It’s safe to confirm that social media is no fad. A medium to showcase and promote yourself or your business, it is an avenue that allows you to reach millions of possible customers directly and quickly.
Brands across various industries use social media to interact with their audience, creating a more personal relationship that traditional advertising could never achieve.
Regarding the hotel industry, social media has a two-fold advantage. On the one end, different channels, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, are all excellent hotel marketing platforms.
At the same time, they help your hotel gain exposure without much effort. How, you wonder. Well, we live in a world where most individuals have a compelling desire to share all aspects of their lives. This, more often than not, includes sharing photos and videos of their hotel stays.
However, to assume that people will tag your property or talk about it without you investing time into devising a hotel marketing plan is a mistake. You still need to have a well-thought strategy that entices customers to book directly with you and encourages them to share about the hotel on social media.
Therefore, implementing the following tips to increase hotel bookings using social media advertising is a step in the right direction.
Working alongside your hotel marketing team, you can then expand upon these concepts to gain digital dominance that helps solidify your brand and increase your reach on the internet.
Spread Out!
One of the top tips to increase hotel bookings using social media is to spread out. As a business, you must have a presence across all platforms.
A well-defined profile with an interesting bio and necessary links can help pull customers from channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and even Pinterest.
Furthermore, to help with hotel branding and increase your digital authority, it is equally essential to come across as a professional. To do so, be consistent with your postings, which need a certain level of aesthetics.
Also, switch between visuals by posting videos, photos, reels, stories, staff interviews, and information about your city. As a result, customers will visit your channel regularly, not just looking to book a room but also to learn more about different aspects of the hotel or its surroundings.
Now, while many hotel businesses are active on Facebook and Instagram, here are three that many often overlook;
LinkedIn – A great medium to develop B2B relationships. Also, perfect for capturing the attention of business travelers.
TripAdvisor – Ensure that you claim your property on TripAdvisor and reply to customer comments. It is still one of the leading websites where people search for reviews before booking a hotel.
WhatsApp – With 2 billion users, WhatsApp presents endless direct marketing possibilities. Their bulk messaging tool is exceptionally beneficial when sharing information about deals, promotions, photos, videos, and forms. Lastly, you can also use WhatsApp as a customer support tool.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is the process of collaborating with social media influencers to highlight your hotel. These can either be a barter transaction wherein you allow the influencer to stay on your property or a paid promotion.
While an effective way to market, one needs to spend time selecting the right influencer for your brand. They should have a following that matches your clientele and high levels of interaction to ascertain positive results. For example, picking an influencer who talks mainly about films to promote your hotel might not be beneficial even if they have millions of followers.
Furthermore, when planning your strategy, include both video and photo posts. If the influencer is visible across different platforms, work on a multi-channel deal to boost your reach.
Most importantly, work with the influencers to create informative content spotlighting your hotel’s unique selling points. Remember, the quality of their content, not quantity, is a massive part of how viral it will go.
Social media management requires keeping an eye on various elements of each individual platform and is thus best handled by a hotel marketing team.
Limited Deals
Any hotel marketing team will tell you that a successful social media campaign aims to gain more followers and increase your direct hotel bookings.
One technique to do both simultaneously is to have deals limited to your social media followers. They can be straightforward discounts or competitions where winners get special prizes ranging from hotel merchandise to free stays.
To capitalize on such promotions, it is essential to have designated hashtags and rules that require participants to share or tag your handle and help spread the word.
When done right, even the most basic of social media-centric deals will result in the following;
- Increase your reach as participants share the deal
- Strengthen your brand value
- Increase your social media follower count
- Lead customers to your website
- Enhance your database by receiving email addresses.
- Results in an increase in direct bookings, especially if the deals include granted discounts on stays.
Audience Interaction
Using social media to merely advertise your hotel is once again a missed opportunity. Particular channels, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and to some extent, Instagram, are ideal for large-scale interactions with your clients.
However, one must be cautious and careful when dealing with customers on open platforms, with several prying eyes at all times. So, the main idea behind increasing hotel bookings using social media is to convert your followers into fans.
You may do this by using humor, memes, or commenting on a trending topic. But do not disrespect anyone in the process.
More importantly, do not ignore any negative comments. Instead, take it as feedback and shift the conversation to customer support or private messages where you can resolve individual issues without openly talking about them.
Remember, the more you interact with your audience, the more they will speak highly of you. Social media interaction makes your client feel special and heard, which eventually leads to them becoming long-term patrons.
Direct & Indirect Marketing
A wonderful aspect of social media is that it is also a tool for conventional marketing. To remain consistent, post photos of your property or share positive feedback you’ve received in your guest book.
You can further increase hotel bookings using social media by sharing new features, amenities, or unique aspects of your hotel.
Even if no new content is available, you can attract and network with your followers by sharing blog links that lead them back to your website.
Moreover, interactive posts like polls and quizzes allow you to gather information about what your guests want during their stay.
While the above does not require investment beyond having a social media team, you may opt for more direct marketing choices if the budget allows.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube all have possibilities for sponsored posts. Based on your selection of region and demographics, these ads are helpful when you are starting to build a brand and want the maximum number of people to know about it quickly.
Social media marketing can sometimes become daunting with changing algorithms and the constant need to post content. As a result, it is worth working with a hotel marketing agency to create a strategy that places you at the top across different social media channels. Click here to learn how ADIGITAL can help you in this endeavor.
