March 2023 - ThisRapt || Hospitality Marketing

Month: March 2023

Why Local SEO Is Important For Your Hospitality Business?

Posted on by smit@thisrapt.com

Hospitality businesses rely heavily on local customers to keep their doors open. Whether you’re the owner of a hotel, a restaurant, or a tourist attraction, you must ensure your business is visible in your local market. That’s where ThisRapt Hospitality Marketing comes in. Local SEO effectively ensures your business stands out from the competition and attracts new customers. In this blog post, we’ll explore why local SEO is so important for hospitality businesses and how you can use it to make sure your business is seen by the people who matter most: prospective guests and customers.

What is local SEO?

As the name suggests, local SEO optimizes your online presence to attract more business from relevant local searches. It is an important part of any hospitality business’s marketing strategy, as it helps ensure that your property is being seen by potential guests actively searching for accommodations in your area.

Several factors contribute to an SEO for hotels campaign. Still, some important include optimizing your website for local search engines, creating and claiming listings on a popular directory and review sites, and building citations from high-quality websites. Additionally, it’s important to create content relevant to your local audience and promote your property as a destination for travellers.

If you want to improve your hospitality business’s visibility in local search results, contact ThisRapt Hospitality Marketing, which specializes in local SEO, for help getting started.

The benefits of local SEO for Hospitality businesses

There are many benefits of Local SEO for Hospitality businesses. Perhaps the most obvious benefit is to attract local customers. If your business is visible in local search results, potential customers in your area are more likely to find and visit your business. Local SEO for hotels can also help to build credibility and trust with potential customers. When your business appears in local search results, it shows that you are a relevant and trustworthy source of information or services for people in your area.

Another benefit of local SEO is that it can help you to stand out from the competition. With so many organizations in competition for attention online, appearing in local search results can give you a distinct advantage. Finally, local SEO can be an effective way to drive foot traffic to your business. If potential customers see your business listed when they search for relevant keywords, they may be more likely to visit your store or location.

How to Optimize Your Hospitality business for Local SEO

Local SEO is critical for any business that wants to be found online, but it’s especially important for businesses in the hospitality industry. Here are a few tips to help you optimize your website and online presence for local SEO:

• Make sure your website is up-to-date and accurate. Your website should include your current contact information, location, operation hours, and other relevant details.

• Claim and manage your business listings on major directory sites like Google Business Profile, Yelp, and TripAdvisor. These listings help improve your visibility in search results and can provide valuable customer feedback.

• Encourage customer reviews and testimonials. Positive reviews can help improve your rankings in search results and convince potential customers to choose your business over the competition.

• Invest in quality content. Your website’s content should be well-written, keyword-rich, and informative. Blog posts, photo galleries, and videos are all great ways to engage potential customers and show them what makes your business special.

• Promote special offers and discounts. Hospitality businesses often rely on repeat customers, so offering incentives to keep them coming back is important. Special offers and discounts are a great way to do this. Just be sure to promote them online!

By following these tips, you can ensure your hospitality business is well-positioned to succeed with local SEO.

What happens if you do not follow local SEO?

Local SEO is important for hospitality businesses for many reasons. One of those reasons is that it allows you to be found by people searching for what you offer in your local area. If you do not follow local SEO best practices, your business will likely not appear in search results, and potential customers will go to your competitors.

There are several things you can do to make sure you are following local SEO best practices. First, make sure your website is optimized for local search. This means including your city and state in your titles and meta descriptions and creating local landing pages with content targeted to searchers in your area.

And generate positive customer reviews and encourage them to post their feedback on popular review sites. These reviews will help improve your click-through rate from search results and ultimately lead to more business.

Local SEO Tips for Hospitality Businesses

Local SEO is critical for hospitality businesses that want to be found by potential customers in their area. Here are some tips to help you optimize your website for local search:

• Make sure your website is responsive and mobile-friendly.

• Use local keyword phrases in your title tags, meta descriptions, and content.

• Include your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on every page of your website.

• Claim your Google My Business listing and ensure your NAP information is accurate.

• Optimize your website for local search engine algorithms like Google’s Pigeon algorithm.

