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If you’re looking to make your hotel more appealing to customers, try out these 10 social media marketing ideas.
In the past, when looking for a hotel, people would begin by looking online, clicking through different websites that compare prices, or asking friends and family for suggestions.
But times have changed.
Now, most people are turning to social media for inspiration on where to stay during their travels.
Social platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat and Pinterest are popular sources for potential guests looking for somewhere new to stay; whether they’re following travel accounts that share travel content or simply seeking suggestions from influencers they trust.
If hotels want to stay current and attract a younger clientele, especially in places where there is intense competition, they need to have a social media presence.
If you want your hotel to be successful, then you need to focus on growing its online presence. This can be done by creating a strong social media strategy that will attract more customers and help your property gain recognition in the industry.
Here are the top ten ideas to include in your social media marketing strategy, regardless of where you currently stand with your approach.
Table of contents
1. Show Your Face(s)
A significant advantage that social media has is that it reveals a more intimate side to your brand. If you associate faces with the name of your hotel, the effect will be even greater.
Instead of maintaining a stiff, business-oriented online presence, show your followers real people in photos and videos. This will help them develop a strong human connection with your property.
Having your employees speak directly to your followers will make your content more engaging and enjoyable to watch.
Having your employees featured on your social media channels makes your hotel appear more relatable and personable.
Customers will know what to expect by checking out your social platforms, and this can help solidify the idea of booking a stay. When potential guests visit your Instagram or Facebook, they should be able to picture themselves enjoying their time at your hotel.
2. Utilize Short Form Video
Social media users have limited attention spans.
With an infinite amount of content available online, your hotel has to find a way to make sure that yours stands out.
Video content is currently one of the most, if not the, popular formats on social media platforms.
You’re not limited to Instagram when it comes to sharing videos; you can also post them on Facebook, your website, or even in email marketing content. This is an incredibly engaging way to reach a wider audience.
Short-form video is a powerful tool that can help you tap into viral trends, conduct micro interviews with staff and customers, and more.
If you want to encourage customers to come to your hotel or destination, this is an effective format. By creating montages with music that create a certain mood or show an experience, it plays on people’s desire travel and book a stay.
3. Partner With Influencers
Influencer marketing is an excellent way for hotels to improve their social media presence and connect with potential guests.
In addition to generating new content, you will also reach a wider audience and improve your brand image.
Numerous options are available to hotels when they desire to create an influencer marketing strategy.
Here are some examples:
- Offer fully paid trips to travel or lifestyle influencers and encourage them to share their experiences with their followers.
- If you want your hotel to appear in more influencer content, consider offering it as a venue for their events. That way, it is shared to an even larger audience.
- Partner with an influencer who will promote your hotel and the experience it offers through their social media channels.
- Offer influencers discounted or fully paid stays at your hotel in exchange for them promoting your business to their followers.
- Create an advertising campaign with the help of an influencer.
The most obvious choice when it comes to finding a travel influencer may be to stick to your industry, but don’t let that stop you from exploring other options.
Keep your hotel’s target demographic in mind, and then locate social media influencers whose followers would be interested in your hotel. After finding these influencers, try to think of collaborative ways you can work together.
4. Offer Exclusivity
Although you should share similar content across all social media channels, it’s just as important to provide exclusive content on each platform.
By doing this, your followers are more likely to engage with your hotel on different social media platforms, which will result in a boost of engagement and help establish your brand reputation.
Your followers will appreciate you sharing content with them that they can’t find elsewhere. This might include:
- Running competitions.
- Giving sneak peeks into new rooms or facilities.
- Offering discounts.
- Letting followers get involved in designing or picking features of new services.
By participating in this way, you not only build engagement but also foster a stronger sense of community among your followers. In turn, this creates deeper customer loyalty.
5. Consider Seasonality
Seasonality is a crucial aspect for hotel sales, but it’s also an important element to consider when planning your social media strategy.
Your hotel’s social media posts should always reflect and align with your current goals. For example, aim to capitalize on interest during high season by sharing relevant content then.
In addition, you should adjust your social media content to maintain followers or elevate interest during slower periods of the year by sharing special deals or showcasing different aspects that will inspire bookings.
In addition to the cyclical changes that come with the different seasons, you must also consider special holidays or yearly events when planning your social media content.
Creating content that is holiday or event-themed is a great way to boost your posts’ reach, as it is more likely to get shared during the celebration and has more potential to go viral.
6. Be Quick to Reply
It’s important to reply quickly to comments and mentions on all social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Social media users are used to things happening quickly and getting responses right away.
