The H Hotel, a Dolce Hotel and Resort (owned by Wyndham) is a gem – small, boutique and oh-so-chic – and a few years ago, with forward-thinking leadership, was primed to expand its social media presence. We looked forward to all the hotel and its three restaurants had to share with their Midland, Mich. community and beyond.
After a number of site visits ourselves, the Instagram-worthy backdrops, stunning food pictures and so many events and happenings to promote, our team began with a strategy. Our first order of business? Start putting the gorgeous H hotel on display for the social media world to see.
Strategy Element 1: Create a conversation.
A luxury hotel and its award-winning restaurants presented an opportunity to connect on a local to global level. From business travelers visiting Dow Chemical to brides in every part of Michigan, our focus was on bringing all audiences into the ongoing conversation showing all The H has to offer its guests.
In order to provide cohesion, our strategy started with getting people talking. As an homage to Dow Chemical, the H uses a lot of symbolism with the Periodic Table of Elements. We launched #findyourelement as a custom hashtag and it was included on relevant posts.
Our focus was to share all the little touches and details that personalize and humanize its brand. The H hospitality staff is second to none and from the front desk to social media, they were accessible and visible to guests. Guests were able to share in real time their needs and requests to the occasions they were celebrating over the perfect meal.
Strategy Element 2: Engage the right people.
As the social media conversation got bigger, we implemented a contest. We asked the social media world to share with us ANYTHING in the shape of an H for a chance to win a weekend getaway.
People got creative and entered their spin on the H’s symbol.
While the hotel is part of a global company, it offers a welcoming, small-town feel in the best way with personal service and attention and knowledge about the entire community’s offerings. The H is a large part of the Midland community, so we also worked to engage with local businesses, community organizations and national events – giving shoutouts and tags. We found a unique place for The H to be a go-to source for all things happening in Midland.
We also increased awareness by launching an influencer campaign to talk about The H leveraging synergistic lifestyle and foodie bloggers from around the state to come visit.
This effort generated many new, engaged fans (and a library of amazing, curated images by the influencers!). Content from The H Hotel and three restaurants on social media received 249,547 impressions with 9,614 engagements and 452 link clicks. The strong increase in engagements (approx 300% growth) and link clicks (approx 200% growth) was attributed to influencer content; both organic and paid.
Strategy Element 3: Measure and amplify for the right people
The H hosts countless weddings and events and that kind of visual content is naturally a strong performer on social media. Our paid social media advertising strategy amplified that content to a greater portion of the target audience.
We also worked with the H to launch their new restaurant concept, ONe Eighteen. We had a solid base of fans and followers on social media, however by infusing the right social media advertisements, we communicated opening dates, soft launches and formal openings to a greater audience of diners in their target market.
Getting Results
In about two years’ time, The H Hotel alone (not including its 3 restaurants) has been bringing in an average over 146,000 impressions, 8,000 engagements and 140 link clicks – every month.
For The H, this has been a 63% increase in overall social audience growth, a 46% increase in overall social media impressions and a notable increase of 22,790% on Instagram engagements alone.
Our client gets a major pat on the back for being open to new ideas and strategies. From the operational side, we used our focus on process and communication, to propel a stellar internal/external team dynamic.
Does your business need a helping hand?
The H Hotel is the perfect example of a partnership between the Hay There Social Media team and a bustling international brand. We delivered social media content and support: Posting, interacting with fans and followers and making sure their brand stays at the cutting edge of the travel industry. We brought their brand personality to life by giving The H a voice that allowed organic, engaged connections to happen.
If your brand has a vision or a message, our team can help get it out there. We can work with you to engage with current and prospective customers and put your best digital foot forward.
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Emily A. Hay
Founder & Instructor at Social Media Manager Training Courses
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