Social Media Strategy In Hospitality – A Case Study Of Hilton Hotels

The emergence of Social Media and its effects on marketing

The advancement in technology and the popularity of the Internet has forced the organizations world over to carry out a transformation in terms of how they interact with people and how they carry out their marketing initiatives. Social media platforms constitute of a large proportion of time that people spend on the internet and therefore the organizations are targeting the online consumers by developing interactive and innovative social media strategies and understanding the consumption pattern and the demand trends with the help of it.

The social media platforms can although be very helpful for the organizations by helping them in reaching out to millions of people with a single click and a single post, it is a highly volatile medium and a double-edged sword since unhappy customers can damage the reputation of the organizations instantly and can impact the word of mouth popularity by sharing their opinion with all the people that they are connected with and can also impact the decision making of the potential customers for the organization. Despite all this, social media has become the most popular medium for the organizations operating in the hospitality industry to communicate with people and reach out to the organizations and individual customers at the same time by effectively marketing their services. The traditional mediums that were used for marketing earlier have gone obsolete very fast with the advent of the Internet and mobile telephony. This report is compiled to analyse the social media strategy currently implemented by the Hilton hotels and its effectiveness. After the detailed evaluation a new social media strategy is suggested for the organization to help them and tapping the potential and attracting more customers by utilizing social media platforms and their immense potential.

Social media and digital marketing

Social media can be defined as the mode of communication which is established by making use of information technology and the networks by the interactive production of user oriented content for establishing and maintaining the relations between the users. The social media technology was originated somewhere around the year 2005 with blogging being the first form. It allows people to maintain an online journal by making use of information technology tools through a web based service. The introduction and popularization of social media has forced the organizations to develop new ways of communicating with their current and potential customers and create the brand image by having conversations around it. The advancement in the social media features has made it mandatory for all the organizations operating in any industry to establish credibility and follow the trends off the social media portals if they have a desire to develop an excel in their field. The 1990s witnessed the breakthrough of the internet technology with the popularity of the web based services. This also gave rise to e-commerce and led to the development of technology and brought about digitisation of the marketing processes(Accenture, 2015). The customer relationship management and tools that the organizations implemented before the 1990s were suddenly overtaken by the new opportunities and the technology channels which were introduced to innovate the customer relationship and to remove the boundations of time and place while doing it. There are numerous different forms of social media platforms and different mediums are used for the different forms of communication. The most common form of social media platforms used by the organizations include blogs, social networks, video sharing platforms, gaming platforms, photo sharing applications and the enterprise networks. A rough classification of the various social media channels can be done by dividing them into three types(Leung, Bai, & Stahura, 2015). These are the short text communication channels, the long text communication channels, and the photo communication channels.

Different Forms of Social Media Platforms

Short text communication channels – LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter

Long text communication channels – blogs, forums

Photo communication channels – Instagram, Pinterest

Not all the social media platforms are suitable for every organization and therefore a thorough assessment needs to be carried out by the decision makers of the organization regarding the relevance and the choice of the platforms that they choose to connect with their present and potential customers. The image included below provides a measure of the degree of relevance that the social media channels hold for the corporate organizations.

The above image indicates that social networks and video sharing platforms are the most effective channels for social media communication and for carrying out marketing activities. The photo sharing platforms also have great reach and can help the organization in connecting with a large number of customers in a convenient way.

Social media in hospitality

The global hospitality industry is facing a tough competition and this has resulted in forcing the organizations to develop innovative marketing strategies but not only provide them a competitive advantage but also help them in growing in a sustainable manner. In the hospitality industry, the social media tools are implemented to achieve two objectives(Pindoriya, 2015).

The first objective or the business strategy of the organizations by embracing the social media platforms is that of content creation. The deployment of this business strategy can help the organization in targeting the market segment and creating content that allows the organization to communicate if the values and vision of the company. In addition to communicating the business goals of the organization, the content creation strategy also allows the firms operating in the hospitality industry to understand the needs of the customers and serve them better. The social media channels provide these organizations and interesting platform to communicate and engage with their customers by reaching out to them(Hiton, 2017).

