Hotel Digital Marketing Strategies to Reach More Guests Online

The hotel sector of today is frequently characterized as competitive and dynamic. The previous ten years have seen a number of problems for the travel industry, including the emergence of Uber-like businesses and a pandemic that has cost the industry an estimated $935 billion. As a result, marketing initiatives have taken center stage. Effective marketing techniques are more important than ever for hotel businesses, whether you want to build your brand, boost reservations, or open a new hotel. With its cheap and enormous potential reach, digital is the way to go in this regard. 4.66 billion people, or about 60% of the world's population, use the internet regularly nowadays. The number of individuals using social media continues to soar; in 2015, there were just over 2 billion active users; today, there are nearly 4 billion. With the correct approach, technology, and a little bit of creativity, hotels can use the power of digital to perform marketing magic. The possibilities are unlimited.

How Do We Understand Hotel Digital Marketing?

Hotel digital marketing is the process of knowing how a hotel promotes itself online to tempt guests. In most cases, it employs websites, social media, email, and other online media that have the same message to present to the potential guests the amenities, services, or special offers of the hotel, such a direct connection between the hotel and its users might be considered as the way of the hotel of using the internet to connect with those who are interested in staying there. We’ll give you some tips on how to create and manage successful digital marketing campaigns, as well as tools that will allow you to track your conversions and website traffic. 

Top Hotel Digital Marketing Strategies

1. Create a Website that Converts

Customers are always in search of great deals when it comes to traveling, and this often drives them to comparison-shopping websites where they can find discounts.

If you want your hotel's name and information out there in the world, you'll have to play the online game. The best way to do that is by owning your own website that promotes your amenities and offers a variety of package deals.

In most cases, your website is the first touchpoint where your guest interacts with your hotel. It has to make an attractive and trustworthy first impression. Optimize your hotel website for such requirements so it can convert your visitors into customers.

Read: Tips to Create an Effective Hotel Website

2. Mobile Optimization is Necessary

Marketing your hotel on a mobile phone is crucial. Mobile devices, such as phones and tablets, account for an enormous part of internet traffic. If your website isn't mobile-friendly and optimized, customers may not be able to view all of the information about your hotel. 

In addition, customers who have seen your property online on their smartphones may not want to go through the trouble of resizing and repositioning their screens or visiting another site just because yours doesn't work properly with their devices.

Include content that works well with large screens as well as smaller ones in order to make sure that you are meeting the needs of both users by giving them all they need while browsing on the go.

3. Content Marketing

Having a website or YouTube channel isn’t enough. Because you need to have a strong reason to bring an audience to your website. This requirement can be fulfilled by content marketing. Look around your niche and see what your audience is searching for. 

Once you’ve got the list of topics, start creating quality and informative content for your users. Publish it on your website or channel. 

Now, you must have a question that how to get more guests using this content. Here, you have to use content marketing to funnel down your audience. 

When your content is being noticed by the people, you can take your audience to the next step of your funnel, where they can know more about your business and offers. All in all, you need to be a little bit creative and open-minded when doing content marketing for your hotel. 

Always keep in mind that if your content is unable to engage your audience, it will be a failed effort toward your digital marketing goals. 

4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the ranking of a website or webpage in a search engine's organic or unpaid results. Search engines usually provide search results based on an algorithm that takes into account both relevance and popularity. 

Popularity is determined by different factors, including how often you update your content, which words are in your content, how well those words are written, and whether other popular sites link to yours. Relevance refers to how well the content matches what a searcher is looking for in regard to both wording and topic. 

A few recommendations on increasing relevancy include changing meta tags, optimizing landing pages, and creating relevant content with terms that your customers would use when searching online.

Search engine optimization has two parts – On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO. On-page SEO is done on the website and its pages. Whereas, Off-Page SEO refers to optimizing the site’s ranking using other sites such as link building, social sharing etc. 

5. Do Social Media Optimization

Social media optimization is the act of getting a business more exposure on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Optimizing your company's page will help increase followers, reach out to more potential guests, and keep a connection with current customers. Whether it be a hotel, restaurant, or hospitality company, making sure you have a presence on these channels can be beneficial to your business.

