Photo: Depositphotos

In 2022, one of the best ways in which hotel consumers interact is through social media and other digital platforms. Hotels should leverage technology to the fullest to attract all types of guests and convey the right message successfully in a digital platform. However, some professionals and hotels who were not into the digital space until recent years face challenges in successfully increasing hotel sales although leisure demand has increased rapidly. This article will provide you with 5 best ways to leverage social media and digital platforms to dominate the market in which you operate and increase sales.

1. Engaging Vs Posting

One of the most common mistakes which marketers make today is posting many contents on their page which makes digital media users to unfollow or ignore you. Although a hotel posts many pictures at one time or daily makes consumers increase awareness, their engagement and intention to purchase decreases. Therefore, engaging with online users is more important than posting constantly. Engaging relates to communicating directly with consumers on social media to built trust, connecting with your brand and even invite them to your hotel with promotional offers. For example, if you follow Instagram influencers who visit your city on a particular day or frequently and are interested in travel, food, hospitality, etc, invite them to your hotel and encourage them to tag and post about your hotel, f&b, etc. This increases the hotel’s sales for free because even the followers of that influencer would come to your hotel because they increase trust and its emotionally connected through the influencer.

2. Seasonal Content Planning

In many countries, seasonal hotels in a market operate successfully, however, there are other hotels in the same market who attract guests throughout the year. This is because of attracting the right consumer at the right time for the right price. If your hotel is super busy only in the winter and not in summer, try contacting consumers who wish to enjoy summer with attractive promotions. For example, some hotels in Switzerland are closed during the summer because it’s considered as a low season and there is no snow fall. However, many hotels in the same place have high occupancies because they work closely with tour groups and consumers who enjoy summer in exotic destinations and most people are foreigners who come from the US, Asia, the Middle East during the summer. Through seasonal content planning, hotels operating in any season could gain a competitive advantage which refers to the revenue management principle of selling the right space at the right price at the right time to the right guest. For example, use Instagram tools to market your promotional offers to people in countries who love to go on vacation during summer. Furthermore, it’s also important to select the right place in the country where consumers have a high disposable income and spend more during vacation.

3. Optimize your Social Media Channels

Consistency is the key! Adopt a consistent approach to the hotel’s brand, logo, profile information, posting content and engaging. Optimize your Instagram headline and username which is easy to find and be consistent across other social media channels. When your audience knows to expect new content, those with an interest in it are more likely to take the time to visit your profile on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and actively seek it out, engage with it and share it with their followers. Hence, is it imperative to remain consistent across all social media channels and always respond to any negative comments respectfully and even invite them to speak about this issue over a call which creates brand personality and connects people. Over engaging with social media users could lead to blocking you or ignoring, so its important to engage respectfully and by sending only 2 - 3 direct messages per month to a consumer.

4. Instill Loyalty by Increasing Awareness

Although many hotels have loyalty partnerships with many airlines, some consumers are not aware of it unless they are loyalty members or frequent travelers. Therefore, is essential to remind consumers of the partnerships with major companies and the benefits for them on a regular basis. For example, if Marriott International has partnership with Emirates in their loyalty program, it is also crucial to increase awareness of the program, engage and connect with frequent travelers and Emirates passengers to allow them to visit the hotel. This could be done through promoting the loyalty program benefits and offers by targeting a country where many people fly Emirates to reach their destination.

5. Retargeting

Subsequently, retargeting is one of the most important modern hotel marketing strategies, because it allows hotels to re-connect with people who have already interacted with their brand. This can be especially useful for hotels to retain guests without additional efforts. Hotels can reach out to these people, reminding them of the specific hotel room they were viewing, which could convince them to make the booking. Retargeting also has advantages over other hotel ads in terms of cost-effectiveness, as the people being targeted already have at least some interests in your hotel. For example, retarget the guest, invite them and offer the same room with a view in which they enjoyed last time and provide a free drink in your bar. This tactic could also increase the excitement and word of mouth marketing which increases your sales.