• Promote special deals and offers to target local customers on your website and social media channels.

• Encourage customer reviews and testimonials on popular review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor.

Conclusion

Local SEO for Hospitality is a powerful tool for any hospitality business. Using local SEO techniques provided by ThisRapt Hospitality Marketing, such as creating content that is tailored to your location, optimizing your website and listing information, making sure you are listed with all the major search engines, and utilizing social media channels can help you reach more customers in your area and build relationships with them. With these tips by us, you should have a better understanding of why local SEO is important for your hospitality business and how it can help you succeed.

Social Media Marketing for Hotels

Posted on by smit@thisrapt.com

Introduction

The domain of social media can be daunting. For first-timers, devising the right strategy for a butter-smooth social media can be a chaotic experience. In addition, the expenses act as the perfect cherry on top to make the ordeal all the more overwhelming. However, good things happen when you get out of your comfort, and the same goes for new-age marketing tactics.

Social media and the ensuing marketing are indispensable aspects of every industry, including hospitality and hotel management. With the world slowly becoming a global village, the benefits that hotels can reap from social media marketing are paramount and near infinite. For instance, 55 per cent of consumers learn about brands from social media. Thus, if you want to ace your hospitality social media marketing game and rope in the right people into your hotels all with the click of a mouse, read ahead!

Tips and Tricks for a Stalwart Social Media Marketing Strategy for Hotels in 2022

1. Algorithm Update and Cracking the Algorithm

Google regularly updates its ranking algorithms throughout the year to offer users a better search experience and more relevant search results. Such changes can affect the SEO performance of your hospitality social media marketing strategy. Although Google refurbishes its algorithm 500 to 600 times a year, most of these alterations are too minute to dramatically influence your digital marketing formula.

May 2022 Core Update – It was a broad core algorithm update that targeted content of all types and focused on E-A-T, that is, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

July 2022 Google Algorithm/Core Update – It was more of a refresh than a new overhaul. It pressed on the importance of video indexing, elucidating the surge in popularity of video content among audiences of diverse cohorts.

Such algorithm updates can drastically or subtly affect your social media marketing 2023 strategy. However, the right tactics, prompt decisions, and diligence can help swerve the changes effectively and crack the algorithm. How? By focusing on the quality of the content!

We all have heard the phrase, ‘content is king.’ The statement has unrivalled significance in today’s day and age. Your social media and digital marketing strategy should centre on the E-A-T rule. You have to generate content on social media, both short-form and long-form, which establish your expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness as a top-tier hotel.

Rather than churning out mass-produced content on whatever is ‘trendy’ on the top social media sites, such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Facebook, you should provide your audience with content they are looking for and care about! Your social media strategy should etch your name as a towering presence within the hospitality sector. Simply put, you should be equipped to turn both content produced in-house and by happy customers into SEO scoring machines by doing the proper legwork research on hashtags, keywords, and other SEO boosters that feel natural and organic to audiences.

2. Share Photos and Videos

Regarding hotel social media marketing for 2023, images and videos is your best friend. The Google Core Update of July 2022 had already illustrated the growing importance of visual content, including videos, as a way to crack the algorithm. As such, the best way to devise the right social media strategy for your hotel is to include images and videos skillfully. For instance, a recent study reveals that 2 out of 5 millennials assent that hotel and travel images on social media affect their booking.

The crux remains that consumers, nowadays, will not choose a hotel for their stay without adept ‘social proof.’ Apart from reviews, Google My Business Pages, Testimonials, and an excellent and swift website, a vibrant social media presence that reflects your hotel’s values and visions. So, take out the camera and click ‘aesthetic’ pictures that encapsulate your hotel’s beauty, authenticity, and ‘vibe.’ Some of the on-demand photos and videos that you can incorporate as part of your hotel marketing strategy for 2023 include the following –

• Images of your hotel’s interiors
• Images of your hotel’s exterior
• Images of fun activities in your hotel
• Images of guests
• Images of guests enjoying
• Image of the view from the window
• Images of neighbouring areas
• Behind-the-scenes videos of your staff preparing the hotel rooms for guests
• Videos introducing the hotel
• Short videos/reels on trends that are also relevant to your hotel
• Video of guests providing a testimonial about the hotel and their stay

