Social Media Strategy for Hilton Hotels: Analysis and Suggestions

This report analyses the current social media strategy of Hilton Hotels and suggests a new strategy to tap into the potential of social media platforms. It includes a literature review on social media and digital marketing, social media in hospitality, and a discussion on the current situation and suggested strategy for Hilton Hotels.

Introduction
The advancement in technology and the popularity of the Internet has forced the
organizations world over to carry out a transformation in terms of how they interact
with people and how they carry out their marketing initiatives. Social media platforms
constitute of a large proportion of time that people spend on the internet and therefore
the organizations are targeting the online consumers by developing interactive and
innovative social media strategies and understanding the consumption pattern and the
demand trends with the help of it.
The social media platforms can although be very helpful for the organizations by
helping them in reaching out to millions of people with a single click and a single
post, it is a highly volatile medium and a double-edged sword since unhappy
customers can damage the reputation of the organizations instantly and can impact the
word of mouth popularity by sharing their opinion with all the people that they are
connected with and can also impact the decision making of the potential customers for
the organization. Despite all this, social media has become the most popular medium
for the organizations operating in the hospitality industry to communicate with people
and reach out to the organizations and individual customers at the same time by
effectively marketing their services. The traditional mediums that were used for
marketing earlier have gone obsolete very fast with the advent of the Internet and
mobile telephony. This report is compiled to analyse the social media strategy
currently implemented by the Hilton hotels and its effectiveness. After the detailed
evaluation a new social media strategy is suggested for the organization to help them

and tapping the potential and attracting more customers by utilizing social media
platforms and their immense potential.
Literature review
Social media and digital marketing
Social media can be defined as the mode of communication which is established by
making use of information technology and the networks by the interactive production
of user oriented content for establishing and maintaining the relations between the
users. The social media technology was originated somewhere around the year 2005
with blogging being the first form. It allows people to maintain an online journal by
making use of information technology tools through a web based service. The
introduction and popularization of social media has forced the organizations to
develop new ways of communicating with their current and potential customers and
create the brand image by having conversations around it. The advancement in the
social media features has made it mandatory for all the organizations operating in any
industry to establish credibility and follow the trends off the social media portals if
they have a desire to develop an excel in their field. The 1990s witnessed the
breakthrough of the internet technology with the popularity of the web based services.
This also gave rise to e-commerce and led to the development of technology and
brought about digitisation of the marketing processes(Accenture, 2015). The customer
relationship management and tools that the organizations implemented before the
1990s were suddenly overtaken by the new opportunities and the technology channels
which were introduced to innovate the customer relationship and to remove the
boundations of time and place while doing it. There are numerous different forms of
social media platforms and different mediums are used for the different forms of

communication. The most common form of social media platforms used by the
organizations include blogs, social networks, video sharing platforms, gaming
platforms, photo sharing applications and the enterprise networks. A rough
classification of the various social media channels can be done by dividing them into
three types(Leung, Bai, & Stahura, 2015). These are the short text communication
channels, the long text communication channels, and the photo communication
channels.
Short text communication channels - LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter
Long text communication channels - blogs, forums
Photo communication channels - Instagram, Pinterest
Not all the social media platforms are suitable for every organization and therefore a
thorough assessment needs to be carried out by the decision makers of the
organization regarding the relevance and the choice of the platforms that they choose
to connect with their present and potential customers. The image included below
provides a measure of the degree of relevance that the social media channels hold for
the corporate organizations.

The above image indicates that social networks and video sharing platforms are the
most effective channels for social media communication and for carrying out
marketing activities. The photo sharing platforms also have great reach and can help
the organization in connecting with a large number of customers in a convenient way.
Social media in hospitality
The global hospitality industry is facing a tough competition and this has resulted in
forcing the organizations to develop innovative marketing strategies but not only
provide them a competitive advantage but also help them in growing in a sustainable
manner. In the hospitality industry, the social media tools are implemented to achieve
two objectives(Pindoriya, 2015).
The first objective or the business strategy of the organizations by embracing the
social media platforms is that of content creation. The deployment of this business

