Why Social Media Is the Go-To Tool for Hotel Marketing
By Nick Ovanessoff CEO, Lucky Find Hospitality | Featured in Hotel Executive Magazine June 24, 2018
We are living in a time of innovation. As the hotel industry changes we, as individuals, brands and corporations must adapt. While there is always a time and place for print advertisements, TV spots, and face-to-face networking, society is becoming digitized and so must our marketing efforts. In today's highly-mobile and global society, social media is the go-to tool for hotel marketing.
Why Social Media Works
First, and maybe the most obvious, is that it allows us to COMMUNICATE. Visual communication and engagement with your target audience on a regular basis are key. Consumers and businesses have become accustomed to receiving information visually – text vs. voicemail, video vs. copy. Whether it is Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, people are looking for new and engaging content, so using those platforms to communicate your brand message is essential.
It Establishes CONNECTIONS
Social media helps consumers build authentic emotional connections to your brand. It also offers an easily attainable way to highlight upcoming events, learn about your guests' experience and keep an ear to the ground for travel trends, wants and needs. In addition, social influencers have emerged on the scene and are influencing consumer behavior more so than ever before. Like it or not, those same influencers can help create those genuine connections with the brand, so engaging with them and sharing their content can further propel the hotel brand.
It Allows Us To Easily CONSUME
We are constantly on-the-go, so being able to consume content through our handheld devices means that it is easy to reach your audience and consistently engage with them. Think about it – Twitter allows for 140 characters, so a brand must be able to share a story, provoke or persuade a customer quickly, usually while they are busy doing other things.
Web Versus Social
Now, you may be thinking "Well, I have a website, that will do." In our app-driven economy, we are learning that while it is imperative to have a dedicated website, there is a legitimization process that ensues through social media.
As travelers are looking for more obscure destinations and Instaworthy accommodations, they find and vet their choices based on online social media presence. While your website serves as a business card of sorts, your social media is your movie-trailer - made to excite, engage and draw guests in. From guest standards and online reviews to inspirational images and videos - social media plays a monumental role when planning their next adventure. To leverage channels properly you want to be sure you are offering up high quality, engaging content across the board - which means being active on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube… While these channels are obviously the most widely used, it is always a good idea to keep up-to-date with new and upcoming Apps. Early adoption of a new platform could make a difference in snagging that perfect username for your brand… think MyHotel vs MyHotel29.
With so many channel options and competitive noise, it can be tough to create a good social strategy – one that truly moves the dial and engages with the right customers. While there are myriad of social tips and tricks, there are a few basic essentials to be mindful of, especially as you're getting started.
Be Consistent
Consistency is key within the spectrum of social media. While staying on brand with the standards of your hotel, you also want to be sure you are inviting guests in through their eyes. Selecting high-quality imagery with a consistent visual appearance will attract more views, more likes, and more business. And, ensuring your social media message, tone and brand voice is consistent with every other customer touchpoint is a must. So, if you are running a key promotion on social, make it easy for the customer to take action by adding a special link or promo code. A frustrated customer is a lost customer, so making things easy and keeping it all consistent counts.
Outsource, as Needed
Many brands do not have a dedicated social media team or social media role within their hotel group, which prevents them from regular postings and engagement. Not to worry. There are plenty of people or companies that can be hired on a part-time or full-time basis. They know how to best utilize the latest algorithms, social media trends and tricks to get the most engagement for your brand. Naturally, vetting those teams and ensuring they are clear on your brand message is essential. But do not let lack of resources prevent you from having a successful social strategy.
Working with Influencers
Influencers range from a variety of individuals within every type of industry, from health and wellness to travel and beauty. When working with influencers, more followers doesn't always mean more exposure. According to Medium.com Micro-Influencers - accounts with 1,000-100,000 follows - generate "60 percent higher campaign engagement rates; those campaigns are 6.7 times more efficient per engagement than influencers with larger followings, which makes them more cost-effective; and micro-influencers drive 22.2 times more weekly conversations than the average consumer. Because they are personally invested in their crafts, micro-influencers are trusted sources of recommendations for followers."
Micro-Influencers tend to have a more specific demographic of followers and picking the right influencer to work with means that you can focus your campaign on the right audience. So how do you find the right type of influencers you should be working with? We will touch more on this later.
Know Your Market
It is imperative to attract an audience with like-minded interests. Guests are not just looking for a posh hotel, these days they want to learn about and be embedded in the culture of the destination as well.
Highlight Your Best Features
Whether you are in the city, the countryside, the mountains or on a deserted island, your guests will be traveling outside their known norms. Give them insight into the intricacies of your surrounding area. Let them visualize what it is like to experience being there. You probably know the area best, so local advice and insider guides are always appreciated.
Go Outside
Experiences have proven to be a selling point for many destinations. It is not just about where they are headed, it is about what they will be doing (and documenting) while there. This is why we have seen an uptick in the need for experience-inclusive travel - a specialty within the industry that A Lucky Find Travel has mastered.
When Working with Influencers
Now you may be wondering: "How do I find the right influencers, and how to go about working with them?" Anyone with a mobile phone can call themselves an influencer, so knowing who is actually influencing customer behavior-and the right customer-is important.
First, identify platforms that best suit your brand and potential customers. For instance, Instagram has proven to be a fan favorite for businesses and guests alike and has a vast array of travel influencers to work with. Outperforming across all social mediums, according to Later.com Instagram has " an average 3.21% engagement rate (compared to 1.5% across all social networks)."
This may take some time, but find accounts that appear 'on brand.' You do not just want pretty pictures, but a voice that can tell the story of your brand in a more authentic way. Pick a few of your favorites and reach out to them either through Direct Messaging through the Instagram App or through their contact information (if listed on their account). Introduce yourself and explain what it is that you like about their work and the ways in which you would like to work with them.
Travel expenses, experiences and a monetary amount are usually included in their services. If you have a strict budget to work within, discuss this with them and be sure to let them know what type of content you are looking for to see if they can deliver. Discuss with your legal team to write up a simple written contract that you can send to each.
Pivoting from traditional marketing content plans to create video is the fastest way to compete and get far ahead within the social spectrum. Studies keep showing that consumers are now turning to social media platforms to search a business before looking elsewhere and more people are watching videos on social media (especially via mobile) than ever before. This just reinforces the fact that our generation is very visually intrigued.
For years, advertisers touted the mantra "sex sells" when creating ostentatious ad campaigns *cue supermodels eating Carl's Jr*. However, as every other industry divulging their budgets into influencer marketing and paid social posts would agree, captivating and engaging content on social media sells. As more and more people across the globe become connected, the hospitality industry should strive to become frontrunners in this dynamic shift and concentrate more of their hotel marketing efforts to leveraging social media.