Influencer marketing may not be just a passing trend for hotels. Consumers enjoy the convenience of logging into their social media accounts and getting personal recommendations from their friends, family, and social media celebrities. Hotels should take advantage of such trends so that they can remain relevant. Given below are some creative ways by which influencer marketing can be utilized to promote hotels.
Look for the right influencer
For hotels, an influencer who can take great photos will be a great choice. Certain things should also be kept in mind while choosing an influencer, for instance the short-term and the long-term goals. A hotel may be looking for more brand awareness or may want to reposition itself. It might also want more engagement. If a hotel wants more engagement, then an influencer with high engagement rates might be the right choice. The content of the influencer chosen should also resonate with the target audience. For instance, a luxury resort should collaborate with influencers who post content on once-in-a-lifetime destinations for their audience. If the influencer does not reply to comments or post authentic content they may not be the right fit for a hotel.
Be transparent while developing a campaign
A hotel should make it clear at the onset what it expects the influencer to do for its brand. Transparency is essential. Details about a promotional campaign should be discussed before it is launched. If a hotel wants an influencer to promote restaurants, spas, or other amenities in its premises, it can offer discounted meals or services at those amenities so that everything that a hotel has to offer is promoted by the influencer.
Host an influencer event
Hosting an event with hundreds of influencers is a good idea. Such events can include open bars for participants and can announce prizes. The prize can be a complimentary hotel stay. Branded backdrops with participants clicking photos in front of it can also be used as promotional content. There can be many different ways to showcase what a hotel wants to showcase.
Drive engagement
When influencers know how to take good photos, they know what their followers want to see. It is still a good idea to specify the types of images that a hotel would want influencers to post. For instance, creative photos of influencers with their friends would help to promote hotels. For instance, Starwood Resorts collaborated with Instagram followers to promote their properties in Paris. The influencers would share posts on their experiences at the properties. Whenever someone liked the posts, that person would get an email which included booking information. People could also book directly through the posts of the influencers. This helped Starwood Resorts to gain thousands of followers on their social media accounts. Hashtags can also be used in posts so that the success of a promotional campaign can be tracked. Sun Peaks, a ski resort in British Columbia partnered successfully with influencers to target adventurous travelers.
