It’s getting harder and harder to get the attention your business deserves over social media. There are simply too many businesses vying for attention from the same set of people. Add to that a decreasing organic reach and the decreasing attention span and what you have is a situation that has most business owners scratching their heads about how to inspire engagement.
Recent study has shown that hotels and marketers may benefit from being direct when engaging their customers. The study revealed that those that ask for comments and shares see a 77% increase in engagement.
But who does that? Many businesses are still not comfortable with actively soliciting for retweets, shares, likes, and comments. Nobody likes coming across as needy, after all, despite the benefits.
Luckily there are other ways to get the attention you deserve:
1. Paint Pictures with Photos
You want to create eye-catching posts that demand attention, and photos are a great way to go about this. A study found that facebook posts with photos generate 53% more likes than those which don’t. Take advantage of this fact.
Post high quality photos of your property, including a good selection of the accommodation, amenities, and related activities in around the property.
2. Partner and Connect with Related Pages/Businesses
The content you share does not always have to be yours. You can leverage the audience of other platforms and businesses you follow by mentioning them or resharing their content. This allows you to drive traffic to your website through someone else’s marketing while allowing the other platform to take advantage of your own audience at the same time. It’s a win-win.
3. Listen to Your Audience and Let them Have Their Say
The better you know your audience and their opinions and needs, the more likely you are to post relevant and engaging content. Sending out surveys and questionnaires, and enlisting your bed and breakfast on review sites like TripAdvisor and OTAs are great ways through which you can learn what matters to your audience.
You can also allow your audience have their say by running polls, asking questions, and asking guests to share their stories. This is a great way to leverage user-generated content and make your audience engage more.
4. Adhere to the 80/20 Rule and Keep Things Interesting
To keep things interesting you have to talk less about your business and more about the interesting things that are related to your industry. Constantly talking about your bed and breakfast will eventually turn people off and lose you followers.
Follow the marketer’s 80/20 rule: 20% of what you post should promote your business; 80% should concentrate on interesting things related to the industry or your local area.
Weekly Social Media Schedule
Here’s how your typical weekly social media schedule should look like:
MONDAYS : Add content showcasing your property, it’s accommodation, and amenities. Basically, if you've got it, flaunt it.
TUESDAYS: Share photos of your guests. When they are having a great time, ask them if you could take photos with them. Once you tag them on Facebook, your B&B will be seen by all their friends and followers.
WEDNESDAYS: Share photos of activities you or your B&B are involved in. People in your community will likely share and like stuff like this which is relevant to them.
THURSDAYS: Share inspirational images and quotes and inspire your present and potential audience.
FRIDAYS: Post offers and exclusive deals for page fans. For example you could have a special offer for a last-minute 2-night stay. This is a great way to increase engagement and nurture loyalty.
SATURDAYS: Promote new menus and daily/weekly specials. You can create amazing, mouth-watering posts from the items available on your menu.
SUNDAYS: Share posts that showcase attractions in your area and all that makes the area unique. This could be anything from theme parks to local farmers markets. You could also talk about local events and good dining options nearby.
Have you been struggling to generate engagement on your social media campaigns? We would like to know what has worked for you and what has not. Reach out to us today so we can talk about your bed and breakfast and how to get people talking about it on social media.
