Hola! Probably your search for reading some informative content has brought you here. We could not have a better example to show how content can drive people and businesses.
The internet savvy-generation, with their browsing superpowers, easily find the answer to any question on the internet. Businesses, to end the quest of people looking for answers, have come up with a marketing tactic known as business blogging.
What is Business Blogging?
So, let us first understand what business blogging is. In these blogs, the marketers do not promote anything directly but instead give information regarding the popular, trending topics and queries related to their niche.
After understanding the behavior of the content thirsty souls, businesses have adopted this marketing strategy, known as business blogging.
For example, a travel and tour agency does not directly promote and advertise its services. But instead, the agency creates a blog that discusses traveling stories, articles, etc. Likewise, the people who are searching for travel-related content will come to the blog and read the content. And, there are chances they might even choose you as their traveling services provider.
Following the same content marketing strategy, the hotel industry has navigated its way to the online market. If the luxury and the ambiance of the hotels cannot be delivered to your place, they can at least give you the experience with their unique content.
The Importance of Content Marketing
The whole new world is dominated by the internet and content that comes in various forms. Content is not merely a collection of words, but it informs, educates, entertains, and offers utility to its readers.
The businesses worldwide have researched, studied, and understood the buyer behavior. Based on the findings, they have started looking for ways to attract potential customers to their website.
Content has become customer-centric to attract more and more customers. Great content sets you apart from your competitors, but changing trends also necessitate businesses to have content that engages more and more audience.
Omnipresence of Content
Don’t just limit yourselves to writing good website content. You need to promote the content to all the social media channels so that it reaches the maximum number of people within a limited time.
These are the top channels that businesses use for Content Marketi6ng:
- Emails
- Videos
- Podcasts
- Blog Articles
- Webinars
- Internet magazines
- Infographics
- Cartoons
- Quizzes
- Applications
- Social media marketing
- eBooks
How to Maximize Hotel Marketing Content?
Top Takeaways from Successful Hotel Content Marketing Campaigns
Morgans Hotel Group
Approach: Influencer Marketing
Nowadays, social media has taken over businesses and the market. Social media is an open window through which you get access to thousands of people sitting in different corners of the world.
With the help of social media, a unique approach that the businesses are trying to get more conversions and attract customers is by getting it promoted by influencers or bloggers. Although this way of marketing has come in recently, the Morgans Hotel Group experimented with it years back.
They invited all the prominent fashion bloggers and offered them a free stay on their properties. In return for the hospitality and the free services provided to the bloggers, the latter gave a closer look at each detail, from the services, facilities, food, infrastructure, interior, and experience to post a fair review of the hotel on their blogs and websites.
It was a win-win situation for both the bloggers as well as the hotel group. The bloggers got a free stay in an exotic hotel and the hotel marketed through them.
How effective is this strategy?
Using the social media approach to promote your business is the best thing that you can do in today’s cut-throat competition.
You can attract prospective clients to your website by asking the bloggers/social media influencers to generate useful and unique content. It is something that entices the readers and influences them to become a part of your business.
Influencers are called so for a reason. So, it is an achievement if you are successful in roping in a few to review your hotel and write content about the same.
Little Things Project run by Doubletree, Hilton
Approach: Email Marketing
Have you heard Steve Jobs say, “The Customer is the Final Inspector”?
This statement stands true in every sense. Customers are the roots, stem, and all things that constitute the foundation of any business.
In the “Little things” campaign, by Doubletree, Hilton, the customers were asked to mention all the things that will make a difference for them if offered in their hotel.
The Hilton authorities received some pretty weird responses by the customers; from Choco chips to WIFI. After the campaign was over, for almost a year, the brand traveled around the U.S.A to give individual customers all the little things mentioned in the survey responses.
This was followed up by an email marketing campaign.
Let us first understand email marketing!
Email marketing is a part of the content marketing strategy, followed by some of the biggest brands world over.
It is the digital approach to market a brand with the help of content. With this, the prospect clients are approached through emails. Email marketing can convert first-time buyers into raving and loyal customers. And, this is how the Hilton hotel group approached the customers.
The brand introduced various things that were mentioned in the feedback, suggestions given by their customers and tried working on them all. In the email marketing campaign along with the email, they attached pictures in which they showed how happy are their customers after their stay at the hotel.
How well will this strategy work for your business?
Email marketing is no pain to the pocket or the budget of a business, no matter how small or big. You must begin by surveying your old loyal customers and approaching a few new ones.
Feedback from loyal customers helps you improve, and random surveys give you an idea of what the customers look for before checking in to a hotel.
Now, check if what you are offering meets their needs and demands. Then start your email marketing campaign.
Along with your email, send a few pictures, videos, and client testimonials that act as a window to their experiences. With this, the customer will able to judge the quality of attention and services offered by the hotel, to its customers.
Effective email marketing, no matter how easy it sounds, is a challenge in itself. But, the top email marketing companies such as SmartSites, Cyber Infrastructure Inc., IndeedSEO, Social Media 55, etc., help you reach your email marketing goals, conveniently.
Loews Hotels
Approach: User Generated Content on Social Media
Let your guests introduce your brand to the world!
Loews Hotel showcased the on-location experiences of the customers by using the ever-popular social media platforms. How was it different?
The pictures were not clicked by the hotel authorities but by the guests themselves. All they had to do was to post it on their social media account with the hashtag, “#TravelForReal”, which was a part of the campaign run by the hotel.
The campaign was a huge success. The campaign fostered a feeling of authenticity, and that is what people look for before making a purchase or putting in their money into something.
Furthermore, not only does this save the cost of hiring a professional photographer, but it also leads to genuine user-generated content creation. Further to this, you can make a page entirely dedicated to the experiences of your customers.
