Vine is one of the newer social media crazes in recent months. Vine takes the success of Instagram one step further by enabling users to create and share six-second looping videos. Because video posts can be shared to Twitter and Facebook, it also allows you to create exciting content for all of your social media profiles.
At this moment, Vine is only available on the iPhone and iPod Touch. To start using the app, you will need to download it at http://get.vine.co or through the App Store (there is no cost to download the app). Once you’ve downloaded the app, it is very easy to create a profile either by using your Twitter account or an email address.
The app lets you follow your friends’ posts on a timeline (just like Instagram), make comments and like their videos. Just like on Twitter, Vine users often use hashtags to categorize their posts and make them more searchable. It is also possible to mention other users in your posts.
To find and follow friends, click on the icon in the top left corner of the home screen, choose Profile and then click on the icon (of two people) in the top right corner. From there, you can search for and follow your friends using your address book, Twitter or email.
For hotels, Vine can be used to share videos of your property and amenities (just like Pinterest or Instagram). Video can really bring the potential of your property to life and will help to create an even greater emotional reaction in viewers, which is very important in generating bookings.
If your property has just finished a reno or added additional amenities (new gym, pool, spa, etc.), use Vine to share videos of the new space. Create video tours of key tourist spots in your destination to inspire your followers to explore (or, even better, visit) your city. If you hold special events at your property, make sure that you include at least one video of each type of event that can take place at your hotel (i.e. wedding, corporate conference, dinner, etc.). It will be much more impactful for brides to see a video of another wedding held at your hotel, instead of just a static image.
Hotels should also encourage visitors to make and share videos of their stay. As we’ve seen with the popularity of TripAdvisor (and other review sites that allow users to post pictures of the hotel where they stayed), it provides an unbiased view of your property and will make potential guests more likely to book with your property (than with the competition).
Encourage customers to share videos by offering promotions and contests to reward those who do. Consider a small discount off the room rate for guests who have shared a video of your property (thereby creating repeat customers) or a contest where every user who shares a video gets one entry into a draw for a free stay at your property. Share your Vine username in all of your marketing channels, just as you do for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, et al.
Before you post your first video, do a hashtag search to see how other hotels are using Vine and how customers are posting about #travel and #hotel topics. Open the Vine app, click on the icon in the top left corner and choose Explore. Type the hashtag of your choice into the search bar and choose the Tags menu (instead of People). It will give you all of the most recent posts using that hashtag and will give you some inspiration for your own Vine strategy. Finally, keep an eye on the trending topics on Vine (just like you would on Twitter) so that you can create additional exposure for your property on the app. In the Explore page, you can see a list of trending hashtags by scrolling down to the bottom of the page.
So now that you understand the basics, it’s time for you to decide: what will your first video post be?
About the author
Jennifer Nagy, President of jlnpr, is a seasoned public relations professional with a passion for the hospitality industry. At jlnpr, she works with companies to increase awareness of their property/product and get their story in front of the audiences that will have a direct impact on their bottom line. jlnpr works with international clients in the travel and tourism, airline, lodging, cruise and meeting/event sectors. For more information on jlnpr, please visit www.jlnpr.com or contact Jennifer at jenn@jlnpr.com.
