• Ti aiuta a trovare nuovi clienti
• Ti aiuta a convincere i clienti a scegliere il tuo ristorante
• Ti aiuta a fidelizzare i clienti dopo la prima visita

Capisco che tutto ciò per te ristoratore rappresenta una vera e propria rivoluzione, perché fino a qualche anno fa facevo il tuo stesso lavoro ed avevo le tue stesse remore. Poi ho capito che c’erano delle opportunità da cavalcare ed ho fondato Caro Collega.

Sono Giancarlo De Leonardo ex Ristoratore e Albergatore, founder di carocollega.com, una community di Ristoratori ed albergatori illuminati che hanno deciso di cavalcare le opportunità offerte dalla rivoluzione digitale anche nel settore dell’ospitalità.

Sommario

• Il sogno di ogni Ristoratore
• Presenza su Instagram: un’opportunità o una sfida?
• L’iceberg di Instagram
• Una piattaforma per persone, non solo per piatti
• Crescita organica su Instagram
• Bilanciare la presenza digitale e lo sforzo reale
• Conclusioni

Il sogno di ogni Ristoratore

Sicuramente avere un ampio seguito su Instagram è il sogno di ogni Ristoratore. Perché può avere un impatto diretto e tangibile sulle prenotazioni e sul fatturato di un ristorante. Con migliaia di follower, un ristorante non solo guadagna una visibilità maggiore, ma accede anche a un’ampia base di potenziali clienti. I post che mostrano piatti appetitosi, ambienti curati nei particolari ed accoglienti o esperienze culinarie uniche possono trasformarsi in potenti strumenti di marketing, stimolando l’interesse e la curiosità degli utenti e spingendoli a provare l’esperienza dal vivo.

Purtroppo questa è una storia che conosce la maggior parte dei ristoratori, ma pochissimi investono tempo e risorse per far sì che ciò avvenga!

Sicuramente avere tanti follower significa prima di tutto conoscere l’importanza di utilizzare le varie funzionalità di Instagram, come Storie, Reel e Post tradizionali. Tutte hanno la capacità di creare un legame più forte e personale con i follower. Ma vediamo le differenze.

• Le Storie, con la loro natura effimera, sono perfette per condividere momenti quotidiani, offerte speciali o dare un’anteprima dietro le quinte, creando una sensazione di esclusività e urgenza.
• I Reel, d’altro canto, offrono un formato più dinamico e coinvolgente, ideale per mostrare la preparazione dei piatti, i momenti salienti dell’ambiente del ristorante o persino tutorial di cucina brevi e divertenti.
• I Post tradizionali, infine, sono lo strumento ideale per costruire un portfolio visivo dell’offerta culinaria e del brand del ristorante.

Presenza su Instagram: un’opportunità o una sfida?

Nonostante le enormi opportunità, la presenza su Instagram presenta anche delle sfide. Infatti Instagram oggi è saturata di contenuti e l’attenzione delle persone è ai minimi livelli. Ciò significa che per avere spazio per il tuo Ristorante, Caro Collega, dovrai lavorare in maniera differente e più dura dei tuoi colleghi.

Ciò vuol dire:

• Mantenere un impegno costante in termini di creazione di contenuti di alta qualità
• Monitorare e rispondere alle interazioni dei follower.
• Accantonare le risorse finanziarie necessarie per la pubblicità a pagamento, oramai indispensabile per avere visibilità su questo network.

In conclusione, Instagram offre molteplici opportunità per te ristoratore che vuoi espandere il raggio d’azione del tuo ristorante ed attirare nuovi clienti. Tuttavia, per sfruttare appieno questa piattaforma, è necessario un approccio professionale, strategico e mirato, in grado di sfruttare tutte le funzionalità per creare un’esperienza coinvolgente e memorabile per i follower.

Sei veramente sicuro di accettare questa sfida ed hai capito cosa comporta?

L’iceberg di Instagram

Per scrivere queste considerazioni ho preso spunto dalle numerose richieste che tutto il Digital Dream Team di Caro Collega riceve in merito ad Instagram per ristoranti. Anzi molto spesso il nostro lavoro viene valutato solo ed esclusivamente per quello che succede su Instagram. Anch’io quando facevo il Ristoratore pensavo nello stesso modo e per questo motivo ho scritto il mantra che mi accompagna durante questa attività di divulgazione: “se non capisci non agisci o agisci male”.

Quello che ti posso dire è che vedere followers su Instagram per Ristoranti rappresenta soltanto la punta dell’iceberg, infatti per avere successo su questa piattaforma ci sono costi nascosti e sforzi significativi da sostenere. Comprendere questi aspetti è cruciale te Caro Collega Ristoratore che aspiri ad un aumento significativo dei followers per poi tradurlo in un aumento del business.

Investimento pubblicitario: Nel mare di contenuti presenti su Instagram, mi spieghi perché gli utenti dovrebbero preferire contenuti amatoriali anziché quelli professionali messi online da chef stellati o da ristoranti che investono tempo e risorse? Non è una pazzia adeguarsi a fare le stesse cose sbagliate della maggior parte dei ristoranti pensando di ottenere risultati migliori?

Inoltre, “dura lex sed lex”, Instagram è una società che deve produrre fatturato. L’investimento in pubblicità su Instagram è diventato quasi imprescindibile per aumentare la visibilità dei post e raggiungere un pubblico più ampio. Un investimento che varia notevolmente a seconda delle dimensioni e degli obiettivi specifici del ristorante ma anche in base alla creatività e alla qualità dei contenuti.

La pubblicità a pagamento su Instagram permette di targetizzare specifici segmenti di clientela, aumentando le probabilità di conversione. Tuttavia, questo richiede una comprensione chiara di come allocare il budget e di come ottimizzare le campagne per massimizzare il ritorno sull’investimento.
Come fai senza business manager e senza uno specialista in ads che conosca bene come ottimizzare le campagne pubblicitarie?

Creazione di contenuti accattivanti: Il successo su Instagram per ristoranti si basa fortemente sulla qualità e sull’originalità dei contenuti. Ciò significa che i ristoranti devono investire tempo e risorse nella creatività di contenuti che possono piacere al loro pubblico e quindi nelle qualità degli stessi: foto e video dovranno essere di alta qualità ed anche il copywriting dovrà essere adeguato. Questo è quello che succede quando con il Digital Dream Team di Caro Collega interveniamo per aiutare un Ristoratore che ha deciso di diventare maggiormente competitivo. Ed il Team è formato da fotografi professionisti del food, da videomaker o addirittura da influencer e creator di contenuti, da specialisti delle ads, da social media manager, cioè da tutti coloro che che collaborano affinché ogni post/reel/storia siano all’altezza di un pubblico sempre più esigente.

Mantenimento dell’attenzione e gestione del profilo: Oltre alla creazione di contenuti, la gestione di un profilo Instagram richiede un impegno costante in termine di pianificazione, di programmazione regolare dei post, di interazione con i follower e di monitoraggio delle prestazioni dei contenuti. Questo è il motivo per cui è impossibile immaginare di affidare queste attività ad una persona soltanto. Che chance di successo avresti se decidi di combattere una guerra con un solo soldato?

Riflessione sull’investimento totale: Considerando questi aspetti, è fondamentale per te ristoratore riflettere attentamente sull’investimento totale richiesto per mantenere una presenza efficace su Instagram. Se da un lato, ambire ad un seguito ampio e attivo può tradursi in un aumento delle prenotazioni e del fatturato, dall’altro, il costo e lo sforzo per raggiungere e mantenere questo successo non sono trascurabili. È una questione di bilanciare attentamente l’investimento in termini di tempo, denaro e risorse umane da un lato e dei benefici potenziali che Instagram può portare al business, dall’altro.

In sintesi, Instagram per ristoranti rappresenta un canale di marketing irrinunciabile, ma il successo su questa piattaforma non è privo di sfide. Quindi Caro Collega ti consiglio di considerare attentamente il costo nascosto e gli sforzi necessari per costruire e mantenere una presenza efficace su Instagram, valutando se e come questi investimenti sono allineati con gli obiettivi generali del tuo business.

È ovvio che per qualsiasi attività, compreso il tuo Ristorante, l’investimento da effettuare dovrà essere direttamente proporzionale al fatturato generato, salvo se si tratti di un’attività che ancora non ha aperto i battenti.

Una piattaforma per persone, non solo per piatti

Instagram, nel suo cuore, è più di una semplice vetrina per piatti accattivanti. È un’arena di socializzazione dove la connessione personale e le storie autentiche risuonano fortemente. Se sei un ristoratore e hai l’obiettivo di costruire un seguito significativo su questa piattaforma, non puoi prescindere dal mettere una o più persone al centro della tua strategia social.

La connessione umana al centro: Abbiamo già detto che il pubblico di Instagram oramai tende a snobbare le stesse foto e gli stessi reel che qualche anno fa acchiappavano migliaia di like. Per esempio ti posso dire che anche gli stessi post di chef stellati che seguiamo, dove i piatti sono delle vere e proprie opere d’arte, oggi non riscuotono lo stesso successo di alcuni anni fa. Adesso gli utenti sono attratti da storie autentiche, personalità coinvolgenti e momenti genuini.

