Ep. 04: A new breed of storytelling.
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When I say “heart-centered” and “highly personal” the first thing you think of probably isn’t hotel messaging, right? The first think you think of probably isn’t marketing or sales, either. So you’ll probably be surprised when I tell you that heart-centered, and highly personal is the #1 marketing strategy I’m sharing with my clients in the wake of the global pandemic.
I want to start by sharing this present moment with you.
Right now, we’re living in this strange new-normal world, where hotels and restaurants are all but shut down, and most hospitality workers have been let go. For travelers, long-awaited trips have been cancelled, flights have been rebooked, conferences and concerts cancelled, and so on.
We’ve all caught our share of the news cycle, and talk about the global pandemic is nothing new. But something interesting has surfaced and it’s the idea that we’re seeking out more information—and specifically more good news, lately. Demand for good news is increasing, in direct response to a lot of bad news around the world.
We’ve all seen the videos of Italians hanging out on their apartment balconies putting together a symphony with whatever instruments they have on hand. Or the neighbors who built a table across their balconies to share dinner together each night. We’ve seen stories of babies being born. We’ve seen how the community can come together to support doctors in need of PPE. We’ve seen local seamstresses make masks and engineers 3D-print face shields.
Now you might be thinking, we’re so strapped we can barely support ourselves, let alone make some major impact on the community. This is where I’ll tell you—you’re wrong. With some creative thinking, you can positively impact your community through storytelling.
Today, I’m going to talk about this new breed of storytelling that’s emerged at this very strange time.
I’m seeing a lot of commonality between hotel marketing efforts, travel publications, and social media influencers and I want to share some of what I’ve seen, what’s been working for my hotel clients, and some strategies that might work for you, too.
You’ll learn how to share in the time of COVID-19 and what to share—without coming across as tone deaf. In doing so, it might also brighten your own outlook, too.
So let’s start with this whole idea of heart-centered and highly personal communication.
It came out of necessity, really. In many hotels, the owner or the general manager (GM) is one of the last people standing right now since travelers just aren’t traveling right now, and staff has been cut. With one person managing the jobs of so many—we turned to that person for some messaging to help us keep in touch with their hotel database.
Why would we want to keep in touch? From a numbers point of view, we want to make sure we’re top of mind when the time comes to travel again.
From the point of view of the traveler whose vacation plans have been cancelled, getting to hear from the hotel or destination is a little bit of solace in all of this. It’s nice to know that even though a trip was cancelled, the place you’ve been dreaming of is still there.
For past guests who are now living their lives in social isolation, hearing from you is a reminder of better times, and offers up some hope for better times ahead, too.
Finally from a crisis management perspective, it’s so important to get out in front of what’s happening. According to Davia Temin, a Forbes contributor on leadership strategy, denial is the first stage many of us go through in the face of a crisis. This is happening, but it won’t happen to me.
I’m sure you’ve been there in some sense. Davia suggests that the moment we accept that the crisis is affecting us, we can start building strategy around it. One major strategy of course, is communicating with your customers—what’s happening, how it’s affected them, how it’s affected you, and how you plan to rebound.
As you can see, there are many reasons why continuing to communicate with your database, fans or followers, is a good idea.
But…what are you going to talk about?
Great question. I’ve been asked this a lot lately from my hotel clients and my travel blogger friends. There are various camps, right? There are people who are continuing to post their evergreen content as if nothing’s changed, I argue that this content should at least be tweaked so it doesn’t come across as tone-deaf.
April Fool’s is a good example of this. Did you notice how basically no one was making jokes this year? 98% of people who would’ve normally posted something silly—including me—realized it would’ve been in very bad taste. The few people who did post might’ve gotten some pity laughs, but they may have also turned people off—showing a lack of sensitivity to the present moment.
Yikes—no one wants to say the wrong thing right now and get shamed, right?
As a response to this, we get to the next camp: the businesses who have gone completely silent on us, but are still out there. These are the businesses who can’t find the words, so they’ve said nothing. I think it’s so important to continue to communicate during these times, and that’s why I’m offering some ideas today. I suggest finding some way to adapt and continue to communicate.
Speaking of communications and marketing efforts, there are the messages that really stand out. The ones that completely speak to this moment in time with a very strong ad campaign. Bravo to the companies who’ve been able to not only retain their advertising agencies at this time, but who have also responded quickly to the global crisis by offering support in some way.
But the truth is, not all businesses have been able to stay ahead of this thing, and it’s completely out of their control. Many smaller businesses have had to make cuts. They're not putting out glossy marketing responses and they’re short of the hands needed to put much together at all. Restaurants and hotels for example, are operating at a bare minimum, but communicating what’s happening can really help.
Although it might feel easier in this case to just pull the plug and go dark, remember what I said at the beginning of this show, that we—as humans, the general public—are looking for stories of positivity right now. We’re hungry for hope, inspiration, and positivity. We’re eager to help out, and contribute, but we need to know how, where, and what’s needed in order to act.
