Earned vs. Owned vs. Paid Channels

What scares me about earned vs. owned vs. paid media? A few things. Let me break it down by channel for you, where I’ll also list off a few positives for the channels as well, but lately I feel I’ve seen a shift and it’s only about to get WORSE. 

EARNED:

This channel terrifies & excites me in a few ways. This is obviously a very effective channel for many brands, as word of mouth is a powerful thing, and the more shares your company gets, the better, but the amount of content being churned out on blogs, youtube, facebook, infographics is beginning to get overwhelming and create a sea of good/bad content to sift through. The face books of the world want to help you sift, which I guess I appreciate, but then again I don’t, when THEY get to tell you what content brands are churning out they want you to see RE: how they’ve started pushing videos SO HARD IT HURTS, when not every brand is there yet, so I feel the ones who aren’t sharing videos are about to get left in the dust… just when they started learning how to share a great photo. 

OWNED: 

This channel makes me (and others I’m sure) happiest because it’s everything YOU can control, you set the rules/guidelines/experience for and it’s unique to your brand alone. I suppose social media can be owned, but not in my eyes, since big social players can change the game at any second and your content becomes worthless. Basically, the rule of thumb is while you’re busy trying to create ‘cool’ content on instagram, you need to find ways to drive people back to your website, and make sure your user experiences match what you’re pitching on the channels you’re using to attract people in. 

PAID: 

Paid is obviously a great (and almost the only way) to get your content on social channels seen, as well as a great way to drive additional traffic back to the mothership, your website. What scares me about paid is how much every brand who thinks they get it is about to pour into it, while Facebook and Twitter can change their own game and make it more expensive to reach your audience, yes, your owned audience, which isn’t really owned if not everyone has a chance to see what you’re selling/pushing/promoting!? I find retargeting and PPC to at least be a bit more straight-forward about the process, but that too is about to get overused by so many companies due to the ease of use, targeting capabilities and relatively lower cost. 

Anyone else have strong thoughts on the various channels? Clearly my fear of these social media channels that are gaining huge traction (and dollars) who I feel could make the playing field harder at any second are a heavy weight on my mind. 

The Instagram Algorithm Debacle

Anyone who is an instagram user (or instagram marketer) realized last week the channel went a bit crazy. Instagram's algorithm was announced, and just like that bloggers, whose livelihood felt threatened, and brands, who just started investing in the channel, start uploading images asking 'fans' to turn on notifications for their brands. Everyone needs to SLOW down and take a breather, because this is NOT a catastrophe... it's life when you are playing on an earned, not owned channel. 

I'm not sure why so many people freaked out exactly, because once Facebook officially purchased Instagram, everyone saw this coming from miles away... and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Yes, you will have to pay to play, but what's new in social media these days? STOP asking your followers to turn on notifications, personally, I stopped following a few for that, and had to get off instagram for a few days to keep from getting too angry about it. 

If you're THAT worried about your instagram content, you either have the wrong audience or you're playing on the wrong channel. For my hotels, I'm not worried, because we get great engagement, we share relevant like-worthy content, and I don't think the instagram is going to decrease any of that. 

"Worry about your CONTENT, not your followers... as you should on any channel. "

Focus on the content you're creating, really make sure you're posting quality over quantity now that the algorithm is in play, and support your incredible content with ads, which is easily and conveniently integrated into Facebook's ad tool. 

The Reasons I Finally Joined (And Enjoy) Snapchat

I don't know about you, but I'm big into social media, but have been wary about Snapchat until now. Why, you ask? Because of course, at first, you hear the negative connotations associated with it, you don't understand the point, you have zero friends when you first join and you don't understand why your much younger sibling/nieces/nephews/cousins are in the know and YOU are not... let alone how a business could be on this! 

Why did I join snapchat? 

1. My much younger, cooler brother has been on it for a long time
2. I kept hearing about how it's the fastest-growing social network and I needed to know more
3. Many of my friends made the switch / addition and I was curious
4. There's a few colleagues of mine who've continued to inquire about how companies can create an account and if there's any best practices 
5. I feel like since my career does involve digital & ecommerce & social, it was time... 

Why do I actually like snapchat now? 

1. It's a much 'realer' social channel than say instagram (heavily-staged) or facebook (flooded by engagements, weddings, babies, monumental moments... politics) 
2. It's such a quick visualization tool, where you can send your friends photos while you're out, without having to waste the space on your texts or photo albums (photos speak 1,000 words)
3. It's a fun way to stay in touch with friends, via videos of their day, funny photos, filters, especially now that I have a decent amount of friends living afar 
4. It's actually a VERY creative app and fun to see how friends use it 

How do I see businesses using it? 

