TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—For hotels that generate a steady stream of social media content, the opportunity to refine their marketing approach and capitalize on the increased exposure has never been greater. In response, Moment.me, a social media marketing solutions provider, has launched Leads, a program designed to give hotels the ability to use the social media conversation going on around their location as a tool for lead generation.
According to company based here, which was launched in 2012, during beta testing the Leads solution provided businesses with a 30% click-through rate on offers, as well as a 25% increase in social media followers.
Dovev Goldstein, CEO, Moment.me, offered some insight on the company and its point of differentiation. “We are a targeting company. We target people not based on demographics or the way that they surf the Net like other companies. We target people according to what they actually do and what’s interesting to them,” he said.
Goldstein noted that Moment.me and its Leads program can analyze any Tweet, picture or video that has been uploaded to any social network and determine where it’s been posted from, as well as when and in what context. He added the company’s primary focus is on Instagram and Twitter.
“Any hotel can give its address, and we can find all the pictures and items that have been uploaded from that location and facility. We can then engage with the audience that’s been visiting the hotel,” said Goldstein.
In addition, hotel marketers and owners can access their own detailed list of which customers have been posting content from their location on social media, sorted by their reach, influence and followers. According to the company, the properties can then personally interact with these key influencers directly on the social media network they originally posted from, and offer them rewards or incentives to share their experiences with friends or followers from their networks.
Goldstein underscored the importance of being able to reach out directly to these guests, as many times all the hotel has on file is the email address of whoever happened to book the room for his or her party. “At least half of the users who visit the hotel don’t exist in the database of the hotel. So, what we provide is access to the users identity on the various social networks,” he said.
The CEO detailed the three primary components of Leads: “The first is the data mining that we do on the social networks. Then, we find the right cluster or target audience for each one of the businesses and, finally, we connect between the business and each one of those potential leads,” he said.
Goldstein noted Leads has just undergone a soft launch and hasn’t been “significantly marketed yet.” As such, he noted, the program has yet to be implemented by any U.S. hotel companies. However, the company has been involved in a number of activities with locally based hotel companies, including a luxury chain.
“[The luxury chain] wanted to have engagement with its users and to connect the pictures the users have uploaded with the location,” he said. Goldstein noted the chain built a campaign thanking those guests for visiting its hotels and inviting them back. A text offer was also sent to each of the users that uploaded content from its hotels.
He noted the campaign has had a two-pronged effect, enhancing guest satisfaction as a result of providing an opportunity for feedback, as well as encouraging guests to mention the hotel specifically in future posts. He further added, “This should drive additional customers.”
The Leads program is offering three different packages for clients, depending on the number of leads it expects to generate. The company charges a monthly fee for the service, which ranges from $10 to $100. Goldstein also noted there is a discount for purchasing the program in advance, and anyone can use the system for 40 days as a free trial without any commitment.
He noted the company originally conceived the Leads program for hotels and restaurants, but added it has since gained traction among other businesses, ranging from clothing designers to the entertainment industry.
Goldstein further touted the benefits of the program, and noted how much value it can provide depends in part on the property itself: “If the account is attractive and has enough pictures that are appealing, we see a significant drive in the number of followers.”
—Dennis Nessler