Check out some of our best tips for using social media marketing to promote your hospitality business.
Social media marketing has become an essential tool for hospitality businesses looking to grow and reach new customers! With over 4 billion people using social media worldwide, there’s no denying that it’s a powerful marketing channel for the hospitality industry; after all, everyone loves to eat!
Here are our top tips when it comes to Social Media Marketing for Hospitality Businesses.
Define Your Target Audience
The first step in creating a successful social media marketing strategy for your hospitality business is to define your target audience. Are you targeting millennials and young adults, families, high-income diners and foodies, tourists, business travellers, or luxury travellers – the list goes on! Once you’ve defined who your target audience really is, you can create content that speaks directly to them.
Use High-Quality Visuals
At its core, social media is a visual medium, so it is essential to use high-quality visuals to showcase your hospitality business. Include photos of your location, key menu items (food and drinks) and amenities. Using professional, high-quality imagery and video that showcases your business’s assets, customer appeal, and point of difference will help to build a strong visual presence.
Showcase Your Brand Personality
Effectively showcasing your brand personality and values is greatly favoured in the social media landscape. This can include highlighting your business’ unique features and amenities, such as best-selling dishes, aesthetic interiors or unique services. Do this alongside sharing stories about your staff, customers and brand ethos to create rapport, differentiate from competitors and brand loyalty.
Respond to Customer Feedback
Social media is a two-way communication channel, and it’s essential to respond to customer feedback promptly. Whether it’s a positive review or a complaint, make sure to acknowledge it and respond professionally and constructively. This process will help build trust and loyalty with your customers, leading to repeat sales and valuable word-of-mouth marketing.
Leverage Influencers and User-Generated Content
Think about how many times you’ve been out for a meal and seen someone take a picture of their lunch (maybe even you did too!). The power and availability of user-generated content can be cleverly leveraged to promote your business to a greater audience. Featuring and posting UGC alongside partnering with influencers in your industry effectively and affordably advertises and promotes your business. Resharing this customer-created content can have a flow-on effect and encourage others to share their experiences at your venue on social platforms, creating a continual cycle of authentic independent advertising whilst encouraging new customers to visit.
Use Paid Advertising
When it comes to social media marketing, oftentimes you need to ‘pay-to-play.’ Meaning you will see greater results when you put funding behind your online advertising. Monetizing ads on social media can be an invaluable tool for hospitality businesses. Consider using Facebook or Instagram ads to target your ideal audience based on demographics, interests, and behaviours. You can also use Google Ads to target customers who are searching for related industries or businesses such as hotels or activities in the area.
Ready to get started?
Without a doubt, social media marketing is an essential tool for hospitality businesses looking to grow and reach new customers! By defining your target audience, creating and posting high-quality visuals, showcasing your brand personality, responding promptly to customer feedback, leveraging influencers and user-generated content, and using paid advertising, you can create a highly successful social media marketing strategy for your hospitality business.
However, we always remind our clients that social media marketing is just one component of a comprehensive marketing strategy, and your businesses should also focus on other marketing channels to achieve the greatest ROI.
Want to chat to us about social media marketing for your hospitality business? Click here.
Want to get a feel for our work? Visit us on Instagram.
