by Areti Vassou
A content strategy plan for hotels should include a clear understanding of the hotel’s target audience, messaging, and brand identity. Hire a professional Content Strategist if you want results and more bookings.
A Content Strategist will identify, in the early stages, which types of content should be created, when and what blog posts will cultivate the hotel’s brand voice, which social media channels are useful, and what kind of updates are converting promo actions. Only professionals know the value of a well-structured plan and why it is crucial to outline a content calendar and establish goals for engagement and conversion for a long period of time.
It’s important to create content that provides value to the audience, whether it’s tips for travelers or insider information about the local area. Additionally, incorporating user-generated content and reviews can help build trust with potential guests. The goal is to create a cohesive and engaging content experience supporting the hotel’s business objectives.
In order to increase their bookings, hotel owners should invest in sophisticated content strategy plans combined with focused digital marketing actions.
First, it should clearly define the hotel’s target audience and create content that resonates with their interests and needs. Second, it should leverage social media platforms to showcase the hotel’s unique selling points, such as location, amenities, and customer service. Third, it should provide valuable information to potential guests, such as local attractions, events, and dining options. Fourth, it should regularly update its website with fresh and relevant content to improve search engine visibility and attract new visitors. Finally, it should encourage user-generated content, such as guest reviews and testimonials, to build trust and credibility with potential guests.
By incorporating these key elements into their content strategy plan, hotels can attract and retain more customers, increase their brand awareness, and ultimately grow their business. It should include the following key elements:
- Audience research: The first step in creating a content strategy plan for hotels is to conduct audience research. This includes understanding the target audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviors, as well as their motivations for choosing a hotel.
- Unique Selling Points: Hotels need to identify their unique selling points to stand out from the competition. This could be anything from luxurious amenities, exclusive locations, unique experiences, or exceptional service.
- Keyword Research: Keyword research is crucial for creating optimized content for search engines. By understanding the keywords your target audience is using, hotels can create content that is more likely to appear in search results when potential customers are searching for hotels.
- Content creation: Hotels should create content that appeals to their target audience. This could include blog posts, social media updates, videos, infographics, and more. The content should be engaging, informative, and highlight the unique selling points of the hotel.
- Consistency: A consistent content strategy plan is essential for attracting and retaining customers. Hotels should create a content calendar that outlines the frequency and type of content they will publish.
- Promotion: Hotels should promote their content on social media, email marketing, and other digital channels to reach a wider audience. They can also collaborate with influencers or local businesses to increase exposure.
- Measurement and optimization: Measuring the success of a content strategy plan is essential to make improvements and increase its effectiveness. Hotels should track metrics such as website traffic, engagement, and bookings to identify areas of improvement and make changes as needed.
Audience Research for Hotels
Audience research for hotels involves gathering information about the target audience or potential guests of a hotel. This research can help hotel management better understand their guests, their preferences, and their needs, which can help them tailor their services and marketing strategies to better meet those needs.
Surveys are a great way to gather information about your target audience. You can create a survey using tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms and distribute it to your target audience via email, social media, or on your website. The survey should include questions about their travel habits, preferred hotel amenities, reasons for choosing a hotel, and any other information you think would be relevant.
Online reviews can provide valuable insights into what your target audience is looking for in a hotel. Look for patterns in the reviews, such as common complaints or praises, and use this information to improve your hotel’s offerings. Social media is a great way to see what your target audience is talking about when it comes to travel and hotels. Follow relevant hashtags and monitor conversations to gain insights into what your target audience is looking for in a hotel.
Make it a priority to study all incoming data. Use tools like Google Analytics to track your website traffic and see where your audience is coming from, what pages they are visiting, and how long they are staying on your site. This information can help you optimize your website and create targeted marketing campaigns. Track industry reports such as those published by official hospitality research firms. They can provide valuable insights into the hotel market and trends. Use this information to better understand your target audience and develop effective marketing strategies.
Also, focus groups can provide more in-depth insights into your target audience’s opinions and preferences. Invite a group of people who fit your target audience criteria to participate in a discussion about hotels and travel. Ask questions and encourage participants to share their thoughts and opinions.
Identify Hotels Unique Selling Points
It’s important for hotels to identify their unique selling points in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors and attract more guests. A unique selling point, or USP, is a feature or characteristic that sets a product or service apart from its competitors and makes it more attractive to potential customers. In the case of hotels, USPs might include things like:
- Location: Is the hotel located in a particularly scenic or convenient area?
