When a traveler looks for accommodation on the internet, they will be exploring a variety of options to choose from. By offering something compelling, you can increase the chance a potential guest will stop at your site!
One of the key things involved while trying to sell something is providing the information your buyers need. When potential buyers are given the information they are looking it makes it easier for them to make a decision thereby paving way for a good buyer- seller relationship and also making the sales funnel shorter.
When it comes to marketing your Hotel or B&B online, there are a few important questions you need to ask yourself.
- Who are our guests?
- Where will guests be searching for lodging?
- What will a guest look for before making a decision?
To understand the first one better, let’s assume you are planning to buy a lawn mower online. What would you look for before making a purchase? You would look for reviews, testimonies, pricing at different online retailers and most importantly videos of it on YouTube. Videos can give us a lot of information which images and text cannot. For example, How a product can be used, what sort of a job it does.
Similarly, your guests would like to take a sneak peek into your property before making a reservation. Amenities, room types, facilities, places to see, type of cuisine will be of a great interest to your guest.
The information your guests are looking for can be in the form of text, images or video. But out of these, videos have the ability to get viewer’s attention. Videos trigger the viewer’s imagination and gives them a chance to experience what it would be like to stay at your hotel.
Advantages of Video Promos and Invites
- More conversion. 70% of marketers claim video produces more conversions than any other content.
- Reduces bounce rate of the website.
- Increases engagement.
- More traffic. According to adweek, video will account for 80 percent of all web traffic by 2019.
- Shareability.
- Ability to get viewer’s complete attention.
What to include in your video
- Uniqueness of the hotel
- Local attractions
- Food
- Guests enjoying amenities at your property (pool, restaurant)
- Activities that your guest can be part of
- A promo of an upcoming event happening at your property (concert), or about an event that happened last week or Month.
- Local Merchandise / Venues
Tools and resources for DIY video
A tripod to prevent shake camera work. Shotgun or a lavalier mic, if you intend to capture audio as well.
If your property is surrounded by lakes, hills or valleys, you can hire drone pilots to capture the scenic view surrounding your property.
To edit, you can use apps like Videorama, Filmora, movavi or imovie There are also many other apps compatible with Windows and Mac.
Videorama is like the video equivalent to graphic editors like Canva ,PicMonkey and Typorama. With Videorama you can add text, sound, video fx. But be mindful while trying to add something. There are tons of special fx that can make your video look very artificial and unreal. You might want to refrain from all of that.
Once your done with the edits, upload them in Vimeo or YouTube and share them across your social media accounts. Remember, consistency and quality matters.
Cheers to more reservations!