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For the first few years, users maximized social media platforms as virtual message boards and game hubs. Facebook served as a place for uploading overwhelming amounts of photographs every day, while Twitter was a place to let everyone know what you had for dinner. Over time, social media developed, gradually becoming an intrinsic part of marketing strategies. Due to these social media platforms’ popularity and their promise of instant connection, networks grew into huge user bases. TikTok, for instance, has over 500 million users daily worldwide. Businesses and advertisers alike turned to the newfound power of social media, as reaching colossal amounts of audiences no longer required them to shell out hefty TV advertising budgets. If you’re a hotel business owner trying to reach more audiences, tapping into social media platforms may just be the key to your success.
But how do you effectively use such platforms?
Social Media Marketing Needs Strategy
As with any marketing tactic, social media marketing requires a carefully planned strategy. You will need to come up with your goals and objectives, as it can be quite risky to do so otherwise. One wrong move, such as posting a poorly-judged poster about a competitor, or even using a sentence that mildly implies discrimination will land your business in hot water, and all in a matter of seconds. The foundation of social media has been built upon user sharing, so anything you share that’s out of line will be passed around by everyone to see and judge. Due to this nature, the domino effect holds an alarming presence, one that can easily sabotage you.
Despite this, social media remains to be the best way to market your hotel. If you choose the right strategy, utilize critical thinking, and come up with a holistic plan, all will be well. Your hotel will be given a voice that attracts guests and loyal fans.
Using Social Media for Your Hotel Business
1 – Who will be your target audience?
Marketing dictates that the first rule to any tactic and strategy is to identify your target market. As the business owner, you already have a solid grasp of who your hotel caters to. Such information must be seamlessly integrated into your social media marketing efforts. Before you begin creating accounts, define the type of people you wish to attract. Only then will you be able to determine the type of content you will be making, along with the best tone of voice to use.
2 – Pick your social media platform
The internet is teeming with social media networks, but you do not necessarily have to utilize every single one of them. For your hotel business, choosing two or three would be best. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great starting points, as they focus on the essentials: user engagement according to your target market, visual integration, and advertising support.
Bonus tip: Ensure that you spend time curating your profile. As soon as you’ve registered, upload your logo and decorate your profile with photographs. Add a short bio for your future guests to read along with your contact details.
3 – What is your online persona?
As you come up with relevant marketing efforts, develop your online persona. How do you want people to see you as? Serious and business-like? Playful? Comical, to an extent? Unafraid to campaign for political and social issues? Your online persona will be entirely up to you. This also extends to the way you conduct communication exchanges with your guests, giving them an instant glimpse of what your hotel is like. This will be hard to do, and the chances of getting it right the first time are low. Don’t let that stop you from experimenting—successful hotel business owners on social media reveal that it took them years to perfect! To get it right, listening to your audiences is key.
4 – Keep it relevant
This is where your set goals come on. Will your social media accounts be solely for customer service, a primary way to connect with your guests? Or will these serve as a way to promote offers and keep your brand name afloat and relevant? Whichever way, utilize your social media campaigns properly. Depending on your needs, they can either be for short-term or long-term plans. Don’t make it top priority to gain more followers. If that’s your primary goal, then you’re using social media wrong.
5 – Ensure that your social media accounts are to be handled by people you trust
Remember the domino effect: social media holds so much user power that any damage done is irreversible. If you need assistance with social media management, it is essential that you give the keys to someone you completely trust. Hiring socials media managers from agencies can be a good start, but ensure that you get one with good credentials and recommendations. For internal staff, however, choose someone with a flair for customer service and a solid loyalty to the hotel.
The power of social media is undeniable. When done right, your hotel business will be soaring to new heights. With great power comes great responsibility, as the saying goes, so handle your social media platforms well and with the right strategies in place.
Consult Web Connection for your social media needs! As one of the fastest-growing hotel digital marketing agencies in Southeast Asia, our mission is to help hotel business owners like yourself to generate revenue. As you integrate into this new digital age, give us a call and we’ll help from there!
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