A trip through social media: how should the hotel industry use it?

So why pass up the chance to build your digital calling card?

This article originally appeared in the magazine Biznes Hotel, where we had the pleasure of sharing our expertise as invited experts — the article, and full issues of the magazine, are available electronically: https://www.biznes-hotel.pl/artykul/podroz-po-social-mediach-jak-wykorzystac-je-w-komunikacji-branzy-hotelarskiej

Hotels, appearances aside, are very similar products. The factors that weigh most heavily on the choice are location and price — and those happen to be exactly the things social media will not change. Let's say prospective guests have reached the point where they have to pick one hotel from a dozen or so in the area with much the same price range. On every one of them they will see a photo of a blue pool or the best mountain view anyone could capture. They will see tasteful rooms with beds, a TV, a balcony and a terrace, and knick-knacks decorating the interior, some more atmospheric than others. Reviews? They will be checked, but it always looks much the same — most will say the stay was fantastic, there will be individual problems that led to a 7 or 8 out of 10, and somewhere in the thicket of comments we will certainly find a 2, because somebody happened to spend the worst trip of their life at the property.

The customer is still muddled and doesn't quite know what to do when the price difference is small. So where does the advantage lie?

In emotion.

And this is where it gets intriguing. We're looking at the process from the perspective of someone actively searching, maybe leaning on a price-comparison site, and only there do we count on our property's emotional edge.

But what if you went out to people, the way restaurant staff do on Magda Gessler's show, Poland's answer to Kitchen Nightmares? What if you made that nice family with two kids realize that the best family entertainment is right here with us? And convinced a newly engaged couple that a suite with a sea view is exactly what they need for their first holiday together?

Running accounts on the various social platforms is one thing; advertising on them is another. According to the Digital 2022: Global Overview Report, the potential advertising reach in Poland for each platform looks like this:

Facebook — 17.7 million

Instagram — 10.7 million

YouTube — 27.2 million

TikTok — 7.7 million

Got a profile on one of them? Great! But would you like it to bring in new bookings? Then use the platform's advertising potential to reach the guests who don't yet know they need a break at your property.

Five-star video

Let's set the ads aside for a moment. Before we get to them, we need something to advertise. Which kinds of material are worth your attention?

Looking at hotel photos on social media or on websites is a kind of roulette. Static shots capture only part of a property's feel, and the framing leaves enough room to produce views that stray a long way from the truth. Video shows far more, and is a more authentic message besides.

Take the TikTok profile of Hotel Czarny Potok in Krynica Zdrój, a spa town in the mountains of southern Poland (@czarnypotokkrynica): in short clips we get to see the captivating natural surroundings the hotel sits in.

Another way to show your strengths on video is to shoot an edited promo film — the way Hotel Crystal Mountain in Wisła does on YouTube, pulling together its most striking shots. It's an excellent tool for building the mood you want your audiovisual material to convey to an audience.

This is a good moment to recall the paragraph about advertising — more than 27 million users are waiting on YouTube, and a paid ad can reach them. A film on your company channel is a fine calling card, worth showing off on other platforms too, but a well-chosen ad campaign is what puts you in front of, say, people looking for things to do in a particular city.

One more important point when it comes to reaching new people: social media algorithms — and they are betting harder and harder on video, which is exactly what they boost in visibility.

Be the guide

Worried about your content? Feel like you can't keep posting hotel material forever? Remember that all sorts of guests will come to you. For some, the hotel is a fortress where they want to spend the whole holiday, soaking up its charms — for them, make sure they get to know every corner of the property before they even set foot in it (not all of it, obviously, so there's still something to discover during the visit).

But don't forget the other group of tourists — the ones for whom a bed is only a base camp. For them you can become the guide; after all, nobody knows your area better than you do!

Social media is one of the main sources of travel information. This is where we look for the most interesting places, the most beautiful views and the most appetizing food. Instagram currently leads the way: travel photos and the hashtags that gather travelers around them get scrolled compulsively by tourists.

TikTok's popularity here is snowballing too — short edited clips of the best attractions in a given city or area, quick rundowns of the Top 3 places…. These are often very solid promo films, made with little effort and little money. Try making them, so your audience wants to visit your place. Even better if you use attractions a short distance away — then you can build perfect product placement by showing, say, the spots that are less than 3 km from the hotel.

In Poland, Pinterest is still treated a little like a stepchild, especially on the business side, yet more and more people go there for visual inspiration, travel included. Building an interesting board on Pinterest isn't demanding — just start with the best shots in your collection. Show your hotel next to photos of the beautiful landscapes right beside it. Add some interesting shots of monuments and buildings, and travel lovers certainly won't scroll past them unmoved.

Influencers

Working with influencers takes good organization, but the results can exceed your wildest expectations. First, you reach a huge audience: a given creator's followers. With a successful collaboration, new bookings can start arriving within hours of the material going live. Second, you can set up a collaboration that follows on from the previous section. The influencer can be the guide to your property or the area, showing off the most interesting places. Remember, this is someone who knows social media. In all likelihood they know how to land with an audience, how to talk to hold its interest, what to avoid in video material and, above all, what to use.

Picking the right creator can be a challenge — their reputation, their quality and the way they present the property all matter to us. If you don't feel up to it, it's worth contacting specialists who arrange these collaborations, a social media agency for instance. You'll get ideas for what the collaboration should be about, creator recommendations, and a middleman for settling the terms. When you run a tourist property, the stay itself can be part of the deal — but remember to look after the guest's comfort. An influencer who is treated badly, all the more so one invited by the owner, can produce the opposite of the intended effect.

The subject an influencer covers day to day can be anything, as long as it fits your property. Parenting creators are perfect for showing the family upside of a stay at a given hotel. A food vlogger can run cooking workshops at your place, and those workshops advertise the place. A traveler is the obvious choice — they'll show off the hotel and the area, and talk their followers into visiting.

There are plenty of ways to collaborate, and the influencers themselves are best looked for on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube. That's where you'll find colorful creators who will bring flair and a new standard to promoting your property.

The main rule of social media? Be visible!

• Above all, post regularly — a long gap can even suggest the business has suspended operations! Better to pick fewer channels and actually keep them filled.
• Show that you're on social media — mark it clearly on your website, and point to your other platforms in posts now and then (on Facebook, say, show off your TikTok account). Invest in social media ads; without paid promotion your posts reach barely a fraction (!) of the people who ALREADY follow the profile, never mind new ones.
• Stick to a strategy — settle on your main target groups, your tone, your line of business, and make sure the content on your different channels holds a certain consistency.
• Remember to talk — social media is today the main arena for discussion with companies. Be ready for the comments and messages that come in, and answer them politely! Remember how a single negative reply or post can sometimes take over the internet? Follow the rules of civil discussion, but TALK — a brand that interacts with its audience is seen far more favorably.

But the most important thing of all — don't be afraid! Test things, try what's new, take your questions to the experts. Growing your business isn't only about what people experience once they arrive; it's also what they see BEFORE and AFTER the visit. The power of recommendation and emotion is beyond dispute. Make sure you're present in the minds of future tourists — and that it's a presence they very much want!