- Amenities: Does the hotel offer unique amenities such as a rooftop pool or a spa?
- Room features: Does the hotel offer particularly spacious or luxurious rooms?
- Service: Does the hotel offer exceptional customer service or unique experiences?
- Sustainability: Does the hotel have sustainable practices or eco-friendly initiatives?
Identifying and highlighting a hotel’s unique selling points can help it stand out in a crowded market and attract more bookings. It’s important for hotels to understand what sets them apart from their competitors and communicate that to potential guests through their marketing and branding efforts.
Keyword Research for Hotels
Keyword research for hotels involves identifying and analyzing the search terms that people use when looking for hotel accommodations. By understanding the keywords that potential customers use, hotels can optimize their website and content to improve their search engine rankings and attract more qualified traffic. You can follow these steps to conduct keyword research:
Identify the main topics related to your hotel. These may include location, amenities, room types, and nearby attractions. Use a keyword research tool to generate a list of relevant keywords. Some popular tools include Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs. Analyze the search volume and competition level of each keyword. Search volume refers to how often a keyword is searched, while competition level refers to how difficult it is to rank for that keyword.
Focus on long-tail keywords that are specific to your hotel and have a lower competition level. For example, instead of targeting the keyword “hotels in New York City,” you could target “luxury boutique hotels in downtown Manhattan.” Incorporate the chosen keywords into your website content, including page titles, meta descriptions, and headers.
Monitor your website’s search engine rankings and adjust your keyword strategy as necessary to improve your visibility and attract more qualified traffic. It’s important to note that effective keyword research is an ongoing process, and hotels should regularly review and update their keyword strategy based on changes in search trends and customer behavior.
50 Top Keywords for Hotels
- Accommodation
- Amenities
- Availability
- Booking
- Check-in
- Check-out
- Comfort
- Concierge
- Customer service
- Destination
- Discounts
- Family-friendly
- Free Wi-Fi
- Guest rooms
- Hospitality
- Hotel deals
- Location
- Luxury
- Meeting facilities
- Online booking
- Pet-friendly
- Price
- Reservation
- Restaurant
- Reviews
- Room service
- Safety
- Shuttle service
- Spa
- Special offers
- Swimming pool
- Tourist attractions
- Travel
- Value
- Wedding venues
- Wellness
- Airport transfer
- All-inclusive
- Bed and breakfast
- Boutique
- Business travel
- Casino
- Conference facilities
- Eco-friendly
- Executive rooms
- Golf course
- Honeymoon
- Jacuzzi
- Romantic
- Ski resort
Invest in High-Quality Content
Yes, hotels should create high-quality content to attract and retain customers. In today’s digital age, where most people plan their trips and book hotels online, having engaging and informative content can make all the difference in attracting potential customers and convincing them to choose your hotel over others.
Creating high-quality content, such as well-written descriptions of rooms and amenities, eye-catching photos and videos, informative blog posts, and engaging social media posts, can help hotels showcase their unique offerings and create an emotional connection with their audience. It can also help hotels establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry by sharing useful information about local attractions, events, and culture.
In addition to attracting new customers, high-quality content can also help hotels retain existing customers by keeping them engaged and informed about upcoming promotions, events, and other updates. This can help build customer loyalty and increase the likelihood of repeat business. In other words, creating high-quality content is essential for hotels that want to stay competitive in today’s digital landscape and build lasting relationships with their customers.
Consistent Hotel Content Strategy Attracts New Clients
All Content Strategists and Branding Experts agree on that point: Having a consistent content strategy plan is crucial for attracting and retaining customers. A content strategy plan outlines the approach and objectives for creating and distributing content that resonates with your target audience. Here are a few reasons why a consistent content strategy plan is essential:
It is the core of building brand awareness. Consistent content creation and distribution help establish your brand as an authority in your industry. It allows you to showcase your expertise, share your unique perspective, and differentiate your hotel brand from competitors.
If you want to improve search engine ranking then choose consistency. High-quality, informative content helps improve your website’s search engine ranking. When you consistently create and distribute valuable content, you increase your website’s visibility, making it easier for potential clients to find you.
Is anyone out there that will disagree with the fact that consistency establishes trust and credibility? Potential clients and guests are more likely to book their next stay from a hotel/brand they trust. By consistently creating and distributing informative and valuable content, you establish trust with your target audience, making it more likely that they will choose your hotel over competitors.
