Social Media Resolutions: Planning Your Hotel’s 2021 Content Calendar [Webinar]
With a crazy 2020 finally coming to a close, it’s time to turn our attention to the new year and start planning for a big 2021. Let’s share tips on how to create a successful social media content calendar to ensure that you and your hotel are prepared as more and more people return to travel. We will demonstrate how to leverage different events and holidays on your hotel’s social media platforms to increase occupancy and capture more travelers’ interest. Let’s discover what you have to do to ensure your hotel’s content calendar is full of effective marketing for your property, no matter the season.
Your Hotel’s 2021 Social Calendar
So here it is, your hotel’s 2021 social calendar. From this view, it doesn’t look that intimidating, but in truth, every day on this calendar represents an opportunity to impact bookings and revenue for your hotel using social media. And even though COVID-19 is still having an impact on our industry today, there are a few things that we know will happen in 2021 no matter what:
- Seasons – COVID-19 is not going to make the winter any warmer or the summer any colder. We can use these seasons to plan and adapt the social content that we post.
- Holidays – Yes, they might be celebrated differently or look a little different this year, but holidays both big and small will still fill travelers’ calendars and should be leveraged on our hotel’s social feed.
- Events – I do preface this with the caveat that some events in 2021 may or may not return this year. Our social media team at Travel Media Group is very vigilant when posting about local events for our hotel partners. We understand that events are huge occupancy drivers for hotels and are a critical part of a property’s social strategy.
Sharing the right social post at the right time could be the reason a traveler books your hotel versus your local competitor. To demonstrate, let’s take a look at some examples of how the change in seasons can impact the content in your hotel’s social feed.
- Winter – The winter season means holiday travel. This property that we partner with wanted to showcase the fact the property is pet-friendly, sharing this post which reads: “If your pet is traveling with you this holiday season, you’re in luck! We offer pet-friendly accommodations at The Westin.” A great example of targeting those traveling with pets over the winter holiday season, and providing a link to secure their booking.
- Spring – As we move into the spring we see the first example of a hotel leveraging a holiday on its social feed. No, not a major Spring holiday like Easter or Memorial Day, but a fun, lesser-known holiday: May the Fourth, a Star Wars reference. Featuring a cup of coffee, this post could showcase the fact that the property offers complimentary coffee to guests during their stay.
- Summer – For the busy summer season, sometimes the smartest post is simply anticipating the type of traveler you’re expecting to book. We know that summer means the kids are out of school and many families are planning vacations. For this property with its family-style rooms, they understand their advantage over local competitors when it comes to attracting families that are most likely traveling during the summer. The post’s caption also provides a link for direct, commission-free booking.
- Fall – The same can be true in the fall season with the kids back in school, hotels might be expecting a little more business travel. A social post like this, could also be anticipating the new norms of business travel post-COVID-19. More and more work from home employees are looking for quiet, safe places to escape their own homes. Make sure to leverage your rooms on social media as the perfect alternative for someone looking to use your hotel room as their office for the day.
- Winter – For the cold winter season we helped this hotel create a multi-amenity post, showcasing the property’s indoor pool, free breakfast coffee and cocoa, and one of the most unique winter amenities: a snowmobile right from your room. We paired this with a featured deal booking link and with over 50 reactions from travelers we can measure the success and impact of this one post alone.
- Spring – As things warm up in spring, we start to showcase more outdoor activities and amenities. And although a courtyard doesn’t necessarily feel like an amenity, creating a post showcasing its use as a wedding venue can have some real revenue-generating potential.
- Summer – The pool is the ultimate summer amenity for hotels. However, notice in this example, that the property has actually posted this picture of its pool in the dead of winter. This is key for getting people excited and thinking about their property as a potential destination when the seasons change. In fact, although shared in the winter, the post has received almost 150 reactions, comments, and shares. We can never predict a traveler’s booking window so make sure you are incorporating these types of posts into your regular scheduled social content.
- Fall – This post is an example of an amenity that, except for winter, really could be used at any time of the year. We helped this property personalize this post for fall by writing: “Crisp, fall days are perfect for an outdoor adventure! Stop by our adventure vault for some bikes and go exploring.” Instead of just sharing your amenities online, match it with the season to make the post feel more relevant and timely to the travelers seeing it.
Sometimes activities and places located around the hotel are just important as the hotel itself. If guests find these local stories on your property’s social feed, it can significantly increase the chance of conversion.
- Winter – A great example of this is featured here, marketing a local winter attraction that runs for several weeks in the area. The objective is to inspire travelers seeing the post and encourage them to book with the property if they decide to visit.
- Spring – Last spring was tough not just on the hotel industry, but all of hospitality, especially the restaurant business. In this post from last spring, the property promotes a local food truck meet up to support local businesses and give guests the opportunity for a more local experience. The post was an incredible success with over 1,000 Likes, 100+ comments, and almost 350 shares. Travelers appreciate this type of content on their feeds and are willing to support local causes like this with a like, share, and follow.
- Summer – A post doesn’t have to showcase just one specific attraction or event. Instead you can share lists, blogs, and polls on your social feed. Something that might catch one traveler’s eye, might not catch another’s. This post reads: “This summer is the perfect opportunity to spend more time in the great outdoors. Follow the link to learn about all of the different outdoor activities around Little Rock, and get inspired today!”
- Fall – It’s important to remember that even though you might be familiar with your surrounding area, most of your guests will not be. From your proximity to attractions, like this featured post, or more day-to-day places like grocery stores, restaurants, and shopping, take the time to showcase your location. Leveraging your specific hotel’s location will get travelers feeling comfortable in booking at your property versus a local competitor down the road.
Events can really come in all different varieties, especially now with COVID-19.
- Winter – Take this winter post for example, where the hotel is showcasing the natural event of the northern lights. Keep an eye out for seasonal things that might only happen at certain times of the year in your market region. It might be an annual event for you, but could inspire others to travel to your area. The solar eclipse a couple years ago was another great example of a natural event that had major revenue and occupancy implications for hoteliers, especially those who were able to strategically leverage it on social media.
- Spring – As we turn the page to spring we reflect on what happened to the event industry in 2020. One of things we did for our hotel partners during this time was promote virtual events, like the example you see here. Although no one traveled for the event, it was an opportunity for the hotel to engage with their social community. This could lead to shares online and more social followers for the next time that property posts with a booking call to action.
- Summer – Summers are typically packed with events from outdoor concerts to major sporting events, but don’t forget about smaller, weekly events like the local farmer’s market. Travelers are looking for a personalized, local feel to their trips. Identifying these neighborhood, community events could be just what your traveler is looking for as inspiration to book their trip.
- Fall – In the fall, we get more opportunity to promote holiday events. From Halloween to the end of the year, there are typically events that go hand in hand with major holidays to promote. Seek out and share these events on your hotel’s social feeds and encourage your followers to book with you.
A Hotel’s Social Media Blueprint
When we combine all these posts over time we create a blueprint for the calendar year. From there, with Travel Media Group’s social media solution we can sharpen our posts, adding more posts to this grid year over year. We work to uncover new local stories and events and leverage social analytics to see what posts are performing and which ones aren’t. Armed with that knowledge, we create measurable social media goals and adapt our posts to help our hotel partners achieve them.
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Wow! Thank you for taking your time and sharing with us such an informative tips. Keep on sharing!