A guide to content marketing for hotels

Content marketing may seem like a buzzword, but in fact it should be a crucial part of every hotel’s marketing strategy.

Content rules the internet and, nowadays, the majority of your guests are researching and booking their travel online. To catch their eye and keep up with the competition, you need to deliver top quality content consistently.

This blog will tell you everything you need to know about mastering content marketing at your hotel.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is the creation and distribution of valuable assets, such as videos, blog posts, and emails, as marketing tools to attract and retain customers.

The Content Marketing Institute (CMI), based in the US, defined content marketing as “…a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

Content also drives traffic to your website and social media channels. What content marketing isn’t, is excessive promotional messaging.

What does content marketing mean for hotels?

For hotels and other accommodation providers, content marketing is all about showcasing your property’s unique story and brand to the types of travellers you’re trying to win over.

Ultimately your content should influence travellers to book a stay, become a loyal customer and even champion your hotel to friends, family, and peers.

The key is to first provide useful content that informs and entertains. Secondly, it’s important to deliver it consistently to establish credibility and foster engagement.

Why does content marketing matter?

Your hotel is not just a place to stay – it’s an institution and a brand. Travellers will often look to your hotel to provide them with useful information and advice, as well as seeking you out regarding policies at your property and in the local area.

It’s your responsibility to be a great host at all times if you want to ensure your guest experience is satisfactory. Content can help you achieve this.

How to create a content marketing strategy for your property

Before you begin creating any content, you first need to look at your overall marketing strategy and confirm a few important things:

  • Who is your target audience?
  • What are travellers to your area interested in?
  • What makes your brand unique?

With this information in mind, you’ll be able to create tailored, useful, and original content for your potential guests and existing customers.

So what kind of content can you apply this to?

Types of content and topics to use at your hotel

The great thing about content is that it can be used in so many different ways to engage your potential guests. Some common ways hoteliers can use content include:

Blogs

A blog is by far one of the best and easiest ways to start your content marketing journey. Simply create a new page on your website for your blog and start writing!

Your blog gives you a lot of freedom and opportunity to cover a number of topics that will be of interest to travellers and guests including local area guides, listicles of best things to do, see, or eat, write-ups of local events or attractions, how to’s, guest blogs from professional travel writers, and more.

It’s a good idea to kick-off your blog with topics that you have performed keyword research for, so you can get the ball rolling on search engine optimisation and maximise your website traffic.

Emails

Emails are still one the most useful and cost effective ways to engage prospects and customers. Email is also a great way to drive direct bookings and earn extra revenue.

Emails are an extremely versatile content tool. You can use emails to send out deals and offers, acquire new customers, retain existing loyal customers, blogs, promotions, updates on policies, traveller tips, announcements and competitions, giveaways, and more.

Make sure you’re building a strong email database by collecting guest details wherever possible.

Newsletters

Newsletters are a type of email you can send to people who have specifically subscribed to it, and it’s usually sent out on a consistent and regular basis. For example, you might send one newsletter on the last Friday of every month.

Newsletters give people a reason to keep opening your communications and coming back to your content, increasing the chances of you winning a booking. Newsletters are a great way to promote the goings on at your hotel and make travellers aware of any exciting activities and offers coming up.

Videos

As you’ve probably heard many times before, people always remember more of what they see and hear than what they read, so videos are a great content marketing tool if you want to maximise engagement.

You don’t have to have a big budget for producing video content either. Such is the power of social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, audiences are very attuned to consuming content filmed on smartphones. If you do have the budget to go bigger, YouTube is still king.

Think about filming behind the scenes footage of staff and guests, showcase your amenities, highlight key attractions in your local area, create virtual tours, or even film mini-docos about the history and culture of your hotel or destination.

Magazines

Magazines might not come to mind immediately but when you think about how popular travel magazines are, it makes sense to explore the option of creating one for your own brand.

You could potentially release your magazine quarterly and include things like recipes of what you serve in your hotel’s kitchen, travel guides on your destination and local area, interviews with interesting guests or local celebrities, articles on the latest travel industry trends.

Having your own magazine will ultimately build the integrity of your brand, increase the trust people have in you, and boost conversions.

Social media posts

The popularity of social media continues to explode and it won’t go away. Even as some platforms fade, others take their place. Social media marketing allows you to connect with audiences in a variety of creative ways, making it one of the best places to boost both engagement and win new business.

Use Facebook and Instagram in particular to post all your important updates and content as well fun material such as memes, breathtaking images, competitions, and polls.

You also take advantage of user generated content by asking guests to tag you in their posts or to ‘check-in’ to your hotel on social media.

Infographics

Infographics are a quick, fun, and visual way to convey your content and help you mix up what you post on social media.
You might create infographics around how to plan and what to pack for an upcoming trip, interesting stats and figures, must-knows about the local area, rundowns of your hotel rooms and amenities, and more.

Infographics are easy to digest, making them a valuable resource for travellers who don’t have a lot of time on their hands to consume content.

Podcasts

Podcasts are becoming a go-to content resource for time-constrained audiences. Since you only have to listen, people can consume podcasts while working, commuting, exercising, or doing chores. This versatility makes them extremely popular and a great opportunity for your brand to make itself heard.

Hotels are a great focal point for podcasts too. You could tell a number of fascinating travel stories generated by guests, your staff, other hoteliers, and you could also partner with other podcasts or storytellers to create content each month.

Press releases

If your hotel is a large brand or a group, press releases are almost essential sometimes and are a great way to amplify your brand.

If you have a compelling announcement, put out a press release and allow travel and hotel publications to pick it up and run with it. This will get your message across to a larger audience and you might even attract new guests who weren’t aware of your hotel before.

Things you could speak about include major renovations, rebranding, new features or amenities, exciting partnerships and initiatives, new management, or awards that have been won.