Digital Content Marketing involves the distribution of engaging information across digital marketing channels – from blogs and social media to the property website and email marketing. The sole objective of this type of marketing is to lure travel consumers to engage with the hotel property and brand, providing enough value in the form of useful content to ultimately result in a hotel booking.
The big question is, if Digital Content Marketing has been around since the mid-1990s, why is there so much attention on this marketing format lately? A big reason is the emergence of this multi-device, multi-touch world we now live in and the dramatic shift from desktop to mobile, tablet and wearable devices. Last year nearly 40% of web visitors arrived from non-desktop devices (mobile and tablet), while nearly 21% of bookings came from tablets and mobile devices (HeBS Digital Research).
Living in a multi-device world means travel consumers are now always connected. Today’s sophisticated travel consumers do not trust the "hard" sale, nor are they impressed by "in your face" desktop-era advertising formats like banners, website pop-ups and sponsored emailers, which are perceived as more intrusive on smartphone and tablet devices. These consumers demand a personalized and highly value-rich marketing approach. They want to be courted and intrigued in order to consider your product or service. They need to be engaged with and by your hotel before booking their stay.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 70% of consumers claim that content marketing makes them feel closer to the company distributing the content. This is certainly one of the main objectives of digital content marketing in hospitality: to create a deeper level of engagement between the hotel brand and the "new" travel consumer through enticing and value-rich content. This connection or increased level of engagement inevitably results in concrete bookings, recommendations and social media shares.
Why is Digital Content Marketing Important for Hoteliers?
The marketing of a hotel is all about storytelling. A hotel must "tell a story" to potential travel consumers through the visual and textual content on its website, blog, social media, email marketing, etc. Ultimately, potential guests cannot "touch or smell" a hotel product – so you need to sell them a dream, an anticipated experience, through the digital realm.
When the hotel is "selling a dream" via visual content on the property website or editorial level textual descriptions of the hotel and destination, they are immediately conveying the type of experience the guest will have, as this website does through its use of high impact, colorful images of families having a great time:
How to transmit an experience
In addition to creating a deeper level of engagement with the always-connected travel consumer, which has serious long-term monetary and loyalty benefits, an equally compelling reason digital content marketing is so critical today is the great SEO benefits. High-quality and engaging website, blog and social media content generates social shares and inbound links, significantly improving search engine rankings.
What are the Most Popular Digital Content Marketing Initiatives in Hospitality?
- Website content: search engines demand fresh, unique, engaging and deep relevant content. This includes continuously creating new content around the unique, local experience that represents your property.
- Blog on the property website: through a blog, a hotel may constantly push fresh content on the site while highlighting new property features such as a spa or restaurant, and promote upcoming events on property or nearby.
- Videos of the property and destination: with more people watching video than ever (according to Google, an increase of 300% between 2009 and 2014), videos on the hotel website and YouTube.com are essential forms of content for inspiring travel consumers in the planning and purchasing process. A great example of utilizing video is how the Turpin Meadow Ranch website brings the luxury dude ranch experience to life.
- Destination Guides: on the property website: makes the property the "hero" of its destination by providing information on what’s nearby, making sure to include a points of interest map.
- Mini-sites or content-specific sections: offers an opportunity for fresh and frequently updated content on the property website that is focused on speaking to a particular customer segment: Family travel, honeymoons, Weddings, meeting planners, spa, golf, etc. The Nickelodeon Suites Resort does this through an interactive "Kids Corner", section of their website featuring entertaining quizzes and a collection of kooky jokes and riddles.
- Blog articles in local and national travel blogs: any third-party mentions of the property and its product, services and activities should be considered great content to promote on the hotel’s own website, on the blog, and through social media. Content featuring points of interest and activities in the destination that are related to the property could also be used to the benefit of the hotel.
- Calendar of events: a great calendar of events can really highlight happenings at and around the property.
- Email marketing: content on the property, destination and area events should be included in email newsletters on a least a monthly basis.
- Social media: distributing content about the hotel and surrounding destination on social media channels will build awareness of your property and increase the likelihood of people sharing your content and ideally converting to bookers in the future.
.
