Hotel Social Media
In an era where travel is more accessible than ever before, the luxury hospitality industry finds itself at the crossroads of opportunity and challenge. Luxury hotels, renowned for their outstanding service and lavish accommodations, now compete not only with each other but also with the ever-evolving digital landscape.
As we step into 2024, the online presence of a luxury hotel isn't just a mere accessory - it's a powerful gateway to success and bucket lists of aspiring travellers. So here are 10 tips from us at Big Bear, an experienced luxury hotel marketing agency, that will help you take your social media efforts to the next level.
The value of User-Generated Content, also widely known as UGC is finally being understood and utilised in the UK’s digital marketing scene. While professional imagery is a great way to present your beautiful rooms and splendid services, UGC shows off a more genuine side of your hotel. By utilising such content, luxury hotels can showcase authenticity and represent the true experiences and recommendations of their guests.
Genuine photo or video content showcasing all that your comfortable luxury hotel has to offer - from beautiful rooms, and spa treatments, all the way to food and drinks, will help people see that other travellers have loved your service enough to rave about it on their social media. So make sure to utilise and re-share this valuable content crafted by your guests.
Alongside building trust in your luxury hospitality services, UGC also brings unmatched monetary value, as it creates a steady stream of free content that you can reuse across your social media platforms, helping you save time and resources. Therefore it’s important to encourage your guests to share their experiences on social media and tag your luxury hotel in their content.
In the world of social media, responsiveness and communication are paramount, and unfortunately often overlooked. Just as you wouldn't ignore a guest in the hotel lobby, it's equally crucial to respond to people's comments, questions, and insights on your social media channels.
Being responsive and communicating with your audience helps build a loyal community on your social media page, as well as further boosting your post. It shows algorithms that your content is getting more engagement, which can lead to broader visibility.
Moreover, communicating and responding to your audience helps build trust around your luxury brand and services. In the digital age, guest interactions extend beyond the lobby, they happen in the comments section and direct messages of your social media profiles. And while it is not physically possible to answer every single comment, even responding to a few will create a difference and promote user engagement.
In 2024, just as we have seen back in 2023, video content continues to reign supreme. Visual storytelling has the power to transport potential guests into the luxurious world of your hotel. Video content engages viewers on a deeper level than text or images alone. Through video content showcasing the services, atmosphere and premises of your luxury hotel you get to bring potential guests on a journey and immerse them in a feeling of luxury, that they will just have to experience for themselves!
When working on social media marketing for your luxury hotel, it may seem challenging to showcase the small details that make a stay truly extraordinary - they often are very easy to overlook, as they just become part of the norm. However, it’s the little details, that guests often cherish the most.
While it's essential to show off the impressive aspects of your luxury hotel, don't underestimate the power of simplicity. A short video or a series of images highlighting the luxurious complimentary toiletries, comfortable beds or cosy corners for enjoying a cup of coffee can create a powerful atmosphere. These small moments and thoughtful details resonate deeply with potential guests, leaving a lasting mark on their minds.
Simply streamlining the beautiful visuals of your luxury hotel will not provide you with the results you want. The power of social media lies in the possibility of creating a loyal community, however, it takes more than posting beautiful pictures and responding to some of your guests’ queries to do that - you have to actively encourage conversations.
You can do so by engaging with your audience through polls, Q&As, short live videos of celebrations, festivities and more. You can also create and use your own brand’s hashtags, to further encourage visitors to share their content, thoughts and experiences.
Engaging with your audience is the cornerstone of any effective social media strategy for luxury hotels. It's about fostering a sense of community and creating a dialogue, which will also provide you with valuable user-generated content and insights into customer experience at your luxury hotel.
In the world of social media marketing, competition can be a source of inspiration and knowledge. Your competitors' strategies can also provide valuable insights into what works and what doesn't.
Humans tend to learn and pick up on each other's behavioural traits, and the same holds true for social media. By examining your analytics as well as the performance of your competitors’ content, you can identify strategies that are working well for them. However, the goal isn't to copy but to adapt and refine their successful approaches to fit your hotel's unique brand and goals.
At Big Bear Marketing, we understand how valuable competitor research truly is - it allows hotels to learn from the mistakes and successes of their competition. Our competitor analysis audits cover different areas of marketing, such as social media, SEO and PPC. By delving into the tactics and successes of your competitors, you can gain valuable insights into their customer base, marketing channels, pricing strategies and more. With this data in hand, hotels can adjust their own digital marketing plans accordingly and create marketing campaigns and strategies that will give results.
You can highlight your hotel’s popularity, and early bird offers through posts. Meanwhile, for the low seasons, you could post promotional or thematic packages and attract more people. Seasons strongly influence social media marketing in the hospitality industry.
Seasons play an important role in the hospitality industry, influencing sales and room occupancy numbers. To craft an effective social media strategy, you must consider seasonality. This can mean curating posts for various holidays and special occasions. It can also mean customising your posts for the peak, mid and low seasons, highlighting your hotel's popularity, early bird offers during peak times, as well as promotional or theme-based packages, which can help attract more guests. Remember, seasons can significantly influence social media marketing in the hospitality industry, so leverage them to your advantage.
Beyond aesthetically pleasing posts, luxury hotels should provide valuable content to their audience. Offer information that enhances the overall travel experience. Content that helps travellers make informed decisions and enjoy a smoother journey can create engagement that benefits both your business and your guests. This could include insights into local attractions, mini-guides of must-see places, as well as must-try services within your hotel. All of this helps create feelings of excitement, as well as see your hotel as the number 1 place to stay when visiting a particular location. It’s also a good idea to share special offers and exciting promotions, this way guests will be more aware of the value they can gain from paying close attention to your social media platforms.
In any social media marketing campaign or strategy, consistency is paramount. It's not enough to start strong; you must maintain that momentum. Posting an aesthetically pleasing piece of content once a month will bring you little to no value. With so much competition in the luxury hospitality sector, staying consistent, while providing quality and value to your guests will help make sure your audience knows what to expect from your brand. Inconsistency brings you back to square one - not an ideal situation for any business. Social media success is built on sustained effort and a commitment to regular engagement.
As crucial as it is to promote your luxury hotel and its premium services, don't overlook the significance of promoting the destination where your hotel is located. By spreading awareness about the city or county where you are located, you create a broader appeal for your luxury hotel. Highlight the rich culture and heritage, local delicacies, and the adventures that the destination offers.
Make potential guests feel that they are missing out on something extraordinary by not visiting the destination. Share posts, articles, reels, and videos about the best things to do in the town where your hotel is, or recommend must-visit restaurants.
In 2024, social media is more than a marketing tool - it's a digital gateway to your luxury hotel's world of elegance, sophistication, and extraordinary moments. The canvas is yours, and the world is watching. It's time to paint a masterpiece, one social media strategy at a time.
At Big Bear, we love social media and so do your guests. Let's connect with your audience at the places they spend most of their time. With our professional and data-driven approach, we help you craft bespoke campaigns that enable you to reach more of your target audience. Get in touch with our team and let us help you take advantage of all social media opportunities.
