The past year has been quite the ride for me as managing director of Gradigio. My team and I have had the chance to work with some amazing people around the world; many of whom found us through this blog. As a way of giving back to you, my loyal readers, I’m proud to announce our…

Hotel Marketing Makeover Contest

We’re going to be giving one lucky winner a complete internet marketing makeover…for free. The total market value of these services will exceed $25,000US.

What’s included

Everything. At least, everything I know your hotel needs to be successful online.

Through one-on-one planning sessions, group strategy brainstorming, and some hard work on our part, we’ll help the winner:

• Understand the current market situation for their hotel
• Perform an in-depth analysis of their website and overall web presence
• Oversee website changes (as agreed)
• Initiate a complete organic search optimization campaign (strategy planning & implementation)
• Initiate a complete paid search (PPC) campaign: planning, setup & 3 months’ management
• Collaborate on publishing a rock-solid content network that attracts visitors
• Plan and launch a blog marketing campaign
• Build a powerful presence in social networking sites
• Plan and oversee a systematic social media outreach effort
• Plan and oversee a video marketing strategy
• Evaluate mobile distribution options
• Build a localized web presence in important foreign markets (as needed)
• …and anything else we think of along the way that will help you reach more people

This will take place over a period of several months, and the winner will emerge with a powerful web presence that helps them increase direct bookings and overall sales.

The 4 ways to enter this contest

1. Upload a video to YouTube or Google Video explaining why you want to improve your hotel marketing. Title it “Gradigio Hotel Marketing Makeover.”
2. Upload a set of your hotel photos to Flickr, and name the set “Gradigio Hotel Marketing Makeover”
3. Write a post on your hotel blog announcing this contest (or) linking to this blog’s homepage & letting people know about it
4. Email 5 friends in the hotel industry a simple invitation to this blog (ex: “Hey, I thought you might find this blog helpful: hotelmarketingstrategies.com…”)

Whichever method you choose, just let me know of your entry by sending a quick email to enter@hotelmarketingmakeover.com that includes:

• Your name (& email)
• Your hotel’s name
• A link to your entry (video, photos, etc)

How the winner will be chosen

The winner will be selected randomly from all valid entries sent to the address above, and will be announced exclusively in the August 2009 issue of our Hotel Marketing Ideas newsletter.

If you enter this contest, I highly recommend you signup for the newsletter

Important dates

We will accept entries starting now (July 1) until the end of this month (July 31).

Enter now

The contest entry details are pretty simple, and described above.

To re-read this on the official contest website, please visit:

Hotel Marketing Makeover.com

I’m excited to announce the arrival of my new email newsletter, Hotel Marketing Ideas.

What it is: A monthly email with highlights from this blog, along with any other information about hotel marketing I think you may like.

Who it’s for: People who like this blog’s content, but don’t want to receive the daily updates I currently provide via email and RSS

When it’s coming: The first issue will be published the first week of July

Instead of asking you all to sign up, I’ll be the first to tell you this isn’t for everyone. I’m publishing it for the hotel owner or marketing manager that is interested in trying new tactics and technology to promote their hotel online.

If that’s not you, please ignore this message. If it sounds like something you’re interested in, you can sign up using the link above.

Photo by Rene Ehrhardt

Thanks to Phil Caines, I’ll be attending The PhoCusWright Bloggers Summit at ITB Berlin March 11-12. From looking at the program, you’ll see this is a great opportunity to interact and learn with other like-minded travel professionals.

If you’re a blogger, click the button below to submit your application.

Later, I’ll be representing Gradigio at the main conference. Let me know if you’ll be attending, and we can meet up.  See you there!

To help you promote your hotel, we’re now offering free hotel marketing consulting through a dedicated Twitter channel.  Send us your questions, and we’ll give you advice in 140 characters or less.

Try it: @hmarketinghelp

Many hotel owners and marketing directors realize the benefits of pay per click advertising, and want to select an agency that can help them build and manage an effective campaign.  Yet with so many self-appointed PPC gurus out there, it can be hard to make a choice.

I’d like to provide you with some inside information that will help separate the pros from the amateurs.

Here are a compilation of questions I’m frequently asked, along with ones I think should be frequently asked. I hope they will help you in comparing agencies, and selecting a firm that will give the very best performance possible.

