Effective hotel marketing means that you not only have to impact future guests, but you must appeal to your existing and former guests too. However, marketing goes beyond just building your brand, it also encompasses guest bookings, planning, and researching their trips. There are so many variables in marketing strategies available to savvy hoteliers these days it can be difficult to determine which marketing strategy is best for your property so we will outline a few of the most popular marketing categories and provide you with some examples to set you up for some hotel marketing success.
There is so much to consider when creating a marketing plan for your property. What branding message are you trying to convey? What digital channels should you use? How can you optimize your spending? Should you hire a marketing firm, or go it alone? While these are all valid topics, it may be better to start with the basics to create an effective plan. First identify your specific brand message, and your target audience. Because if you don’t know what you want to say, and who you want to say it to, your message will not be effective regardless of how you say it. For example, if you’d like your property to be known as a chic, trendy place to hang out while sipping on iced lattes, you’ll want to keep your brand messaging hip and geared towards millennial’s. Tailor your message to your audience as opposed to tailoring your audience to your message.
Undeniably Digital
Digital marketing is something that is undeniable. So, there is no getting around the digital advertisements that inundate our everyday lives. In fact, most people are receiving ads via cell phones and tablets than on any other form of media. While it is normal for us to want to spend our marketing dollars on “tried and true” methods, perhaps we should consider the newer methods we hadn’t considered previously. The good news is digital marketing platforms are highly customizable, and your creativity can really shine through. Your use of digital media just may be the way you reach potential guests from the other side of the world. However, when creating uniquely branded information, don’ be afraid to be personal in your approach. Tailor your targeted demographic. If you’re trying to attract those millennial’s, appeal to them through videos and stunning imagery.
Socially Acceptable Videos
Social media has become a staple in most consumers’ lives. So, it stands to reason that this form of digital media marketing is a virtual gold mine for reaching your guests. When you are creative with your property’s branding message, social media content can travel wide and far across the internet. In addition to having a broad reach on the Internet, social media marketing also offers a wide range of targeting options to your clients that could be quite valuable to your marketing dollars. Social media is easy enough these days by using a few simple tricks: for example, you can invite your contact and friends to share your page. Not only will your friends and family be more than willing to share your property’s page, but you can quickly increase your likes this way. When potential guests like your page, you can fill your page with links to your website and other resources to keep them engaged. Always thank your guests for visiting or commenting as well. When it comes to video marketing it doesn’t take a social media genius to deduce that videos are attractive to social media followers. They are engaging, easy to watch, and easy to share. When determining if videos are an effective way to showcase your property look at YouTube and the billion users that view video clips each day. Did you know that if your digital marketing contains video it is 80% more likely to be viewed than a post with only written content? When creating video content for your marketing campaigns, be sure to create stunning imagery with touching music that will capture your viewers.
In Summary
Hotel marketing can be what separates you from your competitors, but when developing your marketing plan you must be smart about your message and your audience. Instead of using conventional methods that may have worked in the past, entering the world of digital marketing may elevate your property to a new level of occupancy and bring in guests you’ve been attempting to target for years.
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InnQuest Software is a leading technology provider for the hospitality industry. For over 25 years, innQuest has combined hotelier experience with innovative technology to deliver an all-in-one solution that empowers hotels to attract guests, drive customer loyalty, and increase profits. Our flagship property management software, roomMaster, helps manage over 5,500 properties across 100 countries. InnQuest develops scalable solutions ranging from a Hotel PMS, Cloud PMS, Channel Manager, Hotel CRM and helps properties enable guests to Book Direct. We believe that everyone deserves a great guest experience, whether they’re staying at a small B&B, a thousand-room resort, or anywhere in between.
Call us today at 1.813.288.4900, or email us at sales@innquest.com. We will be happy to walk you through innQuest’s solutions.
