Do you own a hotel? If so, you’ve probably taken a hit thanks to the pandemic. With most people not traveling and staying indoors, how do you improve your marketing game so that you can get lots of customers when COVID is over?
The answer is to find hotel marketing strategies that work during the pandemic and then pivot.
Here’s everything you need to know about hotel digital marketing and SEO for hotels.
- Search Engine Optimization
One of the easiest ways to sell anything these days is through search engine optimization or SEO. This is the process of ranking your website so that it hits number one or two on Google for certain keywords.
Improving your hotel SEO has never been more important in this COVID world where we are all spending more and more time at home.
To do this, hire an expert in hotel SEO who knows what they are doing and understands Google’s algorithm.
Things that go into great SEO include creating a site with short loading times. It must also be accessible to people with disabilities.
Your backlinks are also important, so make sure to get your website cited in other reliable websites across the internet.
- Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is vital to the success of any story. You must create a buzz around your brand so that people are excited about it. You don’t want to be in a position where you have a really great hotel and concept but nobody knows about it.
Be sure to give your guests bookmarks and other merchandise to shout about your hotel.
Hire some lifestyle bloggers to write pieces on your hotel and help you with your own website content. You can also tell your friends and family. Word of mouth combined with SEO for hotels is a winning formula.
- Influencers
Influencers on platforms like Instagram are really important to get the word out about a hotel, particularly during a pandemic when most people are stuck at home on their own with nothing to do.
Don’t blindly pitch or offer free stays to the first Instagram influencer who comes along. Find out whose feed you like and that you think chimes with the feel of the hotel that you are trying to create.
Make sure to support them as well, and be sure to share their stories and posts on the official hotel Instagram account, as well as in your hotel email marketing campaign.
Hotel Marketing Strategies Are Important During the Pandemic
The pandemic is a huge test for hotels and the whole travel industry. The hotels that pull through are the ones that have the resilience and the understanding necessary to survive.
You need to build a great marketing strategy online so that when the pandemic is open, you will have customers waiting and excited to book rooms.
If you are interested in learning more about hotel marketing strategies, be sure to check out the rest of our site. You’ll find tons of other great guides and tips.