The primary objective of content creation through the social media platforms is to provide the customers extra value in terms of knowledge and emotions. When the organizations share useful information regarding their operations and organizational decisions, they are able to create knowledge based content for their target market. Providing additional information to the customers can help in influencing their decision making process when making a purchase and availing services from any organization in the hospitality industry. The emotional value through content creation is achieved by connecting with the customers through feelings and emotions in a simpler way. This may include creating advertising campaigns that have the customers relate themselves to the brand or sharing images that generate a positive sentiment and motivates the customers(Perkins, 2014).

The content marketing strategy for the organization makes use of social media as a channel for indirect marketing by helping the customer in making the choice and build the brand image. Content marketing is the process that generates results in the long-term and does not immediately impact the marketing strategies of the organization. Most of the top organizations operating in the hospitality industry integrating social media marketing for the development of strategy that incorporates this platform and impacts the performance and the growth of the organization. Although it is a new trend, it is gaining massive popularity as it allows the organizations to communicate with the large audience at a relatively lower cost and at a much faster rate. It is predicted that this integration of social media in the marketing strategies of the organizations will only increase in the hospitality sector with most of the customers becoming tech savvy and looking at these sources to not only make the decision related to purchase but also gather information which may influence the future decision making for them(Gehrels, Wienen, & Mendes, 2016).

Relevance of Social Media Channels for Corporate Organizations

Current situation in social media marketing for Hilton Hotels

The organization does not only create and publish the content of their own but also solicits pictures and posts from their users which ensures a higher degree of engagement and also motivates the people to constantly stay connected and share the content that is worthy in the wish to get feature on their page. In addition to this, the organization also connect with other organizations which helps in mutual promotion and exposes both of them to new people who can turn into potential customers for them. The image below comprises of an analysis of the engagement level of people on the various social media platforms for the page of Hilton hotels(Cognizant, 2015).

It can be observed through this chart that Instagram is the most common platform that invites a large number of visits for the organization. For every post by the organization, they receive more than 1000 engagements as per the given chart. Since Instagram is a mobile centric application, it provides greater accessibility and ease of usage to the customers. Hilton hotels regularly post engaging content on all the social media pages to ensure that their brand always stays on top of the mind for their customers. Since the people generally have a higher engagement rate for the images, we generally create content that is visually powerful and is made available especially during Fridays and Saturdays that report greater views by the customers(Manalo, 2014).

For amplifying the messages that conveyed by the organization through their images and posts made on the social media platforms, they also make use of celebrities as influencers to further enhance the reputation of the brand. The organization has a social media strategy that is platform centric and they also make use of hashtags which provide a simple way for the customers to remember the brand. The strategies implemented by the organization make use of these hashtags to keep the users tied and also for keeping an easy track of the popularity and reactions of the people related to the organization and the brand image. In addition to content creation by the managers and the decision makers of the organization, they also run contests on the online pages to engage the current followers and to generate a greater following by attracting new people towards the organization and their social media pages(Team, 2014). This contest not only increase the visibility of the brand but also encourage the people to talk about the organization which is the ultimate aim of the social media strategy built by the organization. Hilton Hotels provide greater value to the people following their social media pages by publishing information that is unique and compelling to read. The interesting content posted by the organization attracts the people and also increases the knowledge fulfilling the dual purpose of the social media strategy.

Although the social media strategy of Hilton hotels is already generating a high degree of engagement and responsiveness from their followers, there are a few changes and suggestions that are offered to them which can take the organization to next level in strategizing and planning their social media marketing activities. The engagement and the usage of the social media platforms among the people are increasing day by day and it is only expected to grow in the near future. It is time that the organizations take actions with regard to the consumer preferences and take the necessary actions to further improve their game in social media strategy building and implementation(Russell, 2010).

