New Trends in Movement

We’ve been telling you to use gifs and video all month so you’re probably ready for a change of pace right? Here are a few cutting edge, movement-based marketing techniques that are especially useful for the hospitality world.

360° Photography

What is it? : A 360° photo is similar to a panoramic picture, however instead of being wider, a 360° photo captures the entire surrounding of a location – including the ceiling, floor and even what’s behind you. These pictures can be taken using special 360° technologies like the Ricoh Theta S or GoPro cameras with custom rigs, but can also be taken with a smartphone, using apps like Google Street View.

How your hotel can use it: 360° photos allows prospective guests to see your hotel from the perspective of actually being there. Even though this technology is new, the images are surprisingly shareable. Not only can 360° photos be posted to compatible web pages but Facebook has officially supported 360° photos since 2016. For good real world examples, check out the way the Hilton Chicago and Grand Resort have implemented 360° photos into their marketing strategy.

Virtual Reality

What is it?: Similar to 360° photography, virtual reality offers a complete view of your surroundings, however instead of staring at the view on a computer screen, VR visually transports its users to the location with the use of VR goggles. Though the technology has been around since the 80s, VR has enjoyed a resurgence due to products like Google Cardboard that enable people to enter a virtual reality environment with their smartphone.

How your hotel can use it: With virtual reality videos hotels can create strong connections with potential guests by allowing them to virtually “tour” the lobby and rooms prior to booking a night. Using software and technology from brands like VideoStitch, virtual reality videos can be easily constructed and implemented into your marketing strategy. Photoweb.com has a nice collection of virtual tours from many hotels.

Cinemagraph

What is it?: Cinemagraphs combine high quality photographs and video to create a picture that has moving components. For example, a cinemagraph could include a couple sitting on a bench (completely still) with leaves blowing in the background.

How your hotel can use it: Instead of using flat pictures of rooms and amenities, you can include cinemagraphs featuring fireplaces actually crackling next to comfortable lounge chairs or water rippling along the surface of your hotel’s pool. For inspiration, check out some of these finished products. Learn how to construct these photographic masterpieces and be one of the first hotel marketers to add cinemagraphs to your marketing efforts.

Don’t fall behind in the world of movement marketing! Take advantage of these new concepts to attract potential guests in the most effective ways possible. Today’s blog post was fueled by Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, a unique coffee with a blueberry aftertaste! Until next time, be well!

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‘Tis the Season to Get Moving

Why use printed holiday cards when you can use an animated e-card like this one we created for InterContinental Miami! #McConnellMoves

A Hotel Marketer’s Guide to Facebook Live

Video reaches more people than any other content type shared on Facebook. So if you’re using this social media giant you should be doing some type of video marketing. Luckily, Facebook Live provides a convenient and effective way to add video to your Facebook content mix.

We touched briefly on Facebook Live’s importance last year, but knowing that it’s  important and knowing how to use it effectively are very different things. That’s where this post comes in.

Facebook Live Basics

One of the most appealing parts of Facebook Live is that it’s easy to get started. You just need a phone, tablet or webcam and a Facebook account. The culture of Facebook Live means you don’t need to invest in professional lighting or a pretty backdrop, the audience doesn’t expect a highly polished product, just solid content.

The best place to start with Facebook Live is probably with best practices. Here are the 8 recommendations Facebook officially lists on its website for making the most out of your Facebook Live videos:

  1. Tell fans when you’re broadcasting ahead of time.
  2. Go live when you have a strong connection(to the internet).
  3. Write a catchy description before going live.
  4. Ask viewers to subscribe to Live notifications.
  5. Say hello to commenters by name; respond to their comments live.
  6. Broadcast for longer periods of time to reach more people.
  7. Use a closing line to signal the end of the broadcast.
  8. Be creative and go live often!

These tips are a great starting point for Facebook Live success but you’ll discover your own best practices as you start to produce live video. Here are some more tips from professionals already using Facebook Live.

A Few More Tips From Around the Web

Repurpose video content – We found this idea on a recent blog from DOYO Live , a local digital marketing conference. Just because the video is no longer live doesn’t mean it’s no longer valuable. Be sure to get all you can out of a single FB Live session by sharing the no-longer-live video on Twitter or an email newsletter.

Preview what you will be talking about – This bit of advice, also from DOYO Live, sounds obvious but is easy to overlook. In the heat of the moment it’s easy to jump right into your content but for the audience, a quick overview of your subject matter will help them determine if the content is relevant.

Be relevant to the right audience – Hotelbusiness.com used the example that if you’re a warm climate hotel you should promote your great weather to guests who live in cold climates via a live video. Pay attention to what makes the most sense to your audience and take advantage of it.