strategy can help the organization in targeting the market segment and creating
content that allows the organization to communicate if the values and vision of the
company. In addition to communicating the business goals of the organization, the
content creation strategy also allows the firms operating in the hospitality industry to
understand the needs of the customers and serve them better. The social media
channels provide these organizations and interesting platform to communicate and
engage with their customers by reaching out to them(Hiton, 2017).
The primary objective of content creation through the social media platforms is to
provide the customers extra value in terms of knowledge and emotions. When the
organizations share useful information regarding their operations and organizational
decisions, they are able to create knowledge based content for their target market.
Providing additional information to the customers can help in influencing their
decision making process when making a purchase and availing services from any
organization in the hospitality industry. The emotional value through content creation
is achieved by connecting with the customers through feelings and emotions in a
simpler way. This may include creating advertising campaigns that have the
customers relate themselves to the brand or sharing images that generate a positive
sentiment and motivates the customers(Perkins, 2014).
The content marketing strategy for the organization makes use of social media as a
channel for indirect marketing by helping the customer in making the choice and
build the brand image. Content marketing is the process that generates results in the
long-term and does not immediately impact the marketing strategies of the

organization. Most of the top organizations operating in the hospitality industry
integrating social media marketing for the development of strategy that incorporates
this platform and impacts the performance and the growth of the organization.
Although it is a new trend, it is gaining massive popularity as it allows the
organizations to communicate with the large audience at a relatively lower cost and at
a much faster rate. It is predicted that this integration of social media in the marketing
strategies of the organizations will only increase in the hospitality sector with most of
the customers becoming tech savvy and looking at these sources to not only make the
decision related to purchase but also gather information which may influence the
future decision making for them(Gehrels, Wienen, & Mendes, 2016).
Discussion
Current situation in social media marketing for Hilton Hotels
The organization does not only create and publish the content of their own but also
solicits pictures and posts from their users which ensures a higher degree of
engagement and also motivates the people to constantly stay connected and share the
content that is worthy in the wish to get feature on their page. In addition to this, the
organization also connect with other organizations which helps in mutual promotion
and exposes both of them to new people who can turn into potential customers for
them. The image below comprises of an analysis of the engagement level of people on
the various social media platforms for the page of Hilton hotels(Cognizant, 2015).

It can be observed through this chart that Instagram is the most common platform that
invites a large number of visits for the organization. For every post by the
organization, they receive more than 1000 engagements as per the given chart. Since
Instagram is a mobile centric application, it provides greater accessibility and ease of
usage to the customers. Hilton hotels regularly post engaging content on all the social
media pages to ensure that their brand always stays on top of the mind for their
customers. Since the people generally have a higher engagement rate for the images,
we generally create content that is visually powerful and is made available especially
during Fridays and Saturdays that report greater views by the customers(Manalo,
2014).
For amplifying the messages that conveyed by the organization through their images
and posts made on the social media platforms, they also make use of celebrities as
influencers to further enhance the reputation of the brand. The organization has a
social media strategy that is platform centric and they also make use of hashtags

which provide a simple way for the customers to remember the brand. The strategies
implemented by the organization make use of these hashtags to keep the users tied
and also for keeping an easy track of the popularity and reactions of the people related
to the organization and the brand image. In addition to content creation by the
managers and the decision makers of the organization, they also run contests on the
online pages to engage the current followers and to generate a greater following by
attracting new people towards the organization and their social media pages(Team,
2014). This contest not only increase the visibility of the brand but also encourage the
people to talk about the organization which is the ultimate aim of the social media
strategy built by the organization. Hilton Hotels provide greater value to the people
following their social media pages by publishing information that is unique and
compelling to read. The interesting content posted by the organization attracts the
people and also increases the knowledge fulfilling the dual purpose of the social
media strategy.
Suggested social media strategy
Although the social media strategy of Hilton hotels is already generating a high
degree of engagement and responsiveness from their followers, there are a few
changes and suggestions that are offered to them which can take the organization to
next level in strategizing and planning their social media marketing activities. The
engagement and the usage of the social media platforms among the people are
increasing day by day and it is only expected to grow in the near future. It is time that
the organizations take actions with regard to the consumer preferences and take the
necessary actions to further improve their game in social media strategy building and
implementation(Russell, 2010).

It is observed that short videos are being increasingly created and shared by the
individuals and their popularity has skyrocketed in the recent years. The videos elicit
a greater degree of engagement as compared to any other content shared on the social
media platform pages by the organizations. Therefore, Hilton Hotel should also create
video content in the form of stories on Facebook and Instagram and share them to
keep the audience engaged and link them with the already implemented strategy of
the company so that the users are hooked and further move towards selecting them as
the preferred option for accommodation when traveling. Almost all the organizations
run customer service centers by employing people who help in providing support and
answering the queries of the customers who tried to reach the organization through
the phone. Since these customer service agents were hired at an external location, the
possibilities of human error in the service support process were increasingly high.
Chatbots are the latest innovations in the customer service industry which help the
organizations in for the improving the experience provided to the guests. The chatbots
are the software applications that can stimulate conversation just like humans and can
carry out customer service by acting as an agent. This not only allows you
organizations to provide service round the clock but also ensure a consistent and more
efficient delivery of the support services that help in keeping the customer satisfied
and building lasting relationships with them by gratifying them and solving all the
queries by providing the required support without consuming much time and
resources(Varakas, 2017).

