Three Company-Centric Aspects of Digital Marketing for Hotels

Either as a large vacation resort or a boutique hotel catering to a specific target audience, your hotel digital marketing strategy is prerequisite for how guests perceive their potential stay. Online travel agents (OTAs) are a great way to get the exposure, but they don’t necessarily attract more direct bookings.

In order to implement an effective digital marketing strategy, there are key aspects that every company can keep track of and improve.

Understanding Your Competition

Besides having a performing website, it is important to understand where it stands against the competition. By understanding where your competition’s performance, you can create a benchmark for your own results.

Who are your competitors and how are they getting their guests? Go to their website and see how they enhance the experience of their guests. Analysing a competitor’s efforts is a great way to get ideas on how to outperform them, as well as identify aspects they fail to deliver on.

Getting a better understanding of your competitors’ digital marketing strategy will allow you to adapt yours to be more effective.

Social Media for Hotels

In the digital age, the travel industry thrives on social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram. Social media enables businesses in the travel industry, such as a hotel, reach prospects with the right message from the moment they start planning their next vacation to when they return with stories to share.

An effective hotel social media marketing campaign will target prospects at each stage of the customer lifecycle. This also requires your business to listen to what guests are saying about their experience. Check the reviews and reply to comments and feedback. Negative mentions should also be addressed as these can help maintain your presence and further nurture guest relationships. These interactions open the door for you to deliver the service that meets the expectations of your guests.

Highlight Your USP

A great strategy is rounded by having a unique selling point that you can highlight in your marketing efforts. Once a guest has established a layer of trust in your hotel, the next phase in deciding is choosing the hotel with the best experience for the best price.

If your hotel can boast beautiful eye-catching views, use it to your advantage by sharing high quality photographs on your website and social media. Even when you don’t have scenic views, there other advantages you can provide guests, for example, positioning in a historic part of the town or close to cultural landmarks. The unique aspect that you can provide to customers is what will differentiate your service from that of competitors.