Social Media in Hospitality

It is observed that short videos are being increasingly created and shared by the individuals and their popularity has skyrocketed in the recent years. The videos elicit a greater degree of engagement as compared to any other content shared on the social media platform pages by the organizations. Therefore, Hilton Hotel should also create video content in the form of stories on Facebook and Instagram and share them to keep the audience engaged and link them with the already implemented strategy of the company so that the users are hooked and further move towards selecting them as the preferred option for accommodation when traveling. Almost all the organizations run customer service centers by employing people who help in providing support and answering the queries of the customers who tried to reach the organization through the phone. Since these customer service agents were hired at an external location, the possibilities of human error in the service support process were increasingly high. Chatbots are the latest innovations in the customer service industry which help the organizations in for the improving the experience provided to the guests. The chatbots are the software applications that can stimulate conversation just like humans and can carry out customer service by acting as an agent. This not only allows you organizations to provide service round the clock but also ensure a consistent and more efficient delivery of the support services that help in keeping the customer satisfied and building lasting relationships with them by gratifying them and solving all the queries by providing the required support without consuming much time and resources(Varakas, 2017).

The budget decided for the social media promotional activities and the maintenance of the pages should be dedicated and revise on a regular interval since these are the channels that are highly desired in the market and also provide good returns on making knowledgeable and well thought out investments. Hilton Hotel should also explore the latest social media platforms and if necessary the organization can create pages to continue with this purpose of engagement with the customer and to promote the organization by running campaigns on these channels. Mobile the traditional social media platforms are already providing a good return and are helping the organization in engaging and generating the required buzz around the brand, they can also explore the messaging applications and platforms which may help the organization in providing a more personalized experience to their guests and incorporating these platforms in the website and other social media channels you can also help the organization in providing better service and convenience to their customers(McCarthy, Stock, & Verma, 2010).

While continuing in their endeavor to strategically use celebrity endorsements, the organization can also connect with famous bloggers and association leaders who can also act as influencers in the decision making process for the customers and for the organization to influence their followers with the help of their own content platforms. The ephermal content shared by the organization on the social media channels are the posts and the images that are only available for up to 24 hours and disappear after that. This form of engagement is quick and attracts a lot of use and responses from their followers. Making use of this in addition to augmented reality can also allow the organization to target the younger audience which is technologically more advanced and interact in a very different way as compared to the older generations. Since this generation already grew up with mobile phones and internet connection, their process and speed of making the purchase decisions are very different as compared to the previous generations and as their entering the workforce they are soon going to become the target market that you are organizing and will have to focus on. By developing and incorporating strategies that are already built around keeping them attracted, engaged and satisfied can help the organization in continuing with their reputation and the brand name in the coming years(Lanz, 2010).

Conclusion

This report is compiled to analyse the social media strategy currently implemented by the Hilton hotels and its effectiveness. After the detailed evaluation a new social media strategy is suggested for the organization to help them and tapping the potential and attracting more customers by utilizing social media platforms and their immense potential. Hilton Hotels and Resorts is a private organization operating in the hospitality industry with the flagship brand of Hilton providing services to the customers through the hotels and resorts located all over the world. Currently operational in more than 570 locations, there hotels and resorts are spread across 85 countries in 6 continents. Hilton hotel has developed an effective social media strategy that allows them to engage with their customers and has garnered a number of followers for them. They make use of, twitter and Instagram to constantly connect with their followers and post relevant content to keep them engaged. Although the social media strategy of Hilton hotels is already generating a high degree of engagement and responsiveness from their followers, there are a few changes and suggestions that are offered to them which can take the organization to next level in strategizing and planning their social media marketing activities

3.1 Data Collection

There are a number of data collection processes which are are used in correspondence with the type of research undertaken (Ladhari and Michaud, 2015). If the present research study encompasses primary research process there are two ways of conducting the analysis either through qualitative or quantitative analysis. However in the present research quantitative research paradigm is necessary to be chosen to understand the role of social media upon hospitality management. However, questionnaires are required to be prepared in context with conducting a survey process. The questionnaires are necessary to be constructed to access the perspective of the research sample regarding the influence of social media befalling upon the hospitality industry.

3.2 Primary Data

Primary data is that information which is obtained by directly engaging the research samples to give their respective opinions about the definite research issue raised. These sorts of data are used for conducting the primary data analysis. The primary data involves a one to one interaction of the researcher along with the specific group of research sample (Xiang et al. 2017). The primary data can be obtained pertaining to different kinds of research kinds, the quantitative analysis or the qualitative analysis. The primary data can either obtained by administering questionnaires towards the research sample groups to yield data that can be quantitatively calculated. However, there is another way of obtaining data in the form of primary research where interview techniques shall be used which shall be analysed through qualitative approach. Adhering to the present research study only the quantitative paradigm of primary data is considered. Hence the data shall be obtained through a survey method where the responses provided against the questionnaires administered shall be regarded as the primary data.

