These Are The 7 Deadly Sins of Hotel Social Media Strategy
Social media is one of the most effective tools you have in your hotel digital marketing plan right now. With the right hotel social media strategy in place, properties of all sizes can stay top of mind with guests while there’s low demand.
Social media is also pretty overwhelming for a lot of hoteliers.
From wasting time and energy on the wrong social media platforms to simply not knowing what to post, many hotels are just not wielding the full power of their social media accounts.
Thing is, social touches every step of the customer journey.
Hotels with a smart social media marketing strategy in place are positioned to reach a wider audience of potential guests, improve their online reputation, and drive more direct bookings.
Without a clear strategy for social media, hotels wind up making simple mistakes that mean losing fans and missing out on future bookings. Let’s talk about those ‘7 deadly sins’ of hotel social media marketing — and how your hotel can avoid making these common social media mistakes!
1. You’re using unappealing, low-quality visuals
Tell me if this scenario rings a bell:
You’ve been trying to get content from your Head Chef for ages and today, he fiiiinally texts you a ton of photos from behind-the-scenes in the kitchen. You eagerly open it up but to your dismay, all the photos are slightly blurry, poorly-lit, and just… ugh… so unappetizing.
But that new menu announcement needed to go out like, yesterday, and you don’t have time to get more shots!
So you commit the first ‘deadly sin’ of social media marketing and (sigh) share those sub-par images on Facebook and Instagram.
Real talk? I’m 100% guilty of this sin. 😩
You can’t be everywhere all at once and with zero professional photography budget, sometimes those meh iPhone photos are the best we can get! (Yep, been there.)
But the thing is… this mistake really can be deadly.
Almost all of the most important social media platforms are driven by visuals. Users want to see beautiful photos of dreamy destinations and drool-worthy food. They also have teeny-tiny attention spans, so gorgeous images are pretty much all that can stop them mid-scroll.
So, those ugly iPhone shots? They’re really just a quick way to get potential customers hitting that dreaded “unfollow” button.
Try this instead:
Block out time in your schedule for an “internal” photoshoot. Use a newer smartphone (with quality camera) or invest in a good digital camera for your property so you can take better images of food, amenities, etc.
Host a “lunch and learn” photo-taking class for your non-marketing colleagues — DON’T discourage other departments from submitting content, but DO give them some tips and tricks!
2. Your content is all over the place
One surefire way to make a mess of your social media strategy is to not have a plan.
Do you rock up to work some days and realize, “I have no idea what I’m posting on social media today?”
Maybe social media keeps falling further and further down your to-do list.
When there’s so much else going on, social can end up being a blip on your radar — an after-hours afterthought, or a 6:00 p.m. oh-no-I-should-probably-post-something panic.
Without a plan in place, you’re much more likely to create inconsistent or sloppy, one-off content.
If you wait until the last minute to sit down and fire off a single post, you’re also more likely to wind up with noticeable spelling mistakes or broken links.
All of this is a real turn-off for potential guests — and it certainly doesn’t help your hotel see any results from social media.
When you scroll through your last several posts, does it make you cringe?
Unless your target hotel guest is Marie Kondo, no one likes a hot mess.
Try this instead:
Set aside an allotment of time every week to create and schedule your social media posts. Make it a recurring task and block the time off in your schedule.
Create a content calendar. I typically recommend planning big campaigns out quarterly and social content monthly. This is a good way to stay ahead of key dates or demand drivers in your market — but DO leave room for flexibility because, as we’ve learned in 2020, things can change fast.
3. You jump on board every trend bandwagon
From a well-meaning cause like the #IceBucketChallenge to random silliness like the #DollyPartonChallenge, social media is chock-full of viral trends.
And that’s not even including the wide array of “National Days” that turn into popular hashtags on social media. There’s #NationalDonutDay, #CleanOffYourDeskDay, #EatIceCreamForBreakfastDay, and even — yes, seriously — #PaperclipDay.
Most made-up social media days are completely irrelevant to hotels.
Trying to force a connection between your hotel and #TalkLikeAPirateDay is a great way to confuse your guests and come across gimmicky.
(Unless, of course, that’s your brand. In which case, y’arrrrgh, carry on!)
As far as viral challenges go, again, I’d caution against jumping onboard just-because.
If you do decide to take part, make sure you have good reason to. What’s your hotel story and how does it relate? What’s the connection? Can you somehow link the challenge to one of your services or F&B offerings?
Remember deadly sin #2, sloppy or inconsistent content… When you jump onboard every trend bandwagon, you end up committing two sins at once. 😬
Try this instead:
If you’ve created a content calendar as suggested, go ahead and mark a small number of relevant national days — don’t waste time jumping on-board without a genuine connection or a unique piece of content that relates to the trend.
