Social Media has become an integral part of hotel marketing strategy. All businesses require an online presence to a great degree. However, hospitality is significantly dependent on word of mouth and visibility.
Without a digital presence, hotels, resorts and holiday villas are as good as non-existent. That’s why it's essential to have social media strategies for hotels. As we enter 2023, the competition is only going to get more intense and dynamic.
There are several social media platforms available, such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Whatsapp and more. Different hotel social media strategies need to be implemented for each platform because each of them is unique with its purpose, target audience, algorithm and more.
That’s why social media strategies for hotels in 2023 should be formulated by considering each of them a separate marketplace.
We present to you the best social media strategies for hotels in 2023 that you can use to gain maximum online visibility and increase your standing amongst the competitors!
Table Of Content
Why Is Social Media Important For Hotels?
Before we discuss the various social media strategies for hotels, let us discuss by social media is important for hotels. Hotels, and the hospitality industry in general, runs on visibility. If the audience cannot find you, you don’t exist for them, as simple as that. For example, a person wants to visit Baga Beach in Goa. He or she will use search to check for hotels or will use social media handles to do so.
Imagine a resort is popular with influencers, and a reel is posted about it. The online visitor will be tempted to check out the resort because it is endorsed by a well-known influencer. He or she will most probably choose that resort.
The average person does not have the time or patience to check every property that is on Google and forgets offline marketing channels. That’s why hotel social media strategies have gained importance. Social Meia has become the best marketing tool for hotels. That’s why we are here to discuss the social media strategies for hotels, for each platform.
First Things First - Identify Your Target Audience
The first thing that needs to be done while planning social media strategies for hotels is to identify your target audience. Social Media is a platform where people, companies and creators interact with each other, create and share content, and also engage with other audiences.
Imagine someone is running a restaurant, and they have certain items. The restaurant owner, for some reason, does not adapt to the tastes and preferences of the customer and then wonders, “Why am I losing business?”
As you can see, there is a reason why the owner is losing his business. Social Media works on similar principles. If you want to reach out to your target audience, you will need to understand their taste and preferences.
For each social media, platform, the audience will be different. Hence, hotel social media strategies need to be formulated keeping these things in mind. Each platform also runs on an algorithm, that determines which content needs to be shown to which audience.
Social Media Strategies For Hotels In 2023
Now that we have discussed the basics of social media and strategies for hotels, let us discuss the various social media marketing strategies for each platform. The most popular platforms are Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, And TripAdvisor. Let us discuss each of them in detail.
Facebook is among the dominant social media platforms for businesses and customers alike. It may be reducing in market share, but guess what, they are losing it to their subsidiaries! - Instagram and Whatsapp.
As such, you need to have a presence on Facebook, for marketing and advertising purposes. We can crack Facebook using various social media strategies for hotels.
Create A Complete Facebook Page
The first thing you need to do is create a Facebook Business Profile. You need to complete your profile without leaving anything. An incomplete detail will dent the reliability and reputation of your business.
You need to create a Facebook page with a clear and crisp profile picture and cover picture. This helps you establish your brand identity. You need to also update other details such as an address, property description, categories, phone number and more.
Content And Engagement On Facebook
Creating a profile is just the first step of the Facebook social media strategy for hotels. Content needs to be posted regularly as well. One of the best things about this social media platform is that you can post texts, photos, videos and even links. Here are some of the things hotels can post on their social media page:
Attractive pictures of your hotels - rooms, amenities, exterior and more!
Images of various tourist and scenic attractions nearby
Videos of your properties
Reels of your property
Special offers, deals, and upgrade offers.
As you can see, the possibilities are endless as far as hotel social media strategies for Facebook is concerned. You can increase engagement on Facebook by encouraging your guest to use check-in or location tags. You can also run Facebook Ads to reach out to your target audience.
Started as a photo and video-sharing platform, Instagram has now evolved into a full-fledged social media platform and marketplace for users, creators and businesses alike. Moreover, the scope of Instagram has been expanded - now you can post reels, stories, ads and more!
