The Social Web and a Leicester Hotel Owner

People realise that a static web site is not enough to promote their business, but that doesn't help them embrace the social web. There are a multitude of different social media technologies available, and the person needs to select the right ones, learn how to use them, and understand the culture of the different communities using the different technologies. Unfortunately the successful adoption of social media takes time; there are no quick fixes.

I have just spent the last two hours on the phone to a friend discussing how he can make the most of social media to promote his hotel.

The Old Approach
His hotel had a web site http://www.campbellshotel.com/, but it didn't particularly do much for the promotion of the hotel. Whilst there are design issues (don't even think about looking at it with Mozilla), the primary reason the web site failed was that people didn't come across it. If you Googled Campbells Hotel the site would be number one, but looking for a hotel in Leicester? No chance.

The New Approach
Engage with the online community, and let the world see more than a brochure. As such I have encouraged him to revolve his new online presence around a blog (http://campbellshotel.blogspot.com/), incorporating other technologies such as Twitter (@Campbellshotel) where appropriate. Whilst such an approach is natural to those involved in social media, it's a big leap and a big commitment for someone who has little experience of social media.

The Philosophy
Whilst I struggled to explain how the social technologies could help, and that it wasn't about sending Tweets to everyone you came across; his moment of epiphany came with the comment:

"It's like liberal evangelism"

Exactly. It's not about trying to force doctrine down someone's throat, it's about demonstrating it in the way you live your life; it's not about Tweeting adverts at everyone, it's about demonstrating the way you run your business.

Nb. If you have any advice/suggestions for a small business owner trying to make use of social media I'm sure commenting on his blog would be appreciated. http://campbellshotel.blogspot.com/