From  Trustyou.Com

Instagram and Pinterest are fundmentally about creating image. Or better put, helping people imagine. Where they’ve been, where they’re going, where they want to go, how they’ll feel when they get there. They are seemingly perfect spaces for hotels to communicate experiences, yet many hotels overlook creating a real strategy for the “image” sites and end up falling flat.

It’s understandable. These social sites haven’t historically had the pull of Facebook and Twitter, but that’s changing. According to Pew Reseach, Pinterest caught up with Twitter in 2012 for percentage of users, and Instagram is only a couple of points behind Pinterest.

Today, I suggest that if you haven’t already, take a nice long look at Instagram and Pinterest. See how they overlap and how they are different. In my posts this week, I’ll talk about each, and why/how I suggest hotels take advantage of them.

What does this have to do with reputation management, you might ask. A couple of things. First, it’s worth looking at what your guests’ photos are saying about you. It could be a different picture than you’re get from their written feedback, or perhaps it’s a visual reflection of exactly what’s being said.

Second, the image you’re putting out there online should be in harmony with what your guests are saying about you and the photos they are posting. If there’s discord, it will not only be noticed, but it will surely be pointed out. So think about that when you’re choosing photos to post. Are your photoshopped images serving you? Is your hotel much much less new in reality than it appears in your images? Be sure your images are truly reflective of your property.

One final note, if you’re still struggling to respond to TripAdvisor feedback or barely staying afloat on Facebook, shelve Instagram and Pinterest strategies. We’ve all only got so many resources.