Chapter 29 introduction to social media, I'm going to be talking about social media. And to be totally honest, if I were to cover all aspects of social media, and the platforms available on the web, this section would probably be at least 500 hours long, and one platform would eventually blur into another. So I've decided to talk about the most important aspects and the most used platforms on social media, as well as ways you can benefit the most out of them. The points and platforms I will cover include why use social media, choosing your visual branding, blogging, videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram. Each of these topics will be separated into separate chapters, the importance of social media, the world has changed. And like it or not, social media has become an important element in Any marketing endeavors, many independent hotel resort in and Bed and Breakfast owners have accepted the concept many others have not.
Why use social media? In case you're not clear on the actual benefits of incorporating social media into your business, then let me share some reasons. Social media helps you build a strong brand. In order to be successful online, it's pretty important to stand out from the crowd. People need to look at you and your property and services, and instantaneously know exactly what you stand for. And not only that, you need to stay in people's minds.
In order to do that, you need to have a strong brand. And sites such as Facebook and Twitter can definitely help you do that. They can help people gain an instant insight into what you're about and why they should follow you. Not only that, but social media updates, remind people that you're still around and can have a particularly good effect. If you're sharing really juicy information, social media helps you find potential guests. Social media helps you build relationships with your audience.
People are much more likely to book from someone who they already have a pre existing relationship with. How many times have you come across a random website and bought a product from a straightaway? No, you check them out. The amount and type of social media you use is up to you. But today, the majority of your customers expect to find you online and your information delivered to their specifications. This does not mean you have to blog or tweet or post on Facebook and on Twitter, but having at least a website is a must.
And if you want to stay ahead of your competitors, you need to have an online presence. If your potential guests are searching online and cannot find you, they'll find your competition including social media into your marketing strategy is no guarantee That you will have marketing success. But I can guarantee you that without it every year, you'll be leaving more and more money on the table for your competitors to grab. Some of the other benefits of being on social media include social media is fairly transparent. And that means that it's great for spying on your competition. You can learn so much just by watching how other people run their business.
How well I'm not telling you to steal other people's ideas, you definitely can borrow some of the ones you like and put your own spin on them. Social media helps you establish yourself as an expert. An expert is simply someone who knows more about certain subjects than the person they are advising. to them. You're an expert. All you need to have a certain amount of knowledge around the subject.
You definitely don't need to know everything there is about it. Social media can enable you to give better customer service. This is something that even large international Brands take advantage of. You can use sites like Facebook and Twitter to help your customers answer their questions and deal with any problems that they might have. In case you are interested, here's a link to 70 social networking sites that you need to know in 2019. UK web host review.com slash social hyphen media hyphen sites.
Alright, let's get started with choosing your visual branding.