Images and videos play a major role in social media strategies for hotels. Let us discuss Instagram marketing strategies for hotels.
Create An Instagram Profile
You need to understand that for marketing and advertising purposes, Facebook and Instagram pages are inseparable. You need to link your Instagram page with your Facebook Page. Only then you will be able to use it to its full potential.
Of course, before you do that, you need to create an Instagram page for your hotel business. Ensure that you fill in all the details because any blank space can put a question mark on your credibility and reliability.
You need to add the website link to the bio because you cannot insert clickable links on your Instagram posts. One of the best parts about Instagram is that with Facebook, you can engage in cross-sharing and cross-posting. Instagram, like Facebook, also allows you to check analytics.
Content On Instagram
As Instagram is a picture and video-based social media platform, you, as a hotelier, need to emphasize it. You can post images in Square format or the original size of the image. You can share videos on Instagram as well, especially short videos.
Next, come the captions and hashtags. A good caption can come a long way in making your Instagram post attractive. What do potential hotel guests want? They want great rooms, services, amenities and most importantly, unique experiences.
Hoteliers can share various types of content on social media platforms, such as rooms, amenities, places to explore and more. Whatever you do, the most important thing you need to do is create content that will make them fall in love with your feed!
Hashtags
Without hashtags, your Instagram post is as good as no post. One of the most crucial Instagram social media strategies for hotels is to use a mix of hashtags - popular and niche. Using hashtags will ensure that your posts will gain views and impressions.
Stories - The Best Tool For Advertising
The new emerging tools on Instagram are Stories and Reels. They have completely changed the rules of Instagram, and hotels need to play by them if they want to be in the game. Instagram stories are located on the top of the Instagram interface and last for 24 hours. Let us first discuss Instagram Stories.
This is a great way to create engaging content that lasts temporarily. It also complements feed posts, since there may be (actually are) times when your feed posts are not showcased to your followers (thank the algorithm for that…). There are many ways to use Instagram stories, such as:
Promoting discounts, deals and upgrade offers.
For teasing important announcements
Sneak peeks at your property
For promoting influencer videos
With so many uses, Instagram stories have emerged as the best advertising tool for hotels. It is now an integral part of social media strategies for hotels.
Reels - The New Tool In Town!
If you are not using Instagram reels, are you even using Instagram? Reels are the best way to create short entertaining videos for your target audience. It is the newest, the best, tool for Instagram. A reel is a digital version of a TVC.
For your hotel's social media strategies, reels can be the best tool for advertising, promotions and also for showcasing your property in its full glory.
When you want to text someone, what do you use? For most people, the answer will immediately be - WhatsApp! WhatsApp has always been the most popular text messaging app. It is now gaining prominence for businesses as well. When it comes to convenience and all, WhatsApp has no close competitors. With 2 billion users, it is the perfect channel for hotel social media strategies.
To make the most out of WhatsApp Marketing, hoteliers need to upload WhatsApp Business App. Let us discuss the various features of WhatsApp Business that will enhance the social media marketing of hotels.
WhatsApp Business
With WhatsApp Business, you can now engage in social media marketing by directly reaching out to your customer base. With it, you can establish yourself as a brand and provide your customers with an enhanced user experience. Here are some of the things you can do with WhatsApp Business:
WhatsApp Business Profile: With the help of a Google Business Profile, you can help customers find valuable information such as Business location, timings, offerings and more. In fact, you can also upload photos of your business location and create a business catalogue.
If your hotel has a restaurant, you can share the menu as well. It is a perfect platform for hotel social media marketing.
Business Messaging Tools: With the away message feature, you can send prompt responses automatically on your registered mobile number. Hoteliers can send various types of messages, such as introductory messages, greeting messages and away messages.
With Whatsapp, you can send bulk messages to your audiences as well. It enables you to create Broadcast Groups as well. WhatsApp Web allows you to send messages and files from your desktop or laptop as well.
