Gina Gradley
Did you know that 61% of people booked a hotel after seeing it pop up on their social media feed? For today’s traveler, that perfect photo opportunity is make or break when it comes to booking their next trip.
Social media is now a key part of a consumer’s buying process, with the research stage influencing decisions more than ever before. As much as 42% of consumers say social media influences what and where they’re buying.
Enter Instagram. The video and photo sharing social media boasts over 800 million active monthly users worldwide, of which 20 million come from the UK alone. With such a huge audience of potential bookers, it’s clear that Instagram needs to form a clear part of any hotelier’s marketing strategy.
Before we dive in, be sure to visit our ultimate guide to hotel marketing to access an all-encompassing rundown of hotel marketing trends, data points, and insights.
What is Instagrammability?
“Instagrammability” refers to how worthy a photo or video is of being shared on Instagram. A study of over 1,000 millennials in the UK showed 40% cite choosing a hotel based on its Instagrammability. This factor ranked higher than any other during the decision stage, including sightseeing or sampling the local cuisine.
Of Instagram’s active users, 500 million are posting stories every day. Brands that feature as part of this can benefit from hundreds or thousands of new brand advocates, interacting and talking about their products worldwide.
How can hotels take advantage of Instagrammability?
83% of travelers book a hotel after seeing images from one of their followers on social media.
The moment your property becomes Instagrammable in the eye of the traveler, a world of opportunity opens. Think long-term and big picture: the end goal is to increase your bookings. When your hotel guests take the time to create an Instagram post about your property, they are further exposing your brand among like-minded followers. That means they are helping you drive awareness and visibility through word of mouth and referrals, with no additional cost to you.
Ways To Market Your Hotel On Instagram
Consider the following when thinking about how to up your hotel’s Instagram appeal:
- What do guests like about your property? If you know that your food or your location often gets good reviews, how can you encourage them to share this?
- How is your target audience browsing Instagram? Look at their behavior and make sure you’re using the same hashtags they are to help raise your visibility
- How are your competitors performing in this area? Search for hashtags, locations, posts, and tagged photos to get a better picture of what they might already be doing
In the U.S., 78% of millennials prefer to purchase experiences.
Research shows that brands with a stronger focus on the experience come out top. For some hotels, this means taking advantage of their unique selling points, like landmark views, infinity pools or sunset dinners. And if not, it’s as simple as thinking about a few additional touches, such as live music, samples of local cuisine or even really good lighting.
82% of travellers say that Instagram has an influence on their travel planning.
Partnering with influencers can help you increase exposure of your property and your brand through social media channels. If you can get influencers to post stories of your property, it’s a win-win way to appeal to a wider audience of potential guests and have them clamouring for the opportunity to post similar content on their own profiles.
29% of media time is now spent on smartphones.
It comes as no surprise that mobile is a clear driver behind this trend, with more people turning to mobile every day as their preferred channel for search. 50% of traffic to hotel websites now comes from mobile, so it’s more important than ever to make sure your hotel is easily found.
- Find out what percentage of your guests booked through mobile in the past year
- What sites are your guests booking through on their phones? Can you increase your advertising spend on these pages to drive more direct traffic to your website?
When you know what makes your guests give out those double taps, weave this into your Instagram and social media strategy, and you are one step closer to making the trending dream of Instagrammability come true.
