Web Marketing Trends to Look Out For in the Hospitality Industry in 2018!
Like
many other industries, the hospitality and hotel industry needs to adapt to the
digital age if it wants to remain successful in a competitive and overcrowded
marketplace. To remain competitive means being well versed with the latest web
marketing trends, which is why we present these important digital marketing
trends to watch out for in the hospitality industry:
Maximise Local SEO
Local
SEO or search engine optimisation is the key to successful web marketing in the hospitality industry.
This trend will further increase in importance as 2018 advances. For example,
your hotel needs to figure in relevant local results. If the customer is
searching for hotels in London, for example, and you are a Kensington Square
hotel, you need to get to the top of the rankings to maximise your customer
base. Maximising your local SEO gives your hospitality establishment greater
visibility and brand awareness.
Examples
of local SEO opportunities for hotels include Yelp, Tripadvisor and Google My
Business. Large online travel agents can also help hospitality industries and
companies to cash in on local SEO opportunities. It is important to remember
that SEO takes time and you need to invest in multiple search marketing
channels.
#2 Mobile Marketing Rules
For
web marketing trends in a mobile-first era, nothing beats a responsive, mobile
friendly website. With smartphone users increasing to the tune of billions each
year, a lot of people are now using mobile phones to search and book hotel
stays or restaurant dinners. According to ABTA, Holiday habits report, 2017,
bookings on mobile devices shot up from 13 to 20 percent in 12 months only,
while desktop bookings fell by an astounding 13 percent.
So,
for the hotel industry, nothing matters more than making your website available
to as many mobile users as possible to increase potential booking. Responsive
sites can be accessed through any smart device, in fact. This will greatly
boost the accessibility of your hospitality business.
#3 Content is King
For
hoteliers, customer is king. But for hospitality marketing experts, content
marketing is critical. Content marketing is the creation and sharing of online
materials like blogs, videos and social media posts that stimulate interest in
your product. For example, if you own a hotel in Beijing, you could write about
sightseeing in China and Beijing specifically. Include CTA or calls to action
for booking so customers can join in.
#4 Go Social
With
42 million active social media users in UK alone in 2017 according to Statista,
being present on social media channels or having social sharing buttons on your
site is critical. By having a strong social media strategy in place, your hotel
or eatery can build engagement, create brand awareness and target new
customers. Many different social media channels are there. Monitoring and
responding to guest reviews and feedbacks should also be part of your social
media marketing strategy, if you are into hotel marketing.
There
are many other tech trends, like AI, machine learning, chatbots, AR, VR and
hyper personalisation that are slowly making their way into the hotel industry.
If you want your hospitality establishment to succeed, follow these essential
and basic trends to give your business a boost in 2018.