In questo contesto, la presenza di uno o più personaggi carismatici e creativi all’interno del team del ristorante può avere un impatto maggiore nell’attrarre e mantenere l’attenzione dei follower rispetto a una serie di immagini statiche, per quanto belle possano essere. Personaggi come chef carismatici, personale di sala vivace o addirittura i clienti stessi possono diventare i volti del brand, aggiungendo un livello di personalità e calore che va oltre il cibo.

Cosa deve contenere un profilo Instagram perché possa ambire a crescere?
Oltre le foto dei piatti del ristorante o dell’atmosfera che si può vivere durante il consumo degli stessi, il profilo Instagram per ristoranti dovrebbe includere:

• Video e storie dietro le quinte: mostrare la preparazione dei piatti, la pianificazione di eventi speciali o semplicemente la vita quotidiana del ristorante.
• Highlight sui membri del team: condividere storie e aneddoti dei membri del personale, mostrando il loro ruolo unico e la loro personalità.
• Interazione diretta con i follower: utilizzare le funzionalità interattive di Instagram, come sondaggi o sessioni di domande e risposte, per permettere al personale di interagire direttamente con la community.
• Eventi e attività speciali: mostrare eventi ospitati dal ristorante o partecipazione a eventi della comunità locale, evidenziando il coinvolgimento del personale e la loro interazione con i clienti.

Cosa vuol dire umanizzare il brand?
Vuol dire rendere il profilo Instagram più interessante, vario oltre che creare un legame emotivo con i follower. Le persone tendono a essere attratte da storie e volti, piuttosto che da piatti e oggetti, e sviluppare una connessione emotiva può essere un potente motore per la fedeltà del cliente.
In sintesi, per sfruttare al meglio Instagram come ristorante, è fondamentale riconoscere e abbracciare il suo potenziale come spazio di socializzazione. Mettendo in primo piano le persone — sia che si tratti di membri del team o dei clienti stessi — e condividendo storie che vanno oltre il cibo, i ristoranti possono creare una presenza su Instagram che è vivace, personale e innegabilmente attraente.

Crescita organica su Instagram

Mentre la crescita organica su Instagram può essere un indicatore di successo per alcuni ristoranti, è importante riconoscere che non rappresenta una misura universale valida per tutti. La crescita organica, definita come l’aumento naturale dei follower e dell’engagement senza il ricorso a pubblicità a pagamento, può variare notevolmente a seconda di diversi fattori, tra cui la location, il tipo di cucina, il target di mercato e la strategia di marketing del ristorante.

Crescita organica, un fenomeno variabile
Alcuni ristoranti possono sperimentare una rapida crescita organica grazie alla loro unicità, alla posizione in una zona ad alta visibilità, o alla presenza di una personalità carismatica, come uno chef rinomato. Tuttavia, per altri, specialmente quelli in posizioni meno vantaggiose o in mercati altamente saturi, ottenere lo stesso livello di crescita può richiedere più tempo e risorse.

Limiti dei riferimenti di settore
Se fai come facevo io quando mi occupavo di ristoranti, normalmente ti limiti a guardare il numero dei follower e l’engagement dei concorrenti come benchmark per il successo. Tuttavia, questa pratica può essere fuorviante. Ogni ristorante ha un contesto unico, con punti di forza e sfide diverse. Un ristorante con un numero minore di follower, ma con un alto tasso di engagement e una clientela fedele, può essere più redditizio di uno con molti follower ma un basso livello di interazione. Sono le regole di Instagram per ristoranti.

Personalizzazione delle metriche di successo
Invece di confrontarsi con riferimenti esterni, Caro Collega Ristoratore dovresti concentrarti sullo sviluppo di metriche personalizzate basate sui tuoi obiettivi di marketing e sulle caratteristiche uniche del tuo business. Questo può includere parametri come il tasso di conversione delle prenotazioni tramite Instagram, la frequenza dei ritorni dei clienti o l’impatto delle campagne specifiche su vendite e notorietà del brand. È questo il motivo per cui hai bisogno di un team di supporto e non di un “one man band”.

Bilanciamento tra crescita organica e a pagamento
Inoltre, è importante riconoscere il ruolo della pubblicità a pagamento anche nel potenziare la crescita organica. Qualunque ristoratore vorrebbe la crescita organica, ma oggi è sempre più importante l’uso strategico della pubblicità a pagamento su Instagram, poiché ti aiuta a raggiungere un pubblico più ampio, ad aumentare l’engagement e a supportare gli obiettivi di business complessivi.

In conclusione, mentre la crescita su Instagram è un obiettivo auspicabile, Caro Collega Ristoratore, dovresti evitare di considerarla l’unico indicatore di successo della tua attività. Anche per il fatto che è fondamentale valutare la propria crescita su Instagram nel contesto del proprio unico marketing mix, riconoscendo che il tuo ristorante ha un percorso unico verso il successo nel dinamico mondo dei social media.

Bilanciare la presenza digitale e lo sforzo reale

Nell’era del marketing digitale, bilanciare efficacemente la presenza su Instagram con altre attività di marketing e comunicazione è imprescindibile per il successo di un ristorante. Mentre Instagram può essere uno strumento potente, non deve oscurare o sovraccaricare gli altri aspetti della strategia di marketing. Di seguito troverai alcuni consigli su come trovare il giusto equilibrio.

Integrazione con altre strategie digitali
Instagram dovrebbe essere una parte del più ampio ecosistema digitale del tuo ristorante, che include il sito web, altre piattaforme di social media, email marketing, blog o canali YouTube, il content marketing, le ads o la SEO. Assicurati che il contenuto e i messaggi siano coerenti su tutti i canali e che si supportino a vicenda. Ad esempio, usa Instagram per guidare il traffico al tuo sito web o blog, dove i clienti possono saperne di più sul tuo ristorante o effettuare prenotazioni.

Valutare l’impegno in relazione agli obiettivi
Ogni ristorante ha obiettivi unici e risorse limitate. Valutare attentamente quanto tempo, denaro e sforzi dedicare a Instagram è cruciale. Se il tuo obiettivo principale è attirare una clientela più giovane o sfruttare le tendenze visive, Instagram potrebbe meritare un investimento maggiore. Tuttavia, se i tuoi clienti principali non sono attivi su questa piattaforma o se altri canali sono più efficaci per il tuo business, potrebbe essere sensato ridurre l’attenzione su Instagram a favore di altre strategie.

Sfrutta la sinergia tra canali
Utilizza Instagram come parte di una strategia multicanale. Ad esempio, puoi sfruttare un evento nel tuo ristorante creando contenuti esclusivi per Instagram e poi condividendo storie di successo o feedback attraverso la newsletter o su Facebook. Questa sinergia tra diversi canali non solo amplifica il messaggio, ma aiuta anche a raggiungere un pubblico più ampio.

Monitora e adegua la strategia
Come con qualsiasi strategia di marketing, il monitoraggio costante dei risultati è essenziale. Analizza le metriche come il coinvolgimento, il traffico web derivato e le conversioni per valutare l’efficacia della tua presenza su Instagram rispetto ad altre attività di marketing. Questo ti permetterà di adeguare la tua strategia e di allocare le risorse in modo più efficiente.

Conclusioni

L’ambivalenza di Instagram, con le sue enormi opportunità e sfide inerenti, richiede una navigazione attenta. Se ti comporterai da ristoratore illuminato e quindi utilizzerai questa piattaforma mantenendo un approccio equilibrato e strategico, Instagram per ristoranti può diventare un potente strumento di marketing, capace di portare nuovi clienti e di aiutarti a costruire una solida reputazione online.
Per questo motivo ho scritto queste considerazioni che spero ti siano d’aiuto per chiarire qual è la strategia migliore per il tuo ristorante.

Articolo scritto da Giancarlo De Leonardo, ex ristoratore e albergatore, founder di Caro Collega

Sono stato per alcuni anni il direttore di un bellissima destinazione della Costa Smeralda in Sardegna e oltre ad un porto turistico, mi sono occupato anche della gestione di 10 ristoranti, 5 bar un club una quindicina di negozi e naturalmente un Hotel 4 stelle di oltre 200 camere.

Questo per dirti che mi sento un albergatore a tutti gli effetti come te che stai leggendo questo articolo. Anche se da qualche hanno rifletto sui tanti errori che ho commesso quando mi rapportavo con il mondo digitale e oggi ne parlo settimanalmente in questo blog con lo scopo di illuminare anche te, Caro Collega.

Ebbene sì, faccio “coming out”. Per oltre 20 anni sono stato un Albergatore conservatore: ero restio a tutte le novità che mi proponevano in termini di social media e di digitale in generale, soprattutto non avevo mai tempo per fermarmi e capire che il mondo non era più quello di 20 anni prima. La scelta è obbligata: adattarsi al cambiamento oppure estinguersi.

Oggi mi occupo di innovazione nel settore dell’ospitalità, insieme ai ragazzi del Digital Dream Team di Caro Collega, insegniamo quello che facciamo e facciamo quello che insegniamo. In questo articolo ti elencherò gli errori che ho commesso durante gli anni passati a fare l’albergatore perché voglio che tu ne faccia tesoro e li utilizzi per cominciare a generare quel fatturato extra direttamente imputabile alle attività digitali che oggi ti manca.

Sono Giancarlo De Leonardo, ex Ristoratore e Albergatore, founder di Carocollega.com, una community di imprenditori illuminati che mirano a generare un fatturato addizionale attraverso le opportunità che il digitale offre anche nel settore dell’ospitalità.

