Why you need a social media ambassador (and how to choose one)

by Josiah Mackenzie on May 12, 2010 4 Comments

We introduced the concept of a Social Media Ambassador in my interview with Jim Zito, and I’m seeing more and more hotels formally (and informally) adopt this.

To be clear, a Social Media Ambassador is different than the online marketing manager. While it may be someone from the marketing department, this function can be held by anyone at the hotel.

It’s a role, not a position.

The Director of Marketing may develop the overall strategic plan, but the Social Media Ambassador acts as the public persona behind your social media accounts. Social media is personal, and having one person as the voice/face for your messages can be very effective.

How do you select this person? Consider the following:

  • Are they using social media well on a personal level? (Can they walk the talk?)
  • Can you trust this person to make the right decisions without constantly checking in with you?
  • Is it someone with the integrity to represent the hotel well?
  • Are they reliable? Can they consistently monitor your accounts and reply?
  • Do they have strong writing skills? (Written text is so important in social media)
  • Will they have the permission to speak on behalf of the hotel?

Who meets this criteria at your hotel?

Special thanks to Jim Zito of Morgans Hotel Group and Terry Kane of Jumeirah Group who helped me brainstorm this concept during my recent interviews with them.



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Article by Josiah Mackenzie // May 12, 2010 Josiah helps hospitality organizations use technology and the social web to provide better service and generate more profits.

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Comments

 
  • Mitaroy Goa Hotel // May 12, 2010 @ 8:00 am Reply

    Heyy Josiah,

    Your Twitter RSS feed seems to be really effective. Thats how I got to this post !

    I think the idea of a Social Media Ambassador is a great idea.

    However, I think for it to be really effective, you should have the CEO or head of the business in that role. While having a more junior executive can help, getting the lowdown from the Boss has its own charm.

    Ofcourse, in the case of a small business, there isn’t much debate.

    It has to be the entrepreneur himself !

    Cheers
    Mihir

  • Ann Manion // May 12, 2010 @ 9:36 am Reply

    Josiah,

    Your blog consistently moves the conversation forward, helping hoteliers to think about how to best organize social media at the property.

    I agree social media is a role, and doesn’t have to be a dedicated position. The person/Ambassador who handles social media has a huge influence on guest relationships, and these are meaty job responsibilities. I find underestimating the training required for internal resources with regards to social media is common.

    The individual most suitable to be trained to handle social media is not necessarily someone from the marketing group. Rather, it can be that associate who is a supreme guest enthusiast, and steps out of their job description regularly to make sure that guest needs are met.

    Overall, a slow build approach works best for property management teams – start with a discrete social media project, and go from there to build on your success. Consider outsourcing short term social media support to help get your team up to speed, and to provide episodic back up to your Ambassador.

    Over time hotels may find that what started out as a role, can evolve into a full fledged Community Manager position. For other hotels, social media can be comfortably handled by a well trained associate who balances other functions.

    Hotels are unique, just like their guests, and the best hotel social media programs reflect that.

  • Tom McCallum // May 23, 2010 @ 10:49 pm Reply

    Josiah

    I’ll put this simply and bluntly… for individual hotels, the person posting to their social media accounts MUST work on property. End of story.

    I’ve tried it every which way, but it simply just can’t be a case of handing off social media ideas to someone offsite to post to Twitter / FB / Blogs etc… it doesn’t work. Real world experience here, but this is a brief post.

    If clients / hotels can’t find someone that fits the criteria you noted so well in your blog.. forget about social media for the hotel.. oh, and even if you do get those criteria, remember the #1 rule.. consistency.. someone on property has to be the person to post.. but someone else (either on or offsite) has to stay on top of it to make sure things don’t slip… after all, that social media person has other things to do :)

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