3.3 Research Sample

Every research study is necessary to be conducted in a manner such that it can be held true for a stipulated group of people or sector. As the present research process centers around the hospitality background encompassing the role of social media in them the sample of the research shall comprise the hospitality sector (Fergie et al. 2016). A genuine review and response can be obtained if the employees and human resource team of Hilton Hotel can be considered as the research sample. As good as 25 human resource from Hilton Hotel are tried to be brought within the range of analysis in order to understand the role of social media upon them. It is aimed that about 25 employees of Hilton Hotel are considered as the research sample, however only 20 out of them were genuine respondents.

3.4 Research Design

The research design helps to direct the study in a proper dimension giving it a layout and a specific research blueprint. Research designs are of varied kinds but chosen and applied on the basis of the kind of research outcome that is intended to be achieved. An explanatory research design is one where the quantitative research paradigm is best applied. The exploratory research as the name suggests is built on the basis of exploration on a topic which is not much dealt with before. The secondary researches adhering to qualitative analysis are mostly carried on using this design. The descriptive research design is one where both primary as well as secondary research processes can be simultaneously taken place. It is necessary that the present research be based upon the explanatory research design so that quantitative primary research shall; be effectually conducted.

3.5 Research Method

The respondents are considered to be 20 employees of the Hilton Hotel who are to be brought under the paradigm of research analysis. It is viewed that primary data analysis is conducted upon them. The research shall be carried on the basis of the questionnaires administered to them (Jin, 2018). The responses that are given against the questions targeting upon the influence of social media upon Hilton Hotel form the basis of the analysis. The statistical tools are used in the form assessing the basic descriptive statistics and use higher order quantitative parameters.

3.6 Data analysis method

The primary data analysis comprises use of statistical evaluation. This certainly incorporates the data obtained to undergo definite quantitative analysis. The questionnaires are designed following the Likert’s scale so that the responses are given across five categories differentiating the degree of agreeability for each of the questions. However depending upon the responses provided by the employees are then calculated to find out the basic descriptive statistics. Further higher order statistics in the form of correlation and ANNOVA can be conducted to find out the significant differences and correlation between the variables.

4.1 Research analysis and findings

Hilton Hotel is found to make the right use of the social media platforms to be able to take their services to the next level of popularity (Xiang et al. 2015). The presence over the diverse social media platforms is compared by the Hotel management to see their impacts independently. It was noted that about 40% of the visits were originating from the mobile apps, either they were from Facebood, Instagram or Twitter. Hilton on understanding the predominant trends running in the contemporary times took initiatives to make their contents get posted over Instagram on a regular basis (one post on an average time). Some of the mobile centric applications such as Instagram are regarded as the primary platforms to be assessed by the Hilton Hotels.

Hilton makes it prominent that the use of these social media platforms is not merely restricted to generation of their own contents about their hotels. They rather plan to include the contents that are reflected by the part of the other users towards their hotels. This gives their audience an extra interest to share their experiences which in turn leads to enhance their brand in an even stronger manner.

With the excitement and interest of posting and projecting their contents and reflecting the experiences of their visitors, it is equally necessary Hilton Hotel to be mindful regarding the scheduling of the posts made (Fergie et al. 2016). The optimum level of engagement on the part of Hilton Hotel can be achieved from their audiences especially on the Fridays and Saturdays. The brand ensures their audiences connectivity on a regular basis so that the audiences have their respective brands at the top of their minds.

Apart from exploring the effectiveness of the definite active roles played by the different social media platforms, Hilton Hotel also invests significantly to explore and have an in-depth knowledge about the kind of content that is intended to be generated for engaging maximum audiences. As it is evident through surveys that pictures are most appreciated by their audiences, the brand posts try to incorporate pictures with each post that they make.

