In the dynamic world of real estate, where competition is fierce and customers are increasingly turning to the internet for their property search, having a strong digital presence is essential. If you own a real estate company in Vadodara and want to stay ahead of the curve, embracing digital marketing strategies can help you reach a wider audience, generate more leads, and ultimately boost your business. In this blog, we will explore the key benefits of digital marketing for real estate in Vadodara and provide insights into effective strategies you can implement to maximize your online visibility and success.
- Establish a Powerful Online Presence: In today’s digital age, potential buyers and sellers are more likely to begin their real estate journey online. By investing in digital marketing, you can establish a strong online presence that enables you to connect with your target audience effectively. A well-designed website, engaging social media profiles, and optimized online listings will enhance your visibility and credibility in Vadodara’s competitive real estate market.
- Targeted Advertising: One of the biggest advantages of digital marketing is the ability to target specific demographics and locations. With platforms like Google Ads and social media advertising, you can reach potential clients in Vadodara who are actively searching for real estate services. By tailoring your ads to their interests, preferences, and location, you can increase the chances of attracting qualified leads, resulting in higher conversion rates.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimizing your website for search engines is crucial for driving organic traffic to your real estate business. By incorporating relevant keywords, creating quality content, and optimizing your website’s structure, you can improve your search engine rankings. This, in turn, increases the visibility of your website in Vadodara’s search results, making it easier for potential clients to find you when they’re actively looking for real estate services.
- Engage with Your Audience: Digital marketing allows you to engage with your target audience on various platforms and build meaningful relationships. Utilize social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to share informative and visually appealing content about the Vadodara real estate market, property trends, and investment opportunities. Regularly interacting with your followers through comments, messages, and live sessions helps foster trust and positions your company as a reliable source of real estate information and services.
- Content Marketing: Creating valuable content not only helps you establish authority in the real estate industry but also improves your website’s visibility. Consider starting a blog where you can share informative articles, guides, and market insights specific to Vadodara. By addressing the common concerns and questions of your target audience, you can attract organic traffic and position your real estate company as a knowledgeable and trustworthy resource.
- Online Reviews and Testimonials: Positive reviews and testimonials from satisfied clients can greatly influence the decision-making process of potential customers. Encourage your happy clients to leave reviews on platforms like Google My Business and real estate directories. Showcase these reviews on your website and social media profiles to build credibility and trust with your audience.
Conclusion: Digital marketing offers immense opportunities for real estate companies in Vadodara to expand their reach, attract qualified leads, and boost business growth. By investing in strategies such as targeted advertising, SEO, engaging content, and online reputation management, you can establish a strong online presence, connect with your target audience effectively, and differentiate your business from competitors. Embrace the power of digital marketing and position your real estate company for success in Vadodara’s competitive market.
Digital Marketing Companies in Gujarat: A Guide to Choosing the Right One
Gujarat is a state in western India that is home to a thriving digital economy. With a large and growing population of internet users, Gujarat is a prime market for businesses of all sizes.
If you’re a business owner in Gujarat, you need to be aware of the importance of digital marketing. In today’s digital age, customers are increasingly turning to online channels to research and purchase products and services. If you want to reach your target audience and grow your business, you need to have a strong digital marketing presence.
There are a number of digital marketing companies in Gujarat that can help you achieve your marketing goals. These companies offer a wide range of services, including:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
- Social media marketing
- Content marketing
- Email marketing
- Website design and development
When choosing a digital marketing company in Gujarat, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- The company’s experience. How long has the company been in business? Do they have experience working with businesses in your industry?
- The company’s portfolio. Look at the company’s portfolio of work to see examples of their results.
- The company’s team. Who will be working on your account? Make sure the company has a team of experienced and qualified professionals.
- The company’s pricing. How much does the company charge for their services? Make sure the company’s pricing is in line with your budget.
Once you’ve chosen a digital marketing company in Gujarat, you can start working with them to develop and implement a marketing strategy that will help you reach your target audience and grow your business.
The Power of Digital Marketing in Vadodara
In today’s digital age, businesses of all sizes are turning to digital marketing to reach their target audience and grow their business. And Vadodara is no exception.
With a population of over 2 million people, Vadodara is a thriving metropolis with a growing middle class. This makes it an ideal market for businesses of all kinds.
But how can you make sure your business stands out from the competition? The answer is digital marketing.
Digital marketing is the use of online channels to reach your target audience. This includes things like search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing, and email marketing.
