Gen Z’s Search Habits & Digital Marketing Trends Hotels Must Embrace
Welcome to this week's 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:
- 🔎 Gen Z isn't using Google Search as Previous Generations
- 💹 Embrace These 4 Key Digital Marketing Trends for Hotels & Resorts
- 🏨 TikTok’s US-Only Algorithm: Impact on Hotel Marketing
- ✈️ May 2024 Influencer Marketing Report: Key Insights for Hotels & Resorts
- 📰 LinkedIn Reduces Link Preview Sizes for Posts
- 🔥 TRENDING NOW - Naming Your Kids After What You Love
📊 STAT OF THE WEEK
(source: Forbes, 2024)
🚨 FOUR DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS HOTELS & RESORTS NEED TO EMBRACE
In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital marketing, it is crucial for hotels and resorts to stay ahead by adopting the most impactful trends. Leveraging these trends enhances guest experiences and significantly boosts engagement and brand loyalty.
Here are four key trends that hotels and resorts need to embrace to remain competitive and deliver exceptional service.
Increased Use of Chatbots:
The integration of chatbots in customer service has seen a dramatic rise, driven by advancements in AI, machine learning, and natural language processing. Modern chatbots offer a more lifelike interaction, enhancing the customer experience without significantly increasing costs.
Enhanced Customer Experience (CX):
Customers now prioritize quality experiences over low prices, making CX a crucial factor in purchasing decisions. Conversational commerce, utilizing platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook/Instagram Messenger, can significantly enhance CX by providing seamless support to current and future hotel guests.
Rise of Voice Search:
Voice search is gaining popularity, especially among younger generations who prefer it over typing. Devices like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri are becoming integral to daily life, influencing how consumers search for information.
Optimizing for voice search is essential, as it now constitutes a significant portion of web interactions. This includes using natural language, schema markup and ensuring up-to-date business listings to capture local search traffic.
TikTok’s Expanding Influence:
TikTok has transitioned from a platform dominated by younger users to a significant player in digital marketing. With over 1 billion monthly active users and high engagement rates, it presents a valuable opportunity for hotel brands.
uji9oHotels and resorts can utilize TikTok’s advertising marketplace to reach a broader audience and create engaging content that resonates with users across various age groups.
🧐 STAY INFORMED
TikTok’s Potential US-Only Algorithm: What It Means for Your Hotel’s Marketing Strategy
- TikTok is reportedly working on a US-only version of its recommendation algorithm to address national security concerns and avoid a potential ban in the United States
- This initiative involves separating the codebase to ensure no data from US users is linked to its Chinese counterpart, but TikTok has publicly refuted these claims, calling them “misleading and factually inaccurate.”
- The plan, if implemented, aims to prevent TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, from having to divest its US operations, but there is skepticism about its feasibility both technically and legally
Impact on Hotels & Resorts — With TikTok’s potential changes to its algorithm, hotels and resorts that rely on TikTok for marketing may face shifts in how their content is recommended to US users. Hotels and resorts should diversify their marketing efforts across multiple platforms to mitigate the risk of relying heavily on one channel that could experience significant operational changes.
May 2024 Influencer Marketing Report: Key Insights and Strategies for Hotels & Resorts
- Influencer marketing continues to grow rapidly, with a projected market size of $21.1 billion in 2024, driven by increased spending from brands across various sectors.
- TikTok and Instagram lead as the most effective platforms for influencer marketing, with high engagement rates and significant ROI for brands.
- Brands increasingly favor long-term partnerships with influencers, focusing on authentic and relatable content to build trust and loyalty among their audience.
Impact on Hotels and Resorts — Hotels and resorts should leverage the power of influencer marketing, particularly on TikTok and Instagram, to enhance their visibility and engagement. By establishing long-term partnerships with influencers who align with their brand values, hotels can create authentic content that resonates with potential guests, ultimately driving bookings and brand loyalty.
'TikTok Studio' Empowers Creators with Advanced Tools and Analytics
- 'TikTok Studio' is a new comprehensive dashboard for creators, enabling them to manage video uploads, editing, performance analytics, and monetization tools from desktop computers.
- The platform includes features like auto-captioning, photo editor, auto-cut tools, and advanced privacy settings, streamlining content creation and improving engagement management
- TikTok Studio consolidates monetization programs and offers powerful analytics tools, helping creators and businesses gain insights into content performance and optimize their strategies
Impact on Hotels & Resorts — Hotels and resorts can leverage TikTok Studio to create high-quality, engaging content more efficiently. They can optimize their social media strategies by utilizing advanced analytics and monetization features to attract more guests and enhance brand visibility.
LinkedIn Shrinks Link Previews for Organic Posts
- LinkedIn has reduced the size of link preview images for organic posts, while maintaining larger previews for sponsored content.
- This change aims to encourage native content creation and may prompt users and brands to pay for sponsored posts for better visibility.
- Some users criticize the move as it penalizes professionals who rely on sharing third-party content instead of constant original posting.
Impact on Hotels & Resorts — Hotels and resorts should consider increasing their budget for LinkedIn sponsored posts to maintain visibility and engagement. This change underscores the importance of native content, so creating more original posts directly on LinkedIn could also be beneficial.
🔥 TRENDING NOW - Naming Your Kids After What You Love
This week, we're spotlighting a TikTok trend that's taking over social media. The trend involves users humorously suggesting that we should "normalize naming your kids after something you love." What follows is a reveal of their favorite thing, whether it’s a beloved movie, restaurant, activity, or destination. Check out an example here.
What's the Trend?
In this trend, creators caption their videos with "normalize naming your kids after something you love," followed by a humorous reveal of something they cherish dearly. Examples include "Goodnight summer beach vacation" or "Goodnight using all of my PTO." It's a light-hearted way to share personal passions and spark joy among viewers.
Why It Works?
This trend thrives on relatability and the element of surprise. It encourages people to share something they passionately love in a playful manner. The unexpected twist at the end keeps viewers entertained and engaged, wanting to see more creative reveals.
How Can Hotels + Resorts Leverage This?
Hotels can jump on this trend to highlight the best aspects of their properties.
💡 TIP OF THE WEEK - Create Instagrammable Spaces
User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful tool for hotels, as it boosts online visibility and builds credibility. When guests share their experiences through photos and posts, it provides authentic endorsements that attract new visitors. By creating Instagrammable spaces, hotels can encourage more UGC, enhancing their social media presence and driving organic engagement.
- Incorporate Unique Art: Install visually striking art pieces like murals or sculptures to create memorable photo opportunities.
- Design Bold Interiors: Create thematic and visually appealing dining spaces and lobbies to attract guests and encourage sharing.
- Use Interactive Elements: Introduce interactive installations that engage guests and provide unique experiences worth sharing.
- Highlight Natural Beauty: Leverage natural surroundings to enhance the aesthetic appeal and offer picturesque photo settings.
🔎 WHAT'S HAPPENING AT CASUAL FRIDAYS
- Stephanie and I mixed a little business with pleasure in NYC. We loved visiting NYC partners and taking in the city with our daughter.
- We recently conducted our first in-person content training session for one of our esteemed partners, an iconic hotel in Atlanta. Photos coming soon!