4.2 Describe analysis and respondent’s profile

The analysis is made by assessing the employees in order to understand the role played by the social media platforms towards Hilton Hotels (Leung et al. 2017). There are definite strategic outcomes taken into practice by making use of celebrities keeping in focus with optimizing the messages and driving engagement. Hilton Hotel was found to come in collaboration with Derek Hough, using his celebrity status in favor for the brand to create a strong influence on Facebook as well as Instagram. The hashtags that are to be made to use are necessary to be meaningful in nature. Use of hashtages is an innovative strategy to make the key focus areas to highlight so that they are retained in the minds of their audiences in simple, easy and unique manner. The social contests help to reveal the respondent’s profile. The vistors who are typically frequent travelers tend to keep themselves updates about the latests contents provided.

4.3 Statistical analysis

The descriptive analysis is conducted as the preliminary step adhering to the primary quantitative analysis. However, in order to delve further deep into the matter it is expected that statistical tools shall used for obtaining correlation and ANOVA with respect to the verdicts and responses obtained by the Hilton Hotel from each of the respondents.

Semi Structured Questionnaire

1. What is your gender?

Respondents: 50

Gender	Male	Female
Percentage	60%	40%

Table 1: Gender Ratio

Fig 1: Gender Ratio

2. What is your Age?

Respondents: 50

Age	18-35	35-60
Percentage	40%	60%

Table 2: Age Ratio of Respondents

Fig 2: Age Ratio of Respondents

3. Innovation can bring uniqueness towards hospitality industry.

Respondents: 50

Response	Yes	No	Can’t Say
Percentage	40%	30%	30%

Table 3: Response on Innovation

Fig 3: Response on Innovation

4. Social media platform work effectively to enhance the customer experience.

Respondents: 50

Response	Agree	Disagree	Neutral
Percentage	60%	15%	25%

Table 4: Social Media Response

Fig 4: Social Media Response

5. The contemporary times are evident of being greatly driven by social media predominance.

Respondents: 50

Response	Agree	Disagree	Neutral
Percentage	80%	10%	10%

Table 5: Social Media Response

Fig 5: Social Media Response

6. Hilton hotel makes effective use of strategies to incorporate social media platforms to maximize engagement of visitors.

Respondents: 50

Response	Yes	No	Can’t Say
Percentage	65%	30%	5%

Table 6: Social Media Strategy Response

Fig 6: Social Media Strategy Response

7. A rightful projection of the Hotel Hilton is possible through involvement of social media channels like Facebook and Instagram.

Respondents: 50

Response	Yes	No	Can’t Say
Percentage	45%	45%	10%

Table 7: Social Media Projection Response

Fig 7: Social Media Projection Response

8. Making audiences express their views and experiences as the content for the Hotel ensures greater success and progression towards Hilton Hotel

Respondents: 50

Response	Yes	No	Can’t Say
Percentage	70%	20%	10%

Table 8: Audience View Response

Fig 8: Audience View Response

Reference list

Ladhari, R. and Michaud, M., 2015. eWOM effects on hotel booking intentions, attitudes, trust, and website perceptions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 46, pp.36-45.

Xiang, Z., Du, Q., Ma, Y. and Fan, W., 2017. A comparative analysis of major online review platforms: Implications for social media analytics in hospitality and tourism. Tourism Management, 58, pp.51-65.

Fergie, G., Hilton, S. and Hunt, K., 2016. Young adults’ experiences of seeking online information about diabetes and mental health in the age of social media. Health Expectations, 19(6), pp.1324-1335.

Jin, S.V., 2018. “Celebrity 2.0 and beyond!” Effects of Facebook profile sources on social networking advertising. Computers in Human Behavior, 79, pp.154-168.

Xiang, Z., Magnini, V.P. and Fesenmaier, D.R., 2015. Information technology and consumer behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 22, pp.244-249.

Fergie, G., Hunt, K. and Hilton, S., 2016. Social media as a space for support: young adults’ perspectives on producing and consuming user-generated content about diabetes and mental health. Social Science & Medicine, 170, pp.46-54.

Leung, X.Y., Bai, B. and Erdem, M., 2017. Hotel social media marketing: a study on message strategy and its effectiveness. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 8(2), pp.239-255.