To start optimizing your social media pages:

• Create an account and set up the page with all of the necessary information.
• Fill out every field appropriately (location, address/phone number).
• Promote engaging and helpful content for your audience because if you help your audience, they will help you back!

6. Don’t Overlook Local Search

Many hotels don't know how powerful local search marketing/ local SEO can be and some even assume that it's not as effective as other, more well-known marketing channels. This couldn't be further from the truth. 

When it comes to allocating your marketing budget, if you want a bigger return on investment, it’s important that you focus on your locally targeted audience too. There are many ways to optimize your site and make sure you rank high in Google searches in the city where your hotel is located. 

There are also platforms like Yelp that allow users to post reviews of their experience at different locations including hotels. You can read these reviews, respond to them, and leave reviews of your own which will help build trust with potential guests who may have concerns about what they'll find when they visit.

7. Influencer Marketing

Leveraging influencer marketing is one of the best ways to reach a large number of your potential guests. Building relationships with digital influencers in your industry who can spread the word about your hotel, new features, and upcoming events can have a huge impact on not only the size of your audience but also the quality of your leads.

You can get in touch with travel vloggers who usually post videos about their travel. So, if you can deal with them regarding a review video at your hotel and post it on their platform, it would be a great way to market your hotel through influencer marketing. 

8. Email Marketing Also has Potential 

Many marketers often say that email marketing is dead! But it’s not true at all. Email marketing still has a lot of potential and many digital marketers are making use of it. 

To check its potential, you need to see your inbox – if you subscribed to any brand’s email list, you’re more likely to receive emails from them at times. Isn’t it?

Email marketing for hotels is one of the oldest and most powerful online marketing tactics. It's low cost, highly targeted, and can drive higher response rates than some other forms of digital marketing. 

The following six tips can help you up your email game so you're not just sending out boilerplate emails with little thought behind them:

• Use a company email address instead of a personal one.
• Double-check before hitting send that the message makes sense and isn't riddled with typos or grammatical errors.
• If you do use jargon in an email, be sure to define it right away or provide a link for readers who might not understand it as well.
• Categorize the email list in various audience segments instead of sending the same email to entire list. 
• Don’t try to sell in every email.

9. Display Advertising 

Display advertising is one of the most effective digital marketing strategies. It can also help hotels to increase brand awareness and get more direct bookings. To run display ads for your hotel, you can use various platforms like Google Display Ads (they run ads on their partner websites), Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads and many more. 

In display ads, you get the targeting feature as well. You can tell the platform to show your ads in between the relevant content, to a specific demographic and many other options are available out there. Display ads can have a strong impact on your hotel’s marketing plan. So, don’t ignore it!

10. Search/ PPC Advertising

Now comes the most powerful part of digital marketing, which can increase your hotel direct bookings. It’s Search Ads or Pay-Per-Click (PPC). Search advertising allows you to show your ad on a search engine for a particular search term. 

For example, you have a hotel in Dubai and you run an ad campaign on Google. In this campaign, you are telling Google to show your search ad when someone searches “Luxury Hotels in Dubai”. 

There are numerous keywords that you can run search ads on. If you run an effective PPC campaign for your hotel, you can see massive Returns on Ad Spends (ROAS).

How to create a digital marketing plan for your hotel

Thinking about your target demographic is the first step in developing a digital marketing plan. To whom are you marketing? To better define and comprehend that target demographic, you must delve deeply. Creating guest personas that reflect the types of individuals they want to see at their check-in desk is a helpful approach for hotels to accomplish this. To whom would you recommend a hotel? Investigate these questions to get a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of these people: What is their age? What is their residence? With whom do they live? With whom will they be traveling? What kind of work do they do, and what is their salary? Which other brands are they fans of? What interests and pastimes do they have? What books do they read? Which societal issues are most important to them? Where do they buy clothing and food? What are their aspirations in life? What drives them the most? Which location is their favorite? To what extent do they use technology? What social media platforms do they favor? How do they interact with friends, family, and coworkers?

The next step is to specify your ultimate objectives for digital marketing. These will be guided by overarching corporate objectives and plans. One business objective might be to improve your brand in the younger market and increase revenue by 20% in the upcoming year.

