Players in the hospitality industry have been able to find great success in their marketing efforts over the internet. Since the consumers of these services are typically travelers who come from other countries, the global reach that online marketing provides allows hotels to more directly promote themselves to their target markets in a relatively cheap and effective manner. However, digital marketing is a constantly evolving discipline, and in order to use it to full potential, marketers will need to stay on top of the latest developments in the field.
To help your establishment stay on top of its game, here are 5 internet marketing trends of 2014 that marketers need to be aware of.
- Growth in mobile users – This is nothing new, and by now your hotel will need to have a website that can be viewed on a mobile device to allow mobile user access. However, hotels now need to move one step further and allow users to make direct bookings via mobile. Some hotels have even embraced this trend to the point where they provide a mobile application that allows guests to access auxiliary services, such as room service, through their mobile device.
There are also a number of users that browse the internet through multiple devices. For instance, they may use their mobile phone to do research about the hotels in their preferred destination and then switch to desktop to make the booking. Hotels need to have a system in place to track such activity and market themselves accordingly.
- Social media marketing – Social media marketing is bigger than ever, and many organizations have a dedicated social media team to handle this aspect of their activities. Hotels cannot ignore this medium as it allows them to promote their guest experience in an authentic manner.
In referring to the social media sphere, Google+ deserves some special attention. While this is currently not the preferred social media network for users (Facebook, Twitter and others have a much larger user base), a Google+ account can help score a higher ranking in Google Searches, making it a necessity for marketers.
- Video content – As network speeds become faster and faster, the internet itself has been leading towards a preference of video content over written descriptions. This can greatly help hotels, as videos are an extremely effective way to show your guests exactly what you have to offer.
Producing an official video about your establishment may require you to hire an external team, but you can also obtain videos from your guests (with their permission of course). The easiest way to do this would be to leverage your social media efforts to encourage your followers to share the videos they have taken while in your hotel.
- SEO strategies – Search Engine Optimization has always been an important part of any digital marketing campaign, and now it requires more effort than before. Google has made additions to its search engine algorithms, such as the new semantic search capability, that allows users to make searches in the form of questions. The load speed of your website will also play a role in your search engine ranking, which means that technical changes will also be important for SEO.
- Analytics – You can gain a lot of information about potential markets by looking at data about your website visitors. Not only has Google made improvements to its Analytics, but additional marketing strategies such as Geo-targeting and remarketing allow you to put this data to good use in getting your advertising and promotions to the right segments.
