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Lodging Interactive, an award-winning digital marketing and social media engagement firm exclusively serving the hospitality industry, shares social media resolutions hoteliers should make for the new year.

Social Media Resolutions for Hoteliers in 2015

The start of a new year ushers in the feeling of a fresh start with plenty of potential and often an equally plentiful list of resolutions to uphold. This year, making social media resolutions for 2015 can be an effective way to outline a hotelier's social media expectations for their property and to ensure efforts across all social channels align with a hotel's sales, marketing and customer service goals for the year.

Lodging Interactive's 2015 Social Media Resolutions for Hoteliers

Shift your focus.It is safe to say that social media is not going away, but it is changing. Make 2015 the year of the social conversation -- reply to the influx of inbound messages with improved response rates and times. The travel industry is experiencing some of the largest increases in messages, but engaged only 19 percent of the tweets received at a rate of 11.6 hours after receiving a message, according to Sprout Social. Target Millennial travelers by making social media the epicenter of a property's customer service efforts. Make a plan to determine how to not only develop content, but respond to and engage the people speaking directly to a hotel as well as about it on social media.

Embrace video. Video will make up 79 percent of all consumer Internet traffic by 2017, according to Cisco. This means adding video posts or creating a YouTube channel should be a priority. Video sharing is a popular way to engage audiences on social media. Show off a hotel or property in a number of videos posts this year to boost engagement.

Take ownership of your online reputation. Never got around to responding to those online reviews last year? According to a recent TripAdvisor study, properties responding to over 50 percent of their reviews increase their likelihood of receiving booking inquiries by 24 percent in comparison to hotels that do not post review responses. Not only does it hurt a property's bookings not to respond, but with Facebook reviews and guests quick to share their experiences on social a hotel's ever-valuable online reputation hangs in the balance. Consider outsourcing management response if they cannot be written in house.

Make posting fresh content easy. Creating a property blog is a proven way for guests to discover a hotel when searching online for area events or accommodations near a popular attraction. It also provides a wealth of content to post across a hotel's social channels, which means potential for new engagement. The key to a successful blog is consistent content, so make sure to develop a posting schedule before getting started.

To learn more about Lodging Interactive's social media services or for additional best practices for the new year, visit their website at lodginginteractive.com.

Lodging Interactive, headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, is a full-service digital marketing and social media engagement agency exclusively servicing the hospitality industry for more than a decade. The company provides a portfolio of effective hotel Internet marketing services to hundreds of hotels, resorts, ownership properties, spas and restaurants. Clients include branded hotels from nearly every major brand as well as prestigious, landmark independent hotels.

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Social Media Resolutions for Hoteliers in 2015