Marketing Trends Hoteliers Should Take Advantage of in 2017
Where are we headed?
It’s a common but tough-to-answer question this time of year. In the hotel marketing world we’re headed for a year that will be defined by a few major trends. Here are the marketing trends we think will have the biggest impact in 2017:
Mobile
According to statcounter.com mobile and tablet internet usage surpassed desktop usage for the first time ever in 2016. Mobile is no longer an important piece of digital marketing… it’s the most important piece!
How to take advantage of this trend:
1. Make sure all your digital content is optimized and formatted for mobile devices before thinking about how it looks on a desktop platform.
2. Use texting services to reach guests. Mobile has surpasses desktop because people have their mobile devices on them all the time. That makes texting a surefire way to get your target audiences attention. You can using texting to tell guests when they can check in, what time happy hour is starting or alert them to another time sensitive special.
The Content Marketing Institute’s Joe Pulizzi thinks that print might be on the rebound in 2017. After a long and seemingly inevitable decline, there’s evidence, like the fact that Airbnb recently released a printed magazine, that print might become a more prominent marketing tool in the upcoming year.
How to take advantage of this trend:
1) Decide what makes the most sense to promote through print media. Many of our clients at McConnell Marketing use printed pieces to promote their high-end services like suites or spas.
2) Create a printed piece too interesting to throw away. We did some die-cut maps for Ritz Carlton (shown below) that were the outline of a famous icon on one side with a local area map on the other. These pieces ended up being an eye-catching but useful way to promote the hotel.
Live Video Streaming
In November of 2016 Instagram integrated live video into its app. It’s just one of many social media sites that offers a live video service and for good reason, Facebook users spend 3 times as long watching live videos as they do watching the non-live versions. Live video is definitely on the upswing in 2017.
How to take advantage of this trend:
Add live video to your content marketing mix. For hoteliers this can be as simple as regularly scheduled property tour videos. “Thinking about staying with us? Tune in Thursday for a live tour” the real value of this type of video is that the audience has the ability to type questions while watching, so you can give answers to your potential guests questions in real time.
Interactive Content
According to Forbes, interactive content will be a big trend in marketing this year. Quizzes, clickable graphics, and anything that requires input from the audience falls under this category.
How to take advantage of this trend:
One example Forbes pointed to was a quiz entitled “Which City should you live in” by Buzz-feed. Your hotel could create a similar quiz using categories such as, “what meeting space should you book?”, “what local restaurant should you try?” etc. These types of tools provide valuable information to guests in a unique and fun way.
Email Marketing
The Content Marketing Institute has long advocated for the importance of email marketing as a key for success. In Joe Pulizzi’s book Content Inc. he says email subscribers should be the number 1 metric for measuring content marketing success.
Followers and subscribers on social media are nice, but they are out ultimately out of your control. Facebook can change their algorithm without notice or Twitter can change which content it allows to be posted. Email is the most sustainable content channel in the long term.
How to take advantage of this trend:
Make sure you’re capturing email addresses at check-in or during online booking if possible. For non-guests, you’ll have to offer some type of incentive for them to offer up their email address, here are some ideas.
1) Create a PDF ebook with info on local attractions, bars, restaurants etc. Ex: “Get a free PDF guide to New York when you sign up for our email list.”
2) Offer ongoing value. Ex: “Sign up to get monthly emails with the top events happening in Pittsburgh.”
3) Do a contest or give away. Ex: “Sign up for a chance to win two free nights at our hotel!”
Once the emails are captured you can continue to deliver valuable content to your guests’ inbox which will keep your hotel at the top of their mind the next time they plan to book a trip or recommend a place to stay.
What marketing trends do you think will have the biggest impact in 2017? Let us know in our comments section below.
