Facebook has made a lot of updates to its business pages lately, releasing new features so fast we almost forget that they’re there.
From innovative advertising opportunities to expansion into live video streaming, the following post looks at five of the latest features with tips on how your hotel can get the most out of its Facebook presence.
Facebook profile and cover videos
Just recently, Facebook began testing a new feature that will allow users and businesses to upload videos in place of cover images. The new cover videos feature first appeared back in April on the Facebook page for Netflix drama Narcos, and it’s recently been added to the Flixel Photos page.
Cover videos can be anywhere from 20-90 seconds long and automatically begin when a user visits the page. Like all video content on Facebook, the audio is defaulted to mute, but there’s an unmute button in the lower right hand corner.
This latest move could prove an especially fruitful one for hotels: according to a study by Google and Ipsos MediaCT, two out of three U.S. consumers watch online travel videos when they’re considering a trip. Given that Facebook is increasingly being used for trip planning, cover videos offer a new way to instantly engage with these active users.
For instance, a cover video could be used to promote new amenities, push the latest promotion, or showcase the surrounding destination. Multiple videos could even be shot and rotated throughout the year to ensure content remained fresh and relevant.
Most notably, cover videos would allow hotels to engage with audiences from the get-go, rather than relying on them actively scrolling down a News Feed to discover new content.
While still in the early stages of testing, we’ll be looking out for more cover videos on Facebook as the roll out continues.
Updated design for Messenger for Business
Facebook Messenger now has a reach of over 2 billion active monthly users, making it an invaluable tool for brands to communicate with customers. In the hotel industry, it’s especially helpful to swiftly answer concerns and questions as they arise, minimizing the chances of complaints from disgruntled guests.
