How to manage social media for accommodation businesses?

Marketing on social media is a vast topic that can vary significantly depending on the industry. Accommodation owners often leverage the potential of online media, and by running engaging and interesting profiles, they effectively attract new guests. If you’re unsure how to manage social media for your accommodation business, take a look at these five principles that will make your job easier and help you attract new guests.

Don’t Sell – Tell Stories

Effective social media management requires creating valuable content. Notice how we’ve been bombarded with messages urging us to buy certain products or services for years, every single day. Most of us have subconsciously learned to ignore such messages because they hold little value for us. However, we still eagerly consume content based on stories. And that’s no surprise – storytelling has been an intrinsic part of human history. From ancient cave paintings to oral traditions passed down through generations, storytelling has always been a way of connecting and sharing experiences. The best books, movies, or songs all share one thing: they tell compelling stories. This is not just a matter of tradition; stories engage our brains, allow us to relate to the situations described, and therefore, stick in our memory better. So, instead of urging your followers to book a stay in every post, share what truly interests them. Talk about your place, introduce yourself and your team, explain the origins of your property’s name, and share its history. Use anecdotes from your guesthouse’s life to highlight the advantages of peaceful mornings with a coffee on the terrace of your rental apartment. Spark your audience’s imagination and make them think, “I want to be there!” The possibilities are endless – you just need to step away from a purely sales-driven mindset for a moment.

Post Regularly

Managing a social media profile requires consistency, regardless of which platform you choose. Regular posting is important for two key reasons. The first reason involves your followers. In psychology, there’s a principle called the “mere exposure effect.” Simply put, the more we see someone – like encountering the same person every morning in a coffee shop queue – the more likely we are to develop a subconscious liking for them. In other words, we tend to like what feels familiar to us. This principle can be directly applied to a brand. By showcasing your accommodation business regularly, you make it more familiar to your audience, even if they haven’t stayed with you yet. Over time, this familiarity builds a positive image of your business, which can ultimately lead to more bookings. After all, it feels good to relax in a place that seems familiar and welcoming.However, your followers aren’t the only reason consistency is important. If you want to grow your social media profile, regular posting is a key factor. A lack of consistency negatively impacts social media algorithms, which reduce your reach. As a result, infrequent posts are seen by only a small fraction of your audience.

Stay Connected with Your Followers

The key to successful social media management isn’t just about how you create content or how often you post it. Remember, as the name suggests, social media is about community and mutual relationships. That’s why staying connected with your followers is crucial.

Don’t forget to reply to comments, respond to messages, ask questions, and start discussions. This will significantly boost your audience’s engagement. While interacting with them, make sure to show the human side of your brand – the person behind it. On social media, people seek connections with other people, not with an abstract entity or a corporate image.

Despite your best efforts, negative comments may sometimes appear on your profile. Listen to such feedback and address your guests’ concerns. Keep in mind that emotions aren’t the best advisors, and in these situations, it’s wise to set your pride aside. History has shown that an unprofessional response can ruin everything you’ve worked to build.

Get to Know Your Audience

Social media is, in a sense, a dialogue. Brands communicate with their audiences in diverse ways. Messages from companies targeting teenagers differ greatly from those aimed at lawyers or doctors. To effectively communicate with your customers, you first need to understand who they are.

Think about the guests at your accommodation. Not all of them, but those who make the decision to visit – this typically excludes children. Start by answering these basic questions:

• How old is your guest?
• What is their level of education?
• Where do they live?
• What is their marital status?
• How much do they earn?
• Do they have children?

If you’ve answered these questions, great! Now it’s time for more specific ones:

• What do they like to do in their free time?
• How do they relax?
• What values are important to them?
• What are they afraid of?

This simple exercise will help you envision your ideal guest, get to know them better, and create messages tailored to their preferences. Additionally, the insights gained from this exercise will make it easier for you to craft effective social media ads, as you’ll see later.

Use Paid Promotions

Paid ads on social media platforms offer tremendous potential for your brand, and you can start promoting your accommodation for just a few dollars a day. If you’re wondering how to create ads on Instagram or Facebook, the first step is to revisit the previous point in this article. Knowing your guests – your target audience – is essential for achieving the best results at the lowest cost.

When creating social media ads, you can precisely define who your ad is intended for. For example, if you have a weekend vacancy in a couple’s apartment, target your ad to couples without children. With the right settings, your ad won’t be shown to singles or families with kids. Thanks to ad creation tools provided by social media platforms, setting these variables is relatively straightforward. However, the most important factor is understanding your customer.

Did the story you shared in your post captivate your audience? Strike while the iron is hot! In both ads and posts, you can include a direct link to the BedBooking reservation system. This allows your guests to check room availability, view pricing, and book their stay 24/7.