As the world’s largest and most engaged social media network, Facebook provides a wealth of opportunities for advertisers, particularly in the travel space. Not only does the highly visual nature of the platform lend itself nicely to showcasing experiences, Facebook also offers travel specific ad format (Dynamic Ads For Travel).
Organic reach is at an all-time low (2% – 6% as of late 2017) and Facebook is continually evolving their algorithm to “provide a better user experience”, which often comes at a cost for businesses. A prime example of this is demonstrated via a recent announcement that the popular social platform will be cracking down on “engagement bait”, an effective tactic that entices users to engage with post copy blatantly telling users to take a specific action (ex: “tag a friend”, “like if…”, etc.).
We know that social media is an important part of any well-rounded hotel marketing presence, but how can we make the most of our efforts?
Though well-executed organic campaigns can be effective, the simple truth is that you will get the biggest bang for your buck by pairing important organic campaigns with a paid promotion.
Facebook offers several advertising ad formats that can be effective for hotels, though the ad format you choose won’t matter if you do not target the right audience. Honing in on a highly specific audience that is properly aligned with your overall campaign goal can make or break your Facebook ad performance.
Over the years, Facebook has solicited a vast database of information about its users, making targeting options more abundant and sophisticated than ever. Advertisers can now get extremely granular with defining niche audiences to laser-target a specific segment of the platform user base.
If you are having trouble getting started, we recommend first defining the goal of your campaign. Are you trying to generate awareness about a new on-property amenity or a new special/package? Are you trying to generate new leads? Are you trying to increase sales during a promotion? Defining your goal will help you best decide which audience (and ad format) will best help you achieve your goal.
And, keep in mind, sales and revenue are not the only goals of a campaign. While social media can work to generate real dollars for your hotel, social media is far more effective at building relationships with past, present, and future guests. Simply put, social media is just one touch point, albeit an important touch point, throughout the customer shopping journey. Your primary goal should be to be useful, helpful, and relevant at all times – versus being a giant sales billboard. Your fans won’t like your content, they won’t engage and down goes any organic reach in an endless spiral of failure.
Now that we have defined our goal, let’s start exploring the vast array of targeting options available through Facebook and start defining a few guest personas. Keep in mind that, while we will discuss each targeting options on its own, targeting is far more effective when multiple elements are combined to define a specific audience.
Let’s start with the basics.