You may then base your digital marketing goals around that objective. Reaching more millennials by doubling your Instagram following and increasing website traffic by 50% could be aims that fit in with these larger business objectives.

After your objectives are well-defined and your target audience is known, it's time to implement the specifics of your digital marketing plan. You must create a plan that outlines the digital marketing tools you can use to accomplish your objectives and how you plan to use them.

The most well-liked and useful instruments consist of:

• Content marketing
• Social media
• Influencer marketing
• Email marketing
• Online reviews
• SEO, local SEO and Google Hotel Ads Do not worry if you are unfamiliar with some of these phrases or if you have never created an online marketing plan for your hotel. Each of these tools

How to find the best social media platform for your hotel online marketing goals

Which social media network is most appropriate for your hotel? In the shortest amount of time, where will you find the greatest success? Although it would be good to have a conclusive response, there isn't one. Nonetheless, determining the optimal responses to these queries may be done quickly and simply in three steps.

Get familiar with the platforms

You must first gain a fundamental understanding of the most widely used platforms in order to make an informed decision: Facebook: With 2.79 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular platform. It facilitates information sharing, guest communication, and event creation. Instagram: A well-liked visual media site that is ideal for showcasing luxurious lobby areas and idyllic locales, as well as inspiring visitors and influencers to follow suit. X (previously known as Twitter): Tweet brief and to-the-point updates, chats, and communications (280 characters maximum). Youtube: Enables lodging establishments and visitors to produce educational and motivational videos. Pinterest: An additional visual channel for creating a brand image

TikTok:With 689 million active monthly users, TikTok is a video-sharing app where over half of its population is under 34. Whatsapp: With two billion users, this elegant messaging service has the potential to revolutionize guest communication. As social media continues to grow and change, pay attention to this one.

Consider your audience

Once more, it all boils down to knowing who you want to invite—your ideal guests. You may more thoroughly examine the platforms available and decide where to concentrate your digital marketing efforts and potential money by getting to know them, their preferences for content, and which platforms they use most frequently (as well as why).

Think about goals and practicalities

The next stage is to consider your overall objectives and the ways in which each social media platform might assist you in moving closer to your goals. There are further considerations of a practical nature: To use a platform efficiently, how much time and money would you need to invest in it? Do any of your employees currently use or are familiar with any of the platforms? How frequently must you publish content on each platform? Which management and integration tools are available? These elements ought to assist you in determining where to direct your efforts. Additionally, keep in mind that it's probably preferable to excel on one or two platforms rather than trying to cover everything.

Impact of Digital Marketing in the Hospitality Industry? 

As far as we see Digital marketing has now become the root of hotel marketing culture, nowadays most hotels prefer to grow their business online, instead of mouth-to-mouth publicity. 

Here are some of the most common impacts of hotel digital marketing:- 

1. Enhance brand visibility

Digital marketing enables hotels and resorts to get in touch with audiences in different parts of the world through social networks, search engines, and travel websites.

2. Personalized marketing

With the help of data analytics and customer segmentation hotels utilize personalized marketing messages and offer the best deals to every single guest individually, thus increasing customer engagement.

3. Cost-effective

Unlike traditional marketing strategies, digital marketing is a cost-effective solution, as it allows hotels to allocate their marketing budgets more efficiently and receive greater value in return on their investment (ROI).

4. Data-driven insights

Digital marketing is the platform that gives the hotels the privilege to have access to their basic data about their customer behavior, and preferences, this allows them to come up with data-driven decisions and marketing strategies that are targeted to the audience.

5. Online reputation management

Digital marketing tools are useful for hotels to monitor and control their online reputation by tracking discussions, responding to online reviews, and managing a positive online presence.

Key Tools for Hotel Online Marketing

If you run a online marketing campaign, you’ll have to use many tools. Some tools are required for SEO, graphics, Ad spying, analyzing the campaign, tracking the campaign and many more. 

Some important tools required for hotel online marketing are, Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Ads Manager, Google Tag Manager, Hootsuite, SemRush, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest and the list is endless. 

Some of these tools are free to use and some have paid plans. 

