Why You Need Inbound Marketing For Resorts And Hotels

Did you know that you need inbound marketing for resorts to be successful in the hotel industry? Were you aware that the latest trends in the digital marketing landscape have potential guests being constantly bombarded with advertisements all competing for their attention, and that your resort needs a clever inbound marketing strategy to be noticed? Do you wish you knew how to reach non-English speaking markets or a target audience in a country like South Korea which has its home-grown social media platforms you are unfamiliar with?

Find out what inbound marketing is all about, how it’s different from outbound marketing, and how your resort can benefit from it. We’ll also let you know a few inbound marketing strategies that have proven to work in the past like making content that is engaging to your audience, how to more potential guests to your website, and convincing them to make a hotel reservation. Finally, we’ll let you know how a digital marketing partner can help you out with carrying out these effective marketing strategies so you can fill all your guest rooms in the next tourist season. 

What Is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is also known as ‘pull marketing’, and the idea is to pull potential customers toward you by generating interest in your product or service offerings. This can be achieved by creating content that is engaging, optimizing it using SEO techniques, sharing that content on social media sites where your audience is present, leveraging the emotional connection past customers have with your brand and providing answers to questions people have when making their travel plans. 

Difference Between Inbound Marketing And Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing is the more traditional when one thinks about marketing. These methods are more proactive in reaching out and attracting customers. Advertising through cold-calling, email marketing, billboards, and mass media like television, radio, and newspapers are some examples of outbound marketing. 

Outbound marketing reaches out to a mass audience and there’s very little targeting that happens for a particular segment. An outbound marketing plan can seem a bit aggressive and pushy, compared to inbound marketing which draws potential customers based on their own interests and needs.

How Does Inbound Marketing Benefit Hotels?