Although it might be time-consuming, replying to comments on social media can actually help your brand succeed.
Being listened to and acknowledged is key for any audience.
By replying to customers – whether it’s out of complaint or gratitude – you build relationships, make your customer service feel more personal, and encourage people to keep leaving reviews.
Engaging with your followers not only strengthens the relationships you have with them, but also improves how others see your brand.
If you show your customers that you care about their experience and take the time to listen to them, your hotel will develop a positive reputation. This way, you’ll not only discourage negative feedback but also improve your content’s social media performance.
Quickly responding to comments or mentions of your brand online helps control the overall response.
In positive scenarios, you can share and make the most of a great review from a customer or influencer to help it reach more people. On the flip side, in negative situations, you need to address customer problems speedily to stop any complaints from escalating and harming your reputation.
7. Take Action From Comments
In addition to the points already mentioned, be sure to include a feedback loop in your social media strategy.
Taking action based off of feedback is important.
With platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, customers can directly contact you with observations about your hotel and what needs to be improved. This offers an easy way for you to understand how guests feel about your brand.
If you want to ensure your brand’s success, take action and create content based on what your followers tell you they want to see.
For example, if you gave a tour of an area of your hotel that’s usually not seen by the general public, you would probably get a lot of engagement from your followers.
If that post performed well, consider creating similar content to take advantage of the momentum it built.
On another note, if you’ve received negative feedback about your booking system or customer service, it’s time to make a change.
Address the root of the problem by learning from your followers and changing systems, instead of just resolving these problems as they come up.
If customer complaints have motivated you to take action, it might be beneficial to let your followers know about the changes you’re making as a result of their feedback. This shows that you value their opinions and are dedicated to providing them with a great experience.
8. Learn From Top-Performing Content
Not only can you take action based on your most successful social media posts, but you can also adapt and improve your strategy.
To gauge what sort of content your followers will enjoy and engage with, look at metrics such as:
- Likes.
- Shares.
- Comments.
- Engagement in the first few hours of posting.
- Reactions of followers in the comments or replies.
When you find a social media post that is having success, look at its key components to try and identify why it is doing well. This can include the topic, format, length or tone of the piece.
Find what works well and replicate those strategies in other content to get a clearer understanding of what is driving engagement. With this newfound knowledge, develop an approach to social media posts that will be successful more often than not.
9. Invest In Paid Ads On Facebook And Instagram
Perhaps Facebook isn’t the first social media site that comes to mind when you think of creative content. Regardless, it’s one of the best channels to invest in if you’re hoping to incorporate paid advertising into your hotel’s social media marketing strategy.
Paid Facebook ads circulate your hotel’s marketing content to individuals who wouldn’t ordinarily see it but fit the profile of your target audience.
If you use retargeting as part of your strategy, not only will you grow your following and improve brand recognition, but you’ll also see an increase in conversions.
Since Facebook and Instagram are both owned by the same company, you can use the same marketing tools to create paid ads on Instagram.
If you’re looking to boost visibility and drive more traffic to your hotel’s website, Instagram is a great platform to invest in. However, the audiences you target and the ads you create will likely be different than those on other platforms.
If you want to use social media marketing to grow your business, start by setting a small budget and trying out different strategies until you find one that works for you.
Facebook is a useful platform to track your progress because it provides data on how well each advertisement is performing. This helps you understand which areas need improvement and what parts of your approach are successful.
10. Encourage Trip Advisor Reviews
Although it does not look like your average social media site, TripAdvisor has a loyal following that can change how people view your hotel.
By claiming your hotel’s listing on our website, you can then update the details to ensure that prospective guests have a profile that accurately reflects your brand image.
If you use TripAdvisor as part of your hotel’s marketing strategy, the site’s data analytics can help measure its success.
A perk of regular TripAdvisor use is being able to communication with customers who leave reviews.
Regularly engaging with comments on TripAdvisor can help improve your brand image. Customers will take notice of how you respond to feedback and praise, so make sure to put your best foot forward!
Final Thoughts
In the past, social media marketing for hotels only entailed posting on one or two platforms. Nowadays, it has become a key component in most hotel’s advertising plans.
Ensuring your content is shared across multiple channels is crucial to success, but it’s just as important to be strategic about the platforms you use. Consider factors like your target audience, their interests, and what kinds of resources you have before making any decisions.
If you want to be successful, don’t waste your time on ineffective tactics—provide potential customers with content that is both relevant and valuable.
