Adapting to Shifting Market Conditions with Strategic Social Media Action Planning

By Jim Leonard & McKenzie Dailey

A Social Media Action Plan results in a strategy that delivers high-quality, relevant content to engage each audience, establish brand trust, and drive business for a leading vacation rental management company.

Adapting to Shifting Market Conditions with Strategic Social Media Action Planning

Background

In the early 1970s, Dunes Realty introduced the vacation rental management concept to the Grand Strand of South Carolina (adjacent to Myrtle Beach). Like all organizations in the tourism sector and hospitality industry, Dunes had to transform its business as vacation rental competition grew and numerous websites changed the way travelers research, plan, book, and take vacations.

With 83 percent of travelers now sharing content about their stay on social media and 52 percent reporting that their travel plans were inspired by a friend’s photos (according to AdWeek), it’s clear that social media must be a core component of the tourism strategy.

Challenges

The client had already established most of their social media profiles themselves but began to realize that little or no social media planning on their part was hindering the ROI of their social digital efforts. Plus, they didn’t have a presence on Instagram, which is today’s #1 travel discovery tool.

Solution

After a comprehensive assessment through Stamp’s Social Media Action Plan (SMAP) development process — comparing best practices for VRM clients and their peers — this plan identified their guest “personas” revealing different types of travelers and their patterns of behavior. Then, we developed content creation calendars in order to organize, streamline, and maximize the return on their social media efforts. A strategy was put in place that included content creation calendars that would ensure the client was delivering high-quality, relevant content to engage each audience, establish brand trust, and drive business. Regular planning and content meetings are conducted to strategize, as well as evaluate past performance.

Results

After one year of executing the strategy of our Social Media Action Plan, we accomplished the following: reached a wider audience, increased brand recognition, drove business results, and humanized the brand.

Facebook:

  • 555.3% increase in Impressions
  • 530.1% increase in Engagements
  • 5,733.7% increase in Post Link Clicks
  • 2,614.3% increase in Published Posts

Instagram:

  • 24,559 Impressions
  • 3,373 Engagements
  • 13.3% Engagement Rate
  • 279 Followers Gained

Services Delivered:

  • Social Media Action Plan
  • Social Media Management
  • Marketing Strategy