Social Media Marketing for Hotels
Image courtesy of Arco Suites, Greece
In today’s digital environment, having a strong social media presence is a must to reach potential clients and keep them engaged. An effective marketing strategy spans multiple social media platforms and uses photos and videos to inspire, engage, and attract travellers to your hotel. In this short article, we’ll share a few proven tips used by real estate professionals to develop an effective social media strategy.
Social media strategy tips
Using social media for real tangible results requires a well-thought-out plan. Here are a few practical tips for creating brand awareness, generating leads, and turning occasional clients into loyal brand ambassadors.
Tip 1 - Identify Your Audience
Each social media platform comes with its own targeted user base. The best social media platforms for real estate aren’t the same platforms best suited for other products. But any platform can be used to build brand awareness and redirect users to your hotel’s website. On the other hand, implementing a broad-reach strategy doesn’t mean you can use the same style of social media posts across all platforms.
By looking at the popular posts of a given platform, you should get an idea of what the users of said platform gravitate towards. If you deviate too much from what users expect, you run the risk of appearing out of touch. You want your posts to stand out but not “stick out.”
Some things to look for include:
Formal vs Informal - A slick professional production is expected on some platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook), while a more “off-the-cuff” feel is best suited for others (YouTube, Tik Tok)
Length of Posts - Size matters. Based on internal algorithms that track the success of media campaigns, we see a large discrepancy among social media platforms. For example, the optimal video on Facebook is under 20 seconds, whereas a video on YouTube is more likely to succeed if it approaches 10 minutes.
Tip 2 - Be Visually Consistent
You only get one chance to make a first impression. And with social media platforms, often an impression is all that you’ll get. Social media sites are scrolled through rather than thoroughly consumed as would be a blog or an email campaign.
Your brand and the intent of your post should be apparent at a glance. And this is true across all social media platforms. This means being consistent as to:
The colour palette
The fonts (style, size, and placement)
The CTA (call to action)
Being visually consistent with your social media posts is crucial to branding. Find out more with this ultimate guide to real estate branding, and be sure to incorporate those tips in your posts whenever possible.
Tip 3 - Collaborate
While social media platforms are designed to allow businesses and individuals to promote and share, don’t neglect the “social” part of the equation. Social media platforms are where communities form and grow. And these communities provide an excellent opportunity for the hospitality industry and real estate professionals to integrate and connect with potential clients.
Use influencer marketing to gain access to thousands (if not millions) of already engaged users. This outreach could come in a variety of forms:
Paid promotion - where you pay a social media influencer to share your post
Product placement - where you pay a social media influencer to talk about your hotel
Affiliate marketing - where the social media influencer, travel vlogger, or YouTuber is paid a commission for the sales they generate
Special offers for travel vloggers or YouTubers - where you make your hotels especially appealing to creators who are likely to be interested in your hotel and will then promote it without any explicit agreement or contract
Tip 4 Offer Opportunities To Engage
Social media marketing for hotels is not a one-way street. The best social media platforms for real estate are those which allow the user to interact with the brand. Users go to social media not necessarily to consume or get informed but to connect. This means that users have the expectation that they will be able to interact with the content they come across on these platforms. It is through the level of interaction that a post or video gains visibility or “goes viral.”
Some of the common ways users interact with what they see on social media channels are:
Like a post
Share a post
Comment on a post
Integrate and/or follow a community
Ask questions
Follow a link
Social Media Strategies by Network
Image courtesy of Anantara Hotel, Tunisia
Not all social media networks are created equally. Each has its particular appeal and thus its corresponding strategy to best use it.
Network 1 - Facebook
One of the reasons why Facebook is one of the best social media platforms for real estate is that its user base tends to be older (Facebook users are predominately between the ages of 24 and 42, and Facebook also has a growing user base of people over 60). Check out this reference for more information on Facebook user statistics.
Facebook users are more inclined to have the expendable income and the desire to travel than users of other social media platforms.
While Facebook has developed a comprehensive ads manager service for your hotel’s or brand’s Facebook page, this should not be where your Facebook social media strategy ends.
Create Facebook Groups Centred Around the Activities of Your Guests
Find out why guests come and stay at your hotel, and create Facebook groups around this activity.