Part 1: Questions about the process

What is your workflow process?
What to look for: A clear path to project completion
Why it’s important: To understand the process they will use

What am I getting for my setup fee?
What to look for: Clear, specific deliverables
Why it’s important: Transparency is important when you’re comparing companies

Describe your keyword research process
What to look for: Careful selection of at least 100-500 highly-targeted phrases
Why it’s important: Keywords are the foundation of successful PPC campaigns

What keyword match types will you use?
What to look for: Appropriate use of broad, phrase, and exact matching
Why it’s important: Keyword match types can improve accuracy

Explain your approach to ad copy writing
What to look for: A proven formula for winning ads
Why it’s important: Your ad copy has a direct impact on your campaign success

How do you track sales conversions?
What to look for: Ad network tracking code, with cross-platform tracking software available
Why it’s important: Linking ad spend to new sales is essential for measuring ROI

How will you increase my sales conversions?
What to look for: Time-tested techniques for improving conversions in your industry
Why it’s important: Cost per sale is really the only relevant metric

What are your top five metrics for measuring success?
What to look for: Benchmarks with real impact on your sales numbers and return on investment
Why it’s important: If they don’t know what success looks like, they probably won’t reach it

Part 2: Questions about the partnership

How will I be involved?
What to look for: A consultancy that provides the level of involvement you want
Why it’s important: That’s your right as a client

Who will be doing the actual work?
What to look for: In-house specialists working on your account
Why it’s important: Agencies that outsource your account have less control over the results

Who owns the campaign?
What to look for: Full ownership by you of all keywords, ad copy, and campaign setup
Why it’s important: If things don’t work out, you should be able to move freely to another agency

How do you price your monthly management service?
What to look for: A fair pricing format that provides incentive for the agency to perform
Why it’s important: Many pricing models are based on the wrong criteria

What is the duration of your contract?
What to look for: Options, with flexibility for you to exit
Why it’s important: If a company isn’t providing satisfactory results, you need to fire them

Part 3: Questions about the agency

How much experience does your firm have?
What to look for: A history of proven results
Why it’s important: You can’t put your company’s success in the hands of amateurs

Are the people managing the campaign Google certified?
What to look for: Google certified specialists
Why it’s important: Google certification requires knowledge and experience minimums

What differentiates your company from the rest of the industry?
What to look for: Unique, significant differences
Why it’s important: You want to hire the best

Part 4: Advanced (bonus) questions

How specifically will you help me beat the industry competition?
What to look for: Guerrilla marketing tactics
Why it’s important: You’re playing to win

How do you plan to reduce excess ad spend?
What to look for: Ways to cut the “fat” from your campaign
Why it’s important: Extra spending in PPC doesn’t always mean more sales

What percentage of keywords and spend will be based on our brand?
What to look for: A small percentage of overall keywords and ad spend
Why it’s important: Your campaign should include, but not depend, on your brand

How do you use negative keywords?
What to look for: Smart use of negative keyword matching to eliminate unlikely buyers
Why it’s important: Negative keywords increase your campaign’s return on investment

What is your process for improving ad quality score?
What to look for: A proven process (with examples) of improving quality score
Why it’s important: Poor quality score artificially inflates your ad spend and reduces performance

What is your opinion on ad distribution on the content network?
What to look for: Industry-specific advice
Why it’s important: Content network distribution has the potential to make or break your budget

Describe your approach for international campaigns
What to look for: Experience building localized campaigns
Why it’s important: The best international campaigns are customized for each country

—

Let me ask YOU this: What questions do you use to find the best pay-per-click advertising agencies?

Twitter is one of the fastest-growing social media networks, a microblogging tool that allows its users to make text-based posts in 140 characters or less.  An estimated 5.5 million people now use the service, with website traffic up 573% over the past year according to Compete:

The whole service is based around letting you answer the question, “What are you doing now?”  While this may initially seem like a waste of time with little relevance to a hotel marketer, many organizations have found it useful as a one-to-many broadcasting tool.

Here are some ideas for using Twitter in the hospitality industry:

• First, use Twitter Search to see what people are saying about you, your competitors, your area, and your industry
• Like most of social media, Twitter isn’t just about pushing what you have to sell.  Try to be genuinely hepful to your followers. (JetBlue shares travel tips)
• Share ideas and links to interesting stuff you find.
• Ask your followers for advice on new ideas.  (Get way to get concise, helpful feedback.)
• Break news on Twitter, especially if it affects your web presence
• Use it as a tool to improve your customer service (like Frank at Comcast)
• View Twitter as a way to build customer relationships, and show the human side of your company

So go sign up for an account today, and be sure to follow us on Twitter for all the latest hotel marketing tips.

A lot of hotel owners and managers I know are worried about the state of the travel industry during this global economic slowdown.  During the next week, I’m going to show you how to build a marketing plan that is “recession-proof” – giving you the most results for the smallest investment.

Some of the topics I’ll cover include:

• What does the credit crisis mean for hotel marketers?
• What role should price play in promotions?
• Where should I focus my marketing efforts?
• How can I reward my best guests?

If you haven’t done so already, now is a good time to sign up for updates by email or RSS feed.

Look for the first post tomorrow morning….

In order to serve you better, we’ve put together a quick survey that will help us at Gradigio understand what you need help with in marketing.  I would appreciate if you would take 2 minutes to fill out this 6-question, multiple-choice survey:

Take the survey now