On Feb. 24, HSMAI University kicked off its 2011 webinar series with the first session of a three-part series on advanced social networking strategies by Gordon Liametz, founder and CEO of Revenue Performance.

As social networking continues to gather steam, Liametz told participants on the "Advanced Social Networking Strategies" session, it is important to create a strategy that fits your hotel or CVB, noting that every company and its social networking objectives will be different.

Session highlights:

* In setting strategy and implementing the social networking platform, it is critically important that your company's guest services, public relations, marketing, HR/legal departments and ownership be involved to provide the appropriate guidance, insight and support for the plan.

* Pinpoint what you hope to achieve and choose the appropriate channels to help meet your expectations. Social networking success isn't as simple as accruing a lot of followers or "likes". You need to engage the audiences with relevant content that matters to them and encourage them to take action. Promoting your property just isn't enough, Liametz said.

* There are six primary tactics that deliver social networking results-social sharing, pitch bloggers, contests, discounts, reviews and generating links-and the key is to blend them into a cohesive plan that will maximize your investment and the results.

* Building your brand, revenue and more loyal customers are among the benefits of a strong social marketing strategy. Depending on the goals you set, you may find you need to filter out channels that can't help you achieve them or that don't work or measure up to your expectations.

* Content must be relevant, reflect your brand and give the viewer a reason to stay engaged. If you don't have the right content, you won't be successful. But you also must have a great "personality" on social networking sites. Make sure whoever is writing blogs and updating the Facebook page, for example, is applying the voice and personality of the message.

* Integrating your offline and online advertising is critical, and Liametz finds a lot of hotels are falling short. Whether it's the look and feel of the website or the slogan and message, everything should be cohesive-and consistent. While the message may be the same, the style in which it is presented will change, depending on the channel.

* Tracking the impact of your campaigns must be an ongoing process, and it is important that you re-evaluate your programs about every three months to make sure they're working, and if they are not, to fix what's broken.

This webinar was part one of a three-part series. Part 2: Social Networking Best Practices was March 8 and Part 3: How to use Geolocation Sites to Build Your Hotel's Presence will be March 22. To learn more and to register, go to www.hsmaiuniversity.org. To purchase a recording of this webinar or any previous HSMAI University webinar, go to http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/hsmai/index.php.