Just a couple of decades ago, tourism businesses like hotels or tour companies had limited ways to reach their customers. Print ads in magazines, billboards, and listings in travel books were among the most common. Today, your opportunities for reaching customers are seemingly endless.
From PPC ads to email campaigns to podcasts, you can connect with your target audience where they browse, scroll, and listen. One of the most important marketing tools is social media. But masting social media marketing is far from simple. It’s a tool that’s constantly changing. Each time that a trend or algorithm changes, your strategy has to change, too.
Working with a hotel social media management agency like Vibrant Management is the easiest way to make sure that your social media plan is at the top of its game. Still not convinced that your social media strategy needs an upgrade? Keep reading as we dive into some of the social media stats you need to know in 2023.
Why is Social Media So Important?
Maybe your hotel or resort already has a loyal following and a steady stream of bookings. Or your tour company has seen a lot of engagement with your website, and you think it’s better to focus your energy there. In either case, if you aren’t investing in social media marketing, you’re missing out on some pretty big potential. That’s because a large portion of your target demographic is on social media.
In 2022, there were 4.59 billion social media users. That number is expected to rise to 4.89 by the end of 2023. To put that into perspective, there are around 8 billion people in the world today.
But these social media users don’t just download apps or create accounts. The majority actively participate online. In fact, the average daily time spent using social media last year was two hours and 31 minutes.
The Power of Social Media Marketing
Social media is more than just a great way to reach a large portion of your potential guests and customers. Unlike a single ad, you can use social media to create a story. Users follow you, and over time, are exposed to pictures of your resort, videos, stories, and more. This helps to establish and build brand awareness that continues to be effective long after they’ve looked at your latest post. Suddenly, when one of your social media followers thinks about taking a vacation, the beautiful, sun-soaked resort that you’ve been showing pictures of or the adventure-packed trip you’ve been exhibiting is what comes to mind.
While PPC ads still have a place in your hotel marketing strategy, the number of people opting to block ads is on the rise. In 2019, more than a quarter of all internet users were blocking paid advertising. This means that organic marketing, such as through content marketing on your blog or social media marketing, is your only chance to reach these customers.
Perhaps the biggest reason to invest in social media marketing in 2023 is that we haven’t seen its greatest potential yet. In 2022, between Q3 and Q4, the increase in potential audience for Facebook Reels, one of the latest social media trends, was 50 percent.
Putting Your Social Media to Work
Now that you know why it’s high time you get help from a hotel social media management team, it’s time to decide where to invest.
Just a couple of years ago, still photography reigned on social media. But video has been rapidly making its way to the top. Researchers say that there is a science-backed reason for this. Our brains process visual content faster than anything else. A study by neuroscientists at MIT found that our brains can identify an image that we’ve seen for as little as 13 milliseconds.
With attention spans at an all-time low, the ability of video content to capture your audience’s attention and get the message across fast makes it the obvious choice.
For businesses, video content represents both a chance to entertain and to educate. What seems to be a cool video of people e-biking through Zion National Park is also letting your viewers know that they can in fact rent e-bikes and enjoy a ride during their next vacation.
In 2022, 81 percent of marketers said that video helped them increase sales, while 87 percent said that it helped to increase traffic. If you’re looking to take your social media marketing to the next level in 2023, investing in hotel video marketing may be the key.
Investing in Hotel Social Media Management
Keeping up with the latest trends and algorithms on social media can be a full-time job. If you want to level up your strategies in 2023, investing in hotel social media management may be the answer.
The team at Vibrant Management knows a thing or two about social media. Whether we’re filing stunning content on the property or adding the perfect caption, we can help with every segment of your social media strategy.
Want to learn more? Book a free consultation today to see how we can help with social media management, video marketing, full-service management, and more.
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