Sommario

• I due grandi problemi del settore
• La situazione di oggi
• Le linee guida per il tuo Hotel

I due grandi problemi del settore

Nell’introduzione dell’articolo pubblicato in precedenza sull’innovazione nel settore dei ristoranti che trovi qui ho spiegato, in “ospitalese” ovvero nella lingua comprensibile a tutti coloro che lavorano nel settore degli alberghi, il significato del termine innovazione.

Per questo motivo in questo articolo mi limito a dirti che ‘Innovazione’ è un termine che viene utilizzato per descrivere il processo di creare, sviluppare e implementare nuove idee, processi, prodotti o servizi con l’obiettivo di migliorare l’efficienza, l’efficacia o la competitività.

L’innovazione può verificarsi in qualsiasi settore o campo, e può essere guidata da individui, imprese, organizzazioni governative o istituti di ricerca.

L’innovazione è spesso collegata all’adozione di nuove tecnologie, ma può anche riguardare l’introduzione di nuovi metodi di lavoro, nuovi modelli di business o nuovi modi di pensare.

L’obiettivo finale dell’innovazione è di portare benefici tangibili, che possono includere l’aumento dei profitti, la riduzione dei costi, il miglioramento della qualità dei prodotti o servizi, o l’incremento della soddisfazione del cliente.

L’innovazione richiede creatività, sperimentazione e la volontà di assumersi rischi.

Inoltre, è spesso necessario un ambiente favorevole che supporti e incoraggi le persone a pensare in modo diverso e a provare nuove cose. Questo può includere l’avere una cultura aziendale aperta all’innovazione, l’accesso a risorse finanziarie, e la presenza di una forte rete di supporto.

La domanda è d’obbligo: perché quasi nessuno investe in innovazione nel settore dell’ospitalità in Italia?

In Italia il problema della mancanza di una spinta innovativa nel settore dell’ospitalità deriva da:

1. il vantaggio competitivo sleale di cui ha goduto l’Italia considerata una meta turistica imperdibile e per questo motivo in pochi hanno pensato ad investire in marketing nel settore (siamo abituati ad una domanda considerevole che fino ad oggi ci ha permesso di riempire le nostre attività in maniera organica).
2. le dimensioni di micro e piccole aziende da cui è formato il settore dell’ospitalità che non permette lo sviluppo dei reparti di R&S.

Purtroppo due facce della stessa medaglia che stanno mettendo a rischio il settore dell’ospitalità Italiana che è in competizione costante con tutto il mondo.

E se non cominci a pensare a come traghettare il tuo Hotel in un futuro sempre più digitale, rischierai di essere uno dei tanti imprenditori che venderà un pezzo della nostra amata Italia al miglior offerente. E se non sei ancora convinto di quello che sto dicendo ti invito a riflettere sul fatto che quasi tutti gli Hotel a 5 stelle italiani sono passati nelle mani di grandi compagnie straniere, o sbaglio?

È immaginabile per un paese che vive di turismo come l’Italia avere la maggior parte degli Hotel (e dei Ristoranti) con una gestione non Italiana?

Per vincere questa battaglia insieme al Digital Dream Team di Caro Collega lavoriamo quotidianamente per divulgare quello che impariamo quotidianamente mentre aiutiamo imprenditori e manager del settore dell’ospitalità ad intraprendere un percorso di digitalizzazione professionale dei loro hotel.

La situazione di oggi

La dimensione di un Hotel incide in maniera preponderante sull’approccio che lo stesso può avere nei confronti del digitale. L’esperienza maturata fino ad oggi all’interno di Caro Collega, la community che racchiude imprenditori e manager illuminati che hanno deciso di rispondere in maniera pro-attiva ai cambiamenti nel modello di business avvenuti con la rivoluzione digitale, è che fino agli hotel a 4 stelle è impensabile poter assumere e gestire direttamente un team di marketing digitale. Infatti per giocare un ruolo da protagonisti e non quello da comprimari che ho giocato quando facevo il direttore generale della destinazione turistica di Poltu Quatu, un Digital Dream Team deve annoverare al suo interno almeno le seguenti 8 figure chiave:

• Un grafico
• Uno sviluppatore
• Un esperto di campagne pubblicitarie su Google e su Meta
• Un social media manager
• Un videomaker/fotografo
• Un community manager
• Un esperto di Seo e local Seo
• Un marketing manager

Purtroppo nella realtà dei fatti queste attività vengono sviluppate non in maniera professionale bensì da qualche collaboratore dell’hotel che si presta a svolgere anche questi compiti. Ed i risultati sono sotto gli occhi di tutti: negli anni in cui i flussi turistici sono ingenti gli hotel lavorano di più, negli altri casi lavorano di meno.

E la situazione peggiorerà sempre di più visto che è sempre più facile scoprire realtà di successo grazie ad un marketing forte e realtà che sono costrette a chiudere pur avendo un prodotto forte.

Per questo motivo Noi di Caro Collega consigliamo di integrare all’interno del tuo Hotel la figura di un marketing manager che non può coincidere con quella del direttore commerciale. Al limite puoi integrarlo come organo di staff. Il suo scopo sarà di aiutarti a capire qual’è il percorso digitale migliore da seguire per le dimensioni della tua attività e allo stesso tempo di supervisionare e coordinare il lavoro di quei collaboratori che si occupano di digitale e social media e che hai già internalizzato.

Se trovi una persona coscienziosa (io sono stato sfortunato e non l’ho mai trovata oppure non ho mai capito quando ero di fronte ad una persona veramente competente) potrai anche riuscire ad integrare il lavoro del team interno e quello di un’agenzia esterna e potrai sviluppare quel fatturato digitale che oggi stai lasciando ai tuoi competitor.

Le linee guida per il tuo Hotel

Indipendentemente dalla scelta che fai è fondamentale che segui alcune linee guida su cui ti invito a riflettere, basate sull’esperienza che il Digital Dream Team di Caro Collega ha maturato in questi ultimi anni in cui si è focalizzata su come aiutare Hotel a generare un fatturato extra direttamente imputabile alle attività digitali messe in campo:

• Non pensare di risparmiare affidando tutte le 8 attività core che ti ho elencato in precedenza ad una sola persona: se ci fosse un “tuttologo” come pensavo anch’io quando gestivo il Grand Hotel Poltu Quatu, avrebbe un valore enorme e non potresti permetterti il suo compenso.
• Impara a ragionare in termini di investimento e non di costo. Tutte le attività digitali sono misurabili per cui non chiedere mai quanto costa bensì quanto guadagnerai con l’investimento richiesto. Ci sono aziende che investono decine di migliaia di euro nel marketing e sono ben felici visto che ricavano centinaia di migliaia di euro grazie alle attività implementate. Se ti dovessi dare un ordine di grandezza ti direi che di solito in Caro Collega riusciamo ad ottenere un fatturato digitale extra che va da dalle 3 alle 5 volte l’investimento effettuato.
• Non c’è bisogno di assumere alle tue dirette dipendenze le 8 figure di cui abbiamo parlato in precedenza: il digitale è un settore dove i più bravi otterranno le performance migliori. Secondo te un social media manager o uno sviluppatore che lavora solo sul tuo hotel maturerà la stessa competenza di un professionista che lavora su 10–15 progetti differenti?
• Dedica una piccola parte del tuo tempo al marketing digitale anche se non è nelle tue corde: il mantra che ho coniato in questi ultimi anni recita: “se non capisci non agisci o agisci male”. Indi per cui cerca di familiarizzare anche con il digitale se vuoi traghettare il tuo Hotel nel business del futuro e non vuoi fare la fine di qualche tuo collega che ha venduto l’attività o che è pronto a farlo.

Articolo scritto da Giancarlo De Leonardo, ex Albergatore e Ristoratore, founder della community di Caro Collega.

In recent years, Instagram has become an important marketing platform for businesses, especially hotels and restaurants. Having a large number of followers on Instagram has become an important goal for many of these businesses. But the temptation to buy followers to increase your ‘fan base’ can be great.
In this article, we will examine why it is not worth buying followers for a hotel or restaurant’s Instagram account.

In this article

• How to increase followers on Instagram
• Back to the roots: why Instagram was born?
• Opening an Instagram account for a hotel or restaurant
• Shortcuts to hell: 5 reasons to say NO

How to increase followers on Instagram

It’s the classic $1,000,000 question that all hoteliers and restaurateurs who have started with Caro Collega on a digital marketing journey ask us. In this article I will share with you an uncomfortable but honest answer, because transparency pays off in the long run.

Buying 100–1000–10,000–100,000 followers is only a matter of price as there are multiple companies offering this type of service.

But what is the competitive advantage if all your competitors can operate in the same way?

The stupid and trivial things.

Back to the roots: why Instagram was born?

Instagram was created in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger as a mobile photo-sharing application. The idea was to create a social network that would allow users to share their photos quickly and easily, using filters to enhance their appearance and creating a visual feed of images.

Initially, it had no company profiles because it is obvious that people like to follow other people: if we look at the profile of @Nusr_et who is among the restaurateurs with the highest number of followers (52,000,000) we see that there are no noteworthy instagram profiles for his countless restaurants scattered all over the world.

Following Nusr_et can be fun as its content contains inspiration, information and entertainment, but what would be the point of following its restaurants?

So the first consideration is that a hotel or restaurant account has a different function from a personal account.