Whichever camp you fall into, here are some ideas for how you can continue to communicate—even if it’s just you and even if you’ve had to make a complete U-turn from the content you thought you’d be posting right now.
Let’s go back to the heart-centered thing.
In recent weeks, some of the most effective campaigns I’ve worked on are sending a well-crafted letter from the GM or owner of a property to their past guests. This message has a formula. It starts with a little lightness—boy, it’s been quiet here, and we miss seeing your faces—sort of thing. This sets the tone for the rest of the email; you don’t want to paint a picture that’s too solemn right, but you also don’t want to come out of the gate in bad taste.
Then it gets into what the daily operations look like. For most, they’re working on maintenance that’s easier to get done when no guests are around, they’re organizing, they’re deep cleaning. Some are planning renovations or figuring out how they can streamline operations when it’s time to reopen.
Next—and this is where things get interesting for the reader—we get a real peek into the GM or owner’s world right now. Maybe they’ve noticed the wisteria blooming by the pool, or maybe in the place of noisy traffic, they’re hearing birds chirping. I’ve certainly noticed these things around me now that I’ve been forced to stay still. I bet you have too. This is really, truly, relatable content. As the reader, we feel more connected.
Maybe they’re spending more time at home with their own family right now, maybe they’re insisting on making the beds at home like they do in the hotel, or maybe the owner with the culinary background is now offering a brunch menu to his 5-year old. Anything goes, really. These stories are so relatable!
After this piece, comes some inspiration that’s on brand—a hotel in Hawaii wanted to include a simple make-at-home mai tai recipe, a spa resort offered up a meditation to recite at home—these bits of inspiration, especially the ones that invite some interaction have been really successful. This is also great fodder for social media posts. You could do a whole series about how to bring the spirit of a hotel or destination into the home.
Finally, we talk about our hope for the future, and again make this personal. What are you most looking forward to? Maybe it’s the sound of kids cannon-balling into the hotel pool, maybe it’s the noise of the street car whizzing by, or waiting in line for the latest matcha tea ice cream cone when this is all over. This is the stuff we’re all thinking about. For me, it’s a latte and a Club Pilates class. I can’t freaking wait for it.
Finally, wrap it up with the owner or GM’s signature. None of that “our team” stuff. Make the closing as personal as possible. The entire email should be written in first person—as in “I’m noticing this” and “I’m seeing that”—you get the idea.
So we did this. I helped craft these messages with the owners and GMs, and we sent these messages out to our databases.
After collaborating on these messages and getting them sent off, we received some incredible feedback. Past guests, employees, and even hotel executives and investors were reaching out to say how moved they were by these highly personal messages.
The metrics showed even more success. We had our highest open rates ever with twenty percent increases across the board—one campaign’s open rate was over fifty percent.
Our subject line was super simple for those wondering: “A note from <name>” or whatever the GM’s name was. “A note from Amy.” “A note from John.” Simple and straightforward really works right now.
That reminds me, we need to talk more about subject lines, but I’ll save that for another episode.
In working on these campaigns and seeing the feedback and results, I got to thinking that maybe marketing is changing as a result of this pandemic. Maybe marketing is going to shift for good—to become more heart-centered, more personal, which makes it that much more connective, that much more captivating and engaging. Putting a face—a living, breathing person—to the brand, right? It’s interesting, isn’t it?
Now, for travel bloggers who are in a similar place.
For travel bloggers who are in a similar place—wondering how to communicate, what can be said and shared, and what should wait, I think the same approach—heart-centered, highly personal—can work wonders for you.
If you tend to find the humor in tough situations, then go ahead and share the meme, but also share your why. Share how you’ve become resilient by finding the humor in tough situations—this, my friends, is relatable. If you tend to only really post the facts and figures from a destination or a product you’re sharing, now is the time to dig deeper and show some emotion.
Maybe you’re reflecting back on past trips to make up for your canceled spring break. Share this with your audience.
Maybe you’re cooking up a storm in your kitchen, and you’re perfecting a recipe you first tasted across the world. Share that recipe with your followers.
Maybe you’re trying to help others out, but you’re not sure how. Figure out what you want to offer—whether it’s a donation, a giveaway that might brighten someone else’s day, or maybe you want to use your platform to share the efforts of first responders. Whatever feels right to you—go for it, and do it with your full heart.
There’s never been a better time to be transparent, even if that feels like being vulnerable.
The groups that realize this, the groups that have continued to own their message, share their personal stories, and communicate with their people, are creating more loyal followings than ever before.
To recap, the new breed of storytelling, in the wake of the global pandemic, is heart-centered and highly personal. Since a lot of the “selling” is on hold right now, at least for hospitality and tourism, there’s a shift to storytelling. To keeping the dream alive. To providing hope, bright light, and continuity. Storytelling, out of necessity, has become more personal than ever.
Stories of the silent streets, the quiet beach towns, and the silver linings we’ve found along the way, resonate most because they’re deeply relatable.
Now I want to hear from you. What’s your role in all of this and what stories have you been telling? Leave a comment below in the show notes.
Until next time, keep sharing those stories. Seriously!