For example, if your hotel is located near The Grand Canyon, you should start a group promoting travel to the Grand Canyon and activities associated with this kind of trip.
Network 2 - YouTube
You might not think of YouTube as a social media platform, but it is, in fact, one of the best social media platforms for real estate. This is because YouTube is extremely popular among travellers. People like to get a visual representation of destinations they are considering exploring. YouTube travel vloggers and adventurers are quite popular on this platform.
Create Videos Centred Around the Activities of Your Hotel’s Location
There is a reason why people travel to your hotel’s location. And this reason (or reasons) is prime subject matter for a YouTube video.
For example, if your hotel is located in San Francisco, you could create a host of videos highlighting the sites and attractions of this city:
What to Do and See When Visiting San Francisco
The Best Restaurants in San Francisco
An Overview of Alcatraz
5 Reasons You Need to Visit Lombard Street
For example, LVH, which offers five-star luxury vacation home rentals, has a YouTube channel that not only showcases their properties but also overviews of the islands where the properties are located.
You can display your hotel and your brand prominently in these videos or simply include them in passing. Don’t forget to provide links in the video’s description box and invite viewers to leave comments.
Network 3 - LinkedIn
One of the best social media platforms for hotels is undoubtedly LinkedIn, especially if your hotel’s target audience is business professionals. With well over 600 million users worldwide, this platform is the ideal social network for business professionals. It differs from other sites in that users go to LinkedIn often with the expectation of gaining knowledge (rather than consuming content for the sake of entertainment).
Highlight your hotel’s amenities, expressing why your hotel would be attractive to business professionals (whether they are travelling for work or for leisure).
Keep an active blog to keep your followers updated on special events, promotions, and seasonal activities.
For example, Escapade are regularly active on LinkedIn with 1,751 followers. They regularly post updates with photos or video of their projects under construction. This highlights the fact that they are active, ambitious, and growing.
Network 4 - Instagram
Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms. It is one of the best social media platforms for real estate because of its strong emphasis on quick visuals. While Instagram tends to appeal to a younger demographic than most other social media channels, don’t let that discourage you from using it. Instagram is growing, and it’s easy to use.
Create an Instagram Business Profile and link it to your other social media accounts.
Make sure to include hashtags with your posts. Research your target hotel guests to find the branded hashtags most likely to catch their attention.
Instagram is much more than a site where you can share photos. Also, take advantage of:
Instagram Stories - These posts stay on the platform for only 24 hours and are becoming increasingly popular with Instagram users.
Instagram Boomerangs - These posts string together a series of pictures much like a slideshow or short video content.
Instagram Reels - The newest feature added to Instagram, these posts consist of video clips generally between 15 and 30 seconds long.
Use a combination of these features to highlight your hotel and the people who stay there.
For example, ATHOUSE, which features properties decorated with works of contemporary art, uses a combination of Instagram Reels and USG (user generated content) to showcase the lifestyle their properties promote.
Examples of Effective Instagram Marketing for Hotels
Consistent color palette
Strong visual identity
On-site photos
Consistent color palette
Good mix of photos and videos
Good mix of property photos and lifestyle photos
Uses UGC (user generated content) from social media influencers
Good use of Instagram Reels to showcase the vibe of their residence
Network 5 - Twitter
In comparison to other media for real estate, Twitter doesn’t quite pack the same punch. However, any comprehensive real estate social media campaign wouldn’t be complete without taking advantage of what Twitter does have to offer.
Short posts updating past hotel guests on changes or improvements to your hotel
Highlighting seasonal attractions associated with your hotel (and generating real estate leads associated with these attractions)
Reaching out to users and prospective hotel guests with opinion polls. Twitter is a site where users go to express or share their opinions, so opinion polls are an effective way to use this unique platform.
Image courtesy of Casa To, Mexico
We Can Help You with Social Media Marketing for Hotels
Social media platforms are an excellent way to engage with your potential guests, attract more guests, and build brand awareness.
But in this article, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface. While all this may, at first glance, appear overwhelming. There’s no need to fear. You don’t have to go it alone. Visit the Proven Partners Social Media Marketing page, and take advantage of all that social media can do for your hotel.
