Social Media could be a world full of possibilities, but also a huge headache. So, here are some smart & easy to follow ideas that you can use and will upgrade your hotel's presence in Social Media
6 mins readIt is quite known that nowadays guest experience extends much further than just what happens on the property. Social Media is a perfect place for hotels to build connections with existing and potential hotel guests and enhance their hotel experience. Social media can be overwhelming! What exactly should you post to stand out and get people talking?
Below, you can find 6 smart content ideas for you to implement on your social media channels, that I guarantee you that will make a difference.
Idea #1: Partner up with local businesses
Get a group of local businesses together where you all agree to give each other a “shout-out” on social media during the month. It could be the local ice cream shop or breakfast spot near your hotel. There is no monetary exchange, you are trading post for post to reach an extended audience.
Don’t forget to relate it back to your hotel!
For example:
“Everyday is cheat day when you’re on holidays, so treat yourself to XYZ Ice Cream (just 2 doors down from us).”
Idea #2: Encourage interaction with smart ways like “Give Aways”
Run a competition to win a stay at your hotel. You can do this in two ways:
- Tag & Follow: This normally gets the person to follow your account, tag someone on the post and comment on why they want to win.
- Follow & Fill out: Get the person to follow your account and fill in a form i.e getting the person’s email address.
If you choose option 2 you need to make it a pretty good giveaway for people to hand over their email address! Since you are getting in all this trouble, do not forget to include in the form concent for sending them newsletters and use them in your remarketing techniques. Some might say no, but some others will agree and you will be able to build up your audiences.
Crowne Plaza Melbourne recently ran a competition to win 20,000 IHG Reward Points. Followers were asked to “follow” their profile and comment “what their favourite thing about staying in a hotel is”. This post generated over 350 comments on Instagram alone!
Idea #3: Motivate your guests to share their experience in the Social Media
View this post on Instagram
Encourage your guests to share their photos while they are staying with you. You might encourage guests to upload and tag the hotel in their photos while they are staying with you, and in return, they receive a free dessert to your or a $10 Bar credit.
Keep in mind that travelers will share things that are special, so try to create unique experiences, Instagrammable spots, and amazing memories. Leave the rest to travelers!
Adelphi Hotel in Melbourne uses #Adelphi_Selphi to encourage guests to snap a selfie and share it on their social media. A simple note is left on the room mirrors – user-generated content AND a chance to delight guests and their hotel experience – #winning
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Idea #4: Ask your audience questions
Simply asking your audience questions encourages ENGAGEMENT and prompts them to take action and get involved. Simple questions always work best:
- If you could spend the weekend here kid-free what would you do?
- Where is your favorite spot in the town?
- Do you prefer mornings or nights?
You even use Social Media’s Features like the polls, where you can ask your guests if they prefer one dish over another or to choose over two different rooms. This way, you allow them to interact with you and the hotel and explore parts of your property or your services that they did not know about.
Idea #5: Get together with Influencers
Credits to @amandacampeaun
Invite an influencer to stay with you. It’s a way to generate fresh content to a larger audience, but make sure you have a contract with very specific deliverables in place.
Influencers such as Tara Milk Tea worked with The Langham Sydney. She has a massive following and produces amazing Insta-worthy pictures that will be shared all over social media. But don’t forget there are loads of benefits to working with smaller influencers who can land you some amazing photographs as well – Amanda Campeanu who worked with Crowne Plaza Melbourne.
Be careful, though. Don’t just go around and ask people to come to your property. Define your strategy first. What you are trying to do? What do you want to achieve? Who is the most suitable to help you? Maybe you need a model, a travel blogger, a storyteller, or a food critic for your restaurant. Not everyone is fit for everything.
Idea #5: Use sites that will connect you with Influencers
Fortunately, in late 2019 there are a lot of businesses that help you to improve your social media presence. However, who knew that there are sites that allow you to connect with Influencers? Well, there are. Most people think you need a product to use this kind of service or the influencers need to stay on property BUT you can use it differently. The only thing you need to do is to send them a short brief for your hotel and what you are trying to do. The brief would involve sending them different photos/videos of your hotel and they would caption it for you; “It’s cold and windy here right now. How I wish I was staying there over the weekend…”. The rest is up to them!
Conclusion,
Don’t forget that social media is meant to be social. Use it as a platform to entertain, inspire, humor and empower your audience! Try to be original and think out of the box. The competition out there is huge, but originality and uniqueness can make the difference. Stay true to yourself and your hotel’s core idea. Tips, advice, and ideas are only here to highlight what is already there – the willing to upgrade travelers’ experiences and shape their memories.
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