Opening an Instagram account for a hotel or restaurant

In any case, opening an Instagram account for a hotel or restaurant is recommended because people are used to getting an online idea of a company before going there in person.

For this reason it must be professionally curated, using photos, reels, stories and copy aligned with the story we want to tell.
The quality of the content posted, the value it brings to people and the consistency will influence the algorithm and allow you to grow organically.

Obviously Instagram is a for-profit company that has to make a profit so any acceleration in the growth of your profile can be done by paying for ad campaigns that will highlight your content and gain you followers and likes.

Shortcuts to hell: 5 reasons to say NO

So a business profile on Instagram grows when there is professional work behind it and when you make an investment in advertising. Those who offer to buy you followers and likes for your posts are selling you a shortcut to hell and I will now explain why.

1.Fake followers are not real users

The first and most obvious reason why it is not worth buying followers for a Hotel or Restaurant Instagram account is that they are not real users. They are fake accounts created and bred by bots or people who are paid to follow your account. These accounts are not interested in your posts and will not interact with your account in a meaningful way. In the end, you will only have a large number of followers that do not generate any value for your company.

2.You won’t get any engagement

The followers you buy are not only fake, they will not interact with your account. This means they will not give you any likes, comments or shares on your posts. This is a problem because Instagram uses the algorithm to determine which posts should be shown to users. If you do not get any engagement on your posts, your posts will not be shown to other users and your account will not be impacted;

3.Your reputation may be damaged

Buying fake followers can damage the reputation of your Instagram account of a hotel or restaurant. If your followers are not real, people might think you are not a real company and might not trust you. Also, if other users find out that you have bought your followers, your reputation could be severely damaged;

4.You will not increase sales

The main reason why companies try to increase their number of followers on Instagram is because they hope to increase sales. However, if you buy fake followers, you will not see any significant increase in your sales. Fake followers will not buy your products or services, so you will not get any return on your investment;

5.You violate Instagram rules

Buying fake followers is against Instagram rules and could lead to the suspension of your account. Instagram has a detection system that detects accounts that buy followers and suspends them. If your account is suspended, you will lose all the followers you bought and all the followers you gained naturally. In addition, it may be difficult to restore your account.

In conclusion, remember that investing time and resources on Instagram makes sense especially within an integrated digital marketing plan and that any shortcuts will do more harm than good to your business.

Article written by Giancarlo De Leonardo, Former Restaurateur and Founder of carocollega.com

I decided to ‘come out’ and I am here to tell you how my relationship with digital has changed over the last 5 years. I am sure that my journey can be enlightening for many former hotelier and restaurateur colleagues who now find themselves in the position I was in a few years ago.

Because ‘if you don’t understand you don’t act or you act badly’. And you must not continue to see digital as an enemy that makes you throw money away, but you must see it as a valuable ally in which to invest intelligently, with the knowledge that every euro invested will produce a ROI (Return on Investment) of at least 300%.

In this article

• What is a Community?
• Why create a Community?
• Useful techniques and strategies
• Monitor results and create a safe environment
• Final advice

What is a Community?

A community is a group of people who share common interests, values, experiences or goals and who interact with each other through different media and platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Whatsapp Business, Telegram, Messenger, Tripadvisor, Google, etc.

Communities can form around various topics, such as hobbies, professions, brands, products, services and therefore Hotels and Restaurants. As a matter of fact, every Hotel or Restaurant already has a group of loyal customers representing the offline community, whose relations are normally managed by a customer department, a manager or the owner of the business itself.

Today, however, I will share with you my thoughts on the importance of implementing an offline community, represented by groups on social media, forums, blogs, associations, clubs or organizations, which is just as important as the offline community that you are surely already cultivating.
And we will see that creating relationships within it can mean generating new bookings and thus increased turnover.

The reason why people join within a community is to exchange ideas, knowledge, experiences and support, creating links and relationships between them and a company.

For a hotel or restaurant, communities can be a powerful tool for marketing and customer loyalty, as they allow you to interact directly with your audience, to understand their needs and expectations, and to build lasting relationships based on trust and brand affiliation.

Let us now look at some tips for creating and managing a community for your Hotel or Restaurant.

Why create a Community?

In the hospitality industry, engagement or interaction with customers is key to creating lasting bonds and improving business. A well-structured and active community can become a fundamental pillar for your hotel or restaurant, offering numerous opportunities for growth and customer loyalty.
Interacting with your community through social channels, Instagram or Facebook for example, exclusive events and customized promotions will allow you to get to know your customers and their needs better, increasing satisfaction and positive word of mouth.

A well-curated community can turn casual customers into loyal and passionate customers of your brand, increasing the likelihood that they will return to visit your hotel or restaurant and promote your establishment to friends and acquaintances. To do this, it is important to offer a unique and customized experience that takes into account the needs and desires of individual customers. Consider implementing a loyalty program, which rewards your customers with points, discounts and exclusive benefits based on their attendance and spending. Also, don’t underestimate the importance of maintaining constant and open communication with your community members by engaging them in surveys and discussions on topics of interest to them.

Keep in mind that a community of fans passionate about your hotel or restaurant is not created overnight. It requires commitment, consistency and, above all, the ability to offer unique and memorable experiences. To do this, it is important to focus on quality content, such as exclusive dishes, special pairings, travel tips and behind-the-scenes stories about your hotel or restaurant. Evaluate which channels among Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Whatsapp Business, etc. are best suited in your specific case to share these experiences with your community and engage your customers in an authentic way, creating an emotional bond with your brand.

If you manage to create a community for hotels or restaurants you will generate the word-of-mouth effect, the power of which is undeniable: a loyal community can become the best ambassador of your brand, promoting it through the telling of their positive experiences. To make the most of this potential, it is important to nurture the relationship with your most loyal customers, offering them exclusive benefits and proactively involving them in community life. Encourage the sharing of reviews and testimonials on major industry sites and platforms, and don’t forget to interact with your customers, responding to their comments and questions.

Useful techniques and strategies

The creation and management of a successful online community in the hospitality industry requires the use of appropriate technologies and strategies. Some of the most effective solutions include chatbots for managing bookings and customer inquiries, content marketing platforms for creating and distributing quality content, and data analysis tools to monitor community performance and identify areas for improvement. In addition, it is important to define a coherent and targeted communication strategy using different channels and formats to reach your target audience and keep the focus on your community.

In your strategy, do not forget to include UGC — User-generated content. User-generated content plays a crucial role in strengthening your community and increasing customer trust. Invite members of your community to share their photos, videos and stories about their experiences at your hotel or restaurant. Such activity will not only increase engagement but also demonstrate that your brand is appreciated and experienced by real people. Furthermore, promoting user-generated content on your social channels can encourage other people to participate and interact with your community.

Just as organizing events, both virtual and offline, can help strengthen your community and create additional opportunities for engagement. Events can include wine tastings or themed dinners in your restaurant, or online workshops and seminars on topics of interest to your customers. Events offer the opportunity to interact directly with members of your community, gather feedback and create memorable experiences.

Information also plays an important role. An informed and knowledgeable community is more likely to remain loyal and appreciate the value of your hotel or restaurant. Offer educational and informative content about the latest trends in the hospitality industry, best practices for sustainable travel cooking techniques used by your chef. Organize webinars, workshops or Q&A sessions to actively engage your community members and demonstrate your expertise in the industry.

Use different channels and platforms to interact with your community and reach a wider audience. Each channel has its own advantages and peculiarities, so experiment and adapt your approach according to the characteristics of each medium. For example, use Instagram to share eye-catching images and behind-the-scenes stories, while using Facebook to post in-depth articles and promote discussions among your community members.

Finally, collaborate with other brands, influencers or industry experts to expand your community and increase the visibility of your hotel or restaurant. These collaborations can include participating in events, creating joint content or promoting exclusive offers for members of the respective communities. Partnerships can bring added value to your customers and help you reach a wider audience.

Monitor results and create a safe environment

Analyzing your community data is key to understanding what works and what can be improved. Use analysis tools to monitor key metrics such as engagement rates, follower growth and conversions. Identify areas of success and opportunities for improvement to refine your strategy and deliver an ever-better experience for your community members.

As part of your data analysis, listen to your community in order to continuously improve your offer and service. Collect feedback and suggestions from your community members and use them to make changes and improvements to your hotel or restaurant. This will demonstrate your commitment to responding to your customers’ needs and strengthen the bond between your brand and your community.

Finally, it is essential to create a safe and inclusive environment for your community members, where they feel free to express themselves and share their opinions. Establish clear rules and guidelines to ensure respect and courtesy among members, and intervene promptly in case of inappropriate behavior. A positive and welcoming environment will encourage members of your community to interact and remain loyal to your brand.

Final advice

The final bonus is simple: you now have many reasons to invest time and resources in the creation and management of not only a real but also an online community. You will see that your efforts over time will be rewarded with increases in turnover more than proportional to the investment made. Complaining as I did for too many years is not a strategy. On the contrary, rolling up your sleeves and stepping out of your comfort zone will allow you to create and manage a community ready to support and promote your hotel or restaurant.

Before I leave you, I would like to emphasize that the success of a community depends on consistency, dedication and attention to detail. Maintain an open and honest dialogue with your community members, offer valuable content and experiences, and continue to improve and adapt your strategies according to the needs and expectations of your audience.

