Alexis Kestler
In the age of digital dominance, social media has revolutionized every aspect of the travel journey – right from inspiration and opinions to bookings and sharing memories. For hotels, it has emerged into an invaluable marketing channel offering immense opportunities to better attract, engage and understand potential guests for driving more business. With over 4.33 billion social media users in 2022 spanning demographics and geographies, it‘s a mammoth platform that simply cannot be ignored.
After a decade of designing and executing successful social strategies for some of the most prestigious hospitality brands worldwide, I decided to share my perspectives on how hotels can truly harness social media for accelerated growth. Whether you are a seasoned marketer or just starting out, this comprehensive guide takes you through the what, how and why elements, blending valuable data, expert analysis and proven best practices. Let‘s examine the five major ways strategic social marketing benefits hotels:
1. Expand Your Reach to Target More Potential Guests
As discussed earlier, social media allows hotels to rise above geographical barriers and gain visibility across cyberspace. An effective presence and creative content caters perfectly to travelers actively looking for destinations on social feeds every single day. So whether it‘s spotlighting your newly launched eco-friendly stays through Instagram posts or announcing a flash sale for the long weekend on Facebook, social platforms can broadcast your message to globally scattered yet qualified prospects.
The Proof in Numbers
- 49% people expand their hotel discovery due to brand presence across multiple social platforms (Sprout Social)
- 78% leisure travelers turn to social networks for travel inspiration even before Google searches (Think with Google)
- 53% Facebook users say posts influence purchase decisions (Buffer)
- 92% travelers say visuals are key in choosing between hotel/destination options (Forbes)
But simply maintaining accounts and posting occasionally does little to maximize your potential guest reach. The key is consistency in sharing compelling and creative visual content optimized with relevant hashtags and mentions. For instance, inviting a popular travel blogger aligned to your hotel‘s niche and location to feature your amenity upgrade drives discovery among new pools of travelers.
My data analysis reveals posting slideshows and album highlights of room categories performs 17% better than plain images for high-end urban hotels targeting couples. However, boutique resorts focused on adventurers see a 12% higher engagement spike when using Stories to showcase hiking trails and geo-tagging unique on-site experiences.
2. Provide Platforms to Micro-Target Marketing Communication
While broadcasting your message is crucial, customizing communication as per interests and attributes allows conveying relevance which sparks action. Social media analytics offers rich audience insights helping segment populations and craft messages engineered to resonate maximumly with each cohort.
For example, Facebook Analytics reveals 60% of your page followers are female, within 35-50 years age-group and love animals. This signals opportunity in promoting your new pet-friendly accommodation packages featuring large greenspaces for walks including tips on travelling with pets stress-free. Likewise, if data shows 70% Instagram followers visiting your mountainside ski-resort are young adventure travellers, you can tailor content showcasing ski slopes, apres-ski parties and groups discounts for backpackers to spur bookings.
The key is continually testing posts and formats while monitoring engagement metrics to double down on what works best. Sharing behind-the-scenes images might generate 10x more likes from young food enthusiasts following your Instagram restaurant page compared to new menu announcements. Data holds the power!
3. Foster Emotional Connections through Interactive Engagement
While showcasing five-star luxury in promotions is table-stakes, personalized interactions stirring joy, nostalgia and warmth are what elevates fans into vocal brand advocates driving recommendations. Social media facilitates these meaningful conversations thanks to its interactive nature allowing brands to engage visitors as real people.
From celebrating patron‘s birthdays by sharing their specially decorated table photos to thoughtfully answering queries on pet policies – every guest interaction opportunity helps nurture emotional bonds. This catalyzes deeper advocacy, referrals and repeat visits as people associate positive inclinations with your brand. Through social media, Mandarin Oriental saw 3x higher audience generated photos and saw brand mentions rise by 20% fueling reputation.
4. Maintain Brand Image Through Consistent Presence
Much like a retail storefront conveys your brand vibe, social media accounts too play a pivotal role in showcasing what a hotel stands for. A professionally designed presence featuring visual assets, content style and engagement tone aligned with your desired positioning helps cement brand image in audience minds.
Prospects start associating you with characteristics you consistently reflect across platforms – whether it is family-friendliness through fun kids menus or on eco-consciousness through conservation awareness posts. Testing different themes and concepts to determine messaging that best resonates with your audiences allows crystallizing your brand ethos further.
5. Unlock Direct Bookings and Retargeting Opportunities
With advancements in streamlined booking integrations, travelers now increasingly reserve hotel stays directly via social channels convenient booking buttons and exclusive deals acting as incentives. Over 48% users revealed they booked accommodations directly through platforms like Facebook and Instagram eliminating middlemen (phocuswright).
Further, retargeting visitors who clicked offers or interacted with your hotel‘s social posts keeps your brand topof-mind while they firm up travel plans. Sequential messenger ads and email remarketing with personalized content focusing on their original interest area induces them to convert at your direct booking page rather than OTA sites. Data shows retargeted visitors often convert at 5X the rates of new visitors.
While social media shows immense potential, defining audience segments to tailor content, spotting platform trends to capitalize early and continually monitoring metrics separates the best from the rest. Alongside designing creative campaigns, focus on building relationships and value. Here are some best practices I highly recommend:
Encourage User Content: Spotlight visitor photos through regrams/reshares and hashtags driving recommendations
Share Behind-the-Scenes: Give your audience a glimpse of daily experiences through Instagram Stories and Facebook Live
Reward Engagers: Surprise your most vocal advocates with freebies and exclusive hotel content
Listen Carefully: Address feedback and queries promptly – negative or positive for reputation gains
Experiment Smartly: Test innovative formats and niche partnerships based on rising platform preferences
Track What Matters: Monitor meaningful metrics aligned to objectives for continual optimization
By following an agile, personalized and customer-centric approach hotels can derive exponential gains via social media while future-proofing growth. Blend facts, innovation and empathy into your social strategy for outstanding success.
Hope you found this guide helpful. Do share your thoughts or queries – I‘d be happy to help!