When done correctly, digital marketing can help you:
- Increase brand awareness
- Generate leads
- Drive sales
- Improve customer loyalty
If you’re looking for a way to grow your business in Vadodara, digital marketing is the answer.
Here are some of the benefits of digital marketing in Vadodara:
- Reach a wider audience: Digital marketing allows you to reach a wider audience than traditional marketing methods, such as print and TV advertising. You can target your ads to specific demographics, interests, and even locations.
- Get more leads and sales: Digital marketing can help you generate more leads and sales. By creating compelling content, running targeted ads, and building relationships with your audience, you can encourage people to take action, such as visiting your website, signing up for your email list, or making a purchase.
- Improve customer loyalty: Digital marketing can help you improve customer loyalty. By providing excellent customer service, offering exclusive content and discounts, and engaging with your audience on social media, you can build relationships with your customers and encourage them to do business with you again and again.
If you’re a business in Vadodara, I encourage you to consider using digital marketing to grow your business. With so many benefits to offer, digital marketing is a powerful tool that can help you reach your target audience, generate leads and sales, and improve customer loyalty.
Here are some tips for getting started with digital marketing in Vadodara:
- Set clear goals: What do you want to achieve with digital marketing? Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or drive sales? Once you know your goals, you can develop a strategy to achieve them.
- Create a strong online presence: Your website is your online storefront. Make sure it’s well-designed, informative, and easy to use. You should also create profiles on social media platforms where your target audience is active.
- Optimize your website for search engines: SEO is the process of improving your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). By optimizing your website for relevant keywords, you can make it easier for potential customers to find you online.
- Run paid advertising campaigns: Paid advertising can be a great way to reach a wider audience and generate more leads and sales. You can run ads on search engines, social media platforms, and other websites.
- Track your results: It’s important to track your results so you can see what’s working and what’s not. There are a number of tools you can use to track your progress, such as Google Analytics.
Digital marketing can be a complex and ever-changing field. But by following these tips, you can get started with digital marketing and start seeing results for your business.
Digital Marketing for Real Estate: Boosting Your Business in the Online World
Introduction
In today’s fast-paced digital age, where almost everything is just a click away, it is crucial for real estate professionals to embrace the power of digital marketing to stay ahead of the competition. Digital marketing for real estate offers a myriad of opportunities to reach a wider audience, generate leads, and ultimately boost your business. This article explores the various aspects of digital marketing strategies tailored specifically for the real estate industry. From search engine optimization (SEO) to social media marketing, we’ll delve into effective techniques that can help you maximize your online presence and drive success in the real estate market.
Digital Marketing for Real Estate: A Winning Strategy
Digital marketing encompasses a wide range of tactics and platforms to promote your real estate business online. Let’s take a closer look at some key areas where digital marketing can make a significant impact.
1. Creating a User-Friendly Website
Your website serves as the foundation of your digital marketing efforts. It is essential to have a well-designed, user-friendly website that showcases your properties and services. Ensure that your website is responsive, loads quickly, and is easy to navigate. Incorporate high-quality images and videos to engage your visitors and provide detailed property information.
2. Implementing Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is the process of optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results. By targeting relevant keywords and optimizing your website structure, meta tags, and content, you can increase organic traffic to your site. Conduct keyword research to identify popular search terms in the real estate industry, such as “buying a home” or “real estate investment.” Create informative and valuable content around these keywords to attract potential buyers and sellers.
3. Harnessing the Power of Social Media
Social media platforms offer a powerful way to connect with your target audience and promote your real estate listings. Establish a strong presence on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Share visually appealing content, such as property photos, virtual tours, and informative videos. Engage with your followers by responding to comments, answering questions, and sharing relevant industry news. Leverage social media advertising options to expand your reach and target specific demographics.
4. Utilizing Email Marketing
Email marketing allows you to nurture leads and maintain regular communication with potential buyers and sellers. Build an email list by offering valuable content, such as newsletters, market reports, or exclusive property updates. Segment your email list based on specific criteria, such as buyer or seller preferences, location, or property type. Personalize your emails to provide tailored information and incentives that resonate with each recipient.
5. Embracing Video Marketing
Video has become a dominant medium in the digital landscape. Create engaging property videos, virtual tours, and neighborhood guides to captivate your audience. Video content can be shared on your website, social media platforms, and YouTube. Use video to showcase unique selling points, highlight property features, and build trust with potential clients.