3. Run Contest and Focus on Upcoming Holidays

The third way to devise a robust social media marketing strategy for your hotel is to hold content and focus on the upcoming holiday season. Needless to say, the hospitality industry has its peak season during Christmas, New Year, Fourth of July, and other similar occasions. Thus, you are responsible for co-opting such events and using them to ace your hotel marketing game. Some of the benefits of running a contest as a social media strategy include the following –

• Your Social Media Base Skyrockets – Contests, especially those premised around the holiday season, can bolster your social media base unlike anything else. For instance, if you hold a contest on Instagram, and 100 out of your 500 followers decide to like the post and share the post, a snowballing of events will start that will exponentially increase the engagement on your page.

• More Engagement = More Favors: The higher the engagement on any of your social media posts in the form of likes, comments, or shares, the greater the chances of you cracking the algorithm. Similar to Google’s algorithm that depends on activity, the algorithms of sites such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok favour accounts where audiences efficaciously engage. Thus, a contest can help you get a better engagement rate, which will compel the algorithm to show your post to more people.

Thus, hosting a contest or giveaway before the holiday season can be a great way to stay on top of the hotel marketing game in 2023.

4. Share Most Sold Vouchers to Have Direct Link

Last but not least, you can also share vouchers on your social media platform to have a direct link with your potential consumers. Vouchers are a great way to ignite the interest of people in your hotel and also have many of them book rooms. Posting links to vouchers is handy during the holiday or other peak seasons when you typically expect more guests. Make sure to distribute the link on your social media, such as Instagram, Facebook, TripAdvisor, Agoda, Twitter, TikTok, and more.

So, there we have it, the four best trips for top-tier hotel social media marketing in 2023.

How to create a strong and cohesive online presence for your hospitality business

Posted on by smit@thisrapt.com

Choosing a hotel for your vacation or tour is no longer decided by asking your friends and family. In today’s world, people want everything at their fingertips. You can also benefit from building an online presence for your hotels and motels if you are in the hospitality business.

According to studies, 81% of travellers research hotels online before booking. The hospitality industry must establish a strong online presence with the massive influx of social media into our lives. Bookings are increased, revenue is increased, and hotel promotions are promoted.

In the digital world, the hospitality industry requires a strong web presence for several reasons.

Stories with visuals

People tend to remember visuals more than words. It will be easier for customers to choose the hotel and room they desire if they have a beautiful visual view. Your customer will feel emotionally moved when you present bold images of your property. Consequently, it will increase the likelihood of booking and rebooking. By showing your hotel on your website, you can generate more customers for your hotel.

Online presence boosts customer’s trust

You can get reviews from previous clients if your business has a website, blog, and social media account. Your hotel will be more likely to attract new customers if you write a positive and truthful review. As a result, you can multiply your profits and customer rate.

Effortless Marketing

Most marketing problems can be solved using an online presence. Your hotel’s website can be searched by customers and provides all the information they need. It won’t cost you anything additional to market your services.

Online presence shows what works and what not

You will learn about your competitors and the current trends with an online presence in the digital world. Monitoring your website’s and social media metrics is also possible. This will reveal your popularity with your customers. You can always improve your posts if many people like them, and if they dislike them, you will know their tastes.

Keeping in touch with clients

An online presence can reach and connect potential and previous customers. This way, prospective customers can receive information in their language and according to their tastes at a low cost.

10 Steps To Create a Strong And Cohesive Online Presence

The internet is one of the most important aspects of modern marketing. However, advertising online can be a simple, thousand-dollar website. A cohesive and strong online presence can be achieved by following these 10 steps.

1. Build an email list

Create and grow an email list to build your online presence. You can engage with current and potential customers weekly, monthly, or daily with the help of an email list. By creating gated content, you can grow your email list. Your newsletter can also be promoted via a call-to-action (CTA) on your website. Additionally, a newsletter allows you to collect leads’ emails and show that your content is of interest to your leads.