It is the best way to encourage customer engagement. Yes, consistent content creation encourages customer engagement, providing a safe channel for them to ask questions, share feedback, and start conversations. This engagement can help you build a loyal customer base.
Content Promotion is a Must-Do
Hotels should promote their content on social media, email marketing, and other digital channels for several reasons. All these promo actions can help hotels to reach new audiences, build brand awareness, engage with potential guests, increase direct bookings, and do so in a cost-effective way while enabling measurement of performance.
The most important reason is that they can easily reach a wider audience. Social media and other digital channels have billions of users, and promoting your hotel’s content on these platforms can help you reach a much wider audience than you could through traditional marketing methods. As a result of that, a clear branding identity will emerge and increase the visibility of your hotel among potential guests.
Engaging with potential guests will eventually set the right dynamic and attract the attention your hotel needs. Social media and other digital channels provide a platform for hotels to engage with potential guests and build relationships with them. By responding to comments and messages, hotels can demonstrate their commitment to customer service and create a more personal connection with their audience.
All the aforementioned practices increase direct bookings. Committing a significant budget to promote your hotel’s content on digital channels can drive traffic to your website, increasing the chances of direct bookings from potential guests. Compared to traditional advertising methods, promoting content on social media and other digital channels is often more cost-effective. Many platforms offer free or low-cost options for promoting content, making it accessible to hotels with a range of marketing budgets. Also, digital channels offer the ability to track and measure the performance of your promotions, allowing hotels to adjust their strategies and optimize their efforts for maximum impact.
Start Measuring Everything
Measuring the success of a hotel’s content strategy plan is essential for optimizing performance, identifying areas of improvement, and staying competitive in a crowded market.
Measuring the success of a content strategy plan helps hotel managers to evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts. By analyzing metrics such as website traffic, engagement, and conversion rates, they can determine whether their content is resonating with their target audience and driving the desired actions.
It is clear that measuring your content strategy makes it easier to identify areas of improvement. By identifying which pieces of content are performing well and which ones are not, you can make informed decisions about what content to produce in the future and how to optimize the existing content.
Pay attention to the results if you want to allocate resources effectively. Read the results of each action and clarify which channels and tactics are driving the most engagement and conversions. It is the only way if you want to know where to invest more time and money and where you should spend less.
Knowing where you stand against competitors it is crucial for your hotel business growth. So, your hotel’s content strategy plan can be the stepping stone for hotel managers to benchmark their performance against competitors. By analyzing metrics such as search engine rankings, social media followers, and engagement rates, they can see how they stack up against their competitors and identify areas where they need to improve.
Who Creates Hotel Content Strategy Plans
Most of the time, hotel content strategy plans can be created by a variety of individuals or teams depending on the size and structure of the hotel. Typically, it is the responsibility of the marketing department or a specific content marketing team within the hotel. This team may include a content strategist, a digital marketer, a copywriter, a social media manager, and/or a graphic designer.
The plan may also involve input from other departments such as sales, revenue management, and guest services to ensure that the content strategy aligns with the hotel’s overall business goals and objectives. Ultimately, the hotel’s leadership team is responsible for approving and implementing the content strategy plan.
Steps of Prioritization for a Succesful Hotel Content Strategy Plan
Research and Analysis
In this stage, the hotel needs to conduct a thorough analysis of its target audience, including their demographics, interests, behaviors, and preferences. The hotel should also analyze its competitors and industry trends to identify gaps in its content strategy and develop a unique value proposition.
Planning and Strategy
After conducting research, the hotel needs to develop a comprehensive content strategy that aligns with its business goals and objectives. This stage involves defining the hotel’s unique selling proposition, creating a content calendar, and establishing KPIs and metrics to measure the success of the content strategy.
Content Creation and Optimization
Once the strategy is in place, the hotel needs to focus on creating high-quality content that engages and resonates with its target audience. This stage includes developing various types of content, such as blog posts, social media content, videos, and infographics, and optimizing them for search engines and social media platforms.
Distribution and Promotion
In the final stage, the hotel needs to distribute its content to the right channels and promote it effectively. This stage involves leveraging social media, email marketing, and other channels to reach the target audience and generate traffic to the hotel’s website. The hotel should also track and analyze the results of its content strategy to identify areas for improvement and refine its approach.
Professional Hotel Content Strategy Makes a Big Difference
Hotel owners have too many balls in the air all year long. This detailed article explains step by step how to create an effective Content Strategy for Hotels, accompanied by a professional Content Calendar. Read, apply, and download the content calendar.
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