6. Leveraging Online Advertising
Online advertising offers a targeted approach to reach potential buyers and sellers. Platforms like Google Ads and social media advertising provide options to display your ads to specific locations, demographics, and interests. Develop compelling ad copy and visuals that stand out and drive clicks. Monitor and optimize your campaigns regularly to maximize your return on investment (ROI).
FAQs
1. Q: How can digital marketing benefit my real estate business?
A: Digital marketing allows you to expand your reach, generate leads, and build brand awareness in the online realm. By utilizing various strategies like SEO, social media marketing, and online advertising, you can increase your chances of connecting with potential buyers and sellers.
- Q: How can I improve my website’s search engine rankings?
- A: To improve your website’s search engine rankings, focus on implementing effective SEO techniques. This includes optimizing your website’s structure, meta tags, and content with relevant keywords. Create valuable and informative content that appeals to your target audience and encourages them to engage with your website. Regularly update your website with fresh content and ensure it is mobile-friendly for optimal user experience.
- Q: What social media platforms should I prioritize for real estate marketing?
- A: The choice of social media platforms depends on your target audience and the type of content you wish to share. Facebook is a versatile platform that allows you to reach a wide range of demographics. Instagram is ideal for visually appealing property photos and virtual tours. LinkedIn can be useful for connecting with industry professionals and targeting a business-oriented audience. Consider your target audience’s preferences and behavior to select the most suitable platforms.
- Q: How often should I send emails to my subscribers?
- A: The frequency of your email communications depends on your audience’s preferences and the type of content you are providing. It is essential to strike a balance between staying top-of-mind and not overwhelming your subscribers. Aim to send regular newsletters, market updates, or property alerts, but avoid excessive emailing that may lead to unsubscribes. Monitor email engagement metrics to gauge the optimal frequency for your specific audience.
- Q: Is video marketing necessary for real estate?
- A: Video marketing has become increasingly important in the real estate industry. It allows you to showcase properties effectively, provide virtual tours, and establish a personal connection with potential clients. Video content tends to be more engaging and shareable, helping you attract a wider audience and differentiate yourself from competitors. Incorporating video marketing into your digital strategy can enhance your overall success.
- Q: How can I measure the effectiveness of my digital marketing efforts?
- A: Measuring the effectiveness of your digital marketing efforts is crucial to understand what strategies are working and identify areas for improvement. Utilize tools like Google Analytics to track website traffic, user behavior, and conversions. Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as click-through rates, lead generation, and social media engagement. Regularly analyze your data and adjust your strategies accordingly to optimize your results.
Conclusion
Digital marketing has become indispensable for real estate professionals looking to thrive in the digital era. By leveraging strategies such as SEO, social media marketing, video marketing, and online advertising, you can elevate your online presence, attract a broader audience, and generate more leads. Remember to continuously analyze your efforts, adapt to the evolving digital landscape, and prioritize providing value to your potential buyers and sellers. With the right digital marketing tactics, your real estate business can flourish in the competitive online world.
After it was spotted in testing last month, Instagram has now officially launched a live test of 60-second videos in Stories, which will mean that longer video clips will no longer be split into 15-second segments, and played across various Stories frames.
As noted, last month, app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi shared this message, stored in the back-end code of the app, which is now being displayed to some users in the live environment.
We asked Instagram about the update, and it provided this statement:
“The ability to create longer Stories posts comes highly requested by our community. We’re excited to be testing 60-second Stories so that people can create and view Stories with fewer interruptions.”
Instagram says that the option is currently being tested with a small group of users, with a view to providing more creative freedom, and further integrating the app’s various video options to streamline its creative tools and functions.
Which, really, is the key focus. Back in January, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri flagged a coming consolidation of the app’s video products, with a view to better facilitating creation, and scaling back the platform’s various tools. That started with the merging of its video feed posts into a single format early last month, along with the retirement of the IGTV brand.
As Mosseri explained to Decoder:
“We’re looking about how we can – not just with IGTV, but across all of Instagram – simplify and consolidate ideas, because last year we placed a lot of new bets. I think this year we have to go back to our focus on simplicity and craft.”
The re-thinking of its approach has been largely influenced by TikTok, which has become the most popular social app among young users, overtaking Instagram as the cool place to be.
Part of TikTok’s core appeal is simplicity – on TikTok, you open to a full-screen feed of video clips and live-streams, with all of it combined into one, optimized, focused listing, tailored to each individual user.
