Social media mistakes can be costly and difficult to reverse. Can you avoid these social media mistakes and make the most of your online marketing strategy?
Beach resorts are known for their beautiful beaches and relaxing atmosphere. They also offer great opportunities for tourists to relax and unwind. Social media has become an integral part of our lives today. If you want to attract potential guests to your resort, then you should consider using social media to promote your resort.
Why is social media important for beach resorts?
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc., are becoming increasingly popular. People from all over the world now spend hours every day browsing through these sites. The number of daily active users on social media increased by 50% between 2013 and 2017. This means that more people are spending time on social media than ever before.
As a result, social media is playing an increasingly important role in promoting businesses. In fact, according to research conducted by Forrester Research, 93% of companies plan to increase their investment in social media marketing by 2020.
Social media is a great way to stay in touch with your guests, but you need to be careful not to make common mistakes that will turn off potential customers and ruin the reputation of your resort. Here are some of the most common social media mistakes made by resorts:
1. Limiting Your Social Media Presence
Social media presence refers to the engagement, reach, and the number of followers on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr, Vine, Snapchat, and others.
Do you only have an Instagram or maybe you have a Facebook profile that you have built over time. While these steps are important and necessary, your beach resort can’t afford to limit itself to just one corner of the Internet. As challenging as it is to stay up-to-date with social media platform trends and algorithm changes, it makes sense why your beach resort should try to be present across all channels.
Given the fact that most resort audiences are varied and your business depends so heavily on attracting new customers, it makes sense why it is hard to miss out on these valuable opportunities for discovery. Many internationally acclaimed beach resorts worldwide use multiple social media platforms to get the word out about their products and services. Their social media features everything from hotel reviews to photos of their properties. Using different platforms allows them to reach more people than if they were only on one or two. This makes them an attractive option to customers who may want to book a stay there.
2. Mismatch in Audience Targeting
Audience targeting is the practice of using information about an individual’s online behavior to serve them content that they might be interested in. This can include serving ads based on their search history, browsing habits, social media activity, location, age, gender, interests, and many others.
A mismatch between the target market and the message being delivered is one of the biggest mistakes marketers make when they are trying to reach their audiences. Marketers should take into account the differences between the people who will be receiving their messages and the people who will be delivering them.
For example, if you want to sell an all-inclusive trip to families, don’t send out an email to bachelors. If you want to sell a romantic getaway to couples, don’t send out emails to single people.
3. Using One Content for All
Using one kind of content across social media is a big social media mistake. If you want to be successful at social media marketing, you need to use different kinds of content for each platform. Each platform has its own purpose and audience. Facebook users like to share photos, while Twitter users like to post short messages. LinkedIn users prefer to read articles, and Pinterest users love to pin images. So, don’t forget about the differences between these platforms when planning your social media strategy.
Check out Buffer’s “What to Post on Each Social Media Platform: The Complete Guide to Optimizing Your Social Content” for a more in-depth view on what to post on the different platforms.
4. Omitting About Hashtags
While hashtags may seem like a fun addition to your posts, they actually have serious uses beyond just making them easier to search through. Some studies suggest that hashtags can increase engagement on your social media posts by about 15 percent. This means that people are more likely to read and respond to your content.
Hashtags help people find information on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. They’re used when you want to share links or images with others who use those same services. For example, if you post a picture of a beach, you might tag it #beachlife. That way, people searching for the beach will be able to find the photo. You can also add a hashtag to your own posts so that they show up in searches.
5. Not Updating Your Strategy as Your Customer Base Changes
As you evolve as a beach resort and as time passes, it’s inevitable that your customer base would change. It could be as little as getting the newer generation in or as big as a jump through a different set of customer bases entirely. But what is essential is that you are changing your marketing strategy as they change.
If your customer base changes, then you need to adapt your marketing strategies accordingly. As your business grows, you may want to expand into new markets, or you may find that your current market has changed significantly. This means that you must review your marketing strategies regularly to ensure they continue to be effective.
6. Forgetting Video is King but Pictures Still Rule
Video is an effective way to tell stories on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. It allows people to share their lives and experiences with friends, family, colleagues, and followers through images and videos.
