Are you an hotelier or marketer looking to create campaigns with impact? From adopting an integrated approach to channelling your inner journalist, AM+A has got you covered. Here are our top tips for creating and putting into action an effective hotel PR and marketing strategy.
An organised integrated PR & digital approach.
The key to any successful PR campaign is organisation. It is true that we must react to news and trends as they emerge, but the best campaigns involve a proactive 12 month plan incorporating key dates throughout the year from national days to major holidays. Creating smaller, three to six month plans allow you to regularly catch long lead press and consistently keep your hotel in the news.
Regularly update creative strategies.
The media, PR and marketing industries are extremely fluid. Regular creative brainstorms are vital for keeping your brand on trend. Launching a hotel is easy, keeping a hotel in the press is not. Creating a major annual event or unique promotion for your hotel will help maintain exposure. Big events should also be supplemented with smaller, tactical ideas. Your ‘bread and butter’, if you will. This is a fine line to tread. You want to keep your brand in the media without bombarding journalists to the point of apathy.
Build a network of influencers.
As social media continues to grow in importance, particularly among millennials(generation aged 25 - 35 with a disposable income), the importance of building a high-quality influencer network cannot be overstated. According to Havas Group’s Meaningful Brands 2019 report, 81% of brands sold across Europe could disappear and consumers would not care. Building a trustworthy brand is therefore vital for engaging consumers. Create a rapport with your influencers, bring them back time and time again and utilise their contacts to create an even greater reach for your brand.
Influencer marketing is still a murky area. There are a few things you should know to ensure you make the most out of the relationship. Look for an engagement rate of 4%+ on posts. Define expectations beforehand to ensure they are met. Aim to state what you want before sending them on a trip - if you want 10 photos, ask for 10 photos! It’s important to research your influencers and ensure they area good fit for your target audience to produce content that maximises your assets.
Think like a journalist.
In order to generate publicity for your brand, try to understand what appeals to journalists and what doesn’t. By thinking like a journalist, you can tailor your campaign and present your assets in a way that is far more likely to be picked up. To be able to think like a journalist, you should be constantly reading press not just within your industry, but a wide variety. Devour the media, find the angles behind features and learn to spot current trends. Journalists love anything new and anything that taps into their calendars. Winning the press over is vital to a successful hotel marketing campaign.
Maximise your assets.
Even if you use all of the tactics suggested today and create an innovative, well-structured campaign, you cannot succeed if you don’t have the assets in place to maximise your product. Stay on brand and build up a vault of high quality images, videos, blog posts and articles while ensuring any logos and branding materials are designed to the highest standard. This is the starting point for any successful campaign.
Looking for some creative campaign ideas? Check out AM+A’s work helping create a globally recognised hotel brand here.
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