950, and Clorox -- a housecleaning staple for the past 100 years -- should be a part of that movement. Clorox already has a lot of great cleaning and laundry tips on their website. However, these features are not being promoted well elsewhere -- like on Clorox's Facebook or Twitter accounts. What Clorox is doing on Facebook and Twitter is providing sources of interaction for its followers. And that's a good thing. But it should also be mixing in quality content, such as blog posts on how to get red wine out of your carpet or how to make a dingy undershirt white again. Clorox is in the business of making cleaning everyday messes simple; the brand already represents the best of cleaning, so why not share that expertise through blogging and social media?

In this age of "new domesticity," Clorox's Pinterest boards should be chock full of cleaning tips that subtly incorporate their products, but it's sparse so far. I have a cleaning board on Pinterest (I named it Cleaning Queen), and there are many more clean freaks on the network collecting tips for tidying and disinfecting. Clorox could easily be the source for many of these pins. Because Pinterest has an a particularly engaged homemaker-type audience (users spend more time there than Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn combined), Clorox could take the cleaning tips beyond just getting this or that stain out. How can Clorox help clean the crevices in your bathroom that are surely full of germs? How often should you bleach your sheets or towels? How long should whites soak in Clorox, and how do you properly dilute it? Clorox could also address questions like these on their YouTube channel, which is currently mostly ads. Granted, their ads are pretty funny.


But in addition to introducing these creative messes, how about some videos on how to clean things up? Creative advertising is great, but content is king.

I'm borderline obsessive compulsive about keeping my house clean, I'm an experienced social media professional (check out my resume) and I'm a believer in Clorox products. If you guys at Clorox decide to kick up your content and your social media presence, I'm just the clean freak to do it.

Instagram: Content community for photography nuts and filter-loving fools (in a good way)

It would be easy to label Instagram simply as a social medium. After all, it's owned by social giant Facebook. And many users, myself included, mostly follow and interact with people they know either in real life or from another social network. That makes Instagram fit nicely into the definition of social media, which are held together by pre-established relationships between individuals. But that would be ignoring part of what makes Instagram work.

Instagram more squarely fits (get it? the photos are square!) into another category: Content community. Content communities are created around a common interest, such as photography, short videos and a love for vintage filters. In a content community, the user can choose to share content with a select group or with the entire public. On Instagram, users have the option to make their account private, which allows only approved followers to see posts. Or users can elect to leave their account open, which means followers will see the user's content in their feed but nonfollowers can also see photos and videos via hashtags, username or location searches. Followers will often be the people with whom the user has pre-established relationships. But followers might also include random people who appreciate the subject of a particular user's photography or videography.

Which brings me to my next point. Content communities can be nested -- and Instagram certainly is. I think it's safe to say that everyone who joins Instagram at least marginally likes photography, even if they're not professionals (I'm certainly not). But there are subcommunities within Instagram based on particular photo or video subjects. Hashtags are a great way to get photos on a specific topic in front of the interested subcommunity. And you may even gain some followers you don't know in real life who simply want to see your work on that topic. I've noticed likes from people I didn't know and even new followers on my account after sharing photos using hashtags like #beer or #wine (breaking news: people like to drink). I've also made connections with people I didn't know in my city through the locally popular hashtag #InstagramBham.

With its photo plus 15-second video capabilities, Instagram is a great place for businesses to share content about products, events and even the workers behind the scenes. Your content must be interesting, even only to one subcommunity. Finding your niche audience and targeting your content to a particular interest group is actually a good thing. It ensures that you are entering the network with an understanding of why you're there other than it's the newest, shiniest thing. Just do Instagram users a favor and take the time to come up with a creative approach that doesn't scream "I'M SELLING YOU SOMETHING!" That won't do you any good -- on social media or content communities.

Lowe's multimedia approach extends a lifeline to homeowners, especially the power-tool-challenged

Home, sweet, home.

Last fall, my husband (of about four months at that point) and I purchased our first home. House hunting was an exhilarating, and sometimes heartbreaking, whirlwind of an experience. When we finally found the one, we felt so relieved and, well, at home. We signed the papers and got the keys and voilà -- we had a brand new home!

... Except that it wasn't so brand new. It actually needed a lot of work. We painted every wall and piece of trim in the place, pulled up carpet, tweaked some of the plumbing, and we still have a to-do list a mile long. What's a project-piling homeowner to do?

Enter Lowe's.

Let's start with the home improvement giant's YouTube channel.

Lowe's posts short, helpful videos about how to better your yard or house, and they put the most appropriate seasonal videos toward the top. This keeps people like me -- who are very unlikely to read the directions on the products they buy -- not ruin their home improvement projects.

Lowe's incorporates those videos as well as other how-to's posted directly on their website into their Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest accounts. On Twitter and Facebook, Lowe's also responds to both happy and dissatisfied customers and asks fun interactive questions to engage their followers and fans.

This tweet links to lowes.com's how-to for building a doghouse like the one pictured.

Being in the doghouse isn't all bad. Your pup will love this! http://t.co/Ym4FRcKRga #Dog #House pic.twitter.com/dsxYJqBHA7
— Lowe's (@Lowes) September 4, 2013

This tweet just links directly to a product on lowes.com -- a fire extinguisher.

Sometimes dinner doesn't turn out like you planned. Stay safe in the kitchen by keeping this on hand: http://t.co/o1KpX2iU30 #Safety
— Lowe's (@Lowes) September 5, 2013

The brand's light yet helpful tone makes @Lowes a fun and useful account to follow.

Lowe's gets major respect from me for not just sharing the same things to Facebook that they're already sharing to Twitter. It would be easy to do that, but it's a much better experience for their users who follow them on both networks to get unique content in each place. Lowe's also doesn't post things and walk away. They continue to respond to users who comment on their Facebook posts even hours after the original post.

Then, Lowe's covers pretty much every home category you could think of on Pinterest.

On top of their impressive social media presence, Lowe's also has a great set of apps -- including MyLowes, which tracks your purchases so you can remember what size your air filter is without digging out a measuring tape.

The Lowe's multimedia approach to home improvement helps even the least experienced project tacklers figure out what in the world they're doing, and it's certainly helped us since moving into our first house last fall. Thanks, Lowe's! (Now, maybe send me some special coupons for the free press?)