YouTube
Imagine you want to watch a video on ANYTHING. You will go to one site for sure - YouTube. In fact, YouTube has completely dominated video hosting marketing (OTTs still have to catch up). One can watch any type of content on YouTube - entertainment, educational, edutainment, travel and lifestyle and so forth.
Youtube should be included in the social media strategies for hotels. Video content is the best way for hoteliers to showcase their property holistically. Whenever you post a video on YouTube, here are some of the things you can do:
Write a relevant keyword-rich meta title.
Write Descriptions that are SEO friendly i.e relevant, detailed and have the right keywords in the right quantity.
Use Keyword Planner to find the relevant keywords for your video.
Add links to your website and other social media platform to your description.
Use the relevant hashtags (but don’t overuse them).
Reply to comments - positive or negative.
Here are some of the things you can post on YouTube for hotel social media strategies:
A video of your hotel that showcases all your amenities and rooms. It gives a full view of the property.
Guest Testimonials: It’s word-of-mouth marketing in a digital sphere, reaching out to more audiences.
You can also use YouTube Shorts like Instagram Reels i.e for posting short-duration videos that grab attention.
You can also make video content on the various places to visit nearby.
As you can see, YouTube provides various options for hotel social media strategies. It is among the best tools to up your game in digital marketing.
Many hoteliers ignore LinkedIn since it is mostly B2B, however, they are highly mistaken. It is the number one platform for professionals, and guess what! Professionals are an excellent market to tap into. LinkedIn is unique from other social media platforms because it is entirely based on professionals, businesses and would-be professionals.
Due to the difference in the target audience, you cannot use the same strategies for other platforms here. You need to create posts that are insightful and provide knowledge and/or a new perspective to your target audience.
Along with sharing a few posts and videos about your amenities and more, you can also share insightful posts about the hotel industry, its concepts, various trends and challenges. Here are some of the LinkedIn Strategies for hotels:
Connect with the right people, such as your industry peers and other hospitality industry experts.
Connect to your followers and engage with them.
Run polls, share carousel posts, and create engaging and insightful content.
Give timely responses, whether it is positive or negatives reviews, feedback or comments.
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is the site which every hotelier knows (and should know!). It is among the top travel sites that display the rates from OTAs, reviews and the amenities of different properties. It is said that to be considered a proper hotel, at least in the eyes of international guests, your hotel needs to be listed on TripAdvisor.
One way to gain more traction on TripAdvisor is to gain more reviews. TripAdvisor Review Express Program allows hotels to collect more guest reviews for free. Here, TripAdvisor directly approaches your checked-out guest to leave a review about the property.
To Conclude
With so many social media platforms, hotels can optimize their digital marketing platforms to gain more leads, and ultimately more conversions. Hotels need to use social media strategies to increase hotel revenue and profits.
Hotels need to use organic promotion along with paid advertisements to gain maximum traction for their audiences. To conclude here are a few things hotel social media marketers need to keep in mind.
Define Your Goals
For social media strategies for hotels, you need to have a definite goal in mind. An absence of a strong goal leads to a disoriented social media strategy, that will only make your business worse.
There can be various goals - increasing your follower count, increasing your user engagement, increasing conversions and more. In fact, in the same platform, you need to fulfil different goals with each of your ads.
Your initial goal should be to gain a sufficient presence on the social media platform, and afterwards, you should aim to gain more conversions. That’s how social media strategies for hotels will bear fruits.
Be Responsive
Communication is a two-way process and a continuous one. Hoteliers need to be responsive to feedback, comments and more - positive or negative. You should thank the guests for posting a positive review. In case of negative reviews, you need to understand their concern and rectify the matter ASAP.
Interlinking
In the digital sphere, interlinking is essential. Internet Users want to jump from one website to another seamlessly without any interruptions. For example, after watching your YouTube video, they might want to visit your Instagram page to check out more.
You, as a hotelier, should facilitate this smooth transaction by interlinking different platforms with one another. The guests neither have the time nor patience to search your property on different platforms individually. If you don’t have their job easier, they will lose interest.
Read our blogs to know more about the various concepts, trends and challenges of the hospitality industry.