You Have One Chance to Make a Good Impression

You Have One Chance to Make a Good Impression

Make a Good Impression – Hotel internet marketing is all about one thing: the eight-second rule. Ever heard of it? First of all, no, the eight-second rule has nothing to do with whether you should eat that sandwich you dropped on the floor. We’re talking about the eight seconds you have to make an impression with potential clients on social media.

Hotel digital marketing research has consistently shown that your social media content has only eight seconds to make an impact on any given social media user. Indeed, that short window is the average amount of time a social media user will give to any particular post. Depending on the hotel marketing strategies you have in place, odds are those eight seconds will be the only chance you get to reach out to a client. In other words, you have one chance to win them over, so you’d better make it good.

Speaking of which, how do you present a compelling case for your hotel in just eight seconds? How do you boil the heart, soul, and personality of your establishment down to a one-liner that takes less time to absorb than it did for you to read this sentence? It’s not a task for the faint of heart, but there are a few general rules that any good hotel marketing consultant will suggest.

1. Be succinct

The first thing a user should see is a catchy, easy to understand slogan, motto or another one-liner. It needs to be easy to read, and reflective of the best your hotel has to offer. Take Marriot, which simply boasts, “Travel is a journey to find new perspectives. Find your inspiration wherever you go with Marriott Hotels”. It’s not the most creative line, but at least it’s easy to understand and reasonably succinct. However, Marriott is blown out of the water by Monte Carlo Resort & Casino, which simply describes itself as “unpretentious luxurious”. In just two words, the Monte Carlo perfectly sums up its image in a catchy, easily digested manner. This is critical because …

2. You’d better assume everyone’s just skim reading

In the age of social media, skim reading isn’t a bad habit – it’s a way of life. Literary purists aside, the reality is that everyone skims reads everything online, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. This means that your posts need to be skim-readable. If your one-liner is followed up by supporting text, make sure to keep it short and to the point. Use simple language, and make sure it’s readable in eight seconds.

3. Put the most important stuff first

Seriously! Don’t leave the best til last, because odds are nobody will ever read that far.

4. Break up text

One of the interesting habits of skim readers is to only pay attention to the first few words of any given sentence. This means that to appeal to skim readers, you’re going to need to keep sentences short and choppy. The more full stops you’ve got, the more the skim reader is actually paying attention.

Trust me,

It. Works. Really. Well.