Looking for ways to get customers for your hotel or resort? More people prefer to book reservations online at hotels or resorts. Let’s explore how to generate leads for your hospitality business online.
Online bookings have increased rapidly since 2016
Statistics depict that more than 57% of bookings are done online. According to a report by Deutsche Bank AG, gross hotel bookings recorded at $7.2 billion in 2016 are estimated to grow to $10.9 billion by 2020. This report includes MakeMyTrip, ClearTrip, Yatra, Oyo, and Treebo as well as other travel and hospitality industry start-ups.
The exponential growth in the use of online bookings is a great indicator for hospitality businesses to leverage the potential of Internet services. You can now generate leads for your business like never before.
Are you already utilizing an effective lead-generation strategy for your business?
If you have any doubts, we’re here to guide you.
A hotel, resort or paid accommodation facility with a reliable online presence is likelier to generate more leads for their business. Online advertising & internet services make life more convenient for your customers. Oyo is a great example of an accommodation service that connected small & medium hospitality services by leveraging internet marketing.
Explore this 7-step-simple lead generation article to start generating leads for your hospitality business right away.
Start your Email Marketing campaign today
Email Marketing is one of the most popular and effective lead-generation techniques in the world. An impressive flyer about your business can reach millions of prospects with a well-thought-out mailer list. Sourcing valuable information about your potential customers involves excellent market research and valuable web analytics.
Once you have identified your target market, you can send custom emails to a specific demographic of the population and generate leads by converting readers into subscribers or customers. Remember to include a call-to-action button in your mailer. Also, be sure to include a direct link to your website or booking site to make things easier for somebody who wants to avail of your services right away.
A well-crafted, consistent email marketing strategy can ensure that you get enough clicks that turn into online hotel reservations. In the hospitality industry, it’s about finding the right time to engage prospects with an array of inviting hospitality services.
The focus of your campaign should be to gain the trust of the customer who will regard your services highly.
Optimize your website & landing pages
A poorly designed website can work against your hospitality business. Consider your website as the interactive portal that gives future customers access to your delightful services. How would you like to portray your hotel or resort in the best way possible?
- Use a simple & convincing brand tone
- Your hospitality website should contain everything a website visitor needs to know about the services offered
- Contains a quick way of contacting your establishment
- Images on the website should give away the best aspects of your amenities.
- Give viewers a virtual tour of the place before they’ve even visited.
- Offer a way to provide & display customer feedback
- Make reservations & bookings online
- Showcase your promotional packages & pricing for each service
- Your website & landing pages should load fast & securely
Envision your passion for hospitality & concern for consumer welfare on your website. Dedicate landing pages with attractive content about your hospitality business. Inform customers of exciting tours in and around the locality to show your hospitality expertise & consideration. A well-optimized website will generate leads from all across the internet.
Build a Social Media Marketing strategy
Social Media is a great spot of internet activity that can engage with your existing & future customers on a personal level. Leveraging various social media like Twitter, Facebook, Quora, Instagram & Reddit are a great way to generate leads for your business. You must however understand each platform and dedicate a content strategy to suit the needs of audiences on Social Media.
A good social media strategy can generate leads and
- Showcase your brand in the best light
- Interact with viewers & customers effectively
- Gain deeper insights into the hospitality market
- Create a niche surrounding your business
- Build a social reputation for hotels & resorts
- Promote your brand presence online
- Attract leads & generate web traffic to your website
As each social media platform requires a unique business promotion, you must research trends, optimize social media posts& engage with users frequently. You would have to first know the buyer persona of your intended consumer and interact with them on the platform that they are more likely to use.
Research is key for Social Media optimization. Creativity is the pedestal upon which your content marketing efforts will take flight.
Content Marketing is the fuel to your hotel’s online presence
The internet is all about content. In fact, the internet thrives on content promotion. For any hospitality business, great content is the lure for customers. Print advertising is used in almost every hotel, resort, or tourist facility catering to visitors. Hotels & restaurants invest a massive marketing budget in creating menus, pamphlets, brochures & magazines. This is because the content promotion of your brand is the greatest contributor to online success.
Content is king!
The hospitality industry is competitive. As travel increases so do online booking for hospitality services. An excellent content strategy can persuade viewers and readers to take action and become a part of your brand presence online.