Instagram is far more segmented, with Reels in a separate feed, and Stories in its own section. That could be restricting optimal take-up, which is why Instagram’s now looking to bring all of these elements together, which will also, eventually, enable it to showcase the best of each aspect in a single, more-engaging stream.
The expansion to 60-second video clips in Stories is another step in this gradual merging, which, at some stage, will likely see the app open to a full-screen feed of Stories, feed posts and Reels, all in one, enabling IG, like TikTok, to use the full breadth of uploaded content to maximize user engagement.
It’s still a way off that next stage, but longer videos will mean that users can now post full Reels to Stories, for example, essentially merging the two functions automatically. Then it’s just determining how it shifts from the traditional feed to a more Stories/Reels aligned one instead.
That’s a bigger step, and a more fundamental change for the app. But as part of Meta’s broader focus on winning back younger users, you can bet that it’s coming, and likely sooner, rather than later.
Which is why this new test is a significant step. It’s limited for now, but you can expect to see longer Stories videos coming to your Instagram app sometime soon.
This could come in handy – YouTube has today added a new option in YouTube Studio which enables users to re-use details from previous uploads for new uploads within the posting process on desktop.
As you can see here, the new option enables you to re-use:
- Video title
- Video description
- Language settings
- Shorts sampling permissions
- Category selections
That could save you a lot of time, particularly for those who regularly post on the same topics, or have to manually input language options with each new post.
Of course, you’re probably not going to upload many videos with the exact same title and description, but by copying the details across, that could make it easier to edit those details quickly, for similar content, without having to re-enter the same info for each video in a series.
You can access the new option in the ‘Details’ section of the upload flow, with a new ‘Reuse Details’ option above the title field.
It’s actually fairly similar to YouTube’s existing upload defaults option, which you can use to apply the same settings to each of your clips, but this new variation enables more control, with the capacity to utilize different settings for each clip, while you can also customize your selections with each upload.
YouTube announced the update among a set of new tweaks, including an updated ‘Memberships’ tab in YouTube Studio and the addition of more analytics previously only available on desktop to the mobile app.
As you can see in these screenshots, users will now be able to access ‘last 28 days’ views performance, weekly view performance and monthly performance stats in the app, providing more ways to stay on top of key measures via the mobile app.
The update’s part of the platform’s ongoing effort to bring the desktop and mobile apps into parity, with all of the functionality eventually set to be accessible on the go.
And while they may not be game-changing updates, as such, for those who are working to maximize their YouTube performance, and are uploading regularly, they could drive significant benefits.
8 Effective Digital Marketing Strategies For Restaurants: Attract Customers and Drive Sales in 2021
They say the restaurant business is one of the most difficult industries to break into, let alone thrive in. Small business owners already face an uphill battle, as nearly 50 percent of them fail within the first five years. If the restaurant business is even more unforgiving, how can you push the odds in your favor?
The key to any successful business is knowing how to market to your audience. You need to answer important questions like “How will my community know I exist?” and “How can I attract people to my restaurant?”
Your answers lie in restaurant digital marketing. While some validity can be found in the traditional means of advertising such as handing out flyers, direct mailing services, and radio commercials, the world has largely gone digital. If you don’t have an online presence, you might as well close up shop.
1. Perfect Your Website
First, even though you own a local restaurant that’s anything but digital, your storefront is no longer the face of your company. When 88 percent of consumers go online to research products or services, they judge a business’s credibility based on their website above all else. If your restaurant’s website leave’s something to be desired, odds are they’re going to bounce off your website to find one they like better.
Your website needs to be professional, functional, and user-friendly. Potential customers need to be able to navigate your site intuitively to find things like menus, hours of operation, and your address. Additionally, remember that most people use their smartphone to research things like this, regardless of if they’re at home, in the car, at work, and so on – your website must be optimized for mobile devices.
Finally, invest some time and money in professional pictures of your restaurant space, foods you offer, and your staff. The food will look more appetizing and your staff will appear more professional. It gives potential customers a sense of intimacy with your restaurant, even before they visit.
2. Focus on Local SEO
One of the most important steps in restaurant digital marketing is perfecting your search engine optimization. SEO is everything in terms of getting organic traffic to your website, and ultimately, customers in your seats. When someone types in “Italian (or whatever) restaurants near me,” your SEO rating will determine how quickly they find you.