1. Providing access to unique, live events
2. Contests or perks for those who share your product via snaps
3. Snapchat takeovers 
4. Share daily behind-the-scenes at work

What are your thoughts on snapchat? I like to see businesses who do it well, but I'll be honestly, I only currently follow friends and then discover businesses whose major brand is on there, doing a killer job. 

Why Social Media Is A Great Tool For Travel

I've been meaning to write the post for awhile & will add on Instagram for that matter. Why are these tools so great when traveling? Let me tell you several great reasons. 

1. Pre-travel research has been made much more interactive. When googling certain places, you can also check out their social media feeds to find non-stock photos and (if they're smart) real images from recent guests! 
2. Geo-tags are phenomenal to find inspiration for activities, locations & trips as well. 
3. Hotels & airlines are embracing these as customer service channels and instead of sitting on a phone call angrily for 30 minutes, you can simply tweet them for assistance! A real life-saver. 
4. Finding great deals on social media! Many hospitality industry social channels are still figuring out how to prove these channels are worth monitoring constantly, so the offer deals only found via these channels -why not take advantage! 
5. Tips, tips,  tips. I frequently follow not only hotel & airlines I'm using, but their convention bureaus to find out about new activities & events

What other reasons do you use social media when traveling for? 

2016 Digital & Social Media Predictions

It's time for my yearly digital predictions, and 2016 is no exception. I've loved seeing the digital marketing field continue to advance & make big moves the past few years and appreciate how many people have embraced digital channels over traditional ones. 

1. Out with SEO & PPC, in with Digital Assistant Optimization
• I'm not saying search engine optimization & paid ads aren't important, but optimizing ONLY for Google is. The rise of Siri & google's new predictive questions is going to force us all to stop simply writing content we think Google will find acceptable, but to write answers to simple questions our consumers may be asking about us to make it easier for us to be found by the Siri users of the world. 
2. Mobile growth 
• Mobile will continue to grow & I predict by the end of 2016 for many industries it will be outpacing desktop views, clicks & purchases. Look around you on your commute home & tell me you don't see everyone glued to their phones... 
3. Shifts in Social Media Channels 
• Facebook isn't out & won't likely be for awhile, but with it's pay-to-play stance on unlocking views & engagement for all users, it's getting to costly & those searching to target millennials aren't there anyways. Snapchat will continue to emerge as a newer gamechanger because fewer brands can figure out how to use it will - filters are fine, but can you really craft enough content to maintain a profile? Instagram will continue to be a star as well, but brands need to figure out the right type of content & how to measure engagement on the platform properly. 
4. The downfall of old-school brands
• I guarantee there will be yet another older brand (cough: Weight Watchers) who will be outdone by the fact that they can't keep up with the times. If you're not shifting your content to make way for better website experiences, better social media story-telling, great-functioning mobile apps, and keeping up with your demographics' trends, you will be obsolete. 
5. Personalized PPC 
• I must say Facebook is doing a fair job, but it and others could do MUCH better. As a customer it's frustrating to see ads that don't matter to you, and by now everyone's been tracking your every move on every site you've ever been on, they know ALL your likes/dislikes/friends/social media engagements, etc etc, so use that! 

I'm excited to step into another year of digital advancements & can't wait to see what's in store. Last year's predictions were mostly on point! 

How To Use Visual Content To Your Advantage

For those of you who've followed my blog over the past few years, you'll know that not only have I grown up in the digital era, but I've been working in it since before I started this blog. I've seen social media channels come and go, I've seen email marketing lose major faith from bosses & coworkers, and I've seen the digital front change before my very eyes faster than anything! 

One thing that's continued to ring true as social media, websites, email marketing, retargeting, digital advertising, etc,etc, overtakes the marketing front, is that great visual content MATTERS. Not only does it matter, it can make or BREAK your engagement numbers, ROI, CTR, and then some. 

Not only do you need to hire marketers who can spot great photography, it's probably key that they can take great photography from an iPhone as well, because that's what consumers (at least in the travel industry) want. They want you to tell a story with your imagery, don't worry so much about the text content that you have to draft up alongside it - a picture speaks 1,000 words, so don't waste those extra characters if you don't need to. 

By now, thanks to social media, you should know what types of images your consumers are interested in. Do they love food shots? Do they care more about a behind-the-scenes type feel? Do like they to see you do good? Even personally, you know before you post that instagram shot what is going to do well (and what time it does best) vs. what doesn't. 

