In the 21st century every marketing campaign we see online or offline has a strategy behind it in one way or another. Marketing campaigns are employed to create brand awareness for your product, increase interest and revenue in the long term.
However, to get your marketing campaign to stand out from the crowd and perhaps even go viral, you’ll need to capture the attention of your audience in a bigger way. If you scroll through your news feed on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram you will quickly come across a controversial Ad, article or statement that will generate a huge reaction, and gain momentum through sharing and engagement on the web.
The same concept applies with hotels, however the ability to create a strong USP behind the marketing campaign is of utmost importance to get the results you want. Getting your campaign to go viral requires a concept that is unique enough to grab attention, however attractive enough that it will still appeal to a specific audience to stay in your hotel. Next time you’re running a campaign, here are some tips to get it going viral:
Hallmark Key Dates
Take note of key dates in everyone’s calendar, planning marketing campaigns well in advance of these special occasions such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day or Halloween, also think about big days in people’s personal calendar’s such as birthday’s, weddings and christenings. Go the extra mile and run a competition or a special offer which is out of the ordinary e.g. “Trying to make the dress/suit fit for the big day, book a 7 Night Stay and we will supply a personal trainer for your entire stay to help get you in shape.” To help it gain traction online, create a campaign that shows off the uniqueness and personality of your hotel, using video or images is usually most effective and attention grabbing. Market this online specifically to people who are getting married soon, in a specific area, and even have a gym membership.
Leverage Events Near You
Figure out what your hotel brand affiliations are – local and national events take place all year-round, whether it is a local food or music festival, a big concert coming to town, a sports match, or a one-off event. These events are great photo marketing opportunities for your property and can be used for your marketing strategy as they already generate a buzz of their own. An audience will identify your property as a potential location for them to stay at during their visit, or it will be in their mind for the next.
Make The Most Of Who You Know
Social influencers have also become more prominent within the hotel industry to build brand awareness, whether it is to promote your recently refurbished rooms, Spa or dining experience. They bring new traffic to your site. If choosing this route, it is important to note who their target demographic is from their platform so make sure they fit in with your brand and your market. This method is difficult to gauge return on you run a specific promotion through a discount code which you can use to track sales. Use your contacts, network within your community and invite people with big online followings to stay at your property and share what they love about it.
How To Use Social Media To Get Your Campaign Seen?
Social advertising currently has the box seat with driving traffic, especially with the increase in mobile users over desktop. Hotels are seeing traffic on mobile now exceeding desktop with mobile revenue beginning to follow the same pattern. The top referral for many hotels is Facebook, the traffic referral is coming from Sponsored and Boosted posts, as well as Organic. A key aspect to identify is that Boosted and Organic are only seen by people who follow your page, where as Sponsored posts are audience driven, based on a target market for a specific campaign you’re running. Meaning if your following is small, or your offering doesn’t have a strong track record of repeat bookings via Facebook, then your best bet is Sponsored advertising.
These are just a few tactics for helping your next campaign go viral, they’re definitely worth trying out if there is something about your property and brand that you want to shout about. For more on Social advertising check out our other posts!