The budget decided for the social media promotional activities and the maintenance of
the pages should be dedicated and revise on a regular interval since these are the
channels that are highly desired in the market and also provide good returns on
making knowledgeable and well thought out investments. Hilton Hotel should also
explore the latest social media platforms and if necessary the organization can create
pages to continue with this purpose of engagement with the customer and to promote
the organization by running campaigns on these channels. Mobile the traditional
social media platforms are already providing a good return and are helping the
organization in engaging and generating the required buzz around the brand, they can
also explore the messaging applications and platforms which may help the
organization in providing a more personalized experience to their guests and
incorporating these platforms in the website and other social media channels you can
also help the organization in providing better service and convenience to their
customers(McCarthy, Stock, & Verma, 2010).
While continuing in their endeavor to strategically use celebrity endorsements, the
organization can also connect with famous bloggers and association leaders who can
also act as influencers in the decision making process for the customers and for the
organization to influence their followers with the help of their own content platforms.
The ephermal content shared by the organization on the social media channels are the
posts and the images that are only available for up to 24 hours and disappear after
that. This form of engagement is quick and attracts a lot of use and responses from
their followers. Making use of this in addition to augmented reality can also allow the
organization to target the younger audience which is technologically more advanced
and interact in a very different way as compared to the older generations. Since this

generation already grew up with mobile phones and internet connection, their process
and speed of making the purchase decisions are very different as compared to the
previous generations and as their entering the workforce they are soon going to
become the target market that you are organizing and will have to focus on. By
developing and incorporating strategies that are already built around keeping them
attracted, engaged and satisfied can help the organization in continuing with their
reputation and the brand name in the coming years(Lanz, 2010).

Conclusion
This report is compiled to analyse the social media strategy currently implemented by
the Hilton hotels and its effectiveness. After the detailed evaluation a new social
media strategy is suggested for the organization to help them and tapping the potential
and attracting more customers by utilizing social media platforms and their immense
potential. Hilton Hotels and Resorts is a private organization operating in the
hospitality industry with the flagship brand of Hilton providing services to the
customers through the hotels and resorts located all over the world. Currently
operational in more than 570 locations, there hotels and resorts are spread across 85
countries in 6 continents. Hilton hotel has developed an effective social media
strategy that allows them to engage with their customers and has garnered a number
of followers for them. They make use of
, twitter and Instagram to constantly connect with their followers and post relevant
content to keep them engaged. Although the social media strategy of Hilton hotels is
already generating a high degree of engagement and responsiveness from their
followers, there are a few changes and suggestions that are offered to them which can
take the organization to next level in strategizing and planning their social media
marketing activities

Chapter 3: Research methodology
3.1 Data Collection
There are a number of data collection processes which are are used in
correspondence with the type of research undertaken (Ladhari and Michaud,
2015). If the present research study encompasses primary research process
there are two ways of conducting the analysis either through qualitative or
quantitative analysis. However in the present research quantitative research
paradigm is necessary to be chosen to understand the role of social media
upon hospitality management. However, questionnaires are required to be
prepared in context with conducting a survey process. The questionnaires are
necessary to be constructed to access the perspective of the research sample
regarding the influence of social media befalling upon the hospitality industry.
3.2 Primary Data
Primary data is that information which is obtained by directly engaging the
research samples to give their respective opinions about the definite research
issue raised. These sorts of data are used for conducting the primary data
analysis. The primary data involves a one to one interaction of the researcher
along with the specific group of research sample (Xiang et al. 2017). The
primary data can be obtained pertaining to different kinds of research kinds,
the quantitative analysis or the qualitative analysis. The primary data can
either obtained by administering questionnaires towards the research sample
groups to yield data that can be quantitatively calculated. However, there is
another way of obtaining data in the form of primary research where interview
techniques shall be used which shall be analysed through qualitative
approach. Adhering to the present research study only the quantitative
paradigm of primary data is considered. Hence the data shall be obtained
through a survey method where the responses provided against the
questionnaires administered shall be regarded as the primary data.

