Hospitality Marketing in 2022 – Part III
As a continuation of our hospitality Marketing in 2022 – Part III, we are continuing by combining two essential topics. Social Media and SMS Marketing.
Social Media for Hospitality
Engaging your customers on social media can attract potential customers and create hype for your business. So here are some statistics collected from different sources. Some 52% of people get inspired to travel from the travel pictures of friends and family. Instagram-able place, services or products appeals to 40% of consumers under 30. Millennials share photos of their travels on social media about 97% of the time. Location tags increase engagement by 79%. After committing to a social media strategy, 71% of travel agencies report better customer interactions.
Facebook marketing strategies for hospitality
According to research, 55% of Facebook users like pages related to trips they’re planning. Marketing on Facebook generates $55 billion a year in revenue, so you can see how influential it is. It’s essential to have substantial organic and paid followers on Facebook before you start influencing potential customers.
Build your audience organically by inviting friends and contacts in your professional network. It is possible to link your Facebook page to your website and emails. Encourage engagement through regular incentives and contests. Encourage engagement through common incentives and competitions. Consider the 80-20 rule: 80% of your posts should focus on the local area, and the remaining 20% should address your business. Use Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram to cross-promote. Thank those who mention your page by leaving positive comments.
You can use Facebook advertising tactics to grow sales after establishing a page with many fans.
Utilizing the tools provided by Facebook to advertise your business will help you develop the Facebook conversion funnel.
- Users who visited the site but did not book/purchase can be targeted with Dynamic Ads for Travels (DAT). You can track travellers through their browsers, and you will be able to display offers associated with your business as they browse other sites.
- Travel advertisers can take advantage of dynamic ads for broad audiences. Hotel advertisers primarily use it to target potential guests planning to travel.
- Another feature is trip consideration, which sends content to people planning a trip without a specific destination.
Through Facebook, you can increase direct sales by offering top-notch service to a single traveller, and their word-of-mouth can generate significant revenue. For example, a client/visitors impressed by what they see will share pictures and good reviews with their friends on Facebook. This is a much more powerful and inexpensive approach than advertising.
Giving your followers a sense of exclusivity can also encourage direct sales. A great way to ensure direct sales is to offer exclusive deals and reduced prices to those who like your Facebook page. Hotel booking engines can even link to Facebook pages, so guests don’t need to go to the website to book. In addition, you can include a ‘book now’ or ‘reserve table’ button within your Facebook ads. Facebook posts with call-to-actions can drive sales significantly. You can integrate AI-powered chatbots into your social media accounts to optimize this marketing channel further.
Instagram marketing strategies for hospitality
The clean, simple Instagram feed is mobile-friendly, making it a great marketing tool. Travellers particularly like it. Businesses can now include call-to-action buttons on Instagram ads, like ‘call,’ ‘reserve,’ and ’email.’ Some will also feature ‘book,’ ‘reserve,’ and ‘get tickets’ buttons. Moreover, businesses can now view important customer messages directly in the primary inbox. In addition to improving direct sales, automated conversation tools can help process the volume of messages.
Instagram’s algorithm now follows a Facebook-style news feed. So try to provide Instagram users high-quality content as a hospitality marketing strategy.
To maximize your Instagram business presence, follow these guidelines:
- Through your posts, tell a brand story that complements one another. Make sure your images reflect the lifestyle of your target audience.
- Introduce the followers to your hardworking staff to connect with the human element. Show off the dynamic atmosphere at your business by sharing photos of food, staff interactions, and guests having fun.
- Provide a sense of the environment by sharing content about nearby attractions and local areas. Show off your surroundings and scenic views beyond your business. To make your images searchable, use the ‘photo map feature’ when uploading an image.
- Make sure you use hashtags. Adding links to posts is impossible, so hashtags are necessary to search. Use your brand’s hashtags to engage with users and start conversations. Use hashtags personalized to your business in your posts.
- Experiment with filters and layouts on Instagram to make your business/hotel/restaurant photos stand out.
SMS Marketing for Hospitality
Using instant messaging services for marketing can improve customer service and guest engagement. Considering how much time we spend on our mobile phones, SMS marketing is a great way to reach potential guests and retain customers. In addition, SMS is a fantastic way to communicate with your target market because 98% of messages are opened within 90 seconds. We covered this topic in How to use SMS marketing in the Tourism sector https://www.swisstravelmarket.ch/news/education/how-to-use-sms-marketing-in-the-tourism-sector/
We hope you find useful all the information we share with great pleasure. If you missed some of the previous articles, please visit our Education section
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