2. Master SEO

One of the best ways to build your online presence is to optimize your website for search engines (SEO). To appear online when people search, you must master SEO. A website’s search engine optimization can be divided into two categories — on-site and off-site.
The content is the most important part of on-site SEO. Create educational content that matches your target audiences’ search queries, use keyword research, and include internal and external links. The more technical side of off-site SEO will be your focus. A quick-loading site, for instance, will need to be set up correctly, have simple URLs, and have a simple URL structure. A backlink campaign is also an integral part of off-site SEO. As well as optimizing your on-page SEO, you can also audit your website.

3. Create Value

Your company or brand wants to make money in the long run. Creating value and focusing on your customers is the first step to making money. Providing free, educational content on the internet is one way to create value. Additionally, it will enhance your online presence and offer your customers a better experience. List the pain points and motivations of your customers. Consider your buyer personas. Answer their questions by brainstorming content. Could your customers benefit from this information? Your content strategy will be based on this. The ability to give advice online can also add value. Guest posts, comments, and podcasts are great ways to do this. Customers should be able to ask you questions anywhere.

4. Be active online

Being active online is essential to showing up online. Maintaining social media accounts and posting to your owned properties is essential. It is also important to be active in other areas. Social media, for instance, should be used to engage followers and subscribers. It’s always a good idea to join the conversation on a topic that’s being discussed in your industry.

5. Analyzed your results

The first step in building your online presence is to analyze the results you get after trying a few tactics. Test your strategies to see which ones work and which don’t.
Before you begin testing your results, you should decide what metrics you will use. If you’re working on SEO, Google may be a good place to track search engine results. An excellent way to measure the success of your email campaign is to track the number of subscribers, as well as opens and click-throughs. These are long-term strategies. Results may appear later for some. Brand awareness, for example, may take more work to track. However, even though results may be hard to track, it still needs to be worthwhile.

6. Adopt new forums

Be the first to adopt social media or popular websites when they emerge. Taking advantage of new technologies early has many benefits. The first advantage is that there is less competition if you are an early adopter. These websites have high engagement rates and are usually free, to begin with. Stay on top of industry news and research new, upcoming sites if you want to be an early adopter.

7. Have a social media presence

Today, it’s essential to be on social media. The number of people on social media worldwide reached 3.2 billion in 2019, making social media a vital tool for reaching your intended audience. Customers and prospects trust you when you are active on social media. In my experience, when a company lacks a social media presence, I lose trust and feel unsure of its existence. As an added benefit, social media allows you to establish credibility and reputation as well as showcase your brand. Potential customers will first look to social media when researching your brand to see what you’re posting and what other people say.

8. Make a website

Having an online presence is a must to show up online. People will likely search your website first before going to social media. You can display your brand on your website by using colours, fonts, texts, videos, and images. Present a solution to your buyer persona’s pain points. A number of CMS sites are available for creating websites, including Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace.

9. Produce content

Content produces more opportunities to appear online, so the more you produce, the better. Search engines, social media, and video sites like YouTube are all part of having an online presence. Strategize where you want to appear online once you’ve started producing content. Which social media platform do you prefer: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Etsy, Poshmark, Goodreads, or Amazon? Determine the mediums where your customers spend the most time (based on your research) and brainstorm content that fits those mediums best. YouTube, for example, allows you to make video content — whereas Instagram allows you to create photos and captions.

10. Automate your process

Last but not least, improving your online presence involves numerous tedious tasks. Make sure some of your processes are automated to ensure the system’s smooth operation. Social media platforms and your CMS can be scheduled to publish your content. You can also curate other people’s content, which allows you to constantly provide your audience with valuable resources without constantly creating new content. Additionally, you can set up automatic email signup forms on your site, which will send you email marketing newsletters in advance.

Conclusion

Creating an online presence also benefits businesses outside of the hospitality industry. You can use these strategies to establish your presence and grow it to match your business objectives. Your online presence, brand awareness, and reputation can be built through these marketing strategies. Your effort to create an online presence will pay off with increased sales and better brand awareness over time.