In an increasingly connected and digital world, the power of communities cannot be underestimated. If managed correctly, your hotel or restaurant can benefit enormously from creating a strong and cohesive community. By engaging with customers, sharing unique experiences, leveraging active members and implementing a multi-channel strategy, your community will become a key pillar to the success of your business.

Don’t forget that the key to keeping a community active and engaged is innovation. Keep experimenting with new ideas and approaches, and always remain open to change and adaptation. In the hospitality industry, customer satisfaction is the top priority, and a happy and satisfied community is the basis for the long-term success of your hotel or restaurant.

In conclusion, building and managing a community is not an easy task, but the benefits to your hotel or restaurant are well worth it. Devote time, effort and resources to creating a strong and active community, and you will soon see the results in terms of customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth and the success of your business. The community is the beating heart of any successful hospitality brand, and with the right strategies and constant commitment, your hotel or restaurant can also achieve memorable results.

Article written by Giancarlo De Leonardo, former Restaurateur and Hotelier, Founder of carocollega.com

At the recent AI Forward 2023 event, Bill Gates discussed the future direction of Artificial Intelligence (AI), emphasizing the potential of AI in the making of a personal assistant.

In this new era of AI, new challenges and opportunities emerge for various sectors, including the horeca industry.

Gates noted that an AI-powered digital personal assistant could outperform the competition by anticipating human needs and performing tasks that users may not have time to do.

Such tasks include reading, shopping, and conducting online research, all of which will challenge the hegemony of giants such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft itself.

It will be a real revolution based on Artificial Intelligence that will supersede the digital revolution that is still going on and lead to a real radical transformation of the hotel and restaurant industry.

I am Giancarlo De Leonardo, I have been an entrepreneur and manager of hotels and restaurants for over 20 years. For the past 5 years, I have founded Caro Collega Horeca, which is dedicated to helping hoteliers and restaurateurs generate additional revenue directly from digital marketing and technological innovation.

In this article

The Future of Horeca Industry

The race to develop a personal assistant with Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be seen as either a threat or an opportunity for any business, including the hospitality industry.

If you are reading this article, it means that you are interested in anticipating future trends and thus understanding how these assistants can revolutionize the way hotels and restaurants interact with their customers, offering a level of personalized and proactive service never seen before.

An AI assistant could anticipate customers’ needs, suggesting personalized menus based on dietary preferences, allergies or simply what they like to eat.

Assistants could also make a reservation at restaurants, organize transport or book excursions, all based on previous customer interactions and preferences.

Similarly, hotel guests could interact with the AI assistant to book rooms, request specific services, check-in and check-out, and even manage lights and room temperature.

The personalized level of service that an AI assistant could provide not only enhances the customer experience, but it might also increase the operational efficiency of the hotel or restaurant.

The Impact on Restaurants and Hotels business

In the restaurant industry, an AI-powered personal assistant could even revolutionize the way orders are taken and handled.

AI assistants could take orders, suggest dishes based on previous preferences and even manage food and drink stocks, increasing efficiency and reducing waste.

In the Hotellerie industry, moreover, they could have a significant impact on staff training and management. AI assistants might provide virtual training, monitor staff performance and provide immediate feedback, helping hotels maintain high standards of service.

However, despite the potential of these AI assistants, there are risks, as well. Gates pointed out that increasing automation could have an impact on workers, as innovation becomes cheaper than using humans.

This is particularly relevant for the hotel and restaurant industry, which is heavily dependent on a human workforce.

While the AI assistant migut increase efficiency and reduce operating costs, it could lead to job losses, too. This could have a significant social and economic impact, particularly in areas where hospitality is a key source of employment.

Furthermore, the issue of data security is another important risk factor. With the AI assistant collecting and managing huge amounts of personal data, companies need to make sure they have strong data security measures in place to protect customer information.

Next steps

Despite these challenges, the future of Artificial Intelligence in the hotel and restaurant industry looks bright. As Gates pointed out, the race to develop an AI-powered personal assistant is on, and there is a 50–50 chance that a startup will be the first to do so.

Deep Mind by Mustafa Suleyman is currently in a favorable position, but the speed at which information and innovation spread today is so great that anyone can subvert the starting positions.

Being vigilant, monitoring daily progress, having people in-house or as external consultants researching and experimenting with new situations is mandatory if you want to steer a hotel or restaurant into an ever more present future.

The Artificial Intelligence revolution offers a huge opportunity for restaurateurs and hoteliers to improve customer service, increase efficiency and remain competitive in a rapidly changing market.

In conclusion, the personal assistant with AI could be the future of hospitality, but it will be crucial for companies to strategically navigate this new era, always trying to balance innovation with data security and employee welfare.

Ultimately, what is clear is that Artificial Intelligence represents a new revolution and its impact on the horeca industry will be profound and lasting.

Gates’ talk at AI Forward 2023 offers a fascinating glimpse into what the future could look like, and enlightened entrepreneurs and managers in the hospitality industry are well advised to draw the logical conclusions.

Are you ready to take your hotel or restaurant into the near future? Stay tuned with us…

Article written by Giancarlo De Leonardo, former hotelier and restaurateur, founder of carocollega.com

Originally published at https://carocollega.com on May 31, 2023.

If you still don’t understand the potential of marketing in general, with a specific focus towards digital marketing, I suggest you to watch ‘Air — The Story of the Great Leap’.

The film gives us a compelling, enlightening and true American story that can be a source of great inspiration.

My name is Giancarlo De Leonardo and after more than 20 years of experience in the hotel and restaurant industry, I am currently working in the field of technological innovation and digital marketing applied to hospitality. The digital revolution of the last 20 years caught me unprepared when I was a manager and entrepreneur in the hospitality sector; at a certain point, I stopped and started to dedicate myself full time to how to develop additional revenues directly attributable to digital marketing activities.

On the other hand, it seems obvious to point out that we all spend many hours online with our smartphones, hence if you want to understand what we can do to intercept that, follow my blog and you won’t regret it.

But let’s get back to the movie, which is inspired by the story of Nike and a young Michael Jordan who, at the beginning of his career, wanted to sign a sponsorship deal with one of the most famous companies of the time, which back then were Adidas and Converse.

Nike, in 1984, was just starting to make a name for itself in the United States and turned its marketing approach on its head and put its entire basketball sponsorship budget behind the young rookie who, until then, had never played in the NBA before. Jordan himself managed to get a contract tied to a percentage of all sales of products bearing his name, something that had never happened before.

Against all odds, Nike has become the colossus it is today. In 2003, it acquired Converse and with over $1.5 billion in endorsements to date, Michael Jordan is still the highest-paid sportsman ever!

Lessons from this movie that enlightened hoteliers and restaurateurs should learn:

1st lesson: Marketing is the engine of the business

In the hospitality world, entrepreneurs and managers often neglect digital marketing activities or they delegate them to unqualified staff. They only think about the cost but not about the value it can generate.

It’s time for hoteliers and restaurateurs to turn this mindset around and realize that they need to think differently to make their businesses more successful.

The concept is simple: right from the beginning, invest in the achievement of clear objectives that are commensurate with the investment. And, most importantly, invest in professionals who have a commitment towards results.

This is the way to implement an integrated, economically sustainable digital marketing plan in hotels and restaurants. This can generate additional turnover that is proportionate with the investment made.

2nd lesson: you don’t have to be rich to do marketing!

Nike was born thanks to the vision of two founders, Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, who had no capital to invest.

They risked bankruptcy for many years. But the belief that they would succeed was so strong that it allowed them to overcome each obstacle.

Creating memorable businesses means being curious, creative and passionate about what you do. Above all, it means never giving up. It’s not about having a lot of money. It’s about having that positive obsession that drives you to overcome any obstacle.

Investing in digital marketing means generating revenue. You can add it to the revenue you already have. Don’t ask how much it’s going to cost; ask how much it’s going to make you and make sure there’s a stake in the results when you’re in front of a marketing agency.

Remember: don’t rush! Always do a 12-month plan. Results come with time.

Lesson 3: Stay ahead to gain a competitive edge

Experimenting and going against the grain means staying ahead of the curve and gaining a competitive advantage that competitors will find difficult to match.

Nike’s success with Jordan revolutionized the sports industry. It changed the way sports are marketed forever. Fear of failure is normal and everyone has it. But it doesn’t change the fact that you must think outside the box and challenge industry beliefs. It is a lesson that, in my opinion, can also be applicable to the hospitality industry.

Today, the hotel and restaurant industry are at a turning point in their history. Many companies continue to operate with the mindset and methods of the past. Nonetheless, the digital revolution has radically changed the rules of the game. It is time to rethink marketing strategies and adopt new approaches to reach out to customers and generate additional cash flows that can be directly attributed to digital marketing activities.

4th lesson: be adaptable

It’s no longer about the big fish eating the little fish, but rather the faster fish eating the slower fish. Do you want to end up like Blockbuster or Kodak? They were the undisputed leaders in their industry and lost their leadership position within a few years.

You must be able to adapt.

Nike recognized that basketball was changing and that the rules of sports marketing had to change when it decided to sponsor Jordan.

Similarly, driven by digitalization and changing consumer habits, the hospitality sector is going through a period of profound change. To remain competitive, it is necessary to adapt to these new dynamics.

There are huge opportunities to reach and engage customers through digital marketing. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok allow you to interact directly with your customers and build long-lasting relationships with them. You can showcase your products and services, as well as communicate your brand values and personality through content marketing, such as blogs and videos. You may also increase brand visibility and attract new customers through search engine optimization (SEO) and online advertising.

