Social Media significantly affects what people see, think and understand. It’s trendy during the holiday season.
Tourists and locals use social media platforms to look for the trendiest, most popular or interesting places to visit.
Beautiful and active hotel pages are especially appealing when they appear on social media feeds because they stir the imagination, make people want to experience the place for themselves, and give people a firm grasp of what they’re looking for.
These pages influence people’s decisions when it comes to hotel bookings.
With a few clicks, they can view your page, website, reviews, ratings, images, and videos. They can quickly grasp what your hotel is like and then compare you against others.
Social Media platforms are known for raising awareness and encouraging interactivity. Many brands and companies depend on social media strategies to boost their marketing activities and increase sales. These networks are a perfect place to engage with your audience, showcase your venue, and increase your bookings.
However, just because social media is easily accessible and looks relatively easy to use doesn’t mean that it is. You need to have a strategy that works for your specific needs.
Choosing the Right Social Media Platform for Your Hotel
There are several platforms you can use to drive direct bookings to your hotel; some are well-established, such as Facebook and Instagram, and others are up-and-coming, such as TikTok and WhatsApp.
Not every channel will be appropriate for your marketing. However, you must sign up for accounts and claim your desired username – this will prevent others from masquerading as your official business and causing you problems.
Below are some tips and strategies you can implement on the major platforms that will help you boost your popularity and reputation.
Instagram for Hotels
The most visual of the platforms, Instagram, is the place to flaunt those views of your hotel. Posting professional pictures and well-directed videos not only appeals to the aesthetic of the people you want to visit but also defines your standards and gives them a good idea of your professionalism.
You can use hashtags on Instagram to appear in relevant searches and the feeds of people interested in your offering (Use 5-7 on posts and all 30 on Reels). You can post up-to-date stories and add them to your highlights for customers to enjoy.
Instagram Reels are one of the most popular ways to interact on the channel.
Varying your content between sales messages, views of the interior and exterior, and behind-the-scenes content, such as videos of hotel chefs creating dishes or tours of the rooms, gives your guests a taste of what your venue offers and helps them define your brand.
![unnamed](https://hospitalitymarketinghub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/unnamed-jpg.webp)
Facebook for Hotels
The most extensive social media network in the world, Facebook is a fantastic place to cultivate authenticity and foster experiences. One of the major features of Facebook is how it allows people to remain up to date-with each other and see what others are doing in their daily lives. More than 2 billion people engage with this channel daily.
As a hotel, your channel needs to have an interesting mix of content – if you’re constantly trying to sell to people or are offering cut-price deals too often, you’re not giving them reasons why they should remember you or keep engaging.
Since changes were made to the newsfeeds, it’s also important that you educate your visitors – and encourage them to not just like your page but also to follow and share with others.
You can ask your guests to tag your hotel in their pictures when they share them, use branded hashtags in their posts, and leave reviews on the page. You can also use the advertising features and analytic data the site provides to ensure your content is designed to engage your target audience and that your adverts are reaching the right people at the right time.
X (Twitter) for Hotels
Out of all the social media channels, Twitter moves the fastest and is often where customers or visitors will reach out with enquiries. It’s a great platform for starting discussions, getting involved with, or starting trends and gathering potential customers.
Using relevant hashtags (but not excessively – more than two or three hashtags per post is seen as spamming the post and can lead to less engagement) and tweeting your promotions is one way to highlight your brand.
It’s important to monitor mentions of your brand name and closely monitor your direct messages. Customers generally expect a response within an hour, although the faster you respond, the better, and their opinion of your brand can be directly influenced by good customer service.
Driving Direct Bookings – Take-Away
Inspiring people to travel to your hotel is a big deal – whether they’re visiting from up the road or from the other side of the planet, their patronage should be a big deal.
71% of consumers who have had a good social media service experience with a brand are likely to recommend it to others.
(Source: Ambassador)
Sharing promotions, having defined content standards (if you think something ‘will do’ or ‘is good enough’ means that it’s automatically not good enough), keeping your social networks regularly updated and using visuals to inspire and share information about your features, amenities, experiences and staff works very well in driving direct bookings through your social channels and websites.
Social Media is a great tool and when you utilise it to its fullest, it’s one of the best ways to reach the most interested people and maximise your hotel’s potential.
Last Updated on 15 July 2024 by Dawn Gribble