Much of the conversation around social media is about using it to reach guests and customers, or to connect with other businesses. But savvy “PR 2.0″ organizations are using it to communicate with journalists and increase their media coverage.

First, some tools, then some strategy.

7 Social Media Tools for PR

• Help A Reporter Out (HARO) – 3x daily email newsletter with dozens of ‘expert source’ requests from journalists
• Social Media Press Release Builder – share stories via the social web
• Your Pitch Sucks – get a 3rd-party expert review of your news release
• LinkedIn and Jigsaw can be used to find contact info and start conversations
• Twellow – a directory of people on Twitter that can be used to find journalists
• Media on Twitter – a more focused directory of journalists on Twitter

Now, just because you’re using new media doesn’t change the fundamentals of public relations. Your communications needs to be relevant, and your stories need to be newsworthy.

I receive dozens of press releases each week – most of them having nothing to do with what you would want to read on this blog. Hiring a new manager at your property may interest you, but I probably don’t care…and I know my readers definitely do not want me to publish that.

Please keep that in mind.

How do you use social media for PR?

One of my earlier posts covered ways hotels can reach out to bloggers, and browsing Chris Brogan’s blog today turned up a fantastic example of this.

When Chris was planning a trip to New York, he let his Twitter followers know. Moments later he’s directed to the Roger Smith Hotel, and notified of a special blogger’s rate ($125!). Upon booking, he received a free upgrade to a suite…and the hotel later hosted a Tweetup. Such a great experience, he even shot a video about it:

Can you imagine the value of this exposure? Tens of thousands of blog readers saw this, and guess what hotel they’ll check next time they visit New York?

To Adam Wallace and Brian Simpson and the Roger Smith Hotel management: I salute you. You truly understand the new rules of hotel marketing.

It’s disheartening to hear Congressional chatter proposing legislation that unnecessarily curbs business travel instead of regarding it as an important factor in stimulating the economy. As an alternative, the U.S. Travel Association has just released suggested guidelines for companies receiving TARP funds in order to determine if proposed business travel merits a justifiable return on investment.

Ten companies (Carlson, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group, Loews, Marriott, Starwood and Wyndham Worldwide) are sponsoring ads in political journals with the aim of educating decision makers about the value of business tourism and the devastating effects of losing it. Endorsing quantifiable responsibility instead of restriction not only protects jobs but encourages much-needed transparency.

(Thanks to Jeff Weinstein, Editor-in-Chief of HOTELS magazine, for tipping us off to the U.S. Travel Association’s guidelines proposal.)

As I said earlier, cutting price should not be your first reaction to an economic slowdown.  Instead, you should maximize profit by reaching out to your best guests.

Of course, you’ll need a guest intelligence system that tells you who these people are.

But assuming that is already in place, how can you reward your best guests?  Here are some ideas that have worked for others:

• Idea 1: Develop special birthday and anniversary packages.  Send them to your guests on their special day using email or direct mail.  This has proven very cost effective for many hotels.
• Idea 2: Create seasonal specials packages.  Partner with local businesses to offer a specially-priced package on an area attraction.  Send this to guests that have stayed at your hotel in the past.  With joint ventures like this, everyone involved benefits.
• Idea 3: Send “We haven’t seen you in a while” followup messages.  For guests that used to stay regularly, but haven’t for a while, send them an email or postcard with a special offer to come again.  Offer a free breakfast or glass of wine at your hotel bar.  Tell them you miss their business, and look forward to seeing them again.

Again, to execute these ideas, you’ll need an intelligent database like we described earlier.  As you can see, the creative freedom you have to develop truly unique promotions is directly proportional to the quality of information you have to work with.

Let me ask you this: How do you reward your best guests?

Getting covered in a popular travel blog is one of the best ways to increase your internet visibility.  Because of the way the internet works, one mention in a high-profile website will give you long-term benefits – perhaps even more than traditional media coverage.

• The blog post will be archived and searchable for future potential guests
• A link to your website will improve your search engine ranking for years to come
• The coverage will increase awareness of your story with other bloggers and writers

With all this to gain, how do you encourage travel bloggers to write about your hotel?  Depending on the amount of commitment you have to this form of marketing, your hotel can take one of two approaches:

The pitch-from-a-distance approach

Sending bloggers stories by email or mail is certainly the easiest (and fastest) approach.  From your desk, you can connect with dozens of top writers and present your story idea.

If you choose this method, be sure to follow these steps:

• First, find relevant bloggers.  Directories such as BlogCatalog can help you with this.
• Second, take some time to read the blogs you plan to pitch.  Get to know the author, and the topics he likes to write about.  Look beyond the blog’s title and see if the blog would even be a good fit for your story.  Pitching a story that is not relevant is a sure way to fail.
• Third, send a personal note to the blog’s author.  (Do NOT copy and paste generic messages – you’re not trying to spam anyone.)  Briefly explain your story, and how you think it would benefit the blog’s readers and more the site a more valuable resource.
• Fourth, make it easy to blog your story.   Include any support materials that would help, such as photos and video that can be embedded into the post.
• Fifth, be persistent.  If you’re absolutely certain that the blog is a good fit for your message, don’t be afraid to followup with new story ideas.  Writers need good content, and by providing them with information, you’re being a resource.  (Just make sure you’re actually being helpful – and not just annoying.)

The come-see-it-for-yourself approach

With this method, you invite the blogger to experience your facility for herself.  You can offer everything from a coupon for free drinks to check out new hotel technology, all the way up to offering an all-expenses-paid stay at your hotel.

While this approach clearly costs you more, it is far more effective because it allows you to personally connect with a blogger, and introduce him to your hotel.  For a grand opening or introduction of a significant new feature, an investment of this level can kick-start the media coverage you need.

Even more than with the first approach, you’ll need to locate the very top bloggers if you plan to invest in this type of PR coverage.  Follow the steps mentioned above, and you’ll be able to accurately locate these writers.