Look at almost any consumer business, and you’ll see how digital technology developments are fundamentally changing how consumers interact with brands before, during, and after a purchase. Consumers increasingly expect to browse, investigate, elicit comments, evaluate, and click the “book” button at their speed, time, location, and platform.
So, how can you keep up with the changing consumer behavior? The good news for hotel marketing managers is that digital marketing allows for thorough data collection and consumer behavior analysis. It also provides accurate results on a marketing program’s efficacy, with a level of detail and precision that prior generations of marketing managers could not comprehend.
Digital marketing strategies for hotels are plans that involve leveraging online platforms to develop an internet presence and achieve certain marketing goals. These channels may include organic search, social media, paid advertisements, and other web-based outlets such as your website. The end goal is to increase your business’s visibility and attract new clients.
Continue reading, and we discuss these strategies in more detail, including eight ways to help you choose the right digital marketing plan for your hotel.
What Is a Digital Marketing Strategy?
A digital marketing strategy is a set of actions that marketers carry out to achieve specified corporate objectives. Simply said, this is taking consistent actions at the right moment through the most suitable Internet channels to boost revenue and improve relationships with your target audience.
Hotel digital marketing contacts prospective guests via Internet platforms and digital communication tools. The ultimate goal of all your efforts is to build a strong internet presence and attract hotel reservations. Travelers should be able to find your hotel even before they know its existence.
Digital marketing strategies for hotels include:
- Building and maintaining a website.
- Executing social media advertising campaigns.
- Communicating with potential guests via email marketing.
- Managing the hotel’s reputation through online review sites.
Why Is Choosing the Right Digital Marketing Strategy Important?
- A digital marketing plan is essential because it allows hotels to reach potential guests where they spend their time online, maximize marketing efforts, and remain competitive in a congested industry.Hotels can increase their customer base by establishing clear goals and choosing the most efficient marketing strategies.
- A hotel digital marketing plan can assist in generating a distinct brand identity for various hospitality enterprises, ranging from boutique hotels to ultra-luxury resorts. It also communicates the value that it provides to potential guests.
- Furthermore, by utilizing targeted marketing, engaging on social media platforms, and keeping an active online presence, hospitality establishments can reach their desired audience and build strong client relationships. These relationships are critical for growing hotel income by encouraging repeat business and positive word-of-mouth referrals.
- Hotel digital marketing allows businesses to respond to shifting consumer preferences and industry trends. This helps them stay current and responsive to changing customer needs.
- Finally, effective marketing is critical to success in a business where reputation and client happiness are paramount. It drives revenue growth while promoting long-term guest loyalty.
8 Ways to Choose the Right Digital Marketing Strategy
An effective digital marketing plan for hotels does not involve testing the latest digital marketing trends or guessing what your clients want. Instead, it is about data-driven insights. Choosing a digital marketing plan also entails creating buyer personas, determining your goals, selecting the appropriate hotel digital marketing tools, and evaluating your approach to verify it is working.
Here are a few more points that will help you choose the right digital marketing strategy for hotels to generate more leads and increase revenue:
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Assessing Business Goals and Objectives
Clearly define your hospitality business’s key goals and objectives, such as increasing occupancy rates, average daily rate (ADR), revenue per available room (RevPAR), website conversions, or onboarding loyalty program members. Outline the target KPIs aligned to each goal to track performance.
For example, if the goal is to increase website direct bookings by 20% this year, the KPI would be year-over-year direct booking revenue growth. Alignment to overall business priorities guides digital marketing strategy selection and channel prioritization.
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Understanding Target Audience
Conduct in-depth research into existing and potential hotel guests’ demographics, including age, income levels, geographic location, and psychographics like personality traits, values, attitudes, and interests.
Define 2-3 audience personas, such as b-leisure travelers who extend business trips for leisure; family vacationers focused on child-friendly offerings, millennials seeking local immersive cultural experiences, etc.
For example, millennial travelers rely heavily on influencer content and social media engagement. Targeted digital marketing outreach that resonates with each audience drives greater engagement.
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Exploring Digital Marketing Channels
Explore channels like search engine optimization, paid search ads, metasearch, display ads, email nurturing campaigns, social media marketing, and content marketing. Align higher priority channels with personas and strategies that can directly influence and measure against your goals and KPIs. For instance, SEO, SEM, and metasearch can help increase direct bookings.
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Budget Allocation and Resource Planning
Determine available budgets and resources across departments like technology, content creation, analysis, and creative support. Allocate to initiatives with the highest return potential versus investment and have the resources to execute at scale. Plan budgets for campaign costs and resources needed to manage campaigns, analyze data, and optimize over time.
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Competitor Analysis
Thoroughly analyze the top 3-5 competitor hotels’ current digital marketing strategies, including:
- Channels utilized and investments made
- Ad positioning and bidding range optimization approach
- Website and landing page formats optimized for conversions
- Types of offers and promotions employed to drive bookings
- Content formats deployed across blogs, videos, and social media that drive higher user engagement
Identify potential gaps where you can outperform rivals or opportunities to introduce first-to-market initiatives to win market share. Adjust budgets to outrank rivals in key search and metasearch auctions.
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Choosing the Right Digital Marketing Strategy
With clear business goals defined, target audiences, and digital channels prioritized, thoughtfully select an overarching digital marketing strategy approach. Prioritize 2-3 macro strategies that align with business objectives, resource realities, and audience preferences for integrated planning.
Also, ensure strategies enable holistic customer engagement throughout the travel journey – during inspiration, planning, booking, and post-stay. Choose strategies providing flexibility to optimize channels, budgets, and partnerships over time per evolving data and trends.
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Implementation and Execution Plan
Define each digital marketing initiative’s execution playbook detailing strategies, channels, audience targeting, messaging, paid media budget, resource allocation, and campaign timelines across preparation, launch, management, and optimization. Appoint team members across departments like marketing, tech, and analytics to support.
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Monitoring, Measurement, and Optimization
Plan key performance indicators tied to each initiative’s audience reach, engagement, conversion, and, ultimately, business goal impact. Establish analytics tracking, reporting dashboards, and workflows enabling continuous data monitoring and rapid campaign optimization.
Also, define processes to frequently improve messaging resonance, offers, creative assets, and bid levels in response to data. Then, analyze results by audience, channel, and partnerships to double down on higher ROI strategies.
Conclusion
A successful digital marketing strategy is important to any hospitality business plan. A strong marketing strategy helps hotels attract new guests, increase direct reservations, and build loyalty.
Hotels may develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that supports revenue development by thoroughly understanding their target market, employing digital marketing tactics, and leveraging data-driven insights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use multiple digital marketing strategies simultaneously?
Yes, using multiple complementary digital marketing strategies together can boost effectiveness. Ensure proper integration between strategies and monitor regularly to optimize over time.
How do I create an actionable digital marketing plan based on my chosen strategy?
Define each strategy’s goals, target metrics, resources required, timelines, and methods, then integrate them into a comprehensive plan focused on overall business objectives.
How do I prioritize digital marketing channels based on my business objectives?
Align higher priority marketing channels and strategies with the business goals and metrics they directly and measurably impact, while lower priority efforts indirectly support.
How can I ensure my digital marketing strategy remains flexible and adaptable?
Continuously analyze campaign data to identify best strategies, optimize resource allocation accordingly, and refine strategies over time to adapt to changes.
How often should I review and update my digital marketing strategy?
Review overall strategy effectiveness against current business goals at least quarterly, or more often for tactical campaigns, to capitalize on what delivers results.
