5 Ways Social Media Help Attract Hotel Guests | SMB Compass
Ezra Cabrera | March 25, 2020
Did you know that as of 2018, there are 2.65 billion people who use, and are on social media? This number is projected to increase up to 3.1 billion by 2021. This clearly shows us that the use of social media platforms has skyrocketed over the years. In fact, you can hardly find anyone who doesn’t have a Facebook account. This is exactly why social media, along with access to hotel financing, are the perfect tools that allow you to find and attract guests to stay at your hotel.
Aside from connecting with family and friends, people use social media to look for products and services they need. What they see on social media (business information, recommendations, and reviews) can greatly influence their buying decisions.
For this reason, social media marketing can definitely help attract loyal guests to your hotel. Here’s how:
1. Encourage Conversation with Potential Clients
When your target market “likes” or comments on your social media posts, it means your message caught their attention. However, it is a known fact, positive comments generate stronger traffic compared to getting likes. Comments will help build your following because people take a keen interest in what and who their friends are engaging with.
This means you need to be sure to post interesting, engaging, and newsworthy topics to your social media page and provide a compelling call-to-action (CTA). The truth is, if your posts are engaging enough, your target audience will willingly share their opinion without you having to ask for it.
Related: 7 Reasons Why You Should Pay for Social Media Ads for Your Hotel
2. Reach New Clients
Having a presence on social media allows you to constantly update existing and potential customers about your upcoming events, new amenities, and services. You can also promote them without spending a fortune on advertising since Facebook and Instagram ads only cost a fraction of what advertising firms charge for TV ads.
To maintain a good online following, you should upload relevant, high-quality content. As long as there’s a constant influx of quality content from your hotel across relevant social media platforms, it will only be a matter of time before potential customers take notice of your hotel and what it has to offer customers.
3. Improve Customer Relations
In the hospitality industry, building lasting and positive customer relationships is the foundation of a successful business. You can use social media to improve customer relations by evaluating the results of your social media campaigns. Digital communication channel traffic lets you discover what your customers liked or disliked about their recent stay in your hotel, giving you access to valuable information on a moving forward basis.
Your marketing team or the agency you work with should provide transparency regarding consumer responses. They should also be able to consistently create strategies to reach your target customers effectively. With this valuable data from your customers, hoteliers can readily interact with your market. You can update your products and services with improvements your guests will like and should be told about, which will pay you back in the form of new business in the long run.
4. Improve Web Traffic or Travel Websites
If you’re like most hoteliers, chances are, you have the main website for your hotel aside from your social media pages. One of the main benefits of social media is that it’s a great tool if for directing more traffic to your website. The promotions and the offers on your social media channels can be used to drive and direct more people to your website.
Aside from driving traffic to your website, you can also encourage people to go to your hotel reservation page or travel websites where they can complete a booking. In this way, you can improve your web rankings as well as increase your conversion rates.
Social media platforms enable hoteliers to establish their brand by sharing relevant information with their target audience. If done correctly, social media can help business owners, not just hoteliers, to tap into customer preferences that ultimately improve your customer’s experience and attract loyal clients.
5. Hiring Qualified Individuals
Successful hotels rely greatly on their talented employees to provide outstanding service to hotel guests. Social media accounts like LinkedIn can help hoteliers hire highly qualified professionals they can rely on. Platforms like LinkedIn has made it easier to filter qualified applicants based on their age, languages they speak, job experience, nationality, soft/hard skills, and even more. When it’s all said and done, social media is an effective tool for hoteliers looking to hire talented employees.
Secure Access to Hotel Financing Today!
Whether you want to hire more employees or attract guests to your hotel, one thing is certain: Running a hotel is capital intensive. If you want to stay in the game, having access to working capital is crucial.
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