A content strategy should comprise
- Useful & informative content
- Interactive call-to-actions embedded along the content layout
- A gripping brand identity conveyed effectively
- Trendy and relevant videos, infographics, photos, etc.
- Influencers & affiliate links to boost your online presence
- Packages &promotional content that inspire people to take action
Nurturing your customers with effective content marketing can generate more leads for your business. With the latest marketing tools& a dedicated approach, you will foster leads along the marketing funnel and create conversions. The occasional video experience can captivate users with insightful information about your hospitality services. A great brochure can give them a handy guide to their next vacation at your resort destination.
Content is king & every interaction with a prospect should visualize the business objectives of your brand.
Webinars, live virtual events & interactive videos
A lead generation strategy that is becoming more popular to implement, webinars & virtual events are a hot item in the content promotion package. Focus on an interesting topic and reveal aspects of your hospitality services that can cater to the demand of customers. Engage a vast number of prospects with insights into your hospitality business& showcase the talent that drives the industry forward. Host a virtual event that reveals the expertise of hosting guests &delivering quality services.
A combination of social media advertising, email campaigning& seamless presentation can deliver optimum quality to thousands of internet users. Webinars & virtual events can talk about services & offer valuable promotions that will resonate with viewers. You can get more people to sign up for your service and grow your customer database. You can promote various tours, packages & facilities that show off the best of your hospitality business. You will find that hosting virtual events on Facebook or Instagram will gather a lot of interest from followers.
Partnering with nearby affiliates and speaking about community interests is a great way to get started. The goal of each webinar or virtual event is to inform audiences about your business and get them to spread the word, subscribe and avail your quality services.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
With every online business, you have to let the search engine know that your content is reliable, informative & interesting. SEO is the process of tuning your online assets to generate more traffic from search engines.
By understanding the commonly used keywords associated with your business, you can create a niche on every search engine database. You can deliver content that the search engine recognizes. You can intrigue internet users with creative content that aligns with the latest trends in digital marketing.
Search engine marketing (SEM) techniques can list your hospitality business on various reliable web directories. Through various promotional channels, you can put your brand image on every screen using a search engine. Your hotel or resort will gain better online rankings with every effort channeled in search engine marketing.
With the advancements in web technologies & updated search engine algorithms, you require adept knowledge in applying various optimization techniques. Effective SEM ensures that your hospitality brand will appear atop search engine rankings for keywords entered by internet users. You will be found & your business will stand out. With great SEO & SEM, you can generate leads & organic traffic to your online presence.
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Leverage paid advertising
Paid advertising is a great route to improved business growth. To get the word out there, you can leverage social media platforms, popular websites, and streaming services & web analytics and witness increased success. Paid advertising can generate leads and increase your business conversion rates rapidly.
Each platform requires a unique advertising effort!
Facebook advertising is great for small or medium businesses to break into the market. LinkedIn is a specialized tool for businesses to reach working professionals and promote their brands. Instagram can generate web traffic for entertainment & industrial promotions. Stock Market websites are great for financial services to publicize their services or products. Ecommerce platforms offer advertising for businesses. Personalized content can be published on multiple online channels to generate traffic to your website.
If an online advertisement can relate to prospects, you can expect guaranteed conversions!
With many avenues to publish your advertisements, the scope for reaching the right customer at the right time is higher than ever before. Google Adwords, Youtube ads, Facebook forms, Snapchat stories, LinkedIn blogs, and Quikr listings, are just to name a few of the potential sites for your online advertisements.
For your hospitality business to grow progressively, you can always use paid promotions & advertisements through multiple promotional channels on the internet. A great way to get your hospitality business, hotel, or resort up and running online is to list on travel booking websites like Cleartrip, yatra, MakeMyTrip, etc. With the potential of Internet marketing, you will witness improved growth & sustainable business outcomes.
If this 7-step guide to digital marketing for hospitality businesses has helped you, be sure to check out our many other tips, techniques & industry hacks for business promotion. If you require expert advice, you can always reach out to the Zerozillateam & book a discovery call today. You can also check out our Instagram page @Zerozillaofficial for more valuable tips on how to grow your business by leveraging the internet, information & technology.
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