3.3 Research Sample
Every research study is necessary to be conducted in a manner such that it
can be held true for a stipulated group of people or sector. As the present
research process centers around the hospitality background encompassing
the role of social media in them the sample of the research shall comprise the
hospitality sector (Fergie et al. 2016). A genuine review and response can be
obtained if the employees and human resource team of Hilton Hotel can be
considered as the research sample. As good as 25 human resource from
Hilton Hotel are tried to be brought within the range of analysis in order to
understand the role of social media upon them. It is aimed that about 25
employees of Hilton Hotel are considered as the research sample, however
only 20 out of them were genuine respondents.
3.4 Research Design
The research design helps to direct the study in a proper dimension giving it a
layout and a specific research blueprint. Research designs are of varied kinds
but chosen and applied on the basis of the kind of research outcome that is
intended to be achieved. An explanatory research design is one where the
quantitative research paradigm is best applied. The exploratory research as
the name suggests is built on the basis of exploration on a topic which is not
much dealt with before. The secondary researches adhering to qualitative
analysis are mostly carried on using this design. The descriptive research
design is one where both primary as well as secondary research processes
can be simultaneously taken place. It is necessary that the present research
be based upon the explanatory research design so that quantitative primary
research shall; be effectually conducted.
3.5 Research Method
The respondents are considered to be 20 employees of the Hilton Hotel who
are to be brought under the paradigm of research analysis. It is viewed that
primary data analysis is conducted upon them. The research shall be carried
on the basis of the questionnaires administered to them (Jin, 2018). The
responses that are given against the questions targeting upon the influence of

social media upon Hilton Hotel form the basis of the analysis. The statistical
tools are used in the form assessing the basic descriptive statistics and use
higher order quantitative parameters.
3.6 Data analysis method
The primary data analysis comprises use of statistical evaluation. This
certainly incorporates the data obtained to undergo definite quantitative
analysis. The questionnaires are designed following the Likert’s scale so that
the responses are given across five categories differentiating the degree of
agreeability for each of the questions. However depending upon the
responses provided by the employees are then calculated to find out the basic
descriptive statistics. Further higher order statistics in the form of correlation
and ANNOVA can be conducted to find out the significant differences and
correlation between the variables.
Chapter 4: Case Study
4.1 Research analysis and findings
Hilton Hotel is found to make the right use of the social media platforms to be
able to take their services to the next level of popularity (Xiang et al. 2015).
The presence over the diverse social media platforms is compared by the
Hotel management to see their impacts independently. It was noted that about
40% of the visits were originating from the mobile apps, either they were from
Facebood, Instagram or Twitter. Hilton on understanding the predominant
trends running in the contemporary times took initiatives to make their
contents get posted over Instagram on a regular basis (one post on an
average time). Some of the mobile centric applications such as Instagram are
regarded as the primary platforms to be assessed by the Hilton Hotels.
Hilton makes it prominent that the use of these social media platforms is not
merely restricted to generation of their own contents about their hotels. They
rather plan to include the contents that are reflected by the part of the other
users towards their hotels. This gives their audience an extra interest to share

their experiences which in turn leads to enhance their brand in an even
stronger manner.
With the excitement and interest of posting and projecting their contents and
reflecting the experiences of their visitors, it is equally necessary Hilton Hotel
to be mindful regarding the scheduling of the posts made (Fergie et al. 2016).
The optimum level of engagement on the part of Hilton Hotel can be achieved
from their audiences especially on the Fridays and Saturdays. The brand
ensures their audiences connectivity on a regular basis so that the audiences
have their respective brands at the top of their minds.
Apart from exploring the effectiveness of the definite active roles played by
the different social media platforms, Hilton Hotel also invests significantly to
explore and have an in-depth knowledge about the kind of content that is
intended to be generated for engaging maximum audiences. As it is evident
through surveys that pictures are most appreciated by their audiences, the
brand posts try to incorporate pictures with each post that they make.
4.2 Describe analysis and respondent’s profile
The analysis is made by assessing the employees in order to understand the
role played by the social media platforms towards Hilton Hotels (Leung et al.
2017). There are definite strategic outcomes taken into practice by making
use of celebrities keeping in focus with optimizing the messages and driving
engagement. Hilton Hotel was found to come in collaboration with Derek
Hough, using his celebrity status in favor for the brand to create a strong
influence on Facebook as well as Instagram. The hashtags that are to be
made to use are necessary to be meaningful in nature. Use of hashtages is
an innovative strategy to make the key focus areas to highlight so that they
are retained in the minds of their audiences in simple, easy and unique
manner. The social contests help to reveal the respondent’s profile. The
vistors who are typically frequent travelers tend to keep themselves updates
about the latests contents provided.