Prepare and Practice – Just because the video is live doesn’t mean it needs to be impromptu. Plan what you’re going to say and practice a few times before starting your stream.

Using Facebook Live at Your Hotel

Now that you’ve got an understanding of what makes a good Facebook Live Video here are some hotel specific applications for it.

Property Tours – Doing a live tour can give potential guests a much better idea of what your hotel is all about. Doing the tour live has the added benefit of enabling guests to ask questions in real time. Answering questions throughout the tour will help you build trust with guests while efficiently delivering useful information to them.

Room Tours ­– Give guests a look at where they’ll actually be staying. This can be especially useful for suites that usually involve guests who are more particular about their accommodations and will want a better idea of the space than just a couple of photos on the internet. Again, the live video means you’re able to interact with guests and adds a little more salesmanship to the event.

“Ask the Concierge” Q&A session – Even though yelp and similar sites have made finding local food and drink hotspots easier than ever, guests still appreciate advice from a real person. If your hotel has a concierge, post a weekly, “ask the concierge” session. It will provide guests the opportunity to learn all about their destination and plan where they are going to eat, go for a run or enjoy themselves ahead of time. Travelers who enjoy the planning aspect as much as the trip itself will be especially receptive to this. If your hotel doesn’t have a concierge, another knowledgeable staff member will work as well.

One Last Bit of Advice: Consistency is Key

Be sure to create your content on a regular basis. The amount of video you make is actually less important than keeping a regular schedule. It’s better to post one video every month than to post 12 in one month and nothing for the rest of the year. Consistency can build audience expectation and create a coherent brand around those videos . Creating a content calendar is one of the best long-term recipes for success in any content marketing endeavor!

Today’s blog post was fueled by coffee with just enough cream. Until next time, be well!

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An Engaging Way to Promote New Suites

Mandarin Oriental New York New Suites

We put together this video landing page to help Mandarin Oriental New York promote their newly renovated suites.  The hotel revealed their new suites through a series of personal tours and hosted events and this teaser video was used as an evite to give recipients a sneak peak to entice them to see the suites in person.

5 Reasons Movement Matters

Our McConnell Moves campaign isn’t just a creative gimmick, there are some powerful reasons to add animated and video elements to your marketing efforts. Check out these 5 reasons your marketing needs movement! 

1. Animation can revolutionize your email marketing efforts

In 2014, computer giant Dell experimented with an animated gif based email campaign. Rather than a static image, their message featured a spinning, rotating and flipping-open laptop. The results of the campaign were astonishing. According to marketingsherpa.com, Dell generated 109% more revenue, a 42% increase in click rate and a 103% increase in email conversion rate through the gif campaign compared with their usual quarterly benchmarks.

2. Video is great for SEO

 Struggling with website traffic and findability? Video might be your magic bullet.

According to 60secondmarketer.com, “In search results, video and animated videos have a 41% higher click through rate than written text.” Plus, videos are shared 12x more than pictures and text on Facebook, which means that adding video content to your social media mix can help increase the number of inbound links to your website, further bolstering your SEO ranking.

It’s also important to keep in mind that while Google is the world’s #1 search engine,  YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world so if you don’t have a decent youtube presence you’re missing out on a ton of potential web traffic.

3. Video and animation can be effective without being complicated

The high-def cameras attached to our phones and easy-to-use publishing platforms like YouTube and Facebook means you don’t need a big budget to create highly shareable content. In fact, simpler is often better. According to Forbes.com, “whiteboard videos” (you know, the kind that features somebody drawing on a whiteboard with a voice over narration) are 3x as likely to be shared on social media than videos of talking heads.

4. Entertaining videos can actually increase a customer’s intent to purchase

You’re probably thinking… “it’s great that videos are highly shareable but can they really help improve my bookings?” Well according to hubspot.com, “enjoyment of video ads increase purchase intent by 97% and brand association by 139%. So if you create video content that’s fun to watch, it could have a pretty significant impact on whether or not guests want to stay at your hotel. 

5. But don’t take our word for it…

Stats and case studies are nice, but sometimes knowing that your industry peers are actually using a new marketing tactic can be the most powerful information when deciding to change. Luckily 52% of all marketing professionals think video has the highest ROI of all content types. And going back to our first point about Dell, apparently their email success wasn’t an isolated event. 60% of marketers say that video improves email conversion rates.

Today’s blog post was fueled by green tea, which seemed like an appropriately healthy option for #McConnellMoves. Until next time, be well!

Want blog content and more directly to your inbox? Sign up for our email list for hotel marketing news, industry tips and insights sent to your inbox every month.