Pipeline Social Media
While the holiday season means different things to different people, we all have at least this one thing in common—busyness. People are either traveling to see family or booking a vacation to get away from the busy season. Families are planning holiday outings, buying gifts, and reserving hotel rooms for family members. And lastly, as the new year buzz begins, people are thinking about their ambitious travel plans for 2019.
From a hotelier’s perspective, you could get swept away in the madness or you could capitalize on these festive times to set yourself up for marketing success in 2019. We know you’re busy too so, here are 10 simple tips to implement into your hotel’s social media strategy during the holidays.
1. Ramp Up Your Posts About Local Events and Attractions
Are you posting about local holiday events and attractions near your hotel? You should increase the frequency during this time! People are looking for places to travel with their remaining vacation days or places to stay during family visits. When they stop by your feed, make sure they are met with an abundance of events and local attractions. Show potential guests that you are ready to facilitate their experience and help them get the most out of their stay.
2. Post About Special Things You Do for Guests
Even if your hotel isn't surrounded by a ton of holiday attractions, you can still showcase the special things you do for your hotel guests. Do you host themed Managers Receptions or leave seasonal treats during turndown service? Maybe your chef is making a special menu that’s only available during the holidays. Do you decorate our hotel from head-to-toe in lights and garland? It might not seem like a big deal to you, but document these details and share them on social media. Fans will appreciate your staff’s holiday spirit and willingness to make your guests feel like Santa is real during their stay.
3. Promote Holiday Specials on Your Social Channels
Your specials may be on your website but you need to be talking about them on your social channels too. Post about your holiday specials anywhere your fans are and lead them to your website. Everyone needs a place to send their in-laws, right?! Make it easy for potential guests to know what specials are available to them during the holiday season.
4. Share a Staff Photo from Your Holiday Party
In between the holiday promotions and local event posts, be sure to post a photo or video of your staff enjoying the holiday season! If you have a company party coming up, be sure to take a break from the eggnog and treats to get a quick picture of your staff—or get someone else to take some photos throughout the evening. Fans enjoy seeing behind the scenes content and getting to know the people behind the brand.
5. Run a Contest
Contests are a fun way to drum up some interest about your hotel. And It doesn’t need to be complicated. Here are some tips to consider before you get started:
- Make the rules easy to follow – Typically, the number one reason why people passed on participating in a contest was because the entry rules were just too much to bother with.
- Make sure your contest is in line with Facebook’s contest rules.
- Make it worth your while too. For example, you can have fans enter by submitting a photo of their visit to your hotel from their last stay or ask them to enter by commenting with their favorite part of their stay.
6. Rethink Your Ad Spend
If you’re already running ads for your hotel, that’s great! Take a look at what you’ve been running to see what you need to adjust during the holiday season. Do you need to broaden the reach or increase the ad spend on a hotel special? Do you need to reallocate the majority of your spending to a certain promotion? If your hotel is nearby a popular holiday attraction, you should probably bump up your promotions and target people who are likely to be interested in your content.
7. Post About Your Holiday Hours
Create posts informing guests on special holiday hours for your restaurants, amenities, etc. so the information is readily available. This will help cut down on some questions during the holiday season as well.
8. Post About Local Events Happening in 2019
If you haven’t started, you’re behind! January might as well be here. You don’t have to wait until after the new year to start talking about events coming to your city in 2019. Ideally, you should start talking about an event 3 months in advance so people can make their plans to book with you.
9. Get Organized Before 2019 Begins
Get your calendar out and begin mapping your marketing efforts for 2019. Here are some additional things to work on:
- Give all your social channels a good tidy—fix broken links, get current on your notifications, make sure all information is accurate and up-to-date etc.
- Update your cover photos and profile pictures.
- Review what worked for you on social in 2018 and what didn't.
- Decide what new marketing tools and techniques you’d like to implement in 2019.
10. Last but Not Least—Wish Everyone a Happy Holidays
Or a Merry Christmas, Hanukkah . . . whichever is appropriate for your audience and hotel. You and your hotel staff made it through another year! You’ve had high and low times; you’ve learned some things along the way. It’s just nice to have a post on the page wishing everyone a Happy Holidays and showing that you are looking forward to a new year as well. This post can be simple, but you can also get creative by posting a video of your staff wishing fans a happy holidays or a message from management to staff. Wishes of goodwill is an admirable way to end 2018.
As you close out 2018, resolve to implement some new things to keep your hotel relevant during the holidays. The tips & tricks we've shared in this article will go a long way. But if you're looking to get the most out of digital marketing in 2019, it may be time to hire a specialized team that will help your social channels do more for your hotel. Thank you for reading. We wish you a very Happy Holiday season and prosperous New Year.
