Aug 9, 2024 6 min read Instagram

Instagram Prioritizes ‘Views’ as Main Metric & Social Media Trends to Adopt Before 2025

Discover Instagram’s shift to prioritizing ‘Views’ as the key metric across all content formats and explore essential social media trends to adopt before the year ends.

Welcome to the latest edition of Smart Hotel Marketing. Dive into the latest trends and insights that can help elevate your hotel's marketing strategy and stay ahead in the competitive hospitality landscape.

In today's newsletter:

🚀 Social Media Trends to Adopt Before the Year Ends
🎵 Instagram Prioritizes ‘Views’ as Key Metric
💸 Micro-Influencer Rates Surge Amid Growing Demand
🎯 Meta Adds Custom Offers to Instagram Ads
🎥 High Production Value Not Essential on Instagram
✨ TIP: Insert Captions In Your Videos
🔥 TRENDING - “How Lucky Are We?”

📊 STAT OF THE WEEK

86% of marketers report that generative AI saves them 1+ hours a day by streamlining creative tasks. (source: Hubspot)

As we move into the second half of 2024, several social media trends are emerging as valuable opportunities for hotels to enhance brand awareness and improve their overall social media presence. Here are some key trends to consider:

Video: Hopefully, you're already using video. If you're not, what's the holdup? Video content is king, with both short-form and long-form videos driving significant engagement. Hotels can create compelling and entertaining videos to showcase their amenities, experiences, and behind-the-scenes activities, reaching a broader audience and building emotional connections with potential guests.
Micro and Nano-Influencers: These influencers are gaining prominence due to their authenticity and high engagement rates. Collaborating with micro and nano-influencers allows hotels to tap into niche audiences and promote their services in a more relatable and trustworthy manner.
Social Media Is the New Search Engine: With social media increasingly used for travel research, optimizing social profiles with relevant keywords is essential to increase visibility and attract potential guests. Ensure your hotel’s profiles are up-to-date and include descriptive keywords that travelers might use when searching for accommodations or experiences.
Text-Only Posts: Creative and witty text-only posts can effectively spark conversations and showcase a hotel’s unique personality. These posts can be a refreshing change from visual-heavy content, offering a chance to engage with followers through clever wordplay or thought-provoking questions.

By staying on top of these trends, hotels can enhance their social media presence and connect with potential guests more effectively, leading to increased bookings and brand loyalty.

🧐 STAY INFORMED

Instagram Shifts Focus to ‘Views’ as Primary Performance Metric

Views Metric: Instagram is now using ‘Views’ as the main metric across all content formats, including Reels, Live, photos, Carousels, and Stories.
Plays Phased Out: The term “Plays” is being phased out, and “Views” will also count repeat views, similar to how Reels were previously measured.
Impressions Removed: Metrics like Impressions will no longer appear in Insights but will still be available in Meta Ads Manager.

Impact on Hotels and Resorts — This update means hotels and resorts should focus on maximizing views across all content types, not just Reels. By understanding how content performs through the new ‘Views’ metric, hotels can better tailor their social media strategies to reach more potential guests and keep them engaged.

Micro-Influencer Rates Surge as Demand Grows in Influencer Marketing

Significant Fee Increases: Micro-influencer rates have seen a 10-20% increase year-over-year due to the growing demand for authentic and relatable content that resonates with niche audiences.
Higher Engagement: Brands are increasingly valuing micro-influencers for their ability to drive higher engagement rates compared to larger influencers, as their audiences tend to be more dedicated and interactive.
Budget Allocation: Many brands are reallocating their marketing budgets to invest more in micro-influencer collaborations, recognizing the cost-effectiveness and impact of these partnerships.

Impact on Hotels and Resorts — Partnering with micro-influencers presents a valuable opportunity for hotels and resorts to connect with niche audiences and enhance their visibility. However, as the demand for micro-influencers increases, so do their rates. To maximize returns, hotels should carefully select influencers whose followers align with their target market and consider the cost implications of working with them. Despite the rising costs, these partnerships can offer significant benefits in terms of targeted engagement and authentic promotion.

