Got an Instagram account you can’t remember the password to? How about a Facebook page you last updated in the stoneage?
Well, maybe you should think about dedicating some time and resources to maintaining your socials, because according to new research out this week, an Australian hotel, bar or restaurant is tagged on Instagram every 28 seconds.
Yeah, you read that right.
And yet, 25 per cent of Australian hotels, bars and restaurants on Instagram are not actively publishing or engaging with users on the platform.
The report, published by social media management platform Hootsuite, states that 71 per cent of consumers make purchasing decisions based upon what they discover on social media, which gives
Australian hospitality and tourism brands (that frequently use Instagram to engage consumers) the potential to grow their audience by up to ten times.
Key findings in the report show:
- Australian hotels, bars and restaurants who do not engage with users on Instagram are limiting their potential audience to less than 10 per cent.
- Hotels, bars and restaurants which are active on social are perceived 20 per cent more positively than those who are not active.
- Half of all hotels, bars and restaurants are not engaging in conversations with their customers on social.
- Only 4 per cent of hotels, bars and restaurants are engaging with customers who tag their location on Instagram.
- 30 per cent of social media users provide feedback about a business.
- Less than 45 per cent of hotels, bar and restaurants are engaging with social media users.
Ben Mulligan, Regional Marketing Leader, Australia & New Zealand, Hootsuite, says that social media has transformed the way Australians discover, consume and share experiences at hotels, bars, and restaurants.
“With more access to real-time information than ever before, the customer journey has evolved, and organisations need to think ‘digital first’ to meet and capitalise upon the expectations of the connected consumer,” he says.
By engaging social media users, brands can create meaningful relationships with consumers.
According to the report, easy ways to foster relationships are to share “human moments” and user-generated content.
To generate the stats, the researchers examined the social media activities and behaviours of over 270 bars, restaurants and hotels across Australia and 30,000 Instagram users.
The report can be downloaded in full here, and it’s a pretty interesting read.
