Hoteliers Dream of Friday, Too

It’s Friday! It’s the day travel and hospitality marketers dream about just as much as social media users do, but for obviously different reasons. A day ahead of the weekend getaway plans, Toronto-based Engagement Labs announced a study of the most popular hotel brands on Facebook and Twitter.

“With today’s highly competitive market, it’s imperative for brands to understand where the conversation is taking place and who is talking about them to effectively build content that creates the most impact,” states Bryan Segal, CEO of Engagement Labs. “There is a multiplier effect in the measurement of conversations, and as a brand, creating content and an experience that resonates well with fans can allow content to reach multichannel brand influencers and encourage them to engage in both on and offline conversations.”

The company uses three metrics to measure a brand’s social media score: engagement, or how much interaction the company sees; impact, or “unique reach” of content; and responsiveness, which “measures how much, how fast and how well a brand responds to actual conversations amongst its users.”

Based on these factors, the most popular hoteliers on Facebook are:

1. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
2. Best Western International
3. Marriott International
4. Hilton Hotels and Resorts
5. Hyatt Hotels
6. Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
7. Radisson Hotels
8. W Hotels
9. Ramada

On Twitter, they are:

1. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
2. Hilton Hotels and Resorts
3. Marriott Hotels
4. W Hotels
5. Best Western International
6. Hyatt Hotels
7. Radisson Hotels
8. Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
9. Ramada

Research released on Tuesday by a different company shows one of the fastest-growing consumer segments, Millennials, just may book rooms straight from social media — if they’re using the networks on their mobile phones.

“Mobile bookings through hotel company websites, online travel agents and in-person travel agents experienced the most growth in Q2 2015, according to TravelClick's ‘North American Distribution Review’ report,” reads TravelClick's press statement.

Additionally, a January 2015 study from Quicksprout suggests the best times for most marketers to post on Facebook and Twitter:

• Facebook: 1 p.m. posts see the most shares and the 3 p.m. for the most clicks. Users log on at work. Engagement peaks on Thursdays and Fridays.
• Twitter: Clicks rise at noon and 6 p.m. and retweets occur around 5 p.m.

What other social media marketing information should marketers use?

Please respond in the comments section below.