4.3 Statistical analysis
The descriptive analysis is conducted as the preliminary step adhering to the
primary quantitative analysis. However, in order to delve further deep into the
matter it is expected that statistical tools shall used for obtaining correlation
and ANOVA with respect to the verdicts and responses obtained by the Hilton
Hotel from each of the respondents.
Semi Structured Questionnaire
1. What is your gender?
Respondents: 50
Gender Male Female
Percentage 60% 40%
Table 1: Gender Ratio
Fig 1: Gender Ratio

2. What is your Age?
Respondents: 50
Age 18-35 35-60
Percentage 40% 60%
Table 2: Age Ratio of Respondents
Fig 2: Age Ratio of Respondents

3. Innovation can bring uniqueness towards hospitality industry.
Respondents: 50
Response Yes No Can’t Say
Percentage 40% 30% 30%
Table 3: Response on Innovation
Fig 3: Response on Innovation

4. Social media platform work effectively to enhance the customer experience.
Respondents: 50
Response Agree Disagree Neutral
Percentag
e
60% 15% 25%
Table 4: Social Media Response
Fig 4: Social Media Response

5. The contemporary times are evident of being greatly driven by social media
predominance.
Respondents: 50
Response Agree Disagree Neutral
Percentag
e
80% 10% 10%
Table 5: Social Media Response
Fig 5: Social Media Response

6. Hilton hotel makes effective use of strategies to incorporate social media
platforms to maximize engagement of visitors.
Respondents: 50
Response Yes No Can’t Say
Percentag
e
65% 30% 5%
Table 6: Social Media Strategy Response
Fig 6: Social Media Strategy Response

7. A rightful projection of the Hotel Hilton is possible through involvement of
social media channels like Facebook and Instagram.
Respondents: 50
Response Yes No Can’t Say
Percentag
e
45% 45% 10%
Table 7: Social Media Projection Response

Fig 7: Social Media Projection Response
8. Making audiences express their views and experiences as the content for the
Hotel ensures greater success and progression towards Hilton Hotel
Respondents: 50
Response Yes No Can’t Say
Percentag
e
70% 20% 10%
Table 8: Audience View Response

Fig 8: Audience View Response
Reference list
Ladhari, R. and Michaud, M., 2015. eWOM effects on hotel booking
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Hospitality Management, 46, pp.36-45.
Xiang, Z., Du, Q., Ma, Y. and Fan, W., 2017. A comparative analysis of major
online review platforms: Implications for social media analytics in hospitality
and tourism. Tourism Management, 58, pp.51-65.
Fergie, G., Hilton, S. and Hunt, K., 2016. Young adults' experiences of
seeking online information about diabetes and mental health in the age of
social media. Health Expectations, 19(6), pp.1324-1335.
Jin, S.V., 2018. “Celebrity 2.0 and beyond!” Effects of Facebook profile
sources on social networking advertising. Computers in Human Behavior, 79,
pp.154-168.
Xiang, Z., Magnini, V.P. and Fesenmaier, D.R., 2015. Information technology
and consumer behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning

using the internet. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 22, pp.244-
249.
Fergie, G., Hunt, K. and Hilton, S., 2016. Social media as a space for support:
young adults' perspectives on producing and consuming user-generated
content about diabetes and mental health. Social Science & Medicine, 170,
pp.46-54.
Leung, X.Y., Bai, B. and Erdem, M., 2017. Hotel social media marketing: a
study on message strategy and its effectiveness. Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism Technology, 8(2), pp.239-255.

Appendix
Questionnaire:
 Innovation can bring uniqueness towards hospitality industry
 Social media platform work effectively to enhance the customer
experience
 The contemporary times are evident of being greatly driven by social
media predominance
 Hilton hotel makes effective use of strategies to incorporate social
media platforms to maximize engagement of visitor
 A rightful projection of the Hotel Hilton is possible through involvement
of social media channels like Facebook and Instagram
 Making audiences express their views and experiences as the content
for the Hotel ensures greater success and progression towards Hilton
Hotel
 A continuous monitoring and appropriate scheduling is done with
regard to the posts
 A user generated content allows Hotel Hilton to harness power by
soliciting the perspective of the users