As a hotel owner or manager, you have the exciting challenge of marketing your hotel in creative and innovative ways. In a competitive market, it can be difficult to attract new customers and keep existing ones happy. Fortunately, there are many effective and affordable ways to market your hotel, from online advertising to word-of-mouth referrals.
Understand Your Hotel’s Target Audience
Before you jump into marketing your hotel, you must understand your target audience. This can include your local market, the type of guests you want to attract, the demographics of your typical patrons, and any other factors that describe your ideal customers. This information will help you determine which marketing strategies to use and where to focus your efforts. For example, you might decide to create a social media campaign targeting business travelers in your area.
Establish Your Hotel’s Brand Identity
Before you dive into any marketing strategies, it’s essential to establish your hotel’s brand identity. Your brand identity is the unique combination of qualities and characteristics that make your hotel stand out from the competition. It includes your hotel’s name, design, marketing, and offerings. Your brand identity should be consistent across all your marketing materials, including your website, social media feeds, and any other channels you use.
Use Mobile Marketing
With mobile marketing, you can target customers on the go through advertisements, pop-up ads, and short video clips. For example, you can send out targeted advertisements to customers who are in the vicinity of your hotel, as well as customers who are looking for nearby attractions. Mobile marketing for hotels is not always easy, but a good omnichannel platform can smoothen the process. You can invest in a system that makes it easier for customers to book spa appointments, access special offers, order room service, and so on.
Optimize Your Hotel’s Website
Your hotel’s website is one of the first things potential customers see when they start their search, and it can make a big difference in whether they book with your hotel or another establishment. That’s why it’s essential to optimize your website to drive more traffic, convert more visitors into customers, and increase your overall sales. You can do this by including engaging content, such as blogs and videos, on your site. You should also customize your website for each search engine and include your keywords in your title, description, and content.
Create Social Media Accounts
Almost everyone who travels uses social media at least occasionally. You can create social media accounts for your hotel and use them to post pictures, videos, and other content that will interest your target audience and encourage them to visit your hotel. Get creative with the type of content you post on social media, and try to come up with content that other hotels don’t have. For example, you can post photos of your hotel’s best features, talk about the history of your establishment, show pictures of special events, or create behind-the-scenes videos.
Develop Referral Programs
A referral program is a system where customers who are satisfied with your hotel can refer their friends and family members to your establishment. In turn, you can offer these customers rewards, such as discounts and free stays, for their word-of-mouth advertising. Referral programs are a great way to get more customers, especially if you have a small marketing budget. Your satisfied customers are already familiar with your hotel, so they’re more likely to use your referral program and recommend your hotel to others.
Utilize Traditional Advertising
There are many traditional advertising platforms that you can use to market your hotel, including radio and TV ads, newspaper and magazine advertisements, and billboards. These forms of advertising can be more expensive, but they’re effective. You can create radio and TV ads to reach your local market, while newspaper and magazine ads can target specific demographics. You can also create billboard advertisements near your hotel’s location.
Your marketing campaigns may not work as planned, and you may need to make adjustments and try new things. Be patient and willing to change things up as needed. Keep a positive, can-do attitude, and remember that you can’t please everyone. Successful marketing isn’t about attracting every single person; it’s about attracting the right people.
