As companies large and small continue to leverage social media as part of their overall marketing strategies, there are still some that ignore one critical, self-evident component: social media marketing is, by definition, SOCIAL!  For instance … do you know of any restaurants that use Facebook status updates for the sole purpose of announcing their daily specials?  Or a hotel that tweets incessantly about their last minute, web-only rates?  Or a bar whose Google+ posts ramble on and on about their hot wings and beer special?  If you are nodding your head, then you know what I mean.

Successful social media efforts are those that are inherently “social” … that provide a platform for interaction, engagement and relationship building for the purpose of benefitting the business that is pursuing said efforts in some way.

With this in mind, businesses should be creating content (status updates, tweets, posts, etc.), that promotes ‘social sharing’.  Let’s take an example.  I have an old college buddy that lives nearby that I haven’t seen for months.  We both love to travel.  I recently read an article about the top 10 things to do in Chicago (a favorite city of mine) that was posted on one of the hotel Facebook pages that I “like”.  Knowing that he also loves Chicago, I thought of him when I saw the post and “shared” it with him.

Coming across that article in my Facebook newsfeed provided me with the impetus I needed to reach out to and re-engage with an old friend.  Let’s be honest.  If I hadn’t seen the post, I probably would not have reached out (I’m a horrible friend, I know).  For the hotel that posted it … I became one of the people “talking about this” … I helped to get the hotel’s brand in front of my friend for no additional cost to the hotel … I increased my affinity with the hotel’s page, which will likely mean that I’ll see more of the hotel’s posts more frequently, (affinity is one factor used by Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm to determine what information I see and how often).  In the end, the hotel’s act of posting “socially shareable” content prompted action by me, resulting in value for all parties involved – an excellent example of hotel marketing with social media, in my opinion!. And while this example is Facebook-centric, the concept applies to all social channels.

How do you ensure that your social media marketing activities remain “social” and provide the most value to your hotel, restaurant or other business?