Social media offers plenty of great ways for hotels to promote their brands. But with lots of competition out there, you need to go the extra mile to attract and retain followers. The following strategies can help you use social media to your advantage in establishing your brand and locating new customers.

Find Your Audience

One of the first steps in planning your strategy is to determine which social media platforms your guests use the most. This requires a little digging into the demographics for each social media platform.

For example, you might want to focus on Facebook for middle-aged and senior customers, while younger customers are likely easier to find on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. If you mainly cater to business travelers, on the other hand, consider promoting content on LinkedIn.

While you may want to focus your content on certain channels, that doesn’t mean you should limit your promotional efforts to a single social media platform. Experiment with a variety of platforms and content types, including videos, targeted ads, and blog content, and track the analytics to find out what works best for your brand.

Make It Personal

Hotels often have stiff competition when it comes to attracting customers. That’s why it’s important to take a fresh approach to your social media marketing to help your brand stand out. A great way to do this is to add a personal touch to your promotional content. Here are a few ways to do just that:

1. Give your employees the star treatment. Highlight members of your staff in weekly social media posts. Introduce them by sharing a little bit about the staff member at work (“Samantha is a friendly face you’ll meet at our front desk”) as well as a detail about them outside of work (“Juan is a father of four girls” or “Holly goes skydiving on her birthday every year”).
2. Get guests to participate. Encourage guests to share special moments from their own visits by creating a dedicated social media hashtag. Share some of these memories on your account, or offer a giveaway for your favorite guest moment of the month.
3. Interact with your customers in the comments. Respond to feedback in your comments—both the good and the bad. Guests will appreciate a personal approach and feel confident they can trust that your brand listens to its customers.

Partner With Influencers

Today, many people are paying less attention to ads and more attention to influencers. In fact, 66% of customers trust online recommendations, compared with just 42% trusting the brand themselves. They look to their favorite accounts to find out what to buy and where to go, which is why getting an influencer’s recommendation can be one of the most effective ways to promote your hotel on social media.

Look for influencers who have a following which lines up with the target audience you hope to attract. When creating a partnership, there are a few different options to consider, including:

• Sponsored posts: Options include a photo or video post that talks about the brand.
• Discount codes: Have the influencer share a special discount code for their followers.
• Free stay: Offer a free stay for an influencer in exchange for a review posted on social media. Some influencers will also be willing to document their stay.

Promote Seasonal Offerings

Your social media accounts offer a great way to directly let your customers know about seasonal events and offers. Some hotels struggle to fill their rooms during off-peak dates. Consider advertising discounted rates during these periods on your social media accounts. This is a great way to encourage travel during slower months of the year.

Another way to use seasonality to your advantage on social media is to play up certain seasonal attractions. For example, you could highlight the beautiful decor in your lobby during the winter holidays. Tell followers about a special Valentine’s dinner for two available for stays in February. Plan a Halloween costume contest with special prizes for the winners. All of these options engage your audience and promote your brand as fun and festive.

Highlight Rave Reviews

Perhaps you’ve just gotten a great review on TripAdvisor or your Google My Business listing. That’s exciting news for any brand, but few people are going to see it unless they’re already searching for your property online. That’s why your social media account is such a great resource for spreading positive feedback about your hotel.

If you get a rave review, be sure to post it on your social media channels. It’s an easy way to share positive feedback from a real customer, especially since so many travelers rely heavily on reviews when making decisions about their trip. If you use Instagram, make sure to keep all the reviews you share in a highlight on your profile and encourage guests to view it.

Need some help with your social media management? Quaintise Hospitality is here to help. We’ve worked with numerous hotel brands to develop custom promotional strategies that provide real results in terms of increased revenue and bookings. That includes focused campaigns and brand messaging that helps to reinforce loyalty and encourage customer engagement. If you’d like to learn more about how Quaintise Hospitality can take your social media efforts to the next level, get in touch with us today.