Open up a dialogue with your superior(s) about social media trending topics. Sometimes, brands DO jump into viral moments in memorable ways — think Oreo’s SuperBowl moment or Fleetwood Mac and Ocean Spray. Anyone managing social accounts for a brand should feel trusted and empowered to exercise their best judgment when it comes to this.
4. You’re not using a call-to-action (CTA)
This is one mistake I see sooo many hotels making on their social media channels. When you post a new piece of content, are you thinking about what action you want the viewer to take upon seeing it?
If your answer is always, “I just want folks to like it,” I urge you to reconsider.
Why? Two reasons.
The first reason is that social media needs to be social. You should aim to spark dialogue and create a two-way conversation, not just an absent-minded “like” or “double-tap.”
The other reason?
Different stages of the online booking journey require different calls-to-action.
Someone who is actively planning a trip to your destination needs a bit of a kick in the butt to actually book. And likewise, someone just casually scrolling, dreaming of a vacation, would need a much softer touch.
When I say, “use a CTA,” it doesn’t always mean “LIKE THIS” or “BOOK NOW.” Your hotel social media strategy can inspire action and engagement in much more subtle ways…
Try this instead:
Watch my free class on hotel social media copywriting and take note of the 14 specific CTA examples I mention. Yep, there’s 14 in there — covering all the different stages of the customer journey. 👇
5. Your profiles are incomplete or outdated
The most effective social media strategies I’ve seen from hotels all have one thing in common: They stay laser-focused on just a few important social media platforms — and they don’t get bogged down trying to be everywhere all at once!
Whether you’re part of a big hotel chain or a small boutique hotel, the resources and time you have to invest in a social media strategy will vary.
Your hotel should at least claim and complete all your social media profiles — even for the channels you won’t use often.
There are SO many good reasons to do this…
Social media profiles provide backlinks and signal to Google that your main website is trustworthy… Social media profiles also take up valuable Page 1 real estate on the search engine results page… It’s smart to claim a consistent username on all platforms, so folks can easily find you… And you might decide down the road to put a bit more effort into an emerging platform!
Try this instead:
Carve out an hour of time one of these afternoons to do a social media audit for your hotel. Make a list of all your hotel social media profiles and give them a little love.
Is your username/handle consistent?
Have you filled in a brief, but informative profile/bio?
Is your profile link working?
Is your contact information up-to-date?
If it’s not a channel you use much, are you at least redirecting folks back to your hotel website or another (more frequently used) social account?
Keep in mind, this approach is also wayyy less work for you in the long-run! Why waste time and energy trying to show up on the wrong social platforms?
6. You’re always selling
Now, I’m definitely guilty of dropping some shameless plugs here and there — but hey, it’s my blog and I have a fierce addiction to iced coffee that must be fed somehow. 😉
Like you, I’m running a business, but there’s an important balance to strike between serving and selling.
Social media is one of those marketing channels where it’s absolutely critical for hotels to develop and nurture relationships with their customers.
You can’t do this if you’re blasting out your Bed & Breakfast rate every other day.
Try this instead:
Yet another reason to have a social media content calendar — to keep track of how much you’re serving vs. selling.
Remember the 80/20 rule. Or — to think of it in another way — marketer Gary Vee uses a boxing analogy to explain his approach to social media: Jab Jab Jab, Right Hook!
80% of the time, you should be serving your customers with helpful, informative, or purely entertaining content. Those are your “jabs.”
Your “right hook” is that remaining 20%: offers and promotions, or your hard sell.
7. You don’t respond to guests
I might’ve saved the WORST of all deadly social media marketing sins for last…
Once more, you should be using social media to be social. If you’re not engaging with, and responding to, your guests, you might as well not bother. 🤷♀️
Seriously!
Sprout Social’s latest research found that poor customer service was by far the number-one reason customers unfollowed a brand on social media.
Oh, and advertisers say that 80 percent of social customer service requests now happen on Twitter.
It’s worth remembering that, unlike other industries, hospitality is the business of caring for people. Your hotel must have customer service and care baked into your social media strategy — it’s a huge part of how today’s consumers are using social platforms.
Try this instead:
Use what’s called “social listening” — basically, that means monitoring mentions of your hotel name on social media. That way you can respond and engage with customers, even if they didn’t tag you directly.
Encourage user generated content. Invite guests to post and share their experience at your property on social media. When you interact with followers, they in turn can become your biggest advocates!
Final Thoughts
Managing an effective social plan for your hotel is challenging — now more than ever. The best hotel social media marketing strategies still try to avoid these seven deadly sins!
By the way, my Hotel Social Media Masterclass includes lessons on content planning, scheduling, measurement, and much more. Find enrollment details here or get a feel for what’s in store with my FREE class on writing captions for social media below!