Leveraging a online marketing strategy, like the ones we’ve outlined here, is sure to give your hotel an edge over your competitors. Building a strong website and social media presence, engaging with customers on social media and increasing your hotel’s online visibility with new content will result in more bookings.

P.S.: If you liked these online marketing strategies for hotels/ hospitality industry, do share the blog post on your social media handles.

How to Collect Hotel Leads For Digital Email Marketing

Running a hotel or resort is not an easy task. And the most difficult part is to get guests through digital marketing. Different hotels kind use different approaches to their digital marketing strategies. But do you think how it can be done? Here are some simple steps to collect lead:-

1. Captivating website

Make your website a one-shop-stop, by ensuring that it contains a user-friendly interface and provides CTA's (call to action) for visitors who sign up or inquire.

2. SEO

Most users clickbait to the sites that are ranking on the top page, the main way to enhance search engine results is by using relevant keywords and by earning backlinks.

3. Paid advertising

Invest a significant amount of money into ads on platforms like Google ads or Facebook ads, which aim to target people of a specific age and push them to your site.

4. Email marketing

Get an email address directly through your website, and send a newsletter with special offers, upcoming events, and exclusive discounts to catch customer's attention.

5. OTA platforms

Add your hotel's site to online travel agencies, and optimize your OTA platforms and booking engine to capture leads and make an email marketing list this is one the most convenient and easy methods to maximize leads.

Conclusion

Digital marketing strategies are crucial for hotels when it comes to generating revenue. With new competitors entering the market, guest expectations for personalization are rising. Today's guests are tech-savvy and expect user-friendly websites with high-quality offerings from hotels.

To leverage digital marketing effectively for hotels, ensure that all channels are optimally utilized. This approach can lead to increased bookings, streamlined operations, positive reviews, and ultimately, a successful business year in 2024.

Implement these strategies to boost your hotel's digital marketing efforts and stay ahead of the competition in the industry.

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Q1 .) What is digital marketing for hotels?

A1 .) Hotel digital marketing involves marketing your hotel through different mediums such as SEO, search engine marketing, e-mails, or collaborating with an influencer. 

An effective digital marketing strategy starts with knowing your audience, creating a client's avatar, identifying the audience's goals, where they spend the maximum time, and what their goals and preferences are.

In a nutshell, digital marketing for hotels is more about promoting your hotel to reach the targeted audience, getting more bookings, and seeing a rise in revenue. 

Q2 .) How can digital marketing help my hotel attract more guests?

A2.) Digital marketing is a powerful tool for hoteliers to attract guests as it helps in various ways-

• Increase the hotel’s revenue 
• Builds a strong hotel brand 
• Enhances guest engagement 
• Get more bookings 

Lack of online presence means that you’re losing tons of booking opportunities every day. Modern travelers are tech-savvy, and they’re used to making online reservations using mobile devices. So, to stand out from competitors, you need to create a solid digital presence online. 

Q 3.) Why is SEO important for hotel websites?

A 3.) SEO is super important for hotel websites because a website optimized for search engines increases the chances of ranking on top of SERP.

If your content is SEO optimized and ranks #1 on Google, it means that potential visitors who are searching for your hotel might see the results. They’re more likely to click on your website and increase the chances of bookings.

Q 4.) How can content marketing benefit my hotel’s online presence?

A 4.) Here’s why investing in content marketing can be a game changer for your hotel business-

• Content is GOLDMINE for hotels. It doesn't just educate guests, rather it increases the chances of selling. Content elicits potential guests to take action.
• It outperforms traditional advertising. Modern guests spend more time on the internet and content can glue their attention. Hoteliers don’t need to run traditional ads to market their hotel business. Thus, it’s cost-effective for them.
• Content marketing enhances the reputation of the hotel business. Traditionally, if the guest is unhappy with the hotel services, they have to complain to the hotel staff. Now, content marketing makes it possible for them to leave negative reviews if dissatisfied with the service. 

Q 5.) What are the benefits of using social media for hotel marketing?

A 5.)Here are a few benefits that hotels can get by investing in social media-

• Increases the brand awareness of the hotel 
• Makes your hotel standout 
• Enhances the reputation of your hotel business 
• Get more hotel bookings