Recent mobile and digital technologies have had profound impacts on companies in every corner of the business world and yet some industries have been shaken to their roots, while others have only seen minor changes. However, technology remains to be a dominant force in the market and is sweeping away business as usual and you could say it has leveled the playing field between massive international powerhouses and tiny budget boutiques; fundamentally it has overhauled the dynamics of hotel marketing and produced better hotel visitor experiences.
In order to understand how some brands thrive in the digital landscape while others flounder, it pays to examine the novel marketing strategies competitors use to attract customers. We take a look behind the curtain at some of the most effective hotel marketing and social media campaigns in the industry today which acts as a good learning point for up and coming entrepreneurs. Here are 3 simple social marketing tips for hotels.
David = Goliath
As an affordable international platform for connecting with customers, social media has leveled the playing field for hotels of all sizes. Powerful marketing no longer requires massive advertising investment, instead, great marketing equates to great content. If you can establish a unique personality, connect your hotel’s ethos with customer values, and give audiences reason to keep coming back; you can achieve a level of exposure that was unimaginable in years past.
The boutique Distrikt Hotel in NYC, for instance, has cultivated nearly 27,000 likes along with dozens of active commenters on their Facebook page. They post updates about cultural events around the city, humorous employee anecdotes, and stunning photos from nearby attractions.
Getting Personal, Social and Going Mobile
As digital technologies allow companies to increasingly reach out to specific customers, marketing campaigns have countless novel opportunities to get personal. Whether it means reaching out to guests on your social Facebook page to give those rewards or providing instant customer service via Twitter, or emailing family photos taken at your resort, social media is a powerful way to connect. Entrepreneurs need to remember that mobile tech allows customers to reach you as a business more conveniently and rapidly, so do invest time into mobile strategies and be sure to provide mobile services like dedicated apps that allow guests to address all their concerns directly from their smartphones.
Take inspiration from The St. Regis New York hotel, they took their app service to opulent lengths by providing an app that allows guests to instantly connect via Facetime to their private butler.
Honing In On A Niche
The beauty of social media is that it facilitates targeted marketing, if your social pages are not conscientiously targeting specific audiences you are wasting the powerful potential of social sites. Establish a unique style, consistently produce a distinct aesthetic in your content, and develop content that appeals to your ideal audience. Don’t worry about limiting your audience, because if you can connect with those who share a particular interest, your marketing will become exponentially more effective.
Take the Four Seasons for example, they ran a recent Facebook campaign called “Ignite the Spark,” in which they posted romantic photos from their destinations and invited guests to share their romantic holiday highlights.
While it certainly pays to learn about the tactics that work in the rapidly changing marketing landscape today, businesses won’t see results until they develop and implement actionable advertising strategies. So to mobilize your own marketing revolution today, put these three tips into practice today:
- Socialize: If you aren’t firmly established on social media, you’re already behind the times. Get onto Facebook and Twitter (and other networks that make sense with your audience), and start posting regular content today!
- Target Marketing: Start narrowing in on specific niches of your social media audience, and build relationships with them by providing great content those appeals to their unique interests.
- Make Guests Feel Special: Provide unexpected perks, discounts, upgrades, and rewards to socially active guests. If you choose the right customers, you won’t have to advertise the promotions. Instead, you can count on them to return the favor by bragging about their good luck and promoting this on social sites.
The days of traditional marketing are almost certainly over and so it is time to propel your hotel into the next generation of customer/business relations. The sooner you can take an innovative approach and implement these tips, the sooner you’ll have a leg up on the competition.
This is a guest blog by Hannah Connor, who is experienced in product strategies and marketing. She works for a money saving business called Vouchercloud and works specifically on the vouchercloud.com Hotel discounts.
