Comprehensive Social Media Strategy Plan

The Balcaon Paradise Resort

Comprehensive Social Media Strategy Plan

ABSTRACT:
Social media is a medium for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable
publishing techniques. Key element of social media is building `social authority’ which in
turn is developed when an individual or organization establishes themselves as an
"expert" in their given field or area, thereby becoming an "influencer" in that field or area.
Social Media has become not only a critical tool to interact with customers, but is also a
key element that impacts organic search rankings for one`s enterprise. Social Media helps
facilitate conversations between individuals and not companies. Once a sense of what
people are talking about is discovered, one can harness the material to his own advantage.

Social Media is no longer an experiment. It has arrived as an important media category

deserving a major role in marketing plans by targeting mainstream and leading consumers
alike. Social Media is powerful because users are blurring the distinction between what
they relate to friends and brands; creating powerful new opportunities for brands to create
uniquely close relations with those who buy them. Presence of the media platforms not
only allows customers to engage in a conversation with the customers but also serves as
an outlet to drive sales through deals and coupons.

The era of consumption is over. The era of sharing has begun in earnest. Social Media is
the new mainstream.

ACTION PLAN

At the start of the plan, we have first bifurcated the target audience in segments:

 Age group of 24-35 years

 Age group of 36-50 years

 People looking for celebration and parties.

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 Comprehensive Social Media Strategy Plan

 Corporate clients.

(Note- Both age groups include domestic as well as foreign tourists)

 Goals of organization
• Increased revenue and profit

• Customer Satisfaction

• Self-improvement by continuous feedback from customers

• Increasing visibility and popularity

• To brand the name and create a niche for oneself

 ACTION DEALS

• SOCIAL MEDIA INITIATORS:

o Use user generated content channels or Social Graph:

 Create an account on Facebook, PlaxoPlus,Linkdnl:

• Create a community.

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• Have event pages.

• Create custom tags to highlight hotel specific items

such as meetings, conferences, parties.

• Integrate Reservation widgets.

• Highlight upcoming events and offer specials and

packages to members for being a part of it.

• Upload photographs of infrastructure or renovations

or a campus tour.

• Encourage customers to share information of what

they find on our website with their friends and
family.

• Create option of users liking your services.

• Create and space for peoples looking for space to

organize the parties and meetings.

• Mention the facility of travel counter.

 Create/Promote Destination Blogs

• Showcase local events in Goa like carnival or

festivals.

• Showcase news and concerts with live band

performances.

• Highlight and congratulate winners of in house

games and competitions. Showcase their
achievements by harping on your own resources and
innovation.

• Highlight other popular avenues in Goa popular for

local tastes like Titos, Basilica of Born Jesus or
Dona Paula beach.

• Highlight and enumerate on local initiatives

undertook by your hotel to save ecosystem or a `Go-
green’ drive to create awareness.

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Comprehensive Social Media Strategy Plan

• Discuss things to do in your destination-use each

week to discuss one attraction. If there is a
conference or an event happening in Goa, become a
part of their social media club and offer specials and
package for the same.

 Search Optimized video

• Create and promote a search optimized video about

the hotel, local attraction and fanfare and upload
them on Video search engines like YouTube,
Uscreen, and BlogTV.

• Encourage consumers to submit personalized videos

on any local favorite and award discounts and lavish
gifts to the winners.

• Videos mainly focused on Hotels rooms, facilities,

reception, Beach Sean’s,Large halls for 4oo and 100
guests facing the blue Arabian sea.

 Photo Sharing

• Create a channel or an account on Flickr, Picassa

and post your hotel and destination photos on the
sites.

• Tag the photos with relevant keyword phrases

• Upload photos of relevant meetings and parties

showcasing the capacity of your banquets halls.

• You can also upload photos of your state of the art

amenities and include people using and enjoying
them.

 Twitter

• Create a custom twitter profile.

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Comprehensive Social Media Strategy Plan

• Highlight the special cuisine or the Chef`s Special of

the Day via Twitter.

• Time sensitive specials offered to all followers for a

particular day.

• Harp on the customer friendly approach by

highlighting special discount packages and offers
and giving an impression of value for money.

• Create a links and advertise on traveling Sites:

 Published your advertisement on Traveladviser, TripIT

sites.

 Give continues updates on the best time to visit and weather

condition.

 Give details of facilities you have for visitors to travel.

o Integrating and Cross-Linking Channels

 Integrate and cross network all the above mentioned

channels.

 Bring live feeds from these channels into your website.

 Updates from one channel should be available on all other

channels.
o Grow fan-base

 Facebook

• Send friend requests to customers and ask them to

suggest other like-minded people.

• Promote facebook profile page by uploading email

list of your customers, business associates and
requesting them to join you.

• Encourage participation by offering time sensitive

specials.

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Comprehensive Social Media Strategy Plan

• Network with local organizations and grow fan base.

 Twitter

• Stay connected and current by finding put relevant

businesses in your area and following them.

• Update people following you by suggesting new

cuisines, other fine dining places in collaboration
with you, places to visit and your exclusive feedback
about the same.

