Drive Direct | #3 Social Media Marketing
Drive Direct | #3 Social Media Marketing
July 17th, 2019
In this multi-blog post, we’ll share with you 7 best practices you can use to accomplish the goal of driving more direct bookings to your site. We’ll explore the strategies, techniques, and tactics you can use to develop a comprehensive online marketing plan that will keep your properties visible, build your brand, and increase direct bookings to help you grow your business!
In case you missed it –
Best Practice 3: Social Media Marketing
Social media has changed the way we all communicate. When properly utilized, sites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn can be great sources for adding names to your email list, driving traffic to your website, and increasing direct bookings.
The key to successfully using social media is to first have a plan! Before you begin, clearly define your brand, and your message. The most important thing to remember about social media is that it’s not about “direct selling.” It’s about delivering useful information, entertaining or educating your community. That means using photos of the pool, videos of the July 4th BBQ you sponsored, or sending people to your blog page to read about all the fun activities your town has to offer.
To begin, you first need to determine which platforms are best for you. This means taking a long look at your customers to try to determine where they access their information. For example, if your guests are predominantly young families, Facebook might be the perfect venue to reach them. If you find many of your guests are business travelers, having a profile on LinkedIn can put your message in front of those people most likely to stay in one of your properties.
As you research social media platforms, you will begin to gain a greater understanding of your target market. To determine which platforms are best, you’ll need to dig into your records to determine who exactly your target markets are. How old are they? What do they do for work? What part of the country do they come from? What activities do they engage in? This will also help you to determine the platform most likely to reach your market.
Marketing Your Properties Via Social Media
When marketing your properties on social media remember, tell don’t sell! Images, videos, and graphics are great ways to subtly market to your community. Provide guests with an “Instagrammable” backdrop where they can take pictures and post them to their account and tag you. Post images of the beach at sunset along with a tag, or a comment like “wish you were here?” Think quality over quantity. One well placed image can do more for your business than 10 common posts!
Managing Your Social Media
Properly executed social media can build your brand and increase your direct bookings, but it takes time. That’s why it’s best to use social media tools to better help you manage your posts. Platforms and tools like HubSpot, Hootsuite, and SproutSocial, can help you to manage, automate and schedule your social media posts across various channels.
Social media is really about engagement. The beauty of social media is that if offers businesses the ability to engage directly with their community. These tools include modules that allow you to follow conversations about your properties across channels and directly respond. This engagement is what builds trust in your business and your brand. Whenever a community member asks a question, or posts about your business make sure to respond immediately!
July 17th, 2019
In this multi-blog post, we’ll share with you 7 best practices you can use to accomplish the goal of driving more direct bookings to your site. We’ll explore the strategies, techniques, and tactics you can use to develop a comprehensive online marketing plan that will keep your properties visible, build your brand, and increase direct bookings to help you grow your business!
In case you missed it –
Best Practice 3: Social Media Marketing
Social media has changed the way we all communicate. When properly utilized, sites like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn can be great sources for adding names to your email list, driving traffic to your website, and increasing direct bookings.
The key to successfully using social media is to first have a plan! Before you begin, clearly define your brand, and your message. The most important thing to remember about social media is that it’s not about “direct selling.” It’s about delivering useful information, entertaining or educating your community. That means using photos of the pool, videos of the July 4th BBQ you sponsored, or sending people to your blog page to read about all the fun activities your town has to offer.
To begin, you first need to determine which platforms are best for you. This means taking a long look at your customers to try to determine where they access their information. For example, if your guests are predominantly young families, Facebook might be the perfect venue to reach them. If you find many of your guests are business travelers, having a profile on LinkedIn can put your message in front of those people most likely to stay in one of your properties.
As you research social media platforms, you will begin to gain a greater understanding of your target market. To determine which platforms are best, you’ll need to dig into your records to determine who exactly your target markets are. How old are they? What do they do for work? What part of the country do they come from? What activities do they engage in? This will also help you to determine the platform most likely to reach your market.
Marketing Your Properties Via Social Media
When marketing your properties on social media remember, tell don’t sell! Images, videos, and graphics are great ways to subtly market to your community. Provide guests with an “Instagrammable” backdrop where they can take pictures and post them to their account and tag you. Post images of the beach at sunset along with a tag, or a comment like “wish you were here?” Think quality over quantity. One well placed image can do more for your business than 10 common posts!
Managing Your Social Media
Properly executed social media can build your brand and increase your direct bookings, but it takes time. That’s why it’s best to use social media tools to better help you manage your posts. Platforms and tools like HubSpot, Hootsuite, and SproutSocial, can help you to manage, automate and schedule your social media posts across various channels.
Social media is really about engagement. The beauty of social media is that if offers businesses the ability to engage directly with their community. These tools include modules that allow you to follow conversations about your properties across channels and directly respond. This engagement is what builds trust in your business and your brand. Whenever a community member asks a question, or posts about your business make sure to respond immediately!