So, don't overthink it, but use your head. Don't post that blurry shot, don't forget to fix the lighting and post a photo JUST to upload an image, not text - and DON'T feel like you can't hire a great photographer above all when you don't know where else to turn. 

2015 Digital Predictions Update

Earlier in the year I wrote a post about the most important digital trends I see shaping multiple industries. I followed that up mid-year with some thoughts on my Linkedin Page about what predictions are taking shape, how much they are controlling many industries, re-shaping our marketing departments and changing our lives, and which ones have stood out so far this year most. 

The biggest players in 2015 that have shifted marketing agencies plans have been: 

1. Personalization in marketing content 
2. Pay - to - play on social media channels
3. New & emerging social media channels 
4. VIDEO 

I didn't mention all of these earlier in the year, only about half, but these are what I've seen taking 2015 digital media resources by storm. What have you seen so far this year? 

2015 Tech & Digital Marketing Predictions

The digital marketing field is a great place to be these past few years (if you like change & innovation!). It seems every few months, there's a new gamechanger, or new consumer behavior that's changing the way things work, and it's almost always for the better.

My top five predictions for 2015 include the following:

1. Personalization in marketing content  
1. Consumers have spoken and it has become imperative for businesses to stop shouting at customers via social media or advertising or print and start working on personalization. They're willing to pay attention to your ads if and when you've learned their likes & dislikes, and cater to them. Remarketing ads have begun popping up like wildfire left and right from many big businesses, and while they're starting to get the right idea (Yes, I was staring at this pair of shoes while on your site, but no I don't actually want them unless you sweeten the deal) the amount of information collected can be put to much better use.
2. Rise in wearables
1. The rise in all the fitness-oriented smart watches has really taken off in the past few months. The reason? The approachable price of many. Before, only serious fanatics had some options, and they were mighty pricy. For those who don't want to commit to an expensive fitness tracker, newer devices have come on the scene that fit any type of lifestyle and provide a more approachable device than the expensive brands that previously catered to serious athletes. 
3. Rise in virtual homes
1. Devices like nest & kevo have really stepped onto the scene & picked up their advertising and word of mouth. With the announcements and success of Apple Pay in 2014, it seems people are more interested in being 100% connected all the time, and in the dream of owning a "smart home". The ease and ability to check on your home via smartphone may change the game for other industries such as travel (iPhones opening doors becomes standard, anyone?). 
4. Pay-to-play from social media channels
1.  Gone are the days of reaching 100% of your audience on Facebook organically. It's probably for the best, because for every 1 person out there effectively marketing their business to consumers, there's probably 3 people out there about to be unliked for their terrible usage of social. For those who've jumped on the social media bandwagon, it's not time to start diverting a small portion of your online advertising budget to continuing to grow and nurture your social channels. It's not just free anymore, and if you want to be effective, you're going to have to look into social media advertising options.
5. Mobile is a must
1. I've said it before but this year I really mean it. If you aren't looking into mobile advertising or optimizing your site for mobile & tablets, you are missing out on A TON! 

What do you think will be the biggest shift in digital & social this year? 

What Is Content Marketing and Why Does It Matter?

Content marketing has become more than just a buzzword, it's all anyone's talking about in marketing everywhere you turn. It's not new, some companies have been doing it for decades, everyone else just came in late to the game and realized with the abundance of social media, it's become critical to create and share VALUABLE (key word here, folks) content. 

Content marketing can fit into almost industry, as well as B2B vs B2C. Everyone's tired of advertising, they want valuable information that may not even be just about you and your company alone. 

It's a great way to attract new or current customers if you're creating content they consume and use, plus it's owned media, not paid media (unless you count hiring copywriters, etc). Content is absolutely the present of marketing and it's only going to get bigger. Customers would rather visit your Facebook page or blog where you're talking about a variety of topics relevant to your industry but not necessarily your company than visit your website alone. It's almost impossible to have an engaging social media strategy without planning a great content marketing strategy alongside it, which can overlap into other channels as well. 

If you haven't yet gotten into content marketing & strategizing based on what your customers want and need, not just what you think they want - it's time to make the switch.

Omni-Channel Is Everything

Content strategy is important. Email marketing is important. So is your social media strategy. Your web & mobile strategy is too. BUT the newest and most important one is going to be your omni-channel marketing and strategy.