Meta Introduces Custom Offers for Instagram Ads

Dynamic Offers: Meta’s new feature dynamically sources offer details from the ad’s website URL, displaying the most relevant offer likely to convert potential customers.
Enhanced CTA Buttons: The new Instagram ad feature supports up to 20 offers per ad, allowing advertisers to showcase multiple promotions, such as percentage or cash discounts, directly on call-to-action buttons.
Limited Availability: Currently, this feature is restricted to single-media ads in Instagram Stories and is not accessible to all ad accounts.

Impact on Hotels and Resorts — For hotels and resorts, the ability to display custom offers directly on Instagram ad CTA buttons could significantly enhance marketing efforts by highlighting special discounts. By utilizing this feature, hotels can increase user engagement and click-through rates, potentially leading to higher bookings and revenue.

High Production Value Not a Must on Instagram

Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, recently emphasized that high production value isn’t always necessary for successful content on Instagram. The alignment of content style with brand and storytelling goals is key.
Over-polished content may negatively impact audiences, who often prefer relatable and authentic content.
New York Times best-selling author, Gary Vaynerchuk, chimmed in that even luxury brands should explore both polished and relatable content to understand better and meet consumer preferences.

Impact on Hotels & Resorts - This approach means crafting content that reflects their unique brand story, whether it involves showcasing luxury experiences or more authentic, behind-the-scenes moments. Experimenting with a mix of high-quality and relatable content can help engage different audiences and provide insights into what resonates most with potential guests.

This week, we’re highlighting a heartfelt TikTok trend that revolves around the trending audio "28" by Zach Bryan, featuring the lyrics, "how lucky are we?” Users are utilizing this sound to showcase the people and moments in their lives they feel grateful for, whether it’s a child, a spouse, a home, or a special place. Check out an example here: TikTok Video.

Disclaimer: Hotels should adhere to the terms of service of social media platforms when posting content from the official hotel social media account and consult with an attorney to ensure compliance with copyright laws when using songs or other media content.

What's the Trend?

The trend involves creators sharing videos with the lyrical overlay "How lucky are we?" to highlight significant people, places, or events that bring them joy and gratitude. The combination of evocative lyrics and personal visuals provides viewers with a touching and relatable experience.

Why it Works?

This trend resonates because it taps into universal feelings of gratitude and appreciation, coupled with a beautiful musical background. It allows users to share their happy moments, making the videos heartwarming and shareable.

How Can Hotels + Resorts Leverage This?

Hotels can adopt this trend to highlight their unique offerings and the special moments they help create for guests. Here are a few ideas:

Highlighting Employees: Post a video of your dedicated staff with the sound saying, "How lucky are we?" to showcase the hardworking team that makes the hotel experience exceptional.
Showcasing Scenic Views: Use the sound to feature breathtaking scenes, such as a sunset on the hotel’s beach or a panoramic view from the rooftop terrace, with the text overlay "How lucky are we?"
Guest Experiences: Capture moments of guests enjoying their stay, whether it’s by the pool, at a special event, or indulging in a spa day, paired with the trending audio.

These types of content not only convey a sense of gratitude but also highlight the memorable experiences guests can have at your hotel.

Celebrate the unique experiences and unforgettable moments at your hotel by embracing the heartfelt creativity of this trend!

💡 TIP OF THE WEEK: Insert Captions In Your Videos

Not everyone watches social media videos with sound. In fact, up to 85% of viewers watch without audio. To ensure your message gets across, add captions to videos, especially those with speech or dialogue. Most platforms offer auto-captioning features, so use them and take the time to edit for accuracy. This simple addition can significantly enhance your video’s engagement and accessibility.

🔎 WHAT'S HAPPENING AT CASUAL FRIDAYS

We have updated our monthly social media management services for 2025. As hotels begin planning their budgets for next year, we’d love to show you how we can help. Let’s talk!
This past week, we were in San Diego, where we met with potential new clients and conducted Generative AI training for one of our hotel partners.