Social media isn’t just a new trend; it’s now a cornerstone of marketing. Fifty-two percent of travelers visited a destination after viewing its video or image on their friends’ social media. And even more (60%) post pictures while on vacation.

Social media is a must-have for any accommodation business looking to increase reach and boost bookings. Please continue reading to discover the best ways to use social media to encourage guests to book your property and share their experiences.

Influencer marketing

Influencers are people who have a significant following on social media. They like, comment, and interact with their posts. Larger Companies are cutting back on their influencer partnerships this year. This has created a gap for smaller businesses. It doesn’t need to be expensive. Most influencers charge less than USD 100 for each post, and just over a third receive free products.

The trick is to find an influencer with a similar audience. Examine your guest data before you start an influencer search to find out who you’re marketing to. It’s okay if the influencer with the most followers differs from the one who matches your needs. Influencers who have a niche, smaller audience might receive more engagement. Be on the lookout to see if there are any spam comments. Bots could be a better target audience.

You should also be aware of bots. Have the influencers or their followers experienced a crisis recently? Avoid anyone who doesn’t share your values.

After choosing an influencer for your campaign, ensure that you are on the same page regarding content and scheduling. Before you start, let them know the brand message. Allow them to be creative. You know your audience better than they do, so what you post should align with the rest of their content.

You should constantly evaluate the ROI of any marketing campaign. Measure engagement and revenue using UTM parameters, promo codes, and unique hashtags. Influencer campaigns can generate income.

User-Generated content

Who has more influence? Social media users are the most influential! In a global study, 38% of respondents said everyday social media users, like your guests, are the most genuine, compared with 9% who voted for social media stars. The subject matter experts won with 39%. Consumers trust each other.

Use to curate user-generated content and share it on your social media channels. Ask permission before you post anything. If you post their gorgeous pool picture on your homepage and elsewhere, you may expect more from someone.

Social listening tools such as Hootsuite can be used to find user-generated content. By selecting your brand pages and other keywords, you can monitor what is being said about your hotel or local area using these tools. You can only share posts that you are aware of!

Ask your guests to post about your hotel if you see a few. You can boost UGC by staging a contest like the best pool photo and offering a small reward like a drink for a review or post. You cannot tie perks to the type of review that your guest provides. The review must be valid, whether it is positive or negative.

You can only run so many contests. You can encourage a guest to post a picture on social media by giving her peanut butter fudge on a pillow. Check her profile to make sure that she’s not allergic to peanuts.

Display your social media handles, hashtags, and other information around your property so guests can tag you. After the guest has checked out, you can send them a request for a review.

Engage with your guests on social media! It’s as simple as saying, “Thank you for your visit; we are so happy you enjoyed it.”

80-20 Rule

Use the 80-20 rule to guide you so that only 20 percent of your content directly promotes your brand while 80 percent focuses on informing/entertaining your audience. Do you know the “friend” that only contacts you when they need something? Do not be that “friend.” Book Now doesn’t have to be on every post.

If you use promotional material, it must be unique. Are you offering a special holiday package or a promotional offer? Is there a time limit on this offer? Book Now should be “Book Now,” not “Book Sometimes.”

Consider the value of your post to potential guests and not just the value it provides you. Build rapport with your target audience and then encourage them to purchase.

Behind the Scenes

What do you post if you are not supposed to be promoting yourself? Imagine that the goal of your post is to present you. The social media platform is your friendly, warm hug to get to know you (or a handshake for guests who don’t like hugs).

Post behind-the-scenes content to humanize and show your brand. Post the video of your chef making strawberry crepes. Food photos and videos are always good. You can use anything that will make your audience salivate.

Make sure that you include people in your content, whether they are guests or employees.

Include people in your story. There are people everywhere, which means there is personality, need, and emotion. Your chef may have scorched a few before achieving that golden brown. Tell us.

You can find out more about this by clicking here.

Guests are looking for information online during their trip’s planning and dreaming stages. You can position yourself as an expert local who can make the most of your area. This is where your blog can help. This will also help improve yours. You can also write about local attractions, fun places to eat (you want to show your guests the good food you have), and other tips for visitors (such as if you drive on 2nd Street at rush hour, you’ll die). Curate the best bits for social media.

Are your customers asking the same questions every time they enter the house? Answer these questions on your Facebook Page (and the FAQ page of your website! ).

Humor

You can use social media to entertain people in their spare time. You can use humor, but you need to know who your audience is. You want to engage your audience, not enrage them. This blog would be filled with more The Shining Jokes if not for that caveat. However, not everyone finds the homicidal behavior of hotel staff funny.

Add a few memes. You can find everything from Boromir to Willy Wonka (plus a guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt) if you search “funny memes about travel.” There’s sure to be something that suits your brand, or you can create one yourself!

Do not be afraid. Get creative. Hilton created a TikTok video that was more than a 10-minute meta-commentary on social media marketing. They broke down the fourth wall…and received 86x of the average US brand videos on this platform during the first quarter.

Video

Video is becoming increasingly popular. Ninety-one percent of consumers say they want to see more online videos from brands in 2023 and another 89 percent claim that video has convinced them to buy a product or a service. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are all-embracing videos. Nearly all of the users on these platforms consume video every week.

Although Hilton’s ten-minute TikTok was a success, it is best to keep your videos short. Assume that your audience is as inattentive as a gadfly. Social media was created that way. It does not mean, however, that a live 30-minute stream of your shareholder meeting (for so many reasons) is a bad idea. Instagram reels can only be up to 90 seconds, and they achieve