Influencer marketing, is not a new phenomenon in the Indian hospitality industry. Most hotel marketing teams have a ready reckoner of influencers, with an enviable following on various social media platforms. Whenever a new property, F&B destination or even a pop-up event is introduced, a quick invite is sent to them.
The word-of-mouth publicity generated by influencers is invaluable, to their audience and the brands. Of course, there might be some quid pro quo involved between the companies and the social media mavens, which the former don’t mind, since the benefit of these associations trumps the cost by a long stretch.
Of course, this virtual dalliance is not without its challenges. In 2018, Ireland’s White Moose Café, which runs the Charleville Lodge Dublin, publicly shamed a blogger who demanded free boarding and food in lieu of positive reviews. The incident opened a Pandora’s Box of backlash against self-entitled influencers who expected freebies from hoteliers in exchange for their posts and pics.
On one hand, there is no denying that influencers can impact consumers’ buying and spending decisions. However, brands have realised the need to tread a fine balance between promotional and neutral content, as consumers shift towards organic information. To help consumers distinguish between the two, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) recently released draft guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media. Nikita Das, Area Director Marketing, West India of Hyatt Hotels explains how these can bring in some much-needed transparency in digital marketing, which is beneficial for brands, influencers and consumers.
How can hotels track whether influencer marketing has resulted in additional footfalls or sales conversion in their F&B outlets, room occupancy or even gym membership?
The hospitality industry was amongst the earliest adopters of this trend. It focused more on micro influencers with a defined and targeted reach. To answer your question, the response is measured in terms of traction from visibility and engagement of the content produced by influencers and its virality. Conversion tracking via influencer approach is a completely new marketing module in itself.
How many influencers do you work with and what are some criteria for selecting them?
Identifying the right influencer is the key task. The influencer media universe is large and ever evolving. Just like any other media landscape, it can be mapped and segmented into influencers by type – for e.g. fashion, lifestyle, food, luxury, travel, arts or culture.
Within each segment, these influencers are further categorised based on their reach, engagement, lead generation capability, follower base, etc. They are then divided into micro and macro influencers with sub categorisation of these aspects as well as on the areas of their expertise and skill sets.
This is a time consuming process, which requires plenty introspection about identifying the right influencer for the right hotel product category, be it the F&B, guest rooms, salon or spa. This deliberation is essential to maximise the results from an influencer campaign and generate better ROI.
Can influencers drive or impact a guest’s spending decisions, especially now when social media has become a pervasive mode of communication?
While various micro influencers have a dedicated following with the capacity to influence decision making, a lot rides on the way the content is depicted. The manner in which they showcase the content plays a pivotal role in helping their followers and other social on-lookers make decisions and drive bookings.
For e.g. an influencer with in-depth F&B knowledge can review a restaurant and the artisanal ingredients used while cooking. This, in turn, can persuade their followers to pick the right restaurant for a gourmet or a celebratory dining experience.
Recently, the ASCI released draft guidelines for influencer advertising on digital media. Which aspects will impact stakeholders in the hospitality segment, especially the marketing department?
It is unlikely to impact us in any way, since paid advertising by influencers is rare in the hospitality sector. Nonetheless, a call out on paid collaboration versus self-endorsement highlights transparency. This helps both, the advertiser and the viewer.
Can contemporary guests distinguish between paid or promotional content and an organic one on digital platforms?
Good content curators have the skill to subtly rope in the brand while genuinely enjoying an experience.
Consumers today are extremely knowledgeable and can recognise the difference between paid-to promote and organic content.
The key lies in identifying influencers who can establish an organic connect with the brand so that their
promotion does not look staged. At the same time, it can re-establish the hotel’s positioning appropriately; whether it is a luxury, lifestyle, heritage or boutique property.
Can a hotel’s marketing team create a self-regulatory mechanism to offer credible information while working with influencers? How can this move help in boosting brand credibility?
As you rightly mentioned, influencer marketing needs to adopt a strategic directional approach because of its sheer expanse today. Segmentation and targeting remain the key focus in this realm.
Going forward, identifying ‘micro’ rather than ‘macro’ content creators, based on their follower base, will be critical. Regular reviews of the influencer’s content, their brand associations and trends in competition will help establish a brand’s credibility in working with the right set of influencers.