Omni-channel is important because the customer's experience needs to be seamless no matter what channel they're on, and it needs to make sense on various channels as well, whether their journey starts with a TV ad, a tweet, walking into your store or downloading your app. Customers are exploring multiple channels when they make decisions, I find this is extremely apparent when they're booking a vacation or searching something travel-related and it makes sense. 

Say you want to book a vacation, you don't know where. As a woman, I may start by searching on Pinterest for gorgeous vacation locations, where I find myself inspired by some photos, which I click on. I then travel to a blog talking about their favorite destinations, perhaps offering tips on which hotels to book, what restaurants to try. As a millennial, I then turn to twitter, where I tweet said vacation destination asking for tips and I also search those talking about it as well as hotel twitters and social media accounts to browse their photos... If those photos aren't engaging enough I may move on to the next hotel, if they are, I'll be clicking to their hotel website next - and if I don't find an engaging website on my tablet, it's over. 


Bottom line, there is a plethora of ways your potential customer can get to you, and you need to be prepared on all fronts, with a strategy on each channel that offers a similar experience that's going to make a positive influence on them.

The Year of The Visual

I've begun to notice a shift... a big one too. Long gone are the days of images being upload to Facebook, and hours upon hours spent only on Facebook to find anything and everything. The younger generation has left Facebook in the dust, and fast.

It's a great thing they acquired Instagram, otherwise they'd be in real trouble. The younger generation usually seems to become enamored with a new app/social media channel quickly, then all of a sudden you hear it's the new "place to be".

I'm not sure if Facebook's focus on imagery wasn't enough, or if we've all become so overloaded by information and status updates that we want to get back to the time where a picture was worth 1,000 words! Between Pinterest, Instagram and Snapchat, if you're not collecting inspiring visuals and focusing on image-heavy content... you're doing it wrong.

Eventually, there will be another new and hipper channel (videos? wearables?) but for now, images rule the web.. and for good reason too!

2014 Digital Predictions

The Digital Marketing/Digital Advertising Field is constantly changing and evolving, especially lately. Earlier last year I decided to take a look at all 2014 trends that seemed to be emerging, as it's become apparent for certain industries that the marketing game is changing (if you hadn't already noticed) and everyone needs to shape up or ship out.

Social Media used to be quite the joke, and now it's finally emerged as a a revenue-generating channel, as well as one that's great at conversion assists. Content marketing has also become the latest revenue-generating fad over traditional online advertising, as it's much more helpful with conversions.

Mobile and tablets haven't come out of nowhere, but it seems that mobile and tablet conversions will skyrocket this year, as consumers have all felt comfortable enough to begin researching and purchasing on their devices, thanks to enhanced websites that are mobile-friendly, and reward programs such as Starbucks that allows them to pay through phones.

Take a look at the other predictions below, do you agree? 

The Importance of User Generated Content

User generated content is a growing trend that is currently undervalued in many industries and it’s always interesting to see what large brands are making the most of UGC and how.

User generated content can be absolutely free, and equally as effective in promoting your brand, identifying or creating brand ambassadors as well as a helpful tool for listening in the spaces where your customers currently reside.

Paid media can be effective when done right, but UGC seems like a unique opportunity to reach customers in a different way without having to do anything. If you’ve got a great company, people of all ages, especially millennials, will share and create content about you that can come across as much more genuine than your expensive online advertisements can.

It’s important to leverage this content any way you can. How do you track and promote user generated content that’s relevant to your company? 

Online Reputation Management - Why It Matters

In this new social media/tech savvy age where customers and clients are beginning to take back the reigns and let brands know what THEY want, online reputation management is something that's becoming more important each day. Not only do brands need to pay attention to what's being said about their customers on twitter and Facebook, but they need to tune in to major review sites as well, because they're not going anywhere anytime soon.

Sites such as Yelp and Tripadvisor have continued their momentum as popular sites, and continue to garner new users and more reviews each day and their usage will only increase, not decrease. Although there's both positive and negative aspects to these types of sites, including reports of fake reviews, disgruntled employees or customers "retaliating" with slews of poor reviews, the majority of reviews on these sites are genuine... and people are reading them. It's no longer an option to stand by and allow customers to post on sites without taking into account what they're saying and without acknowledging the customers who leave them.

Online reputation management is a necessity from all corners.. from social media to online reviews, brands need to know what's being said about their companies because people aren't going to stop talking about you just because you ignore it. The Online Reputation Manager will soon be a valid and necessary position in many companies. Social media has helped make customers feel important again and it's changing the way business is done, especially with the younger generations.

