It’s no news that large hotel groups now use influence marketing to increase their visibility and brand awareness. Influencer marketing is a kind of social media marketing that uses product mentions and endorsements from influencers for promotions. Influencers have the ability to compel people to try a product due to the trust they have built. Let’s take an extensive look at why reputable hotels choose to use this method of marketing.
Why do Hotels choose to use influence marketing?
As stated earlier, large hotels now go for influence marketing by connecting, endorsing, making collaborations… with influencers. According to a report stated by the Association of National Advertisers in 2018, about 75 percent of marketers use influencer marketing for hotels. From this statistic, it is clear that almost every hotel group uses this type of marketing, and there is a good reason for this. Influence marketing is a great way to increase your brand’s awareness online and its visibility.
Essentially, when these hotels use the right platforms to reach out to their audience through influencers, it increases their engagement rate. Also, since the business model of this type of marketing focuses on visual imagery, it is better for advertising purposes. This is because video content and user-generated content (UGC) are more likely to capture users’ attention.
Additionally, these contents portray the artistic personality of influencers, which offers users premium entertainment. All these contents created by the influencers aim to portray a fun-filled hotel experience, which converts these users to customers of the hotel.
Another reason why every hotel group chooses influence marketing is that it helps them to create a strong online network. Since this type of marketing boost your online presence and increases your level of popularity online, it will definitely build a solid online network. It is important to note that having a well-optimized website with good reviews and a strong online presence is very crucial for every hotel.
Why do Reputable Hotels still go for influence marketing?
The rise in popularity of other accommodations such as Airbnb is having a negative effect on the hospitality industry. Millennials now prefer Airbnb to hotels, causing even well-known hotels to lose customers. To solve this problem, many reputable hotel brands compete with each other using influencer marketing to raise awareness of their brands.
In a world where people are obsessed with social media, it’s no surprise that most people follow actionable social media advice and recommendations. Therefore, it is very likely that social media users can be converted into potential customers through this method. When hotel groups and social media influencers establish collaborations to promote their brand, it drives leads to their websites. Through these leads, hotels will be able to build a community that is loyal to their brands. Having a loyal community is a great way to convert visitors into potential customers.
Moreover, it is a fact that this type of marketing generates a higher return on investment, 7 times more than traditional marketing methods. Early influencer marketing campaigns also resulted in a 17% increase in direct booking rate. So when hotels and influencers work together to promote the hotel brand, it’s a great way to increase direct bookings. Essentially, this type of marketing is a great way to bring more customers into the hospitality industry.