The average frequent flyer spends at least one hour researching prospective hotels online in his or her destination before booking a flight. In 2017, it will be a marketing sin for hotels not to have a presence on Twitter, which boasted 319 million monthly active users as of the fourth quarter of 2016.
Also, Twitter provides a two-way communication channel between brands and customers, especially for the hospitality industry, which is more customer-centric than others.
Twitter marketing for hotels is all about communicating with customers, meeting future guests, resolving problems and learning more about prospective guests to increase return on investment.
Businesses such as MGM Grand, Major League Baseball and JetBlue have mastered the art of Twitter marketing and its use as a communication tool by running contests, attracting potential guests by social listening to certain phrases providing customer support and fostering relationships.
Below are four underutilized Twitter marketing strategies that every hotel needs to adopt to boost social engagement and customers.
Photo-tagging guests
A study by Buffer showed that attaching images to tweets raised Twitter engagement by as much as double, and tweets with images received 18 percent more clicks than those without. Similarly, a study of verified accounts showed that Twitter images resulted in up to 35 percent more retweets.
Imagine the number of retweets, likes, tweet impression and extra eyes for a hotel brand when it tags a departing customer with his or her last photo in the hotel, asking if he or she had a safe trip back home?
Hotels can request guests’ Twitter information upon check-in and offer special discounts at restaurants or spas in exchange for it, including the permission to take their pictures. Photo tagging present or departing hotel guests asking about their visit, following up after their stay or informing them about special events and deals at your hotel will yield immeasurable results.
Used tactically, photo tags are an extraordinary way of targeting a specific audience (influencers, guest followers on Twitter, business owners, etc.). For instance, photo-tagging the local chambers of commerce is a sure way to ensure that your tweet gets read by the followers of that business community.
