Did you know that in the U.S. alone, approximately 77% of people own some sort of social media? In fact, researchers estimate that investments in social media advertising will grow by about 48 billion U.S. dollars. Social media marketing for hotels isn’t just some trend, it is here to stay. It is a cost-effective way to reach users worldwide. Social media allows you to reach your target audience, build brand recognition, generate sales, drive website traffic, and much more! Social media is important for reaching out to your bed and breakfast, boutique hotel, vacation rental, and inn guests and potential guests.
So, what exactly is social media marketing and how can you use it to its full potential? When advertising on social media, you may often hear the word “campaign”. A campaign is a way for businesses to reinforce information about their company on at least one platform. A campaign is strategically planned, can be measured, and will influence social media users to think a certain way.
Now, let’s take a look at how you can utilize social media marketing to generate brand recognition and see an increase in sales.
1. Get Personal
Social media is a great way to show the more personal side of your brand. This is especially important when guests are paying to put their care into your hands. A majority of people would appreciate getting to see the faces behind your company. A great way to showcase this is to create a campaign designed to highlight your employees. Featuring your employees through social media immediately makes your bed and breakfast feel more “human.” It also helps them imagine what a stay with you would be like.
2. Day in the Life
Maybe your audience is interested in staying at your boutique hotel or inn but are unsure of what there is to do around the area. A great way to showcase this would be to create a short, engaging video highlighting a day in someone’s stay. A simple example of this would be to capture footage of a guest waking up, enjoying their breakfast, and then following them around the area to the different activities they will be enjoying. This is an effective way to get potential customers excited to spend a night (or a few) at your bed and breakfast!
3. Target Recently Engaged Couples
Let’s face it, not everyone dreams of eloping in Sin City. That is why it is crucial to offer elopement options for engaged customers. This could be as simple as offering an ordained minister to legally marry the couple along with a special dinner for two. The goal here is to make this process convenient, yet special for guests to enjoy. Is your property big enough to host weddings? If so, creating a social media wedding campaign is a great way to target newly engaged couples. An efficient way to do this would be to show an inside look at weddings that you have hosted before. Never hosted a wedding but want to? Find a recently engaged couple and offer a discount to them if they will allow you to get footage of their wedding to share on social media. Again, the easier it is for customers to visualize themselves in that moment, the more likely they are to book with you.
4. Be Willing to Invest
Paid Facebook and Instagram ads are a great way to target users that aren’t engaging with your content but fit your demographic/ target audience. Investing in paid Facebook and Instagram ads is an effective way to increase your following and grow your brand recognition. In turn, this will lead to increased sales. Facebook gives users a ton of data on how their ads are performing, which is important to help figure out what tweaks need to be made. Since starting Facebook Ads for some of our clients, we have seen a large increase in engagement with social media users.
5. Create Social Media Competitions
People love a good competition, especially when there is a prize involved. Thousands of companies host competitions for their audience. This is a great way to get your company out to a larger audience and attract more guests. Here are a couple of ways to do this: ask followers to show proof of them leaving a review about your company on Trip Advisor. This is their ticket into a drawing for a free night at your bed and breakfast. Not only does this get your past guests excited to come back, but it is also an extremely effective way to gain a bigger audience.
Whether you are just opening your bed and breakfast, hotel, or property management company, or have been in business for decades, there are always ways to increase your reach. Social media has evolved into one of the top ways to advertise a business, and it is here to stay. It is extremely important to utilize social media marketing. Plus, it can be fun to get creative! If you need help with your hotel social media marketing, reach out today for a free consult.