Trends Update
What does the digital landscape mean for your brand positioning?
The world of brand management has changed rapidly over the last 10 years. We’ve seen the true emergence of a digital landscape which has made the online world the most important arena in which to establish and manage your brand.
As well as building and reinforcing your brand, the internet has equally become a place where brands can crash and burn thanks to the instant nature of the internet. Things can go viral for the wrong reasons in an instant.
You’ll need to work harder to monitor your online reviews
You’ll already know this, but it’s impossible to stress how important an aspect of reputation management online reviews are. The fast-moving, easily diffused nature of the digital landscape means you’ll need to quick to respond to poor review and aware of guest sentiment at all times.
Facebook posts and tweets showing unclean accommodation or rooms different to how they’re advertised online have the potential to go viral in minutes and destroy reputations in hours. It’s therefore imperative to your brand positioning strategy that you manage and reply to your online reviews daily to nip bad reviews in the bud and avoid situations spiralling out of control.
A key to doing so effectively is to accept that you’re in the wrong. Anyone reading a poor online review will respect that you’re honest about your mistake. Likewise, be humble and thankful in your response to positive online reviews. Your guests have taken a couple of minutes out of their day to boost your brand for free, so the least you can do in return is thank them for making the effort and wish them a safe journey home
Establish a consistent voice online
Another key aspect of reputation management is the online voice and persona you adopt when you go digital. Train all of your staff tasked with speaking on behalf of your hotel online how to do so in a voice and style you want your hotel to be known for. It’s no good having upbeat, enthusiastic language in your Facebook posts and having dull, short sentences in your online review responses. If you are omni-channel, your brand must be consistent.
On top of being consistent, try to have your online voice reflect your brand as a whole. That means using language appropriate to your target market across your less formal communications online such as your social media posts, right through to your email marketing content, website landing pages, booking engine instructions and blog posts or other content formats.
Take advantage of social media
Social media has emerged as perhaps the most important tool for brand positioning in recent years. The way you use it can make or break your brand. Make use of regular posts through a variety of mediums, whether they be Facebook live streams, Twitter moments or Snapchat stories and you’ll see your online reputation grow and interest in your hotel increase.