These days, online advertising is often inescapable if you want your hotel to remain relevant and successful.
But with so many strategies and different approaches to consider, it may seem like an intimidating space to venture into. Luckily, platforms like Google, Facebook and other social media channels have drastically simplified this process over the years, making it easy and affordable to market your hotel to the masses.
We take a look at some of the easiest ways to kickstart a successful online ad campaign.
Direct booking tips: Add some AdWords - GuestRevu
With millions of people using the web to find and book accommodation, flights and travel-related activities on a daily basis, it’s important that your hotel and its offerings stand out amongst all the online clutter. A clever Google AdWords campaign can help you do just that.
“You don’t need to spend a lot to see results, and with the right approach, you can ensure that your hotel’s direct booking numbers climb each month. AdWords provides a cost effective, measurable and highly targeted solution, allowing you to pinpoint your audience and maximise your ROI.” - GuestRevu
Getting started is easy. This handy guide explains the basics, and will help you avoid costly mistakes when creating your first campaign.
Five types of campaigns your hotel must run on Google Adwords - NetAffinity
As we mentioned earlier, the online advertising space can seem a little daunting. What campaigns do you choose? How do you set them up?
NetAffinity have done a great roundup of five different types of campaigns you can run, and what metrics to watch when doing so, including:
- Brand Search Campaigns
- Generic Search Campaigns
- Remarketing on the Google Display Network
- Generic Display Campaigns
- Video Remarketing
“Google AdWords is a powerful tool, and your hotels needs to have it as a major part of their marketing strategy to be truly competitive. Hopefully, even if you don’t work with a digital marketing agency, this guide will give you the right tools to start promoting your hotel on AdWords.” - NetAffinity
According to NetAffinity, these are the five most important types of campaigns for the hotel industry. Here’s a breakdown of how to run them, which metrics to watch out for, and why they work so well.
The Basics of Facebook Advertising - Fuel Travel
Setting up a Facebook ad campaign is a painless process, and can often yield great results if you’re working with quality content. You can target your ads to reach the most relevant audience, drive traffic to your website, and dramatically increase brand awareness, to name a few advantages.
“Facebook ads come in many shapes and sizes and are designed to achieve different goals, many of which align nicely to a hotel marketing campaign. Before you get started, it’s important to have a solid grasp on the fundamentals of Facebook advertising.” - Fuel Travel
Learn more about Facebook Ad terminology and budget requirements, find out how to create a targeted campaign, and much more.
The 10-point checklist for a successful digital marketing campaign – NetAffinity
With so many considerations to make, setting up a digital marketing campaign can be a daunting process. NetAffinity have outlined a tried and tested method of planning and executing digital marketing campaigns, expanding on the following steps:
- Set your goals. What do you want to achieve? Make sure they are SMART
- Decide on a campaign concept
- Define your target audience
- Choose your timing
- Decide on your message
- Determine your budget
- Agree on the marketing platforms you will use
- Get creative with design
- Launch your campaign and test it
- Report and measure your success
“Why run a marketing campaign? A few of the most common reasons are to fill an off peak season, reward loyal customers, or build brand awareness – or sometimes all three.” - Hollie McHugh
While every hotel is unique, the fundamentals of running a strong digital campaign remain the same. Make sure you’re clued up before creating yours.
Can your hotel learn from these social media campaigns? - Hotel Speak
A social media campaign, conducted over a set amount of time with specific goals in mind, can go way beyond just attracting a few more page likes or follows. If done right, you will build meaningful connections with your audience, increase customer loyalty, and ultimately attract more people through your doors.
“Social media is about showing up everyday rather than spending millions on one all-important TV spot. It means engaging with customers in a two-way conversation that goes way beyond ‘this is our product, you can buy it here for this price’.” - Otium Boutique
Looking at a number of successful social media campaigns, Hotel Speak extract important information that could help your hotel ramp up its digital marketing efforts.
Digital marketing is inescapable if you plan on standing toe-to-toe with your competition in the hospitality industry, especially in such a competitive landscape. By utilising all the tools at your disposal, from Facebook and Google AdWords, to other social media channels like Twitter and Instagram, you’ll be able to better engage with a relevant audience and improve your business.
