Social Media Consumption and Your Hotel

At the risk of sounding like my father, there was a time when it would take months for news to reach the other side of the world but the Internet has brought the world closer and made it a smaller place. We literally now have the world at our fingertips.

In more recent years, the explosion of social media through platforms like Periscope, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook as well as instant messaging apps, we can have the latest news within minutes of an event happening anywhere in the world. It’s given a whole new meaning to the Wordsworth sonnet ‘The world is too much with us’.

What is media consumption?

Simply put, media consumption is the total amount of information and entertainment media that an individual or group has listened to or viewed. It traditionally included the likes of print (books, magazines, newspapers), television, film, music and video games.

It not only incorporates content but also the device through which the content is delivered. So media consumption has grown to include modern formats with use of cell phones, tablets, personal computers and social media networks. eMarketer’s latest report shows adults in the US now spend more than 12 hours a day consuming media. What makes usage so high is media multitasking. That is, a person can be on more than one media platform at the same time.



Social media consumption and your hotel

In recent years, there has been much research that has quantified just how much time we actually spend consuming media. According to a Nielsen study last year, television and radio are still the most popular medium among US adults and, with hand devices like smartphones and tablets, it has made it even easier to live stream our favorite shows, sports events or movies.

Pew Research showed that 65% of adults use at least one social networking site and not surprisingly, when it comes to teens and millennials, social media platforms are the preferred media. This younger crowd spends a lot of time watching television, playing video games, listening to music and checking social media. The average person spends almost 2 hours on social networks each day. 

With so many social media outlets available, the shift from traditional brand advertising to consumer centered marketing has empowered the consumer and influences how your hotel does business. The important things to remember are know your audience and what social media platforms they prefer. Adapting your marketing approach will make sure your hotel stays one step ahead of the competition.