The part social media and the internet play in marketing today holds so much sway that almost every business in every industry has taken to online marketing to get their message out there and increase profits. Still, in spite of the prevalence of social media and content marketing, many business owners still shy away from internet marketing with the belief that their particular industry does not lend itself to being marketed online.
When discussing online marketing, business owners who make their living in the travel and hospitality industry are among the many that mistakenly believe theirs is an industry that does not incline itself toward online marketing. Recent market research, however, has shown this assumption to be quite erroneous.
In a recently published infographic, E-Marketing Associates showed just how important online marketing can be for hotels and travel agencies.
Travellers are influenced by online content and reviews.
With as many as 55% of travellers being influenced by their online searches when planning a trip and more than half of all travellers relying on social media to choose their destination, the hotel they stay at, and the activities they engage in while on vacation; it is mandatory for any business in the travel and hospitality industry to be well represented online. What is more, given that travel and vacationing is such an exciting industry to work in, never has there been a market that lends itself so well to online marketing, especially when it comes to the possibilities for garnering engagement via content creation and content marketing.
The content strategy that will go into the content marketing efforts for your hotel or travel agency is not unlike the content strategy for other industries in other markets. The difference is, however, the potential for fun, exciting, and creative content marketing campaigns which will drive sales to your hotel or travel agency. Here are some tips for fleshing out your hotel or travel agency’s exciting content marketing campaign.
The content created as part of a content marketing campaign should all be tailored to your hotel or travel agency’s unique voice and created in a specific style which will be decided upon while creating your content strategy. The content you create should follow the style that you have chosen.
When it comes to travel and hospitality, the potential for a creative and unique style, or voice, for your business is great. For example, A hotel can strike up a personal relationship with their audience; meaning the content posted will be more intimate serving to create a bond of trust between guests and the hotel, so that a stay at your hotel can be as comfortable as staying at home or visiting with family. Other hotels might rely more on business from busy traveling professionals; meaning the content strategy for these hotels will be more professional and geared toward offering an excellent location as well as a comfortable place for weary travelers to sleep while away on business.
The answer to what content style your hotel or travel agency should adopt will lie in Finding Your Online Community.
While the aim of any content you post is to entertain and engage with your human audience, it is important not to forget to incorporate Search Engine Optimization in your hotel or travel agency’s content marketing campaign. Why? Because SEO works and is, without doubt, the single most effective & cost efficient form of marketing that exists for hospitality. If you have tried and failed with SEO then in all likelihood you have not done it right and you have not done it enough! SEO works for hotels, motels, and travel-related businesses in general.
An excellent start for content creation strategy is to take that foundation stone of SEO and do lots of keyword research. From this research, you can use each keyword that you select (or key phrase) as the basis of a unique piece of content which can be fleshed out in a blog, a photo gallery, or a video and posted to your site.
Developing an SEO friendly content strategy in this way will significantly boost the success of your online marketing efforts.
When it comes to content creation, the information you share needs to be as simple and straightforward as possible – keep it on point!
Internet users are looking for the quickest possible answer to their queries, so make it easy for them, give them what they want, where they want it! As you create blogs, or post pictures & videos for your hotel, it is important to pile in as much “useful” information as possible to ensure relevance while asking for the smallest possible time commitment on the part of your audience – don’t make them read “un-useful” information. When it comes to blogs, avoid hefty verbose posts with answers buried deep within complicated sentence structure and layers of hyperbole.
Instead, write in a language befitting your preconceived content style. Be sure to use appropriate sub-headings which will draw a user’s attention to the information most relevant to what they are looking for. Any written post should be made up of short blocks of information rich in content.
Be sure, also, to use a clear Call-To-Action or phrases to guide your audience to the places on your website they need to go to book a stay or vacation with your business.
When it comes to posting content which will give your audience the most information possible while asking for the smallest of time commitments, a picture or video will get the job done. Nothing will give a user more accurate information about the accommodations available at your hotel than pictures of rooms, panoramic images of the view from your hotel’s suites, and picturesque photos of tourist attractions and the area surrounding your hotel.
Effective image-rich content can range from a video tour of the different suites within your hotel, a guided tour of the exciting destinations to choose from when traveling with your travel agency, or image galleries put together by your hotel, or past visitors. Content such as this can also be a great way to garner audience participation encouraging those who have planned a vacation with you, or stayed at your hotel, to do so again as content sharing serves to build a relationship between your business and your audience.
Marketing your hotel or travel agency online can be an excellent opportunity to both drive customers to your business and to flex your creative internet marketing muscles. Marketing on the internet, however, can be a tricky business and get noticed amidst a sea of other hotels and travel agencies can be difficult at best. Guaranteed SEO can help you create and execute an effective and engaging content marketing campaign which will get your travel or hospitality business noticed.
