Marketing Your Hotel on Facebook: Know the Terms
Posted by Patrick Murphy on Thu, Nov 24, 2011
Moving your hotel into the social media realm? You’ve come to the right place! Facebook is a brilliant way to connect with the market in a personal format. But it’s not as easy as it looks. There are some terms to get used to before you dive right in.
Facebook and copyright
First up, let’s talk about copyright. Facebook has a lot of terms and conditions and it’s important to know what kind of terms you’re working with: if you don’t want others using your photos, then Facebook and social networking may not be for you. The essence of social networking is sharing. While users can put strict controls on profiles, it does defeat the purpose of the network. Facebook essentially says that they have a royalty free license to use anything you post, so bear that in mind.
Facebook also want you to be the only source of information on your product, brand, or in this case your hotel. This is to avoid becoming like a search engine. So there can only be one page for your hotel on Facebook. This obviously works to your advantage as the owner, because nobody can copy your page. You’re the only source of information. It’s a great boost for the branding process. Think of what happens to small hotels when they are searched for- Trip Advisor and Expedia list them first. While this is useful, it reduces direct bookings through the hotel’s own site.
What kind of profile?
Pages v Profiles. You may have a Facebook profile for yourself already. This is an advantage, because you can create a new page for your hotel through your profile. The big mistake people make is to create their hotel as a profile instead of a page. The rule of thumb is that profiles are for individual, personal use. Pages are for hotels, products, brands, or celebrity branding. If you choose the wrong kind of page or profile, Facebook may disable it.
When you understand the terms, you can go ahead and start building out your page with images, and even booking engines that your visitors can use to book directly through Facebook. Stay tuned for more Facebook tips for hotels.
Check out our FREE whitepaper 'A Hotel's Guide to Facebook' for more help with social media.