How can you imply this strategy?
You will need your convincing power and the help of your guests to imply this strategy. Almost every single person nowadays wants to shares his/his experience on social media.
So, if you are too planning to run this campaign for your hotel, we suggest you approach your guests for a discussion and rope them in to run this campaign. Once there are enough pictures on the internet with the images of your hotel and some enthusiastic customers then you can repost these pictures on your social media channels.
Isn’t it one of the easiest and most effective ways to garner social media engagement?
Intercontinental Hotels
Approach: Podcasting
They managed to bring back the ancient art of listening to the oral stories by adopting the content marketing strategy of making podcasts. Did you know there are more than 67 million monthly podcast listeners? These are highly effective sources to reach out to the customers.
Listening to audios is a great way to retreat the mind, no matter how tired anybody is from the inside, there is something weird about the podcasts. Slowly and gradually, the hospitality industry is making itself accustomed to the newly discovered technology.
The Intercontinental hotel started a podcast series, “Stories of the InterContinental Life”. The series influenced the people around the world to travel, explore, experience. The podcasts were also supported by a microsite which included written content and videos.
Podcasting is an efficient marketing strategy. No matter if someone is traveling, walking, or sleeping, podcasts can be heard anytime. It gives the listeners the feeling of walking through the glamorous corridors of the hotels, checking-in the cozy rooms.
Gleneagles - Timely Storytelling
Approach: Video Marketing
Hotel Gleneagles in Perthshire is known for its three grand champion gold courses. The great golf course is the USP of the hotel, and due to this facility, it has an excellent opportunity to attract golf enthusiasts.
The hotel hosted the Ryder Cup for the year 2014, and it grabbed the opportunity with both the hands to promote it worldwide. The hotel created video content to promote the great event that was conducted in the hotel.
The video content included everything the hotel authorities did from ‘Preparing the course’ to welcoming the guests it produced an array of videos. With an appropriate strategy and right implementation, it managed to gather high engagement on its YouTube channel.
They did not end the campaign here. They roped in two famous names for directing a short movie “James Bell”. The short movie clip consisted of the recording of the proud heritage and the spell-bounding surrounding of the hotel.
Marriott Hotels
Approach: Short Movie Series
“Mecca of Content Marketing”
Marriott went way beyond others to develop a niche for itself in the market. To stand out of the rest and build a niche for itself, Marriott adopted video making for generating the content.
The hotel chain took its first giant step by creating its own unique space, an in house studio, in 2014. The content curated in the studio represented the brand globally.
“Two Bellmen”, which was the first part of the series, was a complete standout. The series consisted of three scripted and original short films. In every video, there was a clear message of the hospitality provided by the employees of the hotel chain to its customers.
The video included shots in which the employees of the Marriott hotel were performing their duties with perfection, adding a personal touch of care, and going to great lengths to work as a hotel bellmen.
David Beebe, The vice president of global creative and content marketing rightly quoted; "We have to shift to not talking about ourselves, but what does that consumer want? How do I entertain them? How do I solve their problems? How do I build a relationship with them and provide value? Then, they're more likely to pay attention to what I'm actually trying to sell."
This is why the entire series was customer-centric and focused upon how they were performing with their best potential. The video series was not long or dull; instead, it garnered huge attention due to its crisp storyline and focus on customer emotions.
With its great performance, it took the hotel industry by storm as everyone eyed the millions of views and the attention the video was getting. The third installment generated more than 9 million views on YouTube.
The big guns from Disney and ABC, Karan Timpone and David Beebe were hired to create the visual wonders. They kick-started the visual storytelling journey and many brands around the world followed suit.
After releasing the short movies, JW Marriott experienced a search lift by 65%. Can you believe it?
So, try video marketing for your hotel, a potent marketing weapon. If you are already leveraging video marketing for your business, and you have tried any video creation software, do share your review here!
What is the right way to implement the content marketing strategy for your hotel?
Don’t sell it, educate and tell them about it!
People are attracted to things that are not forced upon them. It is human tendency to fall for the things that are presented to them naturally, something which is visually appealing, promises them luxury and comfort, and value for their hard-earned money.
So, don’t create an ad or content that forces them to buy it or else they might consider it a sales gimmick.
Here is what you should do!
Trust Building
The aim of content marketing is to provide customers with interesting and useful information. Introduce your services, facilities, and ways in which you are different from the others instead of promoting your brand directly.
Encourage the engagement
Unlike traditional one-sided advertising, along with content marketing, businesses can engage the customers with their brand.
Engage and involve your customers in the indirect promotion of your hotel. It is not a cakewalk for sure. Also remember, no one would do it without getting some perks in return.
Ask bloggers/influencers and your guests to review your hotel and give your brand mention on their social media channels. In return, offer them incentives, which could be a night stay at your resort, a free dining coupon, or any service.
Wrapping Up!
Generating content in any form is great for your business, but it will work wonders for you if you further promote it on your website. Online visibility is important for every business. By applying search engine optimization techniques, you can push the ranking of your website at the top of the Google search engine results.
Content marketing is essential to any hotel’s digital marketing strategy in the current digital space. By producing relevant and authentic content around your hotel, you’ll be able to see a boost in your online engagement. And, with some hard work, you will get higher conversion rates.
From blog posts to tweets, to videos, content marketing for hotels helps to retain and attract the attention of potential customers.
Research by GoodFirms suggests that 98% of the content marketers find content marketing highly effective. But, you can’t sustain forever in the same business following the same old rotten tactics time, and again, you must evolve! David Beebe rightly quoted, “How does a brand that’s been around since 1927 continue to evolve and adapt and stay relevant?”, “You need to innovate.”
