Contests are a great way to find new followers and potential guests while also keeping your current followers involved.
Past guests that interact with a hotel’s contest often become more loyal to that property.
In addition, the user’s friends will see the post/comment and may comment themselves or start following the hotel’s account.
These 3 contests can be launched quickly and easily by your hotel.
1. Like or Comment Contest
Get this contest started by simply sharing a photo, video, or status update asking your followers to like, comment, or even both!
This kind of contest can generate a lot of engagement because it is easy to enter. You can also ask your followers to share the post or tag their friends for extra entries or just as a separate kind of contest.
The most popular reward that hotels offer a contest winner is a free night. This can be done with little to no money out-of-pocket.
2. Photo Contest
Create this contest by asking your followers to post a photo such as their best vacation photo at your hotel or even just a photo from their trip in general. Guests can enter by simply adding a photo to the comments. Or you can ask guests to upload photos to their social media with a specific hashtag or by tagging your hotel’s social media handle in their post.
If you have a large following, this is a great type of contest to gain a sizable source of engagement.
Example: Disney Photo Contest
The above example is a Disney Photo contest we recently launched for Best Western Stovall’s Hotels near Disneyland. The campaign was an immediate success and generated a ton of interactions within the first 24 hours.
3. Voting Contest
Create a poll that asks a question to your followers and offer a few options to choose from. Facebook offers an easy option to turn your regular post into a poll with a template for you to fill out the question, the answer options, and the length of time it will run.
Another way to run this contest can be by asking an open ended question without a specific set of answers and allowing users to vote by commenting on the post what their answer is.
Examples of questions you may ask your followers to vote on can be about their favorite menu options, best event or thing to do nearby, favorite way to relax or vacation, best location to travel to, best part about their hotel stay, etc.
Creating contests is an effective way to get your followers engaged and excited about your hotel. You can try out different ideas and test what works best with your fans in order to find the most successful contest type for you.
Have fun with it and watch those potential guests you engage with turn into repeat customers.
Have questions or need hotel digital marketing ideas?
Schedule a quick 15 minute meeting, I’d be happy to chat.
Posted by: Adam Kline
(888) 988-5485 ext 305
LinkedIn
