No matter how well you run and market your hotel or resort, there’s a good chance you’re going to face some seasonality in your demand patterns, which inevitably manifest themselves as the mortal enemy of hoteliers everywhere: the dreaded low period.
Recently, smart hotel marketers are embracing paid social media advertising to alleviate periods of weakness and drive revenue from hyper-targeted social campaigns.
However, there are multiple best practices and nuances to be mindful of when formulating your hotel social media advertising campaign specifically intended for aiding low periods.
Here are some key ways to utilize social advertising to drive business during those slow times of the year:
1. Get Specific
One of the great strengths of social advertising is its ability to zero-in on very specific audiences, based on a host of factors, like interests, location, age, income, sex and more. This is an edge you don’t have with hotel pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, which makes a social media advertising presence all the more vital during slow periods.
“You’re able to get a lot more narrower targeting on social media in your advertising, so if you’re trying to grow specific markets, the ability to target any type of interest is something that’s incredibly useful,” said Elle Andress, social media director at Tambourine. “You may have specific interests or promotions you want to offer for people who like running, because there’s a big running event happening in town. You’re able to target those really specific audiences on social media, which you won’t find with PPC.”
2. Be Timely
Another of the helpful, hyper-focused advantages of social media advertising that can be vital during slow periods is the ability to isolate potential guests based on when those users are considering taking their next trip. It’s especially helpful for attracting last-minute guests, which can be used to fill holes in demand that are too close to the day of arrival to be marketed through less timely channels.
