You don’t have to be a big international hotel chain to tap into the might of social media. Here are some ways you can effectively reach your audiences and stay ahead of your competition.
NB: This is an article from Staah
1. Choose Your Channels Wisely
First decide your social media goals – what do you want to achieve out of it in the short and long term. Then look at your resources – and where your competitors are active – to decide which channels to focus on. Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube … what will it be?
It is better to focus on a few channels you can do really well, as opposed to spreading yourself too thin across many networks.
2. Photography is Key
Visual content enables travellers to not only imagine themselves in a destination, but to actually experience similar sensations. Take advantage of this by offering your fans plenty of inspiration for their dreams.
But, we all know that creating your own photos and videos is not easy. So encourage your guests to post photos and videos on your channels. Create a hashtag that makes it easy for them to include you in their own posts. This is great user generated content and gets terrific engagement.
3. Be Short. Be Quirky. Be Relevant
Mile long posts will get you nowhere on social media. No one wants to read a book on their newsfeed. To catch users’ attention, it is important to keep your posts short and sweet. Be relevant, funny and engaging. Tie in hashtags within your posts to be short and achieve your post objectives.
4. It’s Ok to Be Repetitive
Browse through some of the most successful social channels and you will be amazed at the level of repetition. And, it’s ok as long as it is still relevant and interesting. Don’t be afraid to reuse content, not only over different days of the week or month, but even on the same day. This is especially true on Twitter, where content is cycled so much more frequently.
5. Influencers Are Good
You probably know this, but if you have an influential person staying with you, request them to mention you or share something about your property on their channels. Their reach is probably more than yours – and more relevant.
But, not everyone has celebrities lined up outside their door. And so we find other ‘influencers’ – people your audience relates to or follows such as bloggers. Strategic social marketing with them can get you ahead on these channels pretty quickly.
6. Timing is Key
Although it feels like everyone is on their phone 24/7, there are key points throughout the day and week that get the most social media traffic. You can use the insights on your social media channels to find your ‘high times’ for traffic. Generally, Instagram videos are best posted at night (around 9pm) and weekends spurs quite a bit of activity within the travel community.
7. Be Consistent in Your Tone and Online Persona
The most popular pages are those that have a certain look and consistent tone. Keep aesthetics in mind when designing your posts (especially Instagram). Stick to a colour scheme and rope in a professional if needed to customise your page to fit your brand profile. A lot is now possible within these platforms.
8. Online Reviews Matter
Reviews on social platforms are essential to help travellers make and travel and accommodation choices. Push to get more such reviews from your guests. Once in use them creatively in your posts and at the minimum, at least respond to the guests who do leave a review.