Video content on Facebook is one of the best ways to get people talking about you and your brand online. In fact, according to a study conducted by Facebook, users are three times more likely to share a link if there is a video attached. Videos also help with SEO, meaning they will rank higher when search engines crawl them.
However, photos still rule cyberspace because of the relatively lower cost of resources needed to produce this content. This is slowly changing with the help of technology and advancement in video editing software.
With the help of new technology, beach resorts can now embrace the reality of video. Video production needs time, budget, and resources but with today’s technology and super-advanced smartphones, video can be produced with very little backup and be as effective.
7. Posting at Random Hours
Posting at random hours instead of data-driven peak hours is a big social media mistake. You will get more likes, shares, comments, or reach in general, if you post during peak hours on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.
Cross-posted content may have more chances to gain exposure if it is posted during the peak hours of each social network. This might vary based upon where your followers are located, and what network you choose to post on.
Every company’s peak posting hours are different. The best way to determine when the peak hours are for your beach resort is to study the data, existing or otherwise, on when it would be.
8. No Call to Action
So you have a fantastic hotel social media plan. Your clever and informative article has piqued the curiosity of potential guests. They’re responding to your Facebook posts and admiring all of your stunning Instagram photographs. You maintain your hotel’s brand at the forefront of your mind.
But, when it comes time for your audiences to take a vacation, how can you turn their positive participation into a booking?
The solution is to make things as simple and straightforward for them as possible. Give your visitors a simple and direct online path to buy that involves no time, effort, or searching on their part. Both Facebook and Instagram have call-to-action buttons, allowing you to guarantee that your potential visitors are only one click away from booking.
9. Overpromoting
Your audience loves your content but gets tired of seeing the same thing over and over again. You need to make sure that you provide valuable information to your audience. Make sure that you add value to your community by providing useful information. This will help them feel more connected to your brand.
While some hotels do tweet about their lovely room renovations, they spend most of the time sharing things like on-brand quotes, spotlights on important people and events, and recommendations for guests visiting the city. These channels are also used as a customer care outlet for addressing praise and complaints. So listen to your clients, share content they will enjoy, and share the odd self-promotion piece and you should see some engagement.
10. Relying on listing sites alone
Hotels can be listed on a variety of websites including; TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, Hostelworld, etc. These sites allow hotel owners to list their hotels for free in exchange for exposure.
The keyword in this topic is “Alone”. While it is very beneficial for your beach resort to be on listing sites, your very own social media could be an untapped potential you need to unlock. With your very own social media account, you basically drive the messaging and content about your beach resort.
A lot of people don’t realize how powerful social media marketing actually is. It’s not just about posting pictures and videos of your vacation; it’s about building relationships with your customers and creating brand awareness. The key is to find out what type of posts work best for your business, and then post those types of messages consistently.
11. Failing to Engage in Conversations
Social media engagement is important for your beach resort because it allows you to reach out to your customers directly. It also helps your beach resort build relationships with your followers, which can lead to increased bookings and upgrades.
Replying to comments and messages is an important part of any discussion forum, especially on social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook. By replying to them, you show interest in what others are saying and encourage further conversation. It also helps maintain the quality of the conversation.
12. Not Tracking the Social Media Analytics
Social Media Analytics (SMA) is the practice of analyzing social media platforms for marketing purposes. This includes monitoring trends in online activity and content, identifying influential users, measuring brand awareness, understanding consumer sentiment, and predicting future behavior.
There is a large quantity of information lying behind all your social media activity. And failing to measure that data is a huge and typical marketing error that might prohibit you from achieving success on social media.
You should track your social media analytics in the same way that you track the effectiveness of your email marketing initiatives. This amazing data may help your social media marketing in a variety of ways.
Analyzing bookings made by customers can enable brands to apprehend key marketing insights.
Takeaway
If you want to increase your chances of booking more guests, you must learn how to use social media effectively. You can start by making sure that you know what to do and what social media mistakes to avoid.
Social media has become a key part of many people’s lives. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube — all play a role in our day-to-day interactions. And if you don’t understand how to use them, you could miss out on opportunities to connect with new clients.
To grab all the opportunities to connect with clients, Beach Resort Marketing offers an all-around expert marketing strategy. Simply contact us and we can discuss how you can increase your bookings without falling for costly social media mistakes!