Whether or not you like it, sites like Yelp are here to stay, which means customers posting positive and negative things about your brand, store, etc, is also here to stay. You can't hide from this anymore, might as well tackle this new development head on.

The Bandwagon Has Broken

It seems most large and small companies have decided social media is WORTH IT – but don’t exactly know what that means

They’ve jumped on the bandwagon, because they’ve heard “they need it”, “everyone’s doing it” “tell your intern to do it”, without researching and learning about what social media can do. These people infuriate me.  People who assume that just because they started a page and a twitter account, follow zero people, stuck an intern on it to post articles about themselves – or worse – times their store is open or short and irrelevant posts, that all this means you “GET” social media and you’re “in the social space”. It does not. It means that you don’t understand what it can do for your business, nor do you actually care.

Social media is not a fad. It’s changing the way people do business, and it’s bringing power back to the consumers. Consumers are fed up with traditional advertising that is stuffed down their throats, even by brands they do adore.  Everyone has an opinion, so why not start listening to your customers’ opinions?  Social media has opened the floodgates to engagement opportunities, both positive and negative, and it will be detrimental in the long run if you choose to ignore this.  

Many companies have figured this out as well, some are doing a great job at monitoring social media, while others are slowly starting to figure this all out and cave to hiring social media managers, social media interns and such.  The problem is that now everyone’s on there, doing the same thing. They respond to the negative issues with generic tweets, they try to throw a “social media sweepstakes” and give away something small and unsubstantial thinking this will grow fans, and everyone is starting to blend in and act the same online.

I challenge those who care about social media to take it all a step further, because your competition is catching up to you. Start thinking further outside the box, stop watching what others do, look inside your brand and find your company’s core values and start using that to your advantage.

Now that everyone’s caught up to you, how will you continue innovating the social media space? 

Social Prospecting... and why it matters

Everyone around me is always searching for the ROI in social media and asking "How much are we making", " how much is that worth" and "what's the bottom line" while searching for answers online and in white papers. I've been searching for these answers as well, while developing my own perspective on social media ROI at the same time and haven't seen many come up with a good answer just yet.

My take on it is this - while there needs to be focus on the data and the metrics, companies like Facebook and Twitter need to be helping with that, or bigger companies can create some crazy amazing product that tracks everything for us... that's going to take time.

Until they figure that all out, everyone else needs to figure it out on their own, dig a little deeper into their own social media fans to discover who's a fan, who's a spammer, and who are you most loyal activities (who are most likely also spending the MOST money by far) and decide how you want to keep track of what this means to you.

Social prospecting is one of the best ways to do this. Keep track of your most loyal followers, those who scream your name from the rooftops and share every moment of their lives using your product or visiting your store with their followers, and go from there.

Social Prospecting from Katherine Gear

Social Media in the Workplace

There's always a lot of talk about social media in the workplace, and if it's a good thing, a bad thing or just a necessary evil. Can your coworkers tweet about you, especially during work hours? Can you tweet about something happening in your office? What if your boss finds out? These are questions more and more companies continue to struggle with. 

It's a slippery slope and companies in the US just can't threaten employees they'll be fired depending on what they tweet, or depending on if they hand over PASSWORDS, that just seems crazy to me. I wish I was more in tune with where social media policies and laws will go, because it seems like an ever-changing subject that more people need to be aware of. 

I think the best thing for now is to trust the employees you've hired that they will make their own decisions, because you never know when they'll be marketing for free for you because their friends turn out to be your perfect audience. People shouldn't feel like Big Brother is watching them, but they also shouldn't be posting inappropriate things in the first place that will damage their own personal brand. Common sense, people. 

What type of stance does your company take? 

The Necessity of the Social Media Strategist

It seems like in the past year or two, many various industries have decided they all NEED social media strategists, community managers and an actual social media strategy. Virtually no industry has gone untouched by the hands of social media and it has been very interesting to see how not only various industries are responding to the new challenge, but specific companies, both big and small are, as well. 

Every industry also has several shining stars, the incredible examples of a few companies who REALLY get it, and do more than just tweet or post on Facebook. They create campaigns that link throughout many different channels and encourages participation and loyalty to the brand, not just the initial likes. Then there are those who are either so late to the game they just hired the first person who was up for the job or they decided to take it on themselves without looking into it. 

For the industries that deal with consumers on a daily basis, the most successful small and large companies in the social spaces not only try new things, styles or new channels but they also CONNECT with their fans and people talking about them on a one-to-one basis. This is where the gold is for those social media strategists. This is why more than a college intern needs to handle your twitter account. 

