The 2020 tourist and holiday season is unlike any other the industry has ever dealt with, but that doesn't mean that there is no demand. Given the pace of change this year, you'll likely need to reframe and adapt your digital marketing strategy in order to compete more effectively. If you're looking to embrace new avenues for hotel marketing, one option that ticks all the boxes is influencer marketing.

Influencers for Hospitality Marketing

Influencers have been a part of modern hotel marketing strategies for several years now, and it could be argued that influencers have played a key role in traditional hotel marketing for many decades. Think of how The Ritz in Paris became synonymous with icons like Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway - who they've named their old world cocktail bar after. Hospitality marketing has arguably always been ideally positioned to make the best use of influencers. The space attracts those looking for trends and personal experiences, and today's influencers are able to deliver the invaluable experience of walking in the customer's footsteps.

5 Benefits of Using Influencers for Hospitality Marketing

Influencer marketing, whether it is for hotel marketing or anything else, can be a very divisive topic - but like any other hotel marketing strategies, if you take the right approach - and partner with the right influencer for your brand - it can be incredibly rewarding.

1. Inspire an Established Audience

Hotel and hospitality marketing strategies are all about inspiring people to explore, live more fully, and experience something out-of-the ordinary. The right influencer should match both your brand values and the values of your audience, bringing an already-established crowd of relevant consumers to your digital door.

This can save you the time and effort of finding and winning credibility with your target audience - as they're already following that influencer on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Medium or wherever they're based. The audience's goal is to use that influencer's experiences to guide and inform them as they choose their next getaway destination - positioning your property as the place to be.

2. Educate Your Audience

Hotel guests can't get enough of reviews - the more in-depth, the better. An influencer can provide the most detailed content about your brand and the guest experience you offer through high-impact channels utilising video, blogs and photography. In this role, your influencer works to show your potential customer what it feels like to be a guest, reviewing everything from room furnishings and dining to views, amenities and local activities.

Your guests will have a very clear idea of what's in store for their stay, which makes their purchasing decision that much easier.

3. Add Authority and Trust Factors

The best influencers are seen by their audience to be unbiased and objective, which puts them in a position of authority and trustworthiness when it comes to purchasing decisions. People follow influencers and engage with them because they believe they have a wider range of experience to better understand the brand, products and services they are talking about, similar to a professional hotel reviewer.

For this reason, influencer marketing actively builds trust in your brand. If the influencer has a great time at your hotel and documents it all for their followers who share the same values, then the audience is going to believe that they'll have a great time and an authentic guest experience too.

4. Get Creative Input

Hotel marketing strategies need a lot of creative thought in order to be successful at engaging and inspiring guests to visit. At the same time, it's an ongoing challenge for hotels and hospitality marketing departments to keep coming up with something fresh and exciting - something their audience wants to see.

Good professional influencers really shine when it comes to this side of hotel marketing strategies. Not only do they have a deep understanding of what their audience (and therefore your audience) is looking for and what resonates with them, they are also creative specialists in finding fresh and entertaining ways to deliver this content.

Their style of language, photography and engagement is proven with the audience you want to attract, so leveraging their creative expertise is not only rewarding in terms of results, but helps to avoid critical missteps that can happen in a marketing strategy. You'll get more engagement, avoid the kind of faux pas that can cost you, and drive followers and leads to your website and social pages.

5. Leverage the Surging Power of Social Media

COVID-19 has made social media more powerful than ever before, with Facebook as well as YouTube seeing massive surges in active users and time spent online. Instagram, a primary platform for many influencers, saw some of the biggest increase in terms of use, with 2020 projections showing 14% growth - an additional 3 minutes of time per user on the platform per day.

One of the best ways of leveraging these changes in user behaviour work for your hotel marketing strategy is to get an established influencer who understands you brand and already has a relationship with your target audience to work on your campaigns.

Influencer Marketing is the Edge Your Hotel Marketing Strategy Needs

With the right brief and strategy, as well as a carefully researched influencer who has a strong relationship with your client base, your hotel marketing strategy can leverage significant creative expertise, an engaged and loyal audience, and a wide range of digital media to deliver an effective edge in a challenging new normal.