With 2.3 billion active on social media, it is no surprise that online marketing, specifically social media marketing, is a hot topic in hospitality. 91% of retail brands use two or more social media channels and the hospitality industry should be no different.
A fairly unknown and potentially daunting concept to many, here we look at just some of the ways media savvy hoteliers have embraced the channel and the interesting results they have seen. From Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to blogging, let’s dive in and take a closer look at the ways you can adopt some successful strategies for your own property.
Facebook – With 1.86 billion active users, Facebook can provide you with a platform to reach an audience much larger than traditional hotel marketing. Five new profiles are created on Facebook every second, which means your future guests are very likely to be there! Visually appealing and with no restrictions on the length of text you can use in a post, Facebook is becoming an increasingly popular channel for hoteliers to drive brand awareness, direct bookings and a great way to collect much sought-after reviews.
Facebook can be used to share information on your hotels facilities, things to do in the local area and a great place to generate reviews as well as connecting with past guests. To get started, connect with the local businesses around you that could advise their customers on your accommodation offering; is there a local castle, attraction or tourist hotspot near you? Follow their pages and promote their services to your followers; people will repay the favour and especially so if you work on that online relationship! Encourage guests to share their snaps online, offer an incentive to do so and make it clear that the guest will always receive the best deal by booking directly with you. Publish your events on the Facebook page and look into purchasing a Facebook booking app to capture those lookers into bookers!
Insider tip – Incentives really do capture people’s attention, so run a campaign to offer a night’s free stay, a bar tab or prize for one lucky ‘liker’ of your page.
This will generate likes for your page that will then provide you with an audience to receive your updates in their newsfeed – Win / Win for all involved.
Twitter – There are 284 million active users on Twitter, and this is where the hashtag # was born. On average, 6000 tweets are sent out every second, making an impressive 500 million tweets per day! Twitter has a 140 character limit on posts which means tweets are short and to the point. Hashtags are a great way to target in on prospect guests and lead generation for your hotel, whilst also building brand awareness, guest interaction and loyalty.
