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BITAC Tech & Ops - Seriously Social Prepare to get shocked! Sure social media works, but many are having a hard time understanding how to prove it. How is that possible? Here’s how. Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Glenn Haussman

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The social media beast will not be ignored. Sure, many of us would like to pretend it doesn’t exist – social media is hard! -- but pretending it doesn’t exist could lead to much peril. That’s right, peril. That is, your loss over control over the way your hotel or brand is perceived by consumers. And that’s where the real danger sets in.

Worse yet, we’ve got a hunch hoteliers still haven’t a clue as to how to maximize social media impact. And while there are pockets of pros out that have it mostly figured out we most definitely think the industry as a whole is finding it extremely challenging to prove social media is a workable marketing solution.

At this year’s BITAC Tech & Ops, which recently took place at Red Rock Resort Casino and Spa in Las Vegas, we examined this issue to determine exactly what is going on in the hotel space when it comes to social media. BITAC is of course the industry leading one-on-one meetings and relationship building event that is fundamentally a focused idea exchange where buyers and suppliers can work through solutions together to yield both sides more profitable results.

According to a real time poll conducted of BITAC attendees, analyzing the numbers shows while lodging executives and industry suppliers get the feeling there is a ton of benefit to social media they are having a hard time proving it.

When asked if there have been “measurable results attributable to social media whether deliberate (planned by the property) or accidental,” just 42 percent said yes. Twenty three percent said no and an incredible 35 percent said “We’re just not sure.”

That’s pretty troubling. And the issue gets even more complex when it comes to actually proving spending time and money on social media is a worthwhile expense. Check this out. When attendees were asked if they had “clear, concise goals, including a way to measure ROI” when it comes to measuring social media impact nearly three-quarters of while lodging executives and industry suppliers said “no.” Just 27 percent felt they had goals and a way to measure against those goals. Ouch!

So people are feeling that social media is important, they just don’t know how to prove it. Of course there are ways to measure social media impact, and in many ways it’s easier since a lot of online chatter can be tracked. But there still seems to be high levels of discomfort among people as to what to do.

Part of the issue is the age of those in charge of social media. Most folks making critical decisions in regards to how to utilize social media are older and considered Technology Immigrants. These are people born before the digital age and now must learn new skills and strategies to compete. And that can be tough. My mom’s VCR still blinks 12:00, and yes, she still has a VCR.

However, those utilizing social media most effectively are younger people born in the post digital era. These Technology Natives are more equipped to learn and adapt to the myriad emerging digital tools out there. My kids for example seem to have a natural way with and an inherent understanding of technology in a way I can never hope to have.

Essentially hoteliers need to come to terms with the digital divide and allow those more in the know to take a lead on this issue. If you’re going to jump into social media, jump in at full speed. People are using social media to talk about their experiences and hotels must be involved in the conversation.

We also learned some other interesting facts as well:

When attendees were asked if they thought if “Twitter or Facebook campaigns are relevant to your business,” 65 percent said “Absolutely.” Just 14 percent thought Facebook only and four percent thought Twitter only. Incredibly 17 percent think “it’s all a load of hyped up bunk.”

Again that tells us too many people are sitting on the sidelines and pretending this is not a critical endeavor and those folks risk losing out on valuable dollars.

And of course there is always something new bubbling up on the social media horizon. When asked “which of these emerging social media sites do you feel will be the most relevant going forward,” 37 percent said Google , 15 percent said Instagram, 25 percent believe it’s Pinterest while five percent thought it was Four Square.

Finally, when asked “Five years from now, what will influence the most your guests’ selections of a specific hotel,” 39 percent felt it was “some online application/site that nobody is aware of just yet.” Twenty nine percent felt it would be “social media recommendations and promotions,” while 15 percent said search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing while six percent took it old school and said “offline.”