You can use digital marketing to create a unique and compelling narrative around your brand, as Nike did with Jordan. This can include stories of happy customers, interviews with staff, a behind-the-scenes look at the hotel or restaurant, and much more. These stories can then be shared across a variety of digital channels to reach a wider audience and build an emotional connection with your customers.

You can also experiment with new business models through digital marketing. For example, there could be online reservations for all restaurants, tailored home delivery services or the creation of unique virtual experiences for clients. These innovations may create new revenue streams and they might even help diversify the business.

5th Lesson: Always think big

The value of boldness is another lesson from ‘Air — The Story of the Great Leap’. Nike dared to challenge the status quo. It had the courage to invest in an unconventional idea.

Similarly, to experiment with new digital marketing strategies and adopt new technological tools, restaurateurs and hoteliers need to have the courage. For example, you need a digital dream team to develop an integrated digital marketing plan.

It is too expensive for a hotel or restaurant to hire all the necessary professionals. What is the solution? Experimenting with new forms of collaboration with partners committed to the objectives to be achieved. In this way, you can also update the professional skills of those in the company who do not have the opportunity to see what is happening outside.

6th lesson: never stop and chase innovation

Finally, the film is a reminder of the importance of innovation. Nike didn’t just innovate its production methodology, but also the way it markets and sells its products.

Innovation is key to staying competitive in an ever-changing industry like hospitality. This can be the implementation of a new reservation management software, the use of technologies such as virtual reality or Artificial Intelligence to improve the customer experience, or the creation of new dishes or services to differentiate from the competition.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are valuable lessons to be learned about how to take a hotel or restaurant into the future from ‘Air — The Story of the Great Leap’.

Restaurateurs and hoteliers could revolutionize their industry by embracing digital marketing, just as Nike did in the sports industry by sponsoring Michael Jordan. It’s not just about increasing revenue; it’s about building a stronger brand and creating memorable experiences for customers.

Therefore, it is time to take the ‘big leap’ into the digital world, my fellow hoteliers and restaurateurs. Don’t be afraid. Experiment, innovate and challenge the status quo. The digital revolution is here, and it offers an infinite number of opportunities to those who are willing to embrace it.

Article written by Giancarlo De Leonardo, former hotelier and restaurateur, now founder of carocollega.com

The concept is simple: Google, Facebook and Instagram have billions of customers online every day and every hour, including those who might be interested in your Hotel or Restaurant. A small fraction of them can be reached organically thanks to the posts you can make on Facebook, Instagram and Google.

99% of potential customers can be reached through paid online advertising campaigns, which can put your Hotel or Restaurant in front of everyone at the moment when a manifest or latent intention is triggered.
Google Ads and Meta Ads (which includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are powerful advertising platforms that can help hoteliers and restaurateurs to achieve specific marketing goals.

In this article, we will explore five different angles on the importance of advertising on Google and Meta and how to make the most of them in the hospitality industry.
The abbreviation ads obviously stands for advertising, i.e. advertising on Google and Meta.

In this article

• Maximize online visibility
• Invest in Digital Advertising
• Targeting and personalization
• Measuring success
• Winning strategies for hotels and restaurants
• Conclusion

Maximize online visibility

Online visibility is the key to attracting customers in the hospitality industry. Google Ads and Social Ads (or Meta Ads) offer several options to increase the online presence of your Hotel or Restaurant.

In practice this means reaching potential customers interested in your offer with an “ad” aligned with their search intentions.
In your opinion, is it easier to promote a 5-star hotel in Rome among foreign travelers who already have the intention of coming to the ‘eternal city’ and belong to a high-spending target group or to anyone who decides to take a trip?

With Google Ads, you can create targeted ads that appear in Google search results when users are looking for specific keywords related to your business.
Social Ads (or Meta Ads), on the other hand, allows you to show ads on Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp, reaching a large audience of active users.

To maximize visibility, it is important to take advantage of both platforms. Google Ads is ideal for reaching users “ready to book” searching for Hotels or Restaurants in your area now (Aware demand), while Meta ads allows you to reach a wider audience and create a social media presence (Latent demand).

Furthermore, by using both platforms, you can increase your brand awareness and improve your ranking in online searches.

Invest in Digital Advertising

Digital advertising on Google and Meta is a crucial investment for the success of hotels and restaurants. These platforms offer a high return on investment (ROI) due to their ability to reach a large audience and provide detailed data on the performance of advertising campaigns.

Investing in Google Ads and Meta Ads increases brand awareness, improves online search rankings and increases bookings and sales. In addition, the data collected by the platforms allows campaigns to be continually optimized to maximize the Return on Investment (ROI).

Another benefit of investing in these platforms is the ability to use their advanced features, such as remarketing, to reach users who have already shown interest in your hotel or restaurant and encourage them to return.

Targeting and personalization

Targeting is a key feature of advertising on Google and Meta. Both platforms offer advanced tools to reach the right audience based on demographics, interests, behavior and geographic location.

The goal is performance: the more bookings you get from advertising, the more you invest in it.
For example, it is possible to create Google ads to target users searching for ‘Hotels in Rome’ or ‘Restaurants in Milan’.
Meta, on the other hand, can show ads to users interested in travel, gastronomy or local events.

Ad customization is another key aspect. Creating tailored messages for specific audiences can greatly increase the effectiveness of ad campaigns.
For example, you can create specific ads for couples looking for a romantic getaway, families looking for a relaxing holiday or business travelers looking for comfortable accommodation.

By using targeting and customization, you can ensure that your ads reach the people most interested in your services and that your messages are relevant to them.

Measuring success

Monitoring and analyzing the performance of advertising campaigns on Google Ads and Social Ads is crucial for maximizing ROI. Both platforms offer detailed analysis tools that allow you to assess ad effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.

Some key indicators to monitor include the number of clicks, impressions, cost per click (CPC), conversion and cost per acquisition (CPA).
By analyzing this data, changes can be made to campaigns to optimize performance, such as adjusting bids, changing keywords or improving ad quality.

In addition, it is important to monitor metrics specific to the hospitality industry, such as booking rate, average cost value of a meal or room, and time spent on the website. These metrics will help you understand the impact of your advertising campaigns on bookings and sales, and identify areas for improvement.

Winning strategies for hotels and restaurants

It is important to combine Google Ads and Social Ads in an integrated strategy to get the most out of your advertising investment.

Use Google Ads to reach users who are actively searching for Hotels and Restaurants (Aware Demand) and Meta Ads (Latent Demand) to build brand awareness and engage your audience through social media.

Integrate your advertising campaigns with other digital marketing activities such as online review management, email marketing and quality content creation on your website or blog, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and local SEO, and social media management.

This integrated approach allows you to create a consistent online presence and enhance your Hotel or Restaurant’s reputation.

You can also use the remarketing features of both platforms to reach users who have already shown interest in your Hotel or Restaurant and encourage them to return. Remarketing allows you to show personalized ads to people who have visited your website or interacted with your brand in the past, increasing the likelihood that they will make a reservation or purchase.

Work with a Digital Dream Team of marketing experts who understand the specifics of the hospitality industry and can help you create and manage effective Google Ads and Meta Ads campaigns.

These professionals can help you select the most appropriate keywords, create eye-catching ads and define the targeting and personalisation strategies that best suit your needs.

Conclusion

Advertising on Google Ads and Meta Ads is a key element of success in the hospitality industry. By harnessing the potential of both platforms and integrating them into a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, you can increase visibility, attract new customers and retain existing ones.

Continually monitor and optimize your campaigns to maximize the Return on Investment (ROI) and ensure that your advertising investment contributes to the long-term success of your Hotel or Restaurant.

Remember that the key to success in digital marketing is the ability to continually adapt and improve your strategies based on data and industry trends.

Invest time and resources in learning best practices for Google Ads and Meta Ads, and work with industry experts to ensure that your advertising campaigns always meet your customers’ expectations and are in line with your business growth goals.

Article written by Giancarlo De Leonardo, former restaurateur and hotelier, founder of carocollega.com

I used to complain with my self and with my staff but We always did the same things.

Fortunately, my life has changed and today I am here to share with you my point of view, which is a new starting point.

Summary

1. The myopia of the hotelier or restaurateur

2. Social and vanity metrics

3. The “perfect balance”

4. The Caro Collega method

1.The myopia of the hotelier or restaurateur

I was a myopic hotelier and restaurateur.

During the seasons (2015/2017) when I was in charge of the Grand Hotel Poltu Quatu, revenues were generated in this way:

* 4% from the website

* 53% from OTAs (Booking and Expedia above all)

* 3% from bookings coming from the chain we were affiliated with (Leading Hotels of the world)

* 25% through agreements with tour operators

* 10% from people passing by

* 5% loyal customers

None of the hotel’s revenue was generated by:

* Advertising campaigns on Google (ads)

* Advertising campaigns on Facebook and Instagram (ads)

* SEO (search engine optimisation)

* Video, photo and text content created according to the logic of an editorial plan

* Whatsapp, Telegram and Messenger

* Web reputation

* Tripadvisor, Yelp and Fourquare

Basically, I kept complaining that the hotel was operating below its potential, but did nothing to seize the opportunities presented by the digital revolution, i.e. trying to catch the majority of customers who are now online!

