Blog 5: Social Media Sea-Change - Part 1: Blogs and How to Join the Conversation

Hosptiality Upgrade: Fall Issue, 2007
Sherry Heyl
Julie Keyser-Squires

Social Media on the internet is growing by the second through forums, blogs, wikis, and web-based communities like facebook and myspace. Travelers are searching online for reviews from actual guests who have stayed in the hotel they are looking into, or have eaten at a particular restaurant. All you need to join the conversation is a computer and an internet connection. This means that just about everyone can post comments about you and your company for everyone to read. It is critical for companies to understand how social media works, and the importance of getting involved in the conversation.
The first step in getting involved in the online chatter is to find the conversations. With search engines likes Technorati (www.technorati.com) you can type in your company's name to search through blogs, photos, and videos. Here, they also assign a number which shows the authority of each blog. This is based on the number of links coming into the site from various other blogs.
The next step is to listen to what is being said. The best way to do this is to subscribe to a Blog RSS Feed, such as Bloglines. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. "Information syndicated from frequently updated Web sites that can be subscribed to." Although subscribing can take a couple of hours to set up and a little work, the pay off is definitely worth the wait. After set-up, it is time to read your feeds.
Part 2, which will be in the next edition of Hospitality Upgrade, will focus on developing a blog stradegy and participating in the conversation.
If used correctly, getting involved in the online conversation can be extremely beneficial to a company. First of all, they are receiving free information on guest reactions, whether it be good or bad. They don't have to put much effort out to obtain this information on how a guest feels. Whether the guests loved your restaurant or hated it, they felt strongly enough to log on and state their opinion for everyone to read, so it is worth hearing them. I read a blog a while back on Olive Garden. The writer was complaining that the servers there are forced to bring wine to every table when they greet the guest. They are told to describe the wine to the guest and try to get them to buy a glass. I have experienced this while dining there also. I went out with 3 of my friends. None of us are 21 but yet the server still brought the wine to the table. Olive Garden may benefit from this conversation about them. Even if they don't change their policy, they could get involved in the conversation and inform their employees that some guests may be put off by trying to sell them wine. Conversation online is unlimited. Everyone has an opinion. The hardest part for companies may be deciding who to listen to, and who to reach out to. Customers keep the business running. Without them, we would be out of a job. With this in mind, we need to listen to what they are saying, and do our best to make the best of this information.