A whopping 83% of UK adults have one or more social media accounts1. This is a vast number of potential customers that businesses could reach while they are casually browsing their social feed. So why is it then that only 60% of businesses are using social media2?
To avoid falling behind the curve and to promote your hotel business right where your guests are, your hotel needs to ensure it has a social presence.
A quick search of the hashtag #coffee on Twitter will bring up thousands upon thousands of beautiful coffee photographs and memes about how coffee is everything good in life. The last time we checked the #coffee hashtag on Instagram, there were a massive 96 million posts!
So if you are thinking of starting a social account for your hotel, or you’re looking to improve your existing social profiles, this blog will share five valuable tips to jump on the coffee trends improve the social media promotion for your hotel.
1. Choose the right social media platform
Different groups of people use different social media platforms, so it’s important to know your audience and be present on the one(s) your guests (and prospective guests) are using. Keep it manageable though – you don’t need to be on them all, just pick the most relevant ones and do them well.
Research suggests that Facebook is the most popular platform with a massive 64% market share3. It is probably your best bet in terms of reaching a wide range of people. Make sure you are posting your coffee offering regularly to entice users to visit with all the luxurious treats you can offer. Visual is key with all social media, so try to use a coffee image or video to accompany your posts. You will not be restricted in terms of the characters you post, so you can add more information to your updates with Facebook. Try to always link back to your website to drive reservations and visits.
Twitter is the next most used platform with 15% market share and is great for spontaneous and ‘in the moment’ updates. For example, if a guest gives you great feedback on the taste or appearance of their coffee, take a photo and a note of the detail there and then and post a spontaneous tweet. Featuring your guests in the posts also promotes a sense of inclusiveness and community which is something you really want to nurture but be sure to get their approval first!
Instagram is really growing in popularity and obviously is centred around visuals. This is the platform where you can really showcase your coffee and reach all those users who follow coffee related hashtags. Use the filters to make your coffee photos pop and post Stories (short videos that disappear after 24 hours) showing your baristas doing their thing.
Have a lot of business travel in your hotel? LinkedIn is a social network but is used for professional subject matter – catch your business guests on LinkedIn while they are browsing other work-related content and draw them in with the promise of fresh coffee before a long day of meetings.
With all these social platforms, try to keep your content conversational, friendly and personable – you are likely to turn your guests off if you adopt a hard sell approach.
2. Make sure potential guests can find you
Use keywords in your profile and in your posts wherever possible. Keywords are the search terms people would use in order to find your hotel. Have a think about what sorts of words prospective guests might type into the search bar if they didn’t know your brand – maybe it’s ‘hotels Leicester’, ‘boutique hotel’ or ‘spa day’. You can use coffee to attract day guests or business travellers who may like to stop by to have a meeting over a hot drink. In this case, you should ensure you are using keywords such as ‘business meeting’, ‘hotel coffee’, ‘afternoon tea’ or ‘coffee and cake’.
It’s also a good idea to research your competition and see what words and terminology they are using and making sure you also feature them in your profile and posts.
3. Build and cultivate your following
If you’re in the beginning stages of your social media strategy, it’s advisable to try some free tactics to try to grow your following organically, before paying for social advertising. Once you have a better idea of what works, you can consider paying for some very targeted follower ads.
You can build your following by running simple competitions encouraging your existing followers to like and share your posts. This means your posts will be seen by more people and it will increase your reach. Use hashtags that are trending to jump on existing popular content, for example if the hashtag #MondayMorning was trending on Twitter, post a photo of your best double espresso with a caption about how it will wake your guests up on this dreary #MondayMorning!
4. Encourage guests to create content for you
We know that Social Media loves coffee. Having the baristas in your hotel trained to produce beautiful coffees (especially with latte art!) creates a social media-worthy user generated content; your guests will want to take a snap and post it on their timeline. They’ll tag, mention you or ‘check in’. This means wider reach and showcases your business as well as your skilled team.
Or maybe you offer a luxurious high tea – get all of the right equipment to lay it out beautifully and you’re onto a winner. The goal is to make it look exceptional, aspirational and oh-so-Instagramable.
5. Keep the conversation flowing
The ultimate goal is people interacting with you on your social channels. If you are getting comments on your posts or guests are sharing their photos of your coffee – make sure you reply! This keeps the conversation going and makes your brand look like ‘a real person’ rather than a faceless entity. All of this is great for building on your image.
Be encouraging and positive and your guests are likely to engage again and again. So, if one of your guests posts a photo of their excellent espresso or magnificent macchiato, comment on it to say that you love the pic, or that you are pleased they enjoyed their time at the hotel.
Making your posts light-hearted makes it easy for your guests to engage. Just remember to keep it professional – social media can feel like a comfortable space as we are used to using it in our personal lives, but always remember you are representing your business!
Tchibo Coffee Service provide training to the hotel sector to make sure your team can produce awesome coffee and we also have a wide range of complementary goods like tea and teapots in our Espresso Warehouse range.
Tchibo Coffee Service has 26 years of experience in the hotel sector so find out more about how we can support your hotel business or have a chat with our friendly team.
References
https://www.avocadosocial.com/the-latest-uk-social-media-statistics-for-2018/
https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2018/jan/04/only-60-uk-businesses-using-social-media/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/280295/market-share-held-by-the-leading-social-networks-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/
Tagged with: coffee • Facebook • hotel • Instagram • LinkedIn • Marketing • service • Social Media • Twitter