Whether people are locals or travelers, you need to make sure your website’s SEO makes you a local hotspot. You can boost your SEO by taking the following actions:
- Create a blog on your website full of engaging and relevant content
- Make sure every page of your website utilizes local keywords and other forms of SEO coding (metadata embedded in pictures, videos, headings, etc.)
- Use both internal links (to other pages of your site) and external links (to affiliate websites, sources of data, etc.)
- Create a Google My Business Account
- Make sure your contact information and address is listed multiple times and is easy to find
As you can see, if you’re new to SEO, it can be a steep learning curve. Look into further educating yourself about SEO or seek professional services if you need help.
3. Gain Followers on Social Media
Having a website that’s teeming with SEO coding is great (and necessary). However, there are some more proactive ways you can drive traffic to your site as well. Did you know that 70 percent of American adults are on Facebook? That means 70 percent of your potential customers can be found in one location.
Restaurant digital marketing without a social media strategy is folly. Not only can you amass a following of people who are attracted to your restaurant and are likely to be repeat customers, but social media also provides effective networking opportunities. The best part is, you have plenty of options for both free and paid advertising campaigns.
For example, you can market cost-free on social media by hosting raffles or competitions offering free meals, gift cards, or even cash prizes to the winners. The key is to use the competition to extend your reach by encouraging users to like, comment, and share your posts. In turn, their followers will see their activity, be exposed to the competition, and likely start following your profile to compete for prizes as well.
Alternatively, you can look to paid social media marketing which allows you to choose how much you spend per day toward your campaign as well as your target audience (based on age, gender, location, and more). This also comes with the perk of analytical data that breaks down the success and performance of your ads. You’ll be able to see how each ad performed in terms of engagement (link clicks, likes, follows, shares, comments) to help you fine-tune your advertisements.
4. Use Influencer Marketing
If you have yet to amass a strong following or are looking for a larger target audience, consider influencer marketing. Social media influencers are those who have established credibility within certain industries or demographics, and as a result, often have thousands, if not millions of followers.
If there are any food-specific influencers in your relative location, it may not be a bad idea to reach out and invite them to eat at your restaurant for free. If they like your food, you can come up with an influencer marketing contract. In exchange for them to create a post about your restaurant, you can pay them a fee or give them a certain number of free meals.
5. Implement Email Marketing
Another effective restaurant digital marketing strategy is called email marketing. First, you need to build an email list of recipients who have subscribed to your email. Gaining subscribers can be done by offering discounts to previous customers who subscribe, through social media, your website, affiliate websites, and landing page ads.
Once a customer subscribes, you need to have an automated set of emails that go out once or twice a week. These emails should be friendly and express gratitude to your subscribers while subtly pushing them toward coming back to your restaurant. However, they also need to contain valuable content (discounts, promotions), or people will stop opening them.
Email marketing has proven to be a top contender because it falls back on marketing to people who’ve already shown interest in or eaten at your restaurant.
6. Take Advantage of Online Reviews
Next, remember that most people need a little reassurance when it comes to investing in products or services, including dining experiences. When people research restaurants online, one of the things they’re looking for is what other customers had to say. You need to take advantage of online reviews and the level of credence consumers put in them.
Start by encouraging every paying customer to post a review on Google, your website, or on your social media profile. Most people need to be incentivized, so offer a respectable discount on their next meal once they’ve completed the review. While offering a chance to win ‘x’ amount of dollars can be helpful, most people won’t take the time to review your restaurant for a mere chance of winning something – give them something definite.
7. Network With Other Local Businesses
Another beneficial restaurant digital marketing strategy utilizes other small business owners in your area. Start building affiliate relationships with complementary businesses (but not other restaurants). You can work with one another by guest-posting on each other’s blogs, recommending their services, and more.
For example, connect with a local hotel and see if they will recommend your restaurant to travelers and other guests. They can do this in person and through their website. On your end, offer discounts to any customers who come to you through the hotel.
Alternatively, you can team up with other small businesses and offer discounts for business-related meals, such as salesmen meeting with current or potential clients, team luncheons, after-work parties, etc. The key is to offer value to other businesses that choose to affiliate with you. In return, you gain more customers and stronger influence within your community.
8. Keep Online Engagement High
Lastly, it’s important to understand that consistency is everything in restaurant digital marketing. If you want your community to remember your name when it comes time to grab a meal, you must make an effort to make it so. Running an advertising campaign once a year isn’t enough.
