5 tips for effective hotel presence on Twitter

The typical hotel’s guest spends quite a lot time searching hotels online. That’s why the need of good internet presence should not be underestimated and every hotel should take advantage of each one of the distribution channels that internet offers. One of those channels, although often underestimated for Bulgarian travel market, is Twitter.

The social network for microblogging may become an effective marketing tool for attracting new customers. Twitter is suitable for real-time communication with prospective customers especially with tourists from the Millennium generation which are always connected to the internet. To get the maximum of it we suggest the following 5 tips for effective hotel presence on Twitter:

1. Make sure your Twitter business profile looks professional

Our first minutes spent in Twitter may seem like a maze with no exit. But if we spend some time exploring the network we’ll see that it is pretty easy to get around and we may even enjoy using it more often. The most important thing is to set up our profiles in a way that attracts followers and most of all – to have all the necessary information for our hotel property and destination. Key words that describe the amenities of our place such as hotel, spa, restaurant, pool or others are a must as well as professional photos for profile picture and cover.

2. Build your network of relevant followers

In the beginning it is hard to see that Twitter has that many active users but it really does. We should build and develop our network of relevant followers in order to start seeing some results. The good news is that everybody needs a hotel at some point so we can attract various of people. We can start by following our ideal customers by ourselves. Most of the time they will follow back. That way they’re “subscribed” to see our posts and massages.

Twitter also offers the feature to organize our followers in different lists such as “prospective clients”, “past guests”, “regular guests”, “travel bloggers” or other important groups. That way we can easily click on the list and contact the people on it.

3. Join the discussion, be active

We should not be afraid to join the conversation when we have a chance even if the theme is radically differentthan travel or hospitality. With the help of a single hashtag we can easily find people who are in our destination or going to be and are asking questions about it, to give them tips on what to do, to retweet their posts, etc. That way we are showing that we can be of help and care about our customers. The next time they are looking for hotel in the destination they will remember this simple act of kindness and may even book with us.

4. Use a lot of visuals

Visuals are ruling the internet world now. For the past months pictures and especially videos has become the best way to grab the attention of online users. We should always add visuals to our hotel’s Twitter posts to boost the engagement. It’s one of the easiest ways to show our guest how comfy our hotel rooms are, how stylish is the restaurant or how delicious our meals are.

5. Connect with your present guests

For best results on Twitter we can rely on the guest we already charmed with our hotel. We may think about a strategy where we ask guests to follow us on Twitter for a discount. If he receives a special thank you message after his stay, they will remember us for the special treatment for sure.

Twitter is a perfect addition to every hotel’s main online marketing strategy plan. Of course, like every other marketing tool, it takes a significant amount of time, efforts and knowledge before it starts to give results. But the social network offers great advantages which we can use for brand awareness, for customer attraction and gaining competitive advantage.

If you want to add Twitter to your hotel marketing plan, we can help you with setting up and developing your network!