Innovative & Effective Content Marketing In The Hospitality Industry
A group of entrepreneurs who graduated from Florida International University recently made headlines when they co-founded a startup focused on helping Miami’s restaurants deal with the fallout of the pandemic. Analyst Rodriguez Amaro told FUI News that the team conducted 200 interviews with restaurant owners, delivery drivers and customers. From there, they analyzed each restaurant they worked with before creating content, social media strategies, branding awareness, influencer campaigns, PR, and web development and management. Their success thus far is a testament to the power of innovative content marketing in the hospitality industry, and their story is one that can inspire the wider hospitality industry, including hotels.
Know And Understand Your Audience
Restaurants and hoteliers can start gaining an idea of their ideal customer by answering the following questions: 1. What is the typical customer’s gender and age? 2. Why do they visit the establishment? 3. Do they visit alone or with family and/or friends? 4. Why do they choose your establishment over your competitors? 5. What problems do you solve for them? The answers to these questions will give hoteliers and restaurants a better idea of potential content themes and types to invest in for a variety of channels, and to create an effective marketing strategy.
Use Analytics And Performance Metrics
Once hoteliers start producing content, they should hone it by learning what their customers want. Not doing so could result in their content marketing strategy flatlining. According to Proven Partners, one of the easiest ways for hoteliers to obtain consumer data that’s helpful in this regard is to check analytics and performance metrics for their brands’ blog posts, videos, and other content. Identifying the content that has received the most traction and led to conversions will allow them to expand on concepts that work. Hoteliers should also use the Google Ads Keyword Planner as it’s exceptionally useful for SEO content writing. Effective search engine optimization with high search volume keywords improves your content’s chances of achieving a higher ranking in search engine results. Leaders in hospitality also rely on the services of professional content strategists in order to achieve success; in other words, they know and can attest to the value of quality SEO content writing which boosts online traffic and therefore attracts customers.
Maintain Consistency In Content
When hoteliers have a better idea about engaging content that leads to conversion, they must ensure that they maintain a level of consistency. 15Below reports that consistency can increase revenue by as much as 23%. Again, knowing what provides the greatest ROI allows hoteliers to focus on creating content that works. If they have additional content, they can incorporate it into their content pipeline for the months ahead. There will be some trial and error involved, but once hoteliers know what works, they can start creating content and use it to build up a bank that covers the coming 90 days.
Be Innovative
According to Cvent, several hotels in various locations have provided shining examples of innovative content marketing. UK-based the Pig hotel, known for its kitchen gardens, turned its food and beverage offering into exciting content marketing. The hotel created a 10-chapter cookbook that also includes inspiration for interiors and gardening tips, and then created a webpage dedicated to the book, complete with images and quotes from hotel employees.
US-based Kimpton Hotels and Omni Hotels and Resorts have created helpful, detailed blogs that cover lifestyle and travel topics, while Austria’s Boutiquehotel Stadthalle, a green hotel, created a blog focused on sustainability and green living. Marriott International uses podcasts as part of their content marketing strategy. One of those podcasts, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler’s Behind the Design, touches on the creative decisions that went into the hotel’s décor.
Effective content marketing is within reach of all hoteliers. The trick is to take a considered approach, think out of the box, and maintain consistency to engage audiences.
About the Author
Jane Sandwood is a freelance writer and editor who spent over 10 years in digital marketing. She has written for both digital and print across a wide variety of fields. When she isn’t writing, Jane can often be found with her nose in a good book, at the gym or just spending quality time with her family.