2.Social and vanity metrics

For too long, as a hotelier and restaurateur, I was blinded by vanity metrics. The most common are those related to the number of Instagram or Facebook followers, the likes a post can get or the views of a video. Meaningless data that can be easily distorted using what I called in a previous article the ‘shortcuts to hell’.

One day, as I was pondering why the General Manager of a hotel or restaurant is still attracted to these meaningless numbers, I had an insight that changed the way I look at business. In fact, in my early life as an entrepreneur and hospitality manager, I used to celebrate the moments when I ‘sold out’ of rooms and tables, while blaming my staff for the unsold rooms and tables!

Come to think of it, unsold tables and chairs represent lost money that we will never get back.

Changing my mindset helped me to change my perspective.

As a result, over the last few years I have developed the Caro Collega method, which we apply to hotels and restaurants that have realised that digital strategies and tools can increase their turnover in ways that an entrepreneur cannot integrate on his own.

In practice, we add to the traditional sales of hotels and restaurants the sales generated by the implementation of a digital marketing plan. We offer a 100% money back guarantee: if we do not achieve the goals we set together, we will refund your investment.

Imagine having a Digital Dream Team at your service, without having to hire people, and with the guarantee that the entire team will be focused on achieving the goals set, otherwise they will have to pay back the investment!

3.The “perfect balance”

At this point, many hoteliers and restaurateurs make the same exception: ‘I already have someone in the company who is in charge of marketing’. I too had marketing people when I was GM at Poltu Quatu. But they were not focused on digital marketing, nor could they carry out all the activities necessary to implement an integrated strategic digital marketing plan, which is what we do when we apply the Caro Collega method.

In fact, we have never thought of replacing people. On the contrary, our Digital Dream Team integrates perfectly with the people in the company. It becomes a source of enrichment for them, stimulating them to think differently and implement new strategies and tools that they would not be able to implement on their own.

It is therefore not a duplication of work, since our first objective is to understand whether a hotel or restaurant is eligible for our course, i.e. to check whether the gap between potential and actual turnover is large.

If so, after signing a contract with a 100% Satisfaction or Refund Guarantee, we will take care of the study and implementation of all those actions that no one else has taken care of!

With the declared aim of intercepting customers targeted with our offer (and not generic) from the Internet and filling unsold rooms and tables.

Digital marketing is therefore a set of activities and strategies aimed at professionally promoting a hotel or restaurant through digital channels such as the web, social media, advertising campaigns on Google and Meta, email marketing and Whatsapp, Messenger, Telegram, etc. Strategies and channels that most hospitality companies see as a cost centre.

Strategies and channels that most hotels and restaurants consider a cost centre and that we at Caro Collega have turned into a profit centre, guaranteeing at least a 300% return on investment.

It is no coincidence that our mission is to fill room after room and chair after chair every day, trying to maximise the revenue achievable. Perfectly aligned with that of every other hotelier and restaurateur.

4.The Caro Collega Method

The Caro Collega method, ideal for a hotelier or restaurateur, is based on a perfect mix: my vertical experience as an entrepreneur and manager of Hotels and Restaurants and that of the Digital Dream Team which is vertical in digital marketing.

I represent the bridge between young people who are 30 years old and who have the digital skills to achieve their goals and the hotelier, restaurateur or manager who are my peers and who would find it difficult to relate to people who are too young.

In detail, the ‘core’ activities that the Digital Dream Team deploys to help Hotels and Restaurants fill unsold rooms and tables are:

I. Online presence management: this means that the hotel or restaurant must have a professional presence on various digital platforms such as Google, Google Maps, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and other social media. An online presence increases the visibility of your business and makes it easier for customers to find you. In addition, an accurate and up-to-date online presence makes it easier for customers to find the information they need, such as opening hours, services offered, prices and reviews.

II. Create digital advertising campaigns (ads): Instagram, Facebook, Google are companies that want to sell advertising on their platforms. Investing in these channels is essential if you want to promote your business to a mass audience. There are several advertising platforms that can be used, such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Tripadvisor Ads and others. Ad campaigns can be used to reach a defined audience based on demographic, geographic, behavioural and interest criteria, or to be present in a specific city or price range.

III. Use of remarketing: Remarketing is a digital marketing technique that allows personalised ads to be shown to users who have already visited the company’s website. For example, if a user has visited a hotel’s website but has not yet made a booking, remarketing allows you to show specific ads to that user, such as special offers or discounts. This can increase the likelihood that the user will return to the site and complete the booking.

IV. Manage reviews on TripAdvisor, Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc. Reviews can influence customer choice and business reputation. It is important to respond to reviews, both positive and negative, and use customer feedback to improve services. In addition, actively managing reviews can enhance a company’s reputation and attract new customers.

Before concluding this article, I would like to highlight other advantages of digital marketing.

* Firstly, digital marketing allows you to reach a very wide audience. Thanks to digital channels, a business can potentially reach millions of people around the world. This means that even a small hotel or restaurant can compete with much larger and more established businesses.

* Secondly, digital marketing makes it possible to reach specific audiences. Advertising platforms and targeting techniques allow a business to reach exactly the audience it wants, based on demographic, geographic, behavioural and interest criteria. This means that the company is talking to the right customers, those who are most interested in its products or services.

* Thirdly, digital marketing enables more effective customer interaction. Thanks to social media and review platforms, a company can communicate directly with its customers, answer their questions, listen to their feedback and improve its services. This can increase customer loyalty and the company’s reputation.

* Fourthly, digital marketing allows results to be measured accurately. Analysis tools allow a company to know exactly how many people have seen its ads, how many have clicked on its links, how many have completed a booking and so on. This allows them to assess the effectiveness of their marketing strategies and make adjustments if necessary.

Finally, I would like to say that I have tried to explain in simple words (i.e. as a joke I have called it “Ospitalese”, the language that all hoteliers and restaurateurs can understand) why you should integrate a Digital Dream Team in your company, but if you still have any doubts, do not hesitate to write to me.

Article written by Giancarlo De Leonardo, former restaurateur and hotelier and founder of CaroColleaga.com

Disruptive means unconventional, and it is a term I borrowed from the innovative start-up industry, those that have managed to change the world by turning crazy ideas that no one believed in into reality. My name is Giancarlo De Leonardo, I have also been a hotelier, and today, together with a Dream Team of digital professionals under 30y, I work to develop the business of hotels eligible for what we have called the Caro Collega Method. In a disruptive way of course.

Disruptive is an easy concept to understand. Albert Einstein said that ‘madness is to keep behaving the same way all the time and expecting different results’. For many years I conformed to a usual behavior, but after spending a few years in the innovative start-up industry, I started to think and behave differently from my hotelier’s colleagues.

If you are a hotelier who is tired of doing what all your colleagues do, and if you want to start thinking about how to adapt your business to a different way than you did 10–15 years ago, reading this article may be a starting point. So let’s start now to reverse the way we approach business. Enough praise and let’s go against the grain.
Did you know that your hotel loses money every day because of unsold rooms?
Do you know that there is more than just OTAs to fill a hotel or trade fair?

In this article I will write about:

- The competitive advantage that no longer exists (but your hotel can still make a lot of profits)
- The digital marketing that nobody understands (really a great opportunity fot hoteliers)
- Disruptive marketing (it is the solution to achieving memorable results)
- Micro and macro marketing (micro marketing produces compound interest)

The competitive advantage that no longer exists

4000 km of coastline, mountains that the whole world envies us, cities of art, history, and culture, plus a unique and rare food and wine heritage. This is ‘the unfair competitive advantage’ as the Americans call it. But in an increasingly interconnected and global world, can we still consider it as such?

The first objective we have within Carocollega.com is to produce free content, like the one you are reading, to stimulate the digital emancipation of the many hoteliers who are still wary of digital for 2 reasons:

1)no one has really made them understand the opportunities inherent in the digital revolution

2) they have had to deal with so many consultants who boasted that they knew how to achieve results, but in reality, they were non-returnable investments.

If Las Vegas exceeds the number of tourists visiting Rome, have you ever wondered why?
Well, this reason is called marketing, it is the flywheel that drives any business and today it is also important for the entire hospitality industry in our country since the ‘unfair competitive advantage’ is no longer enough for Italy to play a leading role in the international tourism scene.

The digital marketing that nobody understands

Now that I have a completely different awareness of the potential of digital marketing than a few years ago, when I think back to my years as general manager of Poltu Quatu, I smile.

Poltu Quatu is a small tourist destination in the north of Sardinia consisting of a hotel, a marina, a residence, 6 restaurants, 3 bars, a discotheque, and a dozen shops.
We are talking about a total turnover of about 10 million euros, achieved without a real marketing department, but only with a couple of freelance sales managers hired by the hotel to attend hotel fairs to sign contracts with the various travel agents.

An economic result therefore always linked to that of the tourist flows generated in Sardinia: in the good years we invoiced more and in the not-so-good years less. To continue thinking in this way, entrusting the success of activity to factors that we cannot control, when thanks to the digital revolution we can identify people interested in a product and reach them with dedicated proposals, does this not seem crazy?

In light of the last few years spent in the world of innovative start-ups and all the digital marketing I have metabolized and then put into practice in the establishments we follow, I can say that every hotelier can do more for his business and for the area where it operates.
“If you don’t understand you don’t act or you act badly” is the mantra that expresses the transition that has characterized the last few years of my professional life and transformed me from a short-sighted entrepreneur into an enlightened one. And it is a phrase that I hope will inspire you and make you realize that the digital revolution offers so many opportunities to the hotel industry as well.

