If you use Pinterest, then you know it is full of wedding ideas, from locations, to dresses, to centerpieces, and everything in between. Many women are creating boards specific for planning every part of their wedding. Hotel Arista, a hotel in Naperville Illinois that specializes in weddings, has acknowledged this trend on Pinterest and taken their own spin on it.
Hotel Arista recently launched a campaign encouraging followers to create a board titled “My effortless Wedding at Hotel Arista”. Users then pin images reflecting anything that would be involved in their wedding at Hotel Arista.
We had the chance to talk with Brett Thomas, Hotel Arista's Marketing Manager, about how daily social media leads to the big picture, their use of Pinterest, and their current contest.
Get Pinterested: Hotel Arista has an impressive group of followers on nearly every social network. Can you tell us a little bit about your overall social media strategy and how you keep your social media fresh, exciting, and engaging?
Brett Thomas: Today, marketing is less about communications and more about building connections, looking for ways for people interact with your brand. Having an integrated social media strategy is essential to conversing with our customers and potential customers. We try to reach them in a variety of ways, including using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, our Wedding Insiders blog, and, of course, Pinterest. When we talk to them, we use the “voice” of the brand to tell our story; we use storytelling to bring the viewer’s imagination into the hotel, as well as to showcase why Hotel Arista is a little bit different. Take this Facebook post for example, “The treat from the complimentary espresso machine in The Living Room Lounge was a welcomed pick-me-up after she had traveled from another state to be there.”
Has your experience with Pinterest, or any social media for that matter, changed the way that you look at your business or how you do your marketing?
BT: Yes, with the advent of social media, I really see marketing now as these daily micro actions that lead up to the big picture of engagement. In the old days you just rolled out big campaigns to shape impressions, now we manage it day by day on social media – it’s fun, tactical and exciting.
What drove you to Pinterest?
BT: Well, like all new social media inventions, one day it just bubbles up and everybody was talking about it. So, after playing around with it and exploring it, I was hooked. We all agreed that the visual nature of it made perfect sense for the hotel’s wedding business, since so much of the wedding experience is collecting images that represent the perfect wedding, from the dress, to the reception, to honeymoon locations. Pinterest is the perfect vehicle to build these dream wedding boards.
We see Pinterest as a great opportunity for businesses to showcase their culture and lifestyle. Can you share with us how Hotel Arista uses Pinterest to do this?
BT: Hotel Arista attracts people who write their own story. We are not a chain. The culture and lifestyle are built on old world service that creates an effortless experience for our guests. It’s one reason why we are the only AAA Four Diamond hotel in Naperville, Ill. All of our content is geared toward the audience of the iconic businessperson, the bride who wants an effortless wedding experience, the unscripted traveler who wants a unique and luxurious stay. Pinterest gives us an amazing opportunity to show and tell how the Hotel Arista experience comes to life.
Since Pinterest is the new kid on the block, is there anything you’ve done or anyone you’ve looked to for help getting started?
BT: We definitely looked at how others are using Pinterest, including Lands End and a few travel pages. We’ve used those as examples, then put our own spin to tell our own unique story and take it to the next level. The wonderful thing about social media is that it’s ever evolving, and the exchange of ideas can be immediate. We’re always on the lookout to see what others are doing and how we can learn from each other.
Pinterest is a place full of great inspiration. Does Hotel Arista use Pinterest for inspiration for any business ventures? Do you look to your followers for inspiration?
BT: We do look to followers for inspiration; we like to be inspired and inspire others. That’s exactly why we are asking followers to create their “My Effortless Wedding at Hotel Arista” boards with both pins from our page and from other places on Pinterest. We want to see what styles and ideas brides are interested in and learn something ourselves.
We love your “My Effortless Wedding at Hotel Arista” Pinterest Contest; can you tell us your strategy and thought process behind this contest?
BT: Thank you—we had fun creating the idea for the contest. Hotel Arista is known for making weddings effortless for the bride and groom and their guests, from the planning process to the celebration the day of their nuptials. Brides are using Pinterest as an excellent way to gather and organize ideas for their weddings, and we want to be part of the conversation. Our wedding experts are constantly amazed at the imagination of our brides, from crafting personalized bags game boards to creating a rainforest on the tabletops; our planners help them bring those dreams to life. In our “Something Borrowed, Something Blue” board, you’ll find pictures from real weddings at the hotel that will hopefully inspire other brides planning their big days.
What results do you hope to see once the contest is over? And how do you define success in general when it comes to Pinterest?
BT: Measuring success on Pinterest can be tricky—we’re not a retailer, so our involvement is not directly linked to sales, per se. Instead, we are focused on growing our follower base so that we can continue the conversation with brides and other women. If they like what they see on our Pinterest page, we hope they will visit our website and take a closer look at the luxurious experience Hotel Arista has to offer.
Pinterest is all about visually appealing content. Do you feel you have an advantage because your content is so visual already? What do you do to make Hotel Arista’s content stand out from the rest on Pinterest?
BT: Perhaps it is an advantage—we have worked hard to make sure that what we put up on Pinterest, or what we pin from other sources, is interesting to view, and that makes us stand out. We have much more planned, so you’ll be seeing more nooks and crannies of the hotel come to life on our boards, from architecture to artwork to our green initiatives that make us one of the first Silver LEED certified hotels in the region, and, of course, more weddings at Hotel Arista.
What kind of content do you think users are looking for on Pinterest when it comes to accommodations?
BT: Seeing is believing. Travelers want to see where they will be staying, and they want to know what makes Hotel Arista a little different. So when we can show the amazing deep soaking bathtub, the TV in the bathroom mirror, the inviting king-sized bed, our green initiatives—the modern luxury of the rooms, people can envision themselves there. It’s a sneak peek into what they will experience at the hotel.
We would like to thank Brett Thomas and Hotel Arista for taking the time to talk with us. If you are ever in the Naperville area, give Hotel Arista a visit!