No matter how large or small, I think it's been proven many times over the fact that simply responding to people talking about your brand, whether they're complaining or complimenting you can really solidify their bond with your company, create a lasting impression and even convert a hater into a lifetime customer. 

What do you think? Have you seen a rise in social media strategists now that many brands have realized it takes more than one hour a week to really make something happen? 

Down to the Wire for Facebook Timelines

It’s getting down to the wire and any brand who hasn’t switched over their Facebook pages to the new brand pages will be forced to at the end of this week. Facebook didn’t give brands an incredible amount of time to shift strategies and figure out their next moves, but some of the biggest and brightest brands have already taken first steps in the right direction.

It seems Facebook’s main reason for making this move is because they want brands to look at their Facebook fans as more than just someone to sell to – and I appreciate that. This move gives brands the opportunity to show the “softer” side of their companies with more stories, real photos that give a “behind the scenes look” and just helps to humanize the brand a bit more.

Anyone who’s a  community manager has probably hit a creative wall at one point with their Facebook posts and can sometimes forget that it’s not about SELLING when posting, it’s about story-telling and interacting with fans who already enjoy your brand.

Brand managers will also have to choose their tabs, photos and posts to highlight wisely. The initial fangate that fans click through to visit your page are now gone, so that cover page, highlighted content and tabs are more important than ever.

The milestone is a feature I really enjoy. It’s especially interesting to see Facebook pages such as Ben & Jerry’s who’ve added a variety of milestones featuring older ads, how they got started, etc – it’s an easy way to tell a great story and share the past everyone else may not know about. 

It'll be really interesting to see who's going to do well with these Facebook Timelines and how brands will get creative with all these new features. What brand is your favorite Facebook Timeline page right now? 

Your Customers Are Pinning, Are You?

Who knew Pinterest was going to blow up like this? I suppose you did... if you've been pinning since the beginning days and knew how easily you could be sucked into the website for hours upon hours.  I think Pinterest is a great idea, especially for us Type A's who love organizing our thoughts, ideas, recipes, etc in a manageable fashion. Pinterest is such a great idea for so many types of businesses, both large and small and it's going to be interesting to see who realizes that their target audience is waiting for them here, and how they're going to interact with them in a positive way instead of driving them away. 

Since I work in the hospitality industry, I've been keeping a close eye on Pinterest and what it can do for hotels and have realized there are so many options if you're willing to put the time into it. There's something here for everyone, whether your customers are foodies, adventure junkies, newlyweds or family focused! Yes, there are a TON more women than men pinning away, but that's not a bad thing, is it? You customers are pinning at least a few times a week, for an average of 15 MINUTES.... but honestly, you know it's much longer than that. It's easy to break up what customers are interested in and the specific audiences that can be found here, and there are a few that just pop out to me as the most relevant audiences for the hospitality industry. 

1. Foodies

Spend 10 minutes on Pinterest and you'll notice that all your foodie friends are pinning recipes, favorite foods, favorite restaurants along with some incredibly appetizing photos! So give them what they want, you have at least 5-10 chefs staffed at the hotel each day, ask them to share some showstopper recipes and take a few great photos and throw them up there. If you already have fans of your hotel's restaurant, it won't be hard to get customers to pass those photos around and click through to your hotel's website/blog/Facebook/anything related to you. 

2. The Travel Obsessed

Ask your Concierge Team to list their favorite recommendations and create a board listing top 10 or 20 destinations in your area, both well known and off the beaten path. It's not hard to find other pinner's recommendations to share as well (Millennium Park, Central Park, Top Art Museum links, etc) so that you can not only feed customers what they want, but interact by repinning and making them feel special. 

3. The Wedding Planners

Most women dream about their weddings from the time they're just a little girl, so Pinterest is perfect for searching for EVERY aspect of their wedding and organizing it into simple boards instead of having to save each photo or link, bookmark them for later, print them out and add into a bulky binder and research intensely. Participate in their conversation and recommend your own venues, cakes, catering and who knows what you'll end up with. 

4. Family Focused 

Many mothers also find time to browse Pinterest searching for family friendly brands, activities, recipes and tips. Show off your hotel's family friendly side to them and you could find yourself booking reservations for them in no time! 

Yes, Pinterest could be labor-intensive for an employee and take up tons of time, but it's still so young that you don't really know where it could go, and you don't know how much it may potentially help your big or small business. Give it a try, see what happens and if it's not worth it you can always walk away.