However, this doesn’t mean you have to break the bank to keep patrons coming back to your restaurant time and time again. It’s the little things like updating your website regularly, posting new content a few times a week on social media, and advertising new items on your menu. But remember, you have to keep the community involved by hyping up new specials online, running contests, and giving back.
Looking for More Help With Restaurant Digital Marketing?
Owning a successful restaurant isn’t like it used to be. At one time, as long as your food and service were good, you could set up shop on the street corner and do business for years. However, it takes a little more intention now in the way you market and engage with the community.
Are you considering your Facebook strategy for the year ahead? Want to learn the key facts before executing your campaign?
The team from Oberlo share the stats you need to know in this infographic.
Here’s a summary of what you’ll learn:
- How Many People Use Facebook?
- Facebook Advertising Revenue
- Businesses Use
- Mobile Over Desktop
- Average Time Spent
Check out the infographic below for more detail.
While well-known marketing strategies may still apply in some cases, changing consumer behavior requires new and effective strategies to gain traction and improve sales. It’s also extremely important to understand that the market is now driven by convenience and experiences, and change is necessary in order to keep up with the competition.
For example, millennials now account for two-thirds of the buying power in the world and recent statistics show that the average millennial spends more than five hours per day on social media. With this in mind, hotels that fail to produce content on Facebook, Instagram, and other social platforms are practically invisible and when you consider the buying power above, this can be extremely detrimental to hotel sales and reputation.
In this article, we take a look at some of the intricacies involved with hotel digital marketing and the specific actions you can take to get ahead in the industry.
How hotels market?
Successful hotels will have a digital marketing strategy that takes in all the points in this article. While some experiences may be digital, others are much more personal and the common trend across these initiatives is that the customer is always right.
Either way, it’s not simply a case of doing a little here and there but rather about creating a marketing blueprint that will help the hotel excel.
Now, let’s dive into twelve actionable tips for hotel digital marketing in 2019:
2021 Guide to hotel digital marketing
1. You need an amazing website to support your hotel digital marketing efforts
Many visitors jump on Hotels.com or one of the many other booking engines to find the best value deals. However, you will also know that many online users will then search for the hotel website for either more information or an even better price for the night. With this in mind, you absolutely need an attractive website for the best results. And a great website is crucial whether you work in the hotel business, the healthcare digital business, the financial business, the IT business or any other business out there.
Here are just a few more benefits to having an amazing website:
Location – You can elaborate on the location and outline the features in the area as opposed to just explaining how a tourist can come to your hotel. In most instances, location is the first way in which a hotel can differentiate itself from the competition.
Voice – Booking engines are generic by nature but having your own website is an opportunity for hotels to speak directly to the customer. In other words, you can keep things more personal or conversational and “speak their language” in order to establish a relationship with potential customers.
Features – Why might customers choose your hotel over any other? Having a dedicated website enables you to outline the most attractive features that set you apart from any other hotel. As you know, booking engines rarely take time to highlight these aspects in the way that they probably should.
SEO – Search engine optimization is essential for long term success and hotel digital marketing will increasingly rely on this effort to produce valuable information for the end user. With your own website, you can improve keywords and social media links to booking search rankings and over time, this can reduce a hotel’s dependence on such engines.
Content marketing seems all the rage right now but there is good reason for this focus. In other words, content is the best way to drive sustainable traffic to hotel listings and creating this content is undoubtedly the most effective strategy.
As a rule, there are two forms of content – images and descriptions:
Images
You need a professional photographer for a hotel website and anything less just won’t do. High quality images tell a story and professional photographers know how to capture this story in every shot. When you think about it, these images are the face of your brand and every booking engine will also use these photographs so it makes sense to put time, effort, and money into making the right first impression.
Descriptions
Whether the hotel breakfast is the stuff of legend or each bedroom offers picturesque views from the balcony, you need broadcast these details loud and clear. Luxury bedding, friendly staff, and saunas are all features that you are likely proud of and that needs to be communicated to potential guests.
Simply put, your guests won’t know what you don’t tell them and these features are what most people think about when it comes to choosing the best option for an upcoming stay.
3. Meta-search marketing
Did you know that more than 70% of hotel bookings come from online travel agencies (OTA) like Kayak, Priceline, or Expedia? It’s true, and meta search marketing is the best way to increase the number of direct bookings on your hotel website. In fact, using a meta search strategy for hotel digital marketing can drastically reduce the need for these OTAs and allow the hotel to create a much more powerful sales funnel.
