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A brand’s digital presence is often the first thing prospective customers evaluate, particularly in the hospitality industry. They check reviews, visit your website, scroll through your social channels and see what buzz is being generated around your brand. With customers evaluating and often experiencing their first impression of a brand online, having a strong digital presence is paramount to driving interest, generating leads and ultimately bringing in business. For brands to effectively leverage hospitality digital marketing, it goes beyond just having a website. You must have a strong and cohesive digital marketing strategy across social media, search engine optimization (SEO), and more. Not sure how to get started? Learn how a strong digital marketing program will add credibility and attract more customers to your hospitality brand.
In today’s connected age, social media presence is everything for hospitality brands. Whether you’re spotlight hotel features, teasing new menu items, or showing off a new experience, social media marketing strategies should focus on two main components: high quality content and community management.
High quality content: Whether it’s enticing guests to book a room at your hotel or fill seats in your restaurant, a strong social media marketing strategy with high quality content can make your brand stand out against the crowd. Video and strikingly visual content entice users to stop scrolling and start watching. Keeping your social media channels up to date with fresh content that resonates with your audience will not only create more engagement on your channels but help you build a following and customer base.
Community Management: Building an engaged and passionate community on social media is critical for hospitality brands, and to do this, you must have a community management process in place. When the feedback or recommendations are positive, brands can engage with customers, thanking them for the feedback and inviting them back again. If customers have a negative experience, an effective community management strategy helps brands to respond in a timely and appropriate manner in order to manage rapport with the customer, build credibility, and demonstrate customer service experiences.
Aligning closely with social media, influencer partnerships are a competitive strategy to spotlight your brand, driving awareness and building community. Not only do influencers help create high-quality content across social platforms, but they also give prospective customers a first-hand testimonial of their experience. Influencers are trusted figures and have devout followers who listen to their recommendations. Activating influencers to post about a restaurant or vacation experience can generate more buzz around your brand and offerings, while building more credibility around the guest experience and creating high-quality content.
Reaching prospective customers is vital to growing your business. With hospitality digital marketing, there are many different strategies to reach your customer base and attract new audiences through organic, paid and earned media.
Organic Search: By creating an effective organic search strategy, you can attract new customers by appearing for relevant searches related to your business in your desired area. For example, by creating keyword rich content on your website around your most important services such as “Italian restaurants near me” or “boutique hotels downtown,” you can increase your chances of appearing in the top of organic search results on search engines such as Google or Bing. Another consideration to drive organic traffic is to ensure your business’ name, address and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all channels. In addition, claiming your Google My Business listing and ensuring your location is accurate on the various Maps tools can increase searchability.
Paid Search: Aligning closely with organic search, paid digital advertising platforms allow brands to strategically reach new audiences and markets. Ads can be targeted toward your desired audience and clientele with interests such as travel, restaurants, tourism and more. In addition, brands can customize and tailor the ad to specific geographic locations, asking users to take actions like “book now” or “make a reservation.”
Earned Media: Leveraging earned media can increase your brand awareness and bolster credibility through third-party endorsements and coverage. When your brand receives positive media attention, these links not only generate awareness of your brand, but they also can link back to your website to build referrals and give your brand more visibility in the SERP. Hospitality PR can help get your brand noticed and generate earned media buzz for your business.
Hospitality digital marketing is an important strategy for brands in the industry. Beyond just building a website, brands should have a consistent approach to crafting an online presence that positions the brand and its core offerings in front of potential and current audiences, helping brands grow their reach and add credibility to their brand. Through integrated PR and digital marketing strategies, you can help build your hospitality business, generate awareness and solidify your brand’s presence.
Contact Bolt PR, your hospitality marketing agency partner today to learn more.