Rohit Bhargava used 'likeonomics' as his leading trend for 2011, among a very strong list of trends to watch.

"Likes" and microinfluence

In a time-starved world, people want to share opinions but often don't have a lot of time to take in doing so. The volume of people sharing opinion is quickly increasing, but at the same time, many are decreasing the time they spend doing it.

If we're going to stay relevant, we need to think through how to leverage this trend.

Microreviews

On the EyeForTravel social media panel in Atlanta, I said I wouldn't spend more than 15-20 seconds on most retail or restaurant customer reviews.

But if I'm buying a coffee or a quick meal, it's not likely I'll spend 15 minutes writing a 3-paragraph review.

That's why I largely switched from Yelp to UrbanSpoon for restaurant reviews. It's simpler.

One-line mobile reviews. No more time spent agonizing if it's a 4 or 5-star establishment. I either like the restaurant or I don't: see image.

A supplement, not a replacement, for long-form reviews

For hotels, longer form written reviews will remain more popular since the experience is much more immersive than a typical restaurant meal. Many people want to describe the different elements of their stay, upload photos and video, and so on.

For management, longer form reviews obviously contain a much richer amount of information to work with. We can extract sentiment with semantic analysis, take action within our organization based on feedback, and even use some testimonials in our advertising.

So what am I supposed to do with microinfluence?

Start with the source that helped this concept gain popularity: try adding Facebook "like" buttons to key pages on your site. (I've seen mixed results, so it's something you'll have to test for your situation.)

Then as review sites evolve, we'll have to experiment what this means for us and the future of online reputation management. Right now it's a bit early, but I wanted to introduce the concept and get your thoughts.

What do you think? How can we use this for hotels?

www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com/likeonomics-microinfluence

About the author
This blog is written by Josiah Mackenzie, who enjoys exploring the relationship between emerging technology and the hospitality industry. 

www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com