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Customer Portal

More than just a marketing tool, social media has become an integral way for hotels to engage with guests and enhance their overall experience. From building a rapport, cultivating community, and fostering loyalty with guests, social media effectively establishes an authentic reputation and following while providing a valuable mechanism for hotel guest engagement.

Engaging with guests via social media requires hoteliers to think outside the box. Many hospitality providers rely on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to gain feedback from guests and establish a lasting connection. But the array of hotel guest engagement ideas to be explored is many, and leadership teams must be creative about what strategies will matter most to their guests and their brand.

No doubt, a well-oiled social media machine is a powerful medium to help hotels increase visibility, customer sentiment, direct bookings, and brand awareness. But what’s often lacking is the guest engagement component and leveraging social media in more unconventional ways.

Determining a Brand Voice

In virtually all forms of business, social media can be an asset in developing a brand voice. Social platforms provide a landscape for learning, whether it be identifying target audiences or seeing how other brands are positioning themselves. It also provides a communication outlet to engage with guests using a consistent tone, image, and overarching identity.

More specifically, hotels can explore strategies and ideas to better position their brand on social media.

The insights gained through these exercises can help hotel brands hone in on their target audiences – who they are, what they need, and why they choose your hotel over others. For example, hotels can create a visual template of guest personas (e.g. “the remote business traveler”) and use these resources as a reference point to maintain a consistent brand voice based on specific guest personas that have been identified.

This detailed level of strategic-minded planning can help inspire other ways hotels can use social media to engage with guests.

Posting Short-form Video Content

Short-form video content has paved a new frontier in reaching new guests. Younger, Gen Z travelers are increasingly turning to video-centric social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts to inspire and inform their trips. But even older generations are taking interest in scouring digital platforms that push short-form video content.

According to  Google’s internal data, about 40 percent of travelers over the age of 30 prefer using TikTok over Google Search as a travel tool. The influence of TikTok in enabling traveler decision-making has catapulted a short-form video trend, with Meta and Instagram prioritizing Reels, YouTube prioritizing Shorts, and even Google prioritizing video content in its search results.

In turn, short-form videos can be a highly-effective strategy in enabling hotel marketers to engage with prospective guests and get their message across.

fostering community using social media for hospitality

Fostering Community

Another means to foster guest engagement in hotels is to create community through social media. By starting conversations, connecting with influencers, and encouraging user-generated content, hotels can build a social foundation to support their brand.

By creating an active and engaged social community, hotels can also support other objectives in establishing their brand voice and story, defining target guest personas, and identifying content pillars for short-form videos and other marketing strategies.

Swiftly Responding to Direct Messages

Communication is another critical component for hotel guest engagement, and direct messages on social media have become the new email for certain types of guests. Hotels that remain consistently engaged with these direct communication channels can stay ahead of the curb and accommodate guest needs more effectively.

But doing so requires more than assigning a social admin to oversee these duties. Hotels need to establish systems to swiftly respond to direct messages with consistency and timeliness.

Having a dedicated social media team can better ensure direct messages are responded to in a timely manner and that the team is properly trained to handle various types of inquiries.

Harnessing Influencer Campaigns

Hotels can leverage social media to launch influencer campaigns to promote their brand, reach a wider audience, and engage with prospective guests. The first step is identifying relevant influencers worth hosting.

Pinpoint Relevant Influencers

Factors like personality relevance, follower count, engagement rate, and content style are all important considerations when collaborating with influencers. But most importantly, the influencer of interest should align with the brand’s values and target audience.

Identify Goals and Metrics

Once the influencers have been identified, hotel brands should define clear campaign goals and metrics. This can include increasing bookings, driving social followers, or generating website traffic. Defining these goals will help brands to construct a clear strategy and to know how to measure the success of the campaign.

Craft a Content Strategy

The next step is crafting compelling content in collaboration with influences. Hotel brands should work with influencers to create content that showcases the hotel’s unique features and amenities, or the surrounding culture and community. This can include social media posts and takeovers, guest blog posts, or short-form video content. The content should focus on being engaging and relevant to your guests, informative around specific topics, and visually appealing with a certain level of quality control.

Incorporate UCG 

In addition to working with influencers, hotel brands can also utilize UGC by encouraging guests to share their experiences using a specific campaign hashtag. This can help create a sense of community around the hotel brand and showcase the hotel as a desirable destination.

Track and Monitor Performance

Finally, hotel brands should measure the performance of the influencer campaign. This can include analyzing engagement rates, click-through rates, and bookings. By tracking these metrics, hotel brands can optimize their campaign strategy and ensure that they are maximizing their return on investment.

offering hotel giveaways and discounts on social media

Offering Giveaways and Discounts

Hotels can further improve their level of engagement with guests by offering giveaways and discounts on social media, such as UGC contests, seasonal incentives, and loyalty programs. Social platforms provide a gateway to explore a range of ideas, including:

There’s no limit to the strategic incentives brands can use to engage with current and prospective guests. But oftentimes, having the right technology infrastructure is vital to support such initiatives.

Support the Connection Between Your Hotel Brand and Its Guests

As a leading provider of hotel WiFi solutions, Blueprint RF helps hospitality brands engage with guests with the proper technologies and connectivity systems. The Blueprint RF team enables hotels to offer reliable, secure, and fully-managed WiFi networks that meet the needs of their guests and their strategic objectives. For more information, contact us to learn more.

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