More than 70% of hotel bookings come from online travel agencies (OTA) like Kayak, Priceline, or Expedia.CLICK TO TWEET
Just so you know, meta-search marketing filters the availability and rates from hotels and shows these results in one central place. Example, you go to expedia.com and type in Chicago hotels. You get to see all hotels listed on Expedia for Chicago. For this reason, a hotel can set regular advertising campaigns and use click-based ads to expose their weekly or monthly deals to millions of online users.
At the same time, attaining positive reviews and social signals is just as important for this process, so hotels should frequently remind guests to leave reviews or positive comments about their experience.
4. Manage all online reviews & reputation
As you may know, Tripadvisor has come under scrutiny in recent years due to fake reviews and rather sinister activities – and has also viciously retaliated against offenders which has resulted in indictments and prison time.
However, reputation is everything in the hotel industry and online reviews are still the only way to gain an independent insight into a hotel experience.
While hundreds of five star reviews will inevitably result in further sales, even one bad review can severely damage the reputation of a hotel.
For this reason, it’s important to ask customers for positive reviews and leave reminders of this request at every turn. You should also share these positive reviews on social media and take time to respond with appreciation for these reviews, demonstrating your attention.
Finally, responding to negative reviews is equally important for online reputation management. That is to say, this is your chance to apologize and improve, and alleviate any concerns that these review might pose to future guests.
5. SEO for hotel digital marketing
Hotel digital marketing is largely dependent on SEO and this can be split into two categories – on-site and off-site SEO. While on-site SEO is a lot faster and easier to implement, it should be known that off-site SEO is often the most effective way to gain traction online.
On-site SEO – On-site SEO refers to how you can optimize elements on a hotel website to increase online visibility. You can use this strategy to improve pages, posts, images, and even the structure of the website. However, keyword strategy is arguably the most important aspect of on-site SEO and this can dramatically improve the amount of traction and visitors a hotel website will receive.
Off-site SEO – Off-site SEO is a process that most often involves building external backlinks to a hotel website from other online resources and directories. Social shares signals also count toward this effort but guest posts, sponsored posts, and referrals are some of the most common ways to improve off-site SEO.
6. Focus on local SEO
Any type of SEO is a good thing but local SEO can produce immediate results for a hotel website. While many people assume local SEO merely tends to optimizing images, descriptions, tags, or titles on a website, there is much more to this process.
For example, Yelp, Tripadvisor, and other listing websites hold important information about your website.
You can start your local SEO efforts by optimizing and improving the details on these listings. Also, Google My Business is increasingly effective in terms of ranking for local search queries and you should ensure every aspect of this profile is complete to take advantage of this opportunity.
On the other hand, you can also focus on local content and create posts or videos about activities, events or attractions in the nearby area. With this in mind, local SEO can help give your hotel website a greater sense of relevance for search queries and this authority is essential for hotel digital marketing.
Any type of SEO is a good thing but local SEO can produce immediate results for a hotel website.CLICK TO TWEET
7. How do hotels promote on social media?
Many hotel owners forget that Facebook is still the king of social media and the ultimate machine for driving hotel digital marketing.
Positive reviews – If you think about it, the review sections is placed right at the top of a Facebook page but many hotels seem to ignore this feature entirely. Whether you have a stack of reviews on Tripadvisor or elsewhere, positive reviews on this section will instill confidence and trust in potential guests.
Facebook sales – Facebook now enables business owners to take bookings and even payments through the platform. In fact, Trivago recently awarded a resort in Mexico for their outstanding social media campaigns which resulted in an especially large number of direct bookings via Facebook.
Twitter – Although often overlooked for Instagram or Facebook, Twitter is a fantastic tool for reaching a very specific target market. Trivago also awarded Cedar Manor in the UK for how the hotel manages to drive so much traffic by using hashtags to highlight events, news, and attractions in the local area.
Instagram – Needless to say, Instagram offers hotels the opportunity to reach an incredibly big market and with the right images, this is another obvious way to demonstrate the high quality of the hotel.
People – On the other hand, social media is all about the people and some of the best hotel digital marketing strategies are those which involve the staff and people behind the hotel. After all, stories are incredibly effective in content marketing and telling stories about the staff is a great way to create a meaningful relationship between the hotel and potential guests.