 YouTube

• Upload videos of meetings, conferences, parties and

other social gatherings in your premise.

o Aggregators and Activities feedback on Friedfeed, Tumblr,

Jaiku:

 Encourage users to upload viral content on your website or

your social channels.

 Allow users or interested people visiting you to comment on

any update/discussion/videos/photos or be a part of a
discussion initiated by you on Twitter or any blog.

Social Media Initiative Flow Chart

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• SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIMIZATION:

o Managing and monitoring Social Media Channels and Review

Site

 Keep a tab on number of users and communities following

you

 Keep a tab on where all you are being mentioned in social

medias all across the internet.

 Track your success through promo codes and introspect

how much interaction is taking place and who is the
initiator.

 We can integrate GOOGLE ANALYTICS code on

facebook, blog pages and track the activity.

 Use online Social Media Management systems like

EBUZZCONNECT which benchmark our performance on
social media channels vs. our preset goals.

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 Using tools like this tomonitor,manage,and respond to

reviews and comments on social channels.

 It also monitors our performance vs the competition for the

next 4-5 years.

 We can also track our performance pre and post changes at

the hostel including construction, management change etc.

 Prepare a questionnaire to introspect as to what have we

learnt about the customer that we did not know before.
Also, did our customers learn something from us and were
we able to engage our customers in new conversations.
Lastly, whether our employees have a new and effective
tool for external feedback and reputation management.

After gauging and assessing our performance on the above mentioned verticals by using
these tools, we need to determine if our goals are being met and till our satisfaction. Only

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if we feel that we are on the right track, we need to continue with the same measures.
However, if we observe that the response has been below our expectations, we need to
follow it up with the next stage.

o SOCIAL BOOKMARKING

 Search Engine Optimization

 Tag articles, videos, blogs on different media channels

o ARTICLES and ONLINE PR

 Create campaigns in social media environment.

 Sponsor campaigns that support a noble cause like AIDS

awareness, `GARIBI HATAO’ or Recycling.

 Sponsor or conceptualize street plays or dramatics

embracing social elements to connect with the customers.

 Use online news channels such as Business Wire and PR

web to release articles and news information.

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o INTERRUPT MARKETING

 Tie up with travel and luxury sites to allow pop-ups of our

company emerge every time a user logs on.

 Increase visibility by releasing advertisements on a local

scale embracing social elements to connect with customers.

o USE TRAVEL COUNTER

 Collaborate with Online Travel Agencies like Expedia and

Travelocity to offer users to book reservations with us.

 We can also highlight our packages and deals via this

medium also.

 We can upload links to our homepage on travel sites like

Makemytrip.com, Travelguru.com etc.

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 Time Frame for Execution:

o Social Media Initiator: (Time frame 6 months approx.)

 Collaborate We have anticipated that it will take 6 months

for proper execution of the Social Media Initiator, because:

 It involves the Website development (1-2 month approx.),

 Creation of new social media channels like, accounts on

social graph, uploading the videos, pictures, Information
about the hotel and creating the blogs (2 months)

 Interlinking the various Social media channels with each

other and with the website of the hotel (1 month)

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 Creating the Feedback channels form the social media sites

created earlier (1 month)
o Social Media Optimization: (Time Frame 6 Months Approx)

 Measuring the social buzz (2 months).

 Measuring the ROI (Return on investment) (5-6 month).

 Monitoring and managing (side by side form the starting of

social media initiative).

 EXPECTED RESULTS(30-40% Jump in Revenues)

o There are 2 different levels at which we can measure the success of our
social media strategies :
 Measuring Social media Buzz

 Measuring Return-evaluating website leds and revenue generated.

o Tracking Social Media Buzz:

 Use milestone to track how many buzz we have on our social

media channels.

 Other tools also available, like on face book you can track how
many visitors are visiting your site, number of clicks on the videos
and blog or comments that the visitors are leaving on the site.

o Tracking Return of Investments (ROI):

 Measure the leads generated from the social media channels using
analytical tools and determine how many visitors from the media
channels went into your booking engine. Using your conversion
ratios, we can estimate the ROI from the media channels.

 Execution and implementation of the plan is a must for the success

of this venture. For this selecting the right people with the precise

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expertise is a must. Success through social medium is possible only

when properly trained personnel are involved in verticals like
marketing, product development, engineering and package
designing of the plan.

Recruit people through social media channels only. Direct

interested candidates to our site and apply for the available post as
per their qualifications.

 Increased profits and sales.

 More brand visibility and popularity.

 Increased awareness amongst the masses regarding the standard of

your services and amenities.

 Self-improvement through continuous feedback from users via

monitoring and tracking our performance.

Conclusion:

Social Media is an integral part of the real-time search algorithm. Social media creates real
connection between companies and customers, and that connection equals purchase intent.
Ongoing connection and relationship with your customers will eventually turn them into a
volunteer marketing army. Make sure that social media is an integral part of your overall
marketing plan. The big question for us as hoteliers is whether we wait until then, when several
of our competitors are ahead of the curve or do we invest today in the media that is bound to be
the future of internet marketing. Hoteliers, who want to be ahead of the curve, should invest
today in the media that is fast emerging as the future of internet marketing.

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