If you are a hotel owner or manager, Instagram is one of the social networks you should include in your marketing mix. At the moment, the platform has over 112 million active users worldwide, and quality visual content plays a dominant role in it. This makes Instagram the perfect place for hotels to grow their brand, attract new customers and more bookings. Sounds promising, doesn’t it?
In case you haven’t used Instagram to promote your hotel so far, or at least not with the expected success, don’t give up. In this article, we’ve summarized 5 strategies for Instagram hotels that you can easily implement. And even better, they are proven to work. Here they are:
- Show the advantages of your hotel
One of the main ways to use the hotel’s Instagram account is to show its advantages. How can you do this? With photos, videos and short stories, of course. If the pride of your hotel is the large pool, the modern spa or the luxuriously furnished rooms – then show them. Take aesthetically pleasing photos that will make the user want to book a room immediately.
Don’t think that only luxury attracts attention on Instagram. If you are a small family hotel that doesn’t have the above-mentioned facilities, this doesn’t mean that there is nothing to show. Take pictures and tell a little more about the area and nature or show how you prepare a traditional breakfast for your guests. Great photos and compelling stories will help you to grab user’s attention easily.
- Allow users to peek behind the scenes
This is a great strategy that will allow consumers to engage with your brand even more. To achieve this result, you can show your employees in a real work environment.
Show the chef in the restaurant cooking his specialty or the rooms are being prepared for each guest. Try to convey messages to your potential customers with these stories – we have excellent cuisine or our hotel puts your convenience first. This will help you stand out from the competition by creating your own unique identity and personalizing your brand.
- Competitions and games
Consumers love competitions and games, especially if they can win a prize. Organizing games and competitions is a great way to reach new audiences and grow your follower base. This means that you will have more people to send your messages to and transform them into guests of your hotel.
Here are some ideas to help you with a dose of inspiration. For example, make a game in which users come up with a name for the specialty in your new menu. The winner gets a dinner for two at the hotel restaurant. Another idea is to make a photo contest, and in order to participate, users must tag your hotel in a post (or story) and tell you more about the photo. The ideas are unlimited, and the rules and rewards depend entirely on you.
- Partnerships with influencers
Influencers are Instagram celebrities. They have a large base of followers who trust their opinion. That’s why partnering with different bloggers and vloggers is another great way to promote your hotel.
They can create sponsored content – photos, videos, articles to present the hotel or tell more about their stay. Many influencers would agree to promote your hotel in exchange for one or more nights at the hotel.
When choosing an influencer to work with, the number of followers is not the most important. Look for an influencer who has experience in the hotel or travel industry and also creates engaging and quality content.
- Use user-generated content
Last but not least, use user-generated content. This strategy has many advantages. First of all, it is completely free. You can use the good reviews you have received from guests. You can also add photos and stories from special events. Of course, all this must be done with the express consent of the guests. The reviews, photos and recommendations will create trust among the potential customers and will convince them that your hotel is the most suitable place they can choose.
These were 5 proven strategies that you already know how to implement in hotel marketing. Be creative, share quality content and do it regularly. We guarantee that the results will not be long in coming. If you need help to build a strong online presence on social media, check out UPguest specialized service – Online Marketing for Hotels.
