Social media is a powerful marketing channel for businesses in any industry. However, it’s particularly beneficial in the hospitality niche, as social media platforms give brands the opportunity to show off properties in dynamic ways.
They also give you the opportunity to strengthen customer loyalty. That’s very important in the hospitality industry. You want to make sure your former guests visit again. To achieve this goal, keep the following hotel social media tips in mind.
Offer Discounts for Social Media Rights
Showing real hotel guests having genuinely positive experiences at your hotels is a smart way to make the right impression on social media followers. Potential guests may respond more positively to a photo of a real couple enjoying a romantic dinner at your hotel restaurant than they would if you shared a picture of stock photo models.
However, you need permission from guests to include them in any content you post on social media. You might receive this by offering discounts at check-in in exchange for their permission.
This doesn’t just give you an opportunity to develop more dynamic marketing content for your social media channels. Offering discounts will also boost loyalty among guests who receive them.
Respond to Engagement
Monitoring engagement is key to developing a strong hotel social media strategy. When you know what types of content your followers respond to, you can more effectively determine what types of content to post in the future.
That said, simply monitoring engagement isn’t enough. You also need to respond when followers engage with your brand on social media.
Guests who leave comments, share your posts, and participate in discussions are demonstrating a heightened degree of interest in your brand. You need to reciprocate. By doing so, you’ll maintain and cultivate your relationship with them.
You should also invite users to participate in the content development process. For example, you might run a contest, asking former guests to share pictures of themselves at your properties. You could then select a few for a digital gallery, awarding prizes to users whose submissions were chosen. As with the above strategy, this helps you both generate marketing content and boost customer loyalty.
Promote Loyalty Programs
To maintain customer loyalty, don’t overlook the value of loyalty programs. Research indicates a strong rewards program can boost customer loyalty and revenue.
Of course, your customers need to know these rewards programs exist if they are going to participate in them. Ensure they do by promoting them on social media.
Know Who Stays at Your Hotels
It’s always important to collect customer information. The more you know about who your customers are, the easier it is to develop content that speaks to them.
For instance, perhaps your hotel has a conference center that makes it a very popular destination among people who travel for business. Thus, your social media marketing content should speak in a way that appeals to them, using professional language to highlight the various amenities available to people looking to get work done at the property.
On the other hand, maybe you manage a gorgeous resort that’s popular among well-off young influencers. In this case, you might want to use the kind of casual, informal language that’s commonly found in lifestyle blogs targeting Millennials. By speaking to your customers in “their language,” you’ll develop positive relationships as they associate your brand with certain lifestyle values.
Just make sure you’re constantly monitoring your hotel social media. In any industry, tracking your performance is key to identifying which tactics do and do not work. These tips will simply help you begin developing your strategy.
