Hotel Content Marketing plays a very big and irrefutable role in the online success of your hotel property. It is one of the most powerful digital marketing tools, irrespective of what type or size of hotel you run. Hotel content management, when done effectively, can put a little motel in a remote corner of the world on the same page as a buzzing city hotel that caters to business travelers.
The tricky part about Hotel content management, though, is that one needs to be proactive, consistent and innovative with the strategy. Think about it- Guest reviews aside, a good chunk of what your online audiences get to know about your hotel is from the content you push out- be it videos, website pages, blogs or any other format. So, when you have this kind of an opportunity to dictate your audience’s perception of your hotel, you need to use it to your benefit. And that is exactly what Hotel Content Marketing empowers you to do.
So, what does Hotel Content Marketing mean?
Hotel Content Marketing is the process of managing your online communication with your clients without hinting at a sale. Hotels content management is used to deliver valuable information to their prospects, educating them with content that could drive engagement. It allows hotels to target their audience, subtly prompt prospects to make a booking and eventually, to build guest loyalty. Hotels need to ensure that their content is available on multiple social media so that it’s easier to attract more viewers and visitors to their own website.
Why is Hotel Content Marketing important?
#1. Lower dependency on OTAs
One of the biggest returns that you can expect from your Hotel Content Marketing efforts is that you can minimize over dependency on Online Travel Agents for bookings. When done right, hotel content management can help you reach your audiences and also convert them into bookers with subtle yet compelling content. This requires you to understand your audience well enough to curate content that will bring in the results. But with time and a solid strategy in place. You are sure to witness the power of hotel content management.
#2. Build credibility and guest engagement
A challenge that haunts the hospitality industry is building guests’ trust, engagement and loyalty. And here’s the good news- Hotel content Marketing helps you achieve all of them. Social media has empowered businesses to drastically change the way they engage with their audiences. Considering that social media also falls under the purview of your hotel’s content Marketing strategy, you need to make sure you leverage this opportunity to its maximum potential.
#3. Enhance your hotel’s online reputation
Another big advantage of investing in Hotel Content Marketing is that it allows you to improve your online reputation. Hotel review sites have played a crucial role in the recent past, when it comes to bridging the gap between hotels and their guests. Hotels must use this opportunity to include responses to reviews in their content marketing strategy.
Every review that you get needs a response from your side- be it positive, neutral or negative. Treat them as an opportunity to entice the reviewer back to you for another stay as well as to convince prospective guests to make a booking with you. This way, you let the reviewer know that you care about their feedback for you, which in turn makes other readers believe that you are a credible brand. All these add up to a great online reputation, and all this by just tweaking your hotel content marketing strategy.
#4. Minimize your hotel’s marketing budget:
Traditionally, marketing is one department where business spend a lot of money. We’re talking about ads, banners, etc and how they bite into your revenue rather immodestly. However, with digital marketing taking over the business world, things are very different today. Hotel Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional advertising- meaning with just a small part of what you would traditionally spend on marketing, Hotel content marketing allows you to target a much bigger, wider and relevant audience.
The best part about the internet is that it is worldwide. So, no matter which corner of the world you are in, you have the opportunity to target your global audience. With Hotel Content Management powering your online marketing initiatives, your marketing budget is significantly lowered.
How can hotels increase occupancy with better Hotel Content marketing
Traditionally, customers (or in our case – guests) are informed about businesses via advertisements, the sole purpose of which is to drive sales. Ads, therefore, inspire lesser trust today because consumers are more aware and evolved. This is where Hotel content marketing comes into the picture as it allows you to convey a lot of thins to your audience, without necessarily hinting at a sale.
Here are some of the ways in which Hotel Content Marketing can help hotels address one of the most fundamental challenges- increasing occupancy.
#1. Use Hotel Content Marketing to define competitive edge :
A good Hotel Content Management Strategy should empower you to create a niche for yourself so you can tackle competition effectively. It allows you to showcase all your fortes in a way that it inspires prospective bookers to take the plunge and make a reservation with you.
Your Hotel Content Marketing strategy should aim at addressing all the queries that your guests may have, to build confidence in them that you will deliver on your promise and could push them towards you. It is a subtle yet strong tool in attracting guests towards you.
Hotels should use text, pictures, virtual tours, and videos to showcase their property. This can help drive more business to the hotel by intriguing the customers to visit that property.
#2. Measure the impact of your hotel’s content marketing efforts:
Listening to a customer and acknowledging their interests is one of the best things a hotel can do to encourage guest loyalty. Depending on the audience’s response to your content, decide on how your future content should be developed.
Hotel Content Marketing is incomplete without measurement. Track and analyze your content’s performance carefully to see what content worked for your audience. What kind of information are they looking for? What posts get the maximum likes and which ones are less popular?
By continuously creating engaging content, guests are more likely to come back to your social media pages as well as to your property.
#3. Steer Direct Bookings:
Create content on the website which encourages clients to book directly on the hotel’s website rather than OTA’s. Have enough details about the property, the location, videos, and reviews from other guests all available from the hotel’s website. If all this is present on the hotel’s website, then they don’t need to switch to OTA’s or Meta- Search sites for more information.
Website conversion is 6 times higher for sites that use content marketing vis a vis those who don’t.
So, these were some of the most important benefits of Hotel Content Marketing and the factors that contribute to a successful Hotel Content Management strategy. With these in place, you can be sure to drive more business to your hotel and that too with a lesser investment.
