Social media is becoming increasingly popular among active and affluent individuals, including millennials. It's a great opportunity for business promotion, including hotel and travel agency businesses. Companies can use a variety of tools to not only communicate with potential clients, but also sell your services more effectively.
At the American Hotel Owners Association's annual convention, the topic was discussed in depth, with social media experts discussing ways hotels can actively market themselves on social media, Hotel Management reports.
Experts believe Facebook is the place to start. Meanwhile, Instagram, which Facebook acquired in 2012, has around 800 million users, and the younger generation prefers it for communication.
Darlene Rondeau, digital marketing expert, clarified that before starting social media promotion, it's essential to clearly define your target groups: "Who are your customers? What age are they? Understand the consumer, and then decide which social channels to include. Don't be everything to everyone. Find your niche."
However, the expert clarified that social media is not intended for direct income generation, but should be used as a medium for communication, exchanging opinions, displaying photos, and presenting the hotel.
"Tell your stories on social media, share photos, not pure advertising. Let your followers have memories and impressions," she added. Darlene Rondo.
According to her, 87 percent of so-called "millennials" come to social media for inspiration and research.
“In a 100-room hotel with 60 percent occupancy, this category of guests typically has the potential to serve 31,000 people a year,” she calculated.
Jason Lee, senior director of online product development at marketing company Travel Media Group, in turn, outlined a method for successful promotion on social networks.
"Claim your social media page and optimize it. Determine which staff member will be managing the page, and don't overextend the number of trusted contacts. Build your own community and maintain it. Engage with members of this community frequently. Social media is active and responsive. People will comment on your posts if they are engaging. By the way, responding to comments is crucial. Finally, move consistently toward your goal. Once you've created a vibrant social community, there are ways to influence potential customers and help them make purchasing decisions in your favor," the expert noted.
What else is important?
As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." This is even more true on social media. Make sure your photos are high-resolution and high-quality, and convey positive information about your product.
Highlight the hotel's most attractive areas for photoshoots. Don't just focus on your hotel; include photos of surrounding landmarks and interesting spots. This will make the hotel even more accessible.
Number of reviews And the degree of positivity in them is very important. Customers will immediately notice if your hotel has few reviews and will hesitate to buy. Choose reviews from your guests. In fact, a high-quality 3- or 4-star hotel with 100 reviews may be perceived more favorably than a five-star hotel with only five.
Up-to-date information about the hotel and its services is crucial. The more recent the review, the better.
If reviews are published, especially negative ones, make sure your staff responds to them.A hotel can gain loyal customers by pursuing an open policy.
Customers who complain about a hotel (especially if their complaints are unfounded) are unlikely to return. Worse, they'll tell others about their negative experience. However, after receiving a response, such a customer will feel somewhat "consoled" knowing their review has been addressed.
Source: trn-news.ru