In the past few years, there has been a huge increase in Hotel brands using influencers as part of their social media strategy. In this article, we’ll take a look at why it can work, how it can go wrong and steps to make it work for your Hotel.
What is influencer marketing for Hotels?
Influencer marketing is giving free stays at Hotels or free holiday trips away to social media influencers in return for promotion across their platforms. Through blogs and Instagram, travel influencers share their real-time experiences of their stays with their followers, building an interactive experience around the Hotel and brand. Instagram’s visual nature makes it the perfect platform to share travel image content. The Hotel benefits from exposure to an often affluent, travel-oriented demographic already invested in the influencer’s feed while the social media personality gets a free trip and great content to share.
Why using influencer marketing for your Hotel brand can work
Instagram has over 800 million users and working with an influencer gives you immediate access to their followers and potential guests. Consumers believe influencers to be authentic and trustworthy, making marketing through their influence much more effective for your Hotel. Connecting with an Instagram influencer allows you to curate your brand online, develop engagement and connections with potential customers and reach a potentially huge marketing base. Followers on Instagram tend to be more open to this type of marketing as they see it as non-intrusive; potentially giving you a greater ROI than traditional ad methods.
How can influencer marketing go wrong?
The well-publicized row between a Dublin Hotel and influencer Elle Darby highlights the controversy around influencer marketing. Some view it as grabby and fake, especially when sponsored or partnered content hasn’t been made clear or it doesn’t fit well with the influencer’s brand or demographic. Brands who choose the wrong influencer can find the marketing campaign failing, with any mistakes made being amplified and mocked online. This can cause a PR disaster for your Hotel’s brand, so it’s vital you take steps to create an influencer campaign that will work for both of you.
How to make influencer marketing a success for your Hotel brand
Here are some tips to make sure influencer marketing works well for your Hotel.
- Choose accounts with smaller follower numbers
Smaller Instagram accounts will be more powerful for your brand. It may seem counterintuitive, but they’ll have more potential for engagement, authority, and influence with their followers than bigger accounts.
- Work with the right influencers for your brand
Choose influencers who fit well with your target market, ideal customer and your brand values. Take the time to develop an interesting campaign that will reflect well on your Hotel while also creating quality, shareable and engaging content.
- Up your own Instagram game
Make sure that your Hotel’s Instagram is updated regularly with quality content. Engage and interact with your followers to build lasting relationships with your potential guests, increasing repeat bookings, develop local connections and great reviews. Investing in your own Instagram is a great way to attract quality, professional influencers to work with you.
Influencer marketing is an important approach for social media marketing for Hotels. Take the time to partner with an appropriate influencer and develop a quality, brand-relevant campaign to see real impact in your marketing strategy.
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About the author
Are Morch is the founder and owner of Are Morch – Hotel Marketing Coach. Get more from Are on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Instagram| Podcast
