For frequent travellers, TripAdvisor is the go-to source for local tips, recommendations and objective reviews. Sure, it’s not always perfect and questionable reviews pop up from time to time, but when you’re out and about, at a loss for accommodation or dining options, the views of fellow travellers can be a good place to start.
From a brand perspective, many businesses are failing to capitalise on the power of TripAdvisor by marketing their location, missing out on potential visitors and traffic. At the recent (April 2016) Mumbrella Tourism Marketing Conference in Sydney, Danielle Pagano from TripAdvisor shared valuable information about how to leverage this review site to engage with your brand’s audience.
SIZE OF THE OPPORTUNITY
Size counts. More than 80% of travellers believe TripAdvisor reviews help them feel more confident about their travel decisions; 89% of global travellers say reviews are influential when choosing where to book; and 96% of global hotels say reviews are influential in generating bookings.
The platform certainly dominates the travel recommendation scene with impressive user numbers:
- more than 350 million unique visitors
- 320 million reviews
- 200 contributions per minute
- 96 million members
So it’s clear consumers are active on the site. But are brands actively engaging with users in return? No! Only 12% of Australian accommodation providers are delivering responses from management. What a missed opportunity! This is a brand owner’s chance to take ownership of their listing and engage with consumers through their feedback.
TOP 5 TRIPADVISOR TIPS FOR BRANDS
At the Mumbrella Tourism Marketing Conference, it was reported that 42% of accommodation venues on TripAdvisor had been reviewed in the last 30 days. But almost half of those venues had not managed the feedback or spoken to customers.
Taking the time to respond to your customer’s comments truly matters – 80% of respondents view a hotel management’s response to reviews as a sign of them caring more about their guests and 85% of people surveyed believe an appropriate management response to a bad review improves their impression of the hotel.
So how do you make your brand an active success on TripAdvisor? Take these top 5 tips to be a winner on this powerful review site.
- Take ownership of the listing – the very first step is to ensure you update your location’s information and that you upload recent images. This is as simple as logging in and claiming your page, uploading your contact details and posting relevant photos on the page.
- Assign a page manager – whether it’s the business owner or a member of the customer service team, delegating one person to take on responsibility of the page will pay off in dividends. It’s worth allocating resources to ensure your profile is always active and up to date.
- Respond to feedback – reinforce the positives, thank people for their time passing on opinions, craft responses accordingly and employ basic customer service skills: listen, empathise, apologise if needed, find a solution and follow up.
- Use customised TripAdvisor tools – did you know powerful tools exist for business owners to improve a brand’s presence? TripAdvisor research shows hotels and venues that ask for reviews perform better than their peers who don’t. Take advantage of the Review Express functionality, which asks people for their opinions – the more reviews on your page, the better you’ll appear in results. And don’t forget TripAdvisor can also help drive website traffic and bookings. Incorporate these self-serve widgets into your website.
- Examine the analytics – it’s easy to monitor and track your performance. In the platform, brands can look at competitor sets and previous campaign performance. Don’t forget to share the results with your customer-facing team and reinforce the importance of an exceptional service experience.
Is your brand using the TMRW Engine social listening tool? If so, your TripAdvisor management just became easier, with TripAdvisor now integrated into the engine platform so it’s simpler to respond to brand mentions. Read more here
NOT SURE WHERE TO START?
Do you need help optimising your brand presence on TripAdvisor? Give the Mastermind team a call (02 9818 7142) so we can walk you through best TripAdvisor practice for your team.