Disruptive marketing

Thinking disruptively is a prerogative of all those who approach the world of innovative start-ups. A start-up is a capital enterprise that is less than five years old and is said to be innovative because it is high-tech.
Hotels are normally SMEs and do not have a high technological content, so they cannot be called innovative start-ups, but no one can prevent them from thinking in a disruptive way and differentiating themselves from the other Hoteliers.

This is the starting point, so if you prefer to conform to the common thinking of your peers go ahead and put a stitch in it now, otherwise go ahead and you won’t regret it.

While no one is telling you to block traffic from the OTAs or from the deals your hotel salespeople sign, the idea we can develop together is to explore the world of digital marketing. Your hotel’s audience is connected to a smartphone all day long, do we want to be there too, or do we want to leave the field open to our more astute competitors? Do you know of anyone who, when booking a flight or hotel, does not do so ‘online’?

That is why we have to integrate an integrated digital marketing plan with the aim of intercepting our potential customers. Broadly speaking, this involves professionally managing 7 acquisition channels and all their declinations:

1. a website that reflects the principles sanctioned by Google (core web vitals)
2. quality textual, video, and photographic content, and not just amateur content that you can use in certain circumstances
3. the SEO needed to position our business organically;
4. the hotel’s profile on Google;
5. an original social strategy that differs from the banal strategy of your competitors, deployed on social networks relevant to your audience;
6. a community that we listen to and whose requests we try to anticipate;
7. ads campaigns on Meta, Google, and wherever we see fit.

When I talk about declinations, I mean that each point has its own complexities and must be managed by one or more professionals. Take social media for example, which is a world I am sure you are familiar with: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube, are all possible customer acquisition channels that require specialists.

Have you ever thought of a hybrid situation where your hotel marketing staff can collaborate and be followed by a Dream Team of professionals?

From micro to macro marketing

We have a great opportunity all together: through the marketing plan of a hotel, we can also help a city, a tourist destination, a region, or an entire country to grow. Have you seen how popular Puglia has become in recent years? Undoubtedly a large part of the success of this region is attributable to the marketing plan that hotels such as Borgo Egnazia, Masseria Montenapoleone, or Torre Maizza have implemented, just to name the first ones that came to mind.

What could happen if every hotel or restaurant became an ambassador of Italy’s tourism and hospitality culture? I’ll ‘spoil’ it for you: we would have tourist flows for much of the year that would boost GDP and employment rates, guaranteeing well-being for all.

We have started to get involved, will you join us?
We are looking for extraordinary people and companies for a memorable venture…

written by Giancarlo De Leonardo former Hotelier and founder of Carocollega.com

Florence, Via dei Neri Saturday, 9.45 a.m.: I was standing in line waiting for the manager of the 4 adjoining All’Antico Vinaio shops to start handing out the precious stuffed focaccias that are making the world go crazy. And have made Tommy, the owner, a likable, famous and now very rich person. I’m Giancarlo De Leonardo, founder of Caro Collega Ho.Re.Ca. And our first goal is to help entrepreneurs and managers in the hospitality business to understand the opportunities offered by the digital revolution. What better opportunity could there be to reflect on what marketing is?

SUMMARY

- Restaurant Marketing in simple words

- “Genuine” marketing

- Instagram

- The ability to delegate

- All the channels where you can find customers

RESTAURANT MARKETING IN SIMPLE WORDS

If there is one street in Florence that is more crowdy than the Galleria of Uffizi, it is Via dei Neri. And the credit must go to Tommy the founder of All’Antico Vinaio, the most famous focacceria in the world, the only one to have four identical shops side by side to satisfy the demand for the focaccias that is driving the world crazy. After Milan, Rome, Bergamo, and Forte dei Marmi, there are even two shops in New York City and one in Los Angeles. In addition to the Percassi Group has become a partner of the brand and will spread it throughout Italy and Europe. All’Antico Vinaio has become a ‘must’ for those who visit Florence and are downtown. And the kind of marketing is easy to explain when you see people queuing in front of the shop when they could be getting an equally good and certainly quicker but “less famous” focaccia in the neighboring shops.

Certainly, Antico Vinaio’s focaccias are a good product, made with industrial quality cheeses and cured meats, otherwise, it could not maintain a price tag of €7 to €10 each, which you eat standing outside the shop and which becomes incredibly uncomfortable when you have a bottle of water or wine in your hand.

So what makes the difference?

The main ingredient, which is there even if you don’t see it, is marketing, which I, Giancarlo De Leonardo, would define as genuine, of which Tommy All’Antico Vinaio is an absolute interpreter because it’s not studied at a desk, it’s present in his DNA.

Marketing, then, is everything that we do not see, but that contributes decisively to the success of a product or activity. In fact, in a modern digital society where no one has to satisfy basic needs such as eating and sleeping, it determines the success of a restaurant or a hotel.

“GENUINE” MARKETING

At this point, you might ask: what is “Genuine” marketing?

I like to say that marketing is the ‘salt of the business’, i.e. without salt the flavors might become uniform and leave no memory. This analogy is also interesting because the salt in the kitchen costs nothing, but clearly determines the flavor of a dish. In the same way, today’s digital marketing can get the message across to people who might be interested.

Tommy’s father made the same focaccias, but Tommy used “genuine marketing” to create a brand and become popular, famous, and rich. Genuine marketing is what you have in your DNA and it develops to unimaginable levels without you even realizing it.

And so it was, because Tommy didn’t start with the idea of becoming an Instagram account followed by 652,000 people, he started with the idea of having fun and turning his passion into a job. In the same way, All’Antico Vinaio has been the most-reviewed business in the world on TripAdvisor for years!

INSTAGRAM

Almost 3000 posts on Instagram and almost 700,000 followers, acquired organically, are the result of digital sacrifices that few restaurateurs understand. For example, until a few years ago, I too would have thought that Tommy was just a luckier restaurateur than me. I had no idea how much work he put in every day to tell his followers what they wanted to hear in video after video. In the end, there is a big difference between the business he built and the one I had developed until I got into the restaurant business. On the surface, I thought of Instagram as a game, like any other marketing activity except word of mouth. Instead, my story as a restaurateur would have been different if I had also started producing informative, inspirational, and entertaining videos like Tommy’s.

ABILITY TO DELEGATE

Looking at Tommy and all the shops he is opening at ‘All’Antico Vinaio’ reminds me of another fundamental aspect necessary for the transformation from a traditional entrepreneur to an enlightened and successful one: delegation. Most restaurateurs mirror the way I was until a few years ago, concentrating on all the operations necessary to run a restaurant: administration, human resources, purchasing, customer service, quality control, etc.

Instead, those who embarked on a virtuous path with Caro Collega Ho.Re.Ca. understood that a restaurant is a small, sometimes medium-sized business that cannot rely on a ‘one-man band’. Something I had unfortunately failed to understand when I was in their shoes! I always wondered why I had never thought to adjust my behavior to understand what was the best way to spend my time. The reality is that when I was a restaurateur, it was enough for me to feel busy: the number of hours I spent at work was the only thing I focused on, and the quality of how I spent all that time was of little importance. Well, if you don’t overcome this self-limitation, dear colleague, it’s going to get worse and worse, because you’ll be surpassed not only by other superheroes like Tommy from All’Antico Vinaio, but also by many colleagues who have realized that “marketing is the soul of commerce” and are implementing integrated digital marketing plans in their businesses.

ALL CHANNELS TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS

Many people ask me the same question: can I become like Tommy or like other famous influencers on Instagram? The answer depends on the effort and investment you are willing to make. Consider this:

- Gone are the days when you could grow organically on Instagram without the help of advertising investment, which is now the only way to get noticed.

- The battle for people’s attention has become increasingly fierce, so you need to design different content, where creativity and professionalism will increasingly make the difference.

- You have to assess the weight of social media on a business in terms of the effort to be made.

- You have to consider all advertising channels because Instagram and TripAdvisor were good for Tommy, but not necessarily for you.

For the same reason, I always recommend avoiding the question: “How many followers will you get me? I know it’s tempting to have an Instagram profile with hundreds of thousands of followers, but growth on Instagram doesn’t necessarily mean business development. Followers can now be bought in ‘packages’ for a few tens of euros, but the business will never grow; on the contrary, it is likely to decline, as the algorithm will penalize the few interactions that will inevitably take place with a ‘fake’ or uninterested audience.

The question I think you should ask your marketing consultant is: what should I do to increase my sales by 10/15% in 12 months?

Of course, I can give you the answer, which is contained in the Caro Collega Ho.Re.Ca Method, which we have validated in more than 10 restaurants in the last year alone. If you want tangible results directly attributable to your restaurant’s online presence, you need to develop an integrated digital marketing plan based on

- A website that meets Google’s minimum requirements (core web vitals)

- SEO optimization

- Business profile on Google and Local Seo

- Social media management: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest

- WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram

- E-mail

- Mobile phone

- Online reservations

- Advertising campaigns on Google and Meta, where Caro Collega Ho.Re.Ca is the official partner

- TripAdvisor/Yelp

- Web reputation

And you, how many bookings have you received through these channels?

Written by Giancarlo De Leonardo, Former restaurateur / hotelier and Founder of Caro Collega Ho.Re.Ca.