Facebook is by far the most widely used social media platform with over 1.47 billion daily active users as of July 2018.
Facebook users access the site an average of 8 times per day – that’s a lot of time to be potentially viewing or interacting with your hotel!
That being said, many hotels don’t realize the value of having an active social media. Word-of-mouth marketing has always been known to be one of the most powerful and influential ways to market a hotel. Now, in today’s age, most people use their social media as one of their main forms of communication with others.
For hotels, one of the best ways to engage with guests, build relationships, and keep them coming back is through Facebook.
Not only that, but Facebook’s age demographic is perfect for hotels. 46% of users are ages 25-44. This is exactly the ages that hotels should be targeting.
Now if the huge exposure and perfect age demographic aren’t enough to make you prioritize Facebook for your hotel, consider this: 42% of Facebook users share more travel related posts than any other topic. These users are traveling often and sharing it with their friends – shouldn’t your hotel be included in these posts?
Once you have decided to create a Facebook page, it is not enough to just remain present. Your hotel needs to be active on Facebook too, in order to reap the benefits.
Engagement
With the recent Facebook algorithm changes, it is more important than ever to encourage engagement. Posts that do no receive any comments, likes, or shares receive very limited exposure. It is important to interact with your followers and get them engaged in conversations with your hotel.
Create a contest to get guests involved online and excited about your hotel. Show off your excellent customer service by replying to those who mention you, ask you questions, or message you directly. These actions help build customer relationships and loyalty, generate repeat bookings, and leads to positive reviews.
Local Expert
It is essential to share your knowledge of the local area including anything new and exciting. Your followers want to know about things to do nearby and where they should go to eat. Make them want to come back to your page to find all the things they need to know throughout their stay.
Being active online helps build your following and also helps increase awareness of your amazing property – making it more likely to be found by new potential guests. Each time your followers like or share your content, their own network of friends will see it which will increase your organic reach. (This is current day word-of-mouth marketing!)
It is also beneficial to encourage your followers to check-in on Facebook and share reviews. By sharing these on Facebook, your guests will be telling their friends where they are staying and sharing their experiences which essentially becomes a recommendation for their own Facebook connections.
Facebook offers a lot of benefits for hotels. It is the perfect place to:
- connect with current guests
- build positive relationships
- reach new potential guests
- drive traffic to your website
- encourage reviews
- generate repeat bookings.
With all of these benefits, incorporating Facebook into your hotel’s marketing strategy is now extremely important to exceed in the hospitality industry.