8. Social listening for hotels
In case you might be asking yourself, social listening refers to the hotel digital marketing strategy that uses trackers and tools to alert the business about mentions online.
But why is this important?
Well, this is your chance to interact with guests and show future customers how much you care. At the same time, you cannot respond to what you do not know about and the following platforms can help businesses know when they receive a mention in the online world:
Hootsuite – Although many people use Hootsuite to automate social media posts, you can also use the dashboard to check for mentions on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and most major platforms.
Curalate – Curalate is all about improving the selling process for hotels and this platform enables you to connect social media content to your website, while checking for mentions in the process.
Sprout Social – Forming meaningful connections with guests is highly important for a hotel and Sprout Social offers many solutions which can pinpoint interactions online relating to your brand.
Buzzsumo – BuzzSumo is fantastic monitoring tool which helps you find content on social media relating to your hotel. In fact, you can even enter the domain and links should appear instantaneously.
9. Try out Facebook’s Dynamic Ads for hotels
In case you might be asking yourself, Facebook Ads are far from “dead” and many businesses continue to focus the majority of their marketing budget on this avenue. In fact, Wish is now one of the largest e-commerce stores in the world with five million users and this platform was built almost entirely using Facebook Ads over the past few years.
Travel Ads is a new initiative which allows hotels to show their ads across Facebook and instagram to people who are most likely to travel. For example, if a user is browsing hotels and yet to make a booking, travel ads will place your hotel in front of them for specific dates and prices.
As far as hotel digital marketing goes, Facebook’s Dynamic Ads is certainly one of the most exciting strategies to reach the industry in recent years.
10. Email marketing for hotels
Email marketing is increasingly important in the hotel industry and this is especially true at a time when ads and social media marketing is so common. At the same time, this is also still one of the most affordable ways to reach an audience and one that requires no upfront cost.
However, it’s important to take the right approach for hotel digital marketing and here are just three of several important considerations to keep in mind:
Segmentation – You cannot start an email marketing campaign without a robust plan and defining your audience is extremely important to ensure your emails land in the right place. In other words, you cannot just send everyone the same email and expect success, and your database must be divided into categories of interest.
Grab attention – It should go without saying but generic content has no place in email marketing and you will need to use deals, discounts, or information about local events to grab the attention of your ideal users. Either way, there simply must be genuine and unique value in the email to have any impact.
Nurture respect – You should really treat your customers like royalty and seek to create a meaningful relationship that will make them want to open your emails in the first place. You should also welcome feedback from these emails and try to establish precisely what the customer wants to hear from you.
Needless to say, these are just a few things to keep in mind but the overall message here is that email marketing is effective when you take the right approach.
11. Have remarketing enabled online (Do NOT ignore this strategy!)
Hotel remarketing is a process that helps hotels engage with potential customers that may have visited the hotel website and abandoned their search. That is to say, you can use this strategy to get these users to revisit the website and make a purchase at the second time of asking. If you think about it, this is extremely effective because you already know that the user is ready to make a purchase.
But how can you use remarking as part of your hotel digital marketing strategy?
Remarketing ads will simply target previous users with discounts or deals to re-engage these customers.
In this sense, your ad will pop up in the users newsfeed and tempt them with an improved offer. As a rule, it’s important for this campaign to offer a lot of value and the right keywords need to be used to reach the largest possible audience.
Keep in mind, it’s just as important to be subtle rather than “in your face” and the value on offer should hopefully be enough to entice this customer to book the hotel.
12. Emerging technologies
New technologies are proving extremely powerful for the hotel industry with chatbots in particular making a significant impact. As you may know, chatbots are created by developers and have various functions which enhance the performance and user experience on a website.
There are two types of chat bots that can be used for hotel digital marketing – chatbots for the hotel website and chat bots for the hotel room via Alexa.
For many people, they will know that chat bots can successfully engage with customers via messenger and extract critical data that can be used to follow up later on by the hotel.
On the other hand, voice-enabled devices can use Alexa to improve the hotel experience and provide valuable assistance to guests, just like the Amazon Echo does in the kitchen.
Final thoughts
As you can see, hotel digital marketing is a vast topic but the above tips are some of the most practical strategies and solutions for getting ahead in the industry.
While some methods require financial investment, much of this process is down to knowledge or experience, and having a solid marketing plan is usually enough to ensure your hotel is improving at every turn and moving in the right direction.