In a recent blog posting, Max Starkov explained and explored the recent news that Facebook surpassed Google as the most popular Web site in the United States.
For the week ending March 13, 2010, Facebook received 7.07% of all site visits, compared to Google's 7.03% share of visits, according to Experian Hitwise.
After this news broke, the hospitality industry was abuzz with excitement and intrigue. Many HeBS clients inquired about Facebook's importance and whether or not they were missing advertising opportunities on the site.
Though HeBS agrees Facebook has experienced tremendous growth and believes the social medium is here to stay, it is not going to replace Google as a travel planning tool anytime soon.
The reason is simple: when consumers want to buy books online, they go to Amazon.com. When they want new laptops or PCs, they consult Dell.com, Apple.com or BestBuy.com.
When people plan travel, they turn to:
- Search Engines: Google, Yahoo, Bing
- Meta Search Engines: Kayak.com
- OTAs: Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, etc.
- Major hotel brand websites: Marriott.com, Hilton.com, etc.
- Independent/boutique/luxury hotel Web sites
- Consumer review sites like TripAdvisor.com to check out what their peers think of certain hotels, once they have narrowed down their choices
Social media marketing, including Facebook and Twitter, is an important component of any hotel's marketing mix and is part of a comprehensive Direct Online Channel strategy; however, its ROI is not direct revenue but buzz generation, brand-building, customer engagement, etc.
About the Author and HeBS:
Max Starkov is Chief eBusiness Strategist at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies (HeBS), the industry's leading Internet marketing strategy consulting firm for the hospitality vertical, is based in New York City. HeBS has pioneered many of the "best practices" in hotel Internet marketing and direct online distribution. The firm specializes in helping hoteliers build their direct Internet marketing and distribution strategy, boost the hotel Internet marketing presence, establish interactive relationships with their customers, and significantly increase direct online bookings and ROIs.
A diverse client portfolio of over 500 top tier major hotel brands, luxury and boutique hotel brands, resorts and casinos, hotel management companies, franchisees and independents, and CVBs has sought and successfully taken advantage of the firm hospitality Internet marketing expertise. Contact HeBS consultants at (212)752-8186 or info@hospitalityebusiness.com. www.hospitalityebusiness.com 
