Get on the pulse of what works and what doesn’t with these tips to put your A-game on when it comes to social media marketing.
In this blog post, we will not be talking about why you should be on social media.
We assume that you know that globally more than half the world (58.4%) uses social media, that is 4.62 billion people across all social media channels [Statista, 2022].
Instead, we focus on how you can get in front of this audience in a manner that gets you desired results.
1) Re-evaluate your social media goals.
If you have a social media strategy in place, you probably have goals. Make sure these goals are still valid. Be realistic in what you set, whether it is brand awareness, bookings or growing your brand audience. Remember, every campaign, drive traffic to your website or post cannot get you a booking.
2) Start with one channel.
A key tenet for social media success is focus. Don’t try and be on every social media platform. Pick one or two social media channels that are most relevant to your target audience and grow your presence there. Keep TikTok in mind for your 2022 and beyond strategy. With one billion users, it is not a channel you can ignore for too long.
3) Engage with the right people.
Don’t try to cover the whole world with your message. Find the right audience for you and target them using the tools provided by social media channels. Insights and analytics from your channel manager, booking engine, PMS and website are great to help identify your niche.
4) Tell a lot of stories.
Good marketing is essentially good storytelling. If you can tell a fantastical tale, one that paints your guests as heroes on a noble quest, your social media channels will grow. Most social media channels have a number of engaging features that make storytelling exciting – leverage these to your advantage. Get on Instagram Stories and Reels, live stream from your property, create short-form videos, share posts highlighting local attractions, etc.
5) Involve your audience.
User-generated content (or UGC for short) is an easy and effective way to promote your brand and grow your audience. To keep the momentum going, shout out to guests, influencers or followers who create content to promote your property.
6) Be timely in your social media presence.
Post at the best times possible to get the maximum value out of your followers. Check insights from relevant social media platforms to see when most of your followers are online and engaged. Keep testing optimum time as it could change from time to time. It is also important to respond to your customers in a timely fashion via comments, messages or chat. Have a process in place to hand over queries from social media to operations for booking or clarifications.
7) Leverage influencer marketing.
According to Hubspot, 90% of the brands believe in the power of influencer marketing. Make 2022 the year when you reach out to the influencers who can make a world of a difference to your property. Influencer marketing can be expensive, but remember, you don’t always need the big guys to talk you up. Equally a collective of micro-influencers (10K to 100K followers) could reach your target audience effectively.
8) Repurpose content across channels.
Content is at the heart of any successful social media strategy. However, producing content for every social media channel you have a presence on is not an easy ask. As part of your strategy, become smarter at repurposing your content to fit in the needs of multiple channels. Producing unique content for every channel, every time is just not feasible.
9) Get a social media team in place.
Managing social media channels effectively can be a time and resource heavy task. Plan smarter by having a social media team in place to manage posts, messages and reviews coming in. This doesn’t always mean hiring new people. The team could be a combination of your existing marketing team and staff from front-office or other parts of the hotel.
10) Invest in paid ads.
If you need help standing out from competitors and increasing your conversions in 2022, investing in paid social media advertising can be an effective strategy.
11) Social listen more often.
Social media is not just about posting and pushing your brand message out. Adopt social listening – the art of keeping your finger on the pulse of what your audience is saying regarding your industry and property. Use these topics of interests to create content that works positively for you.
Summing it up
There are many parts to a successful social media strategy. However, with clear goals, setting up the path to get to these is not very hard. Follow the above tips and you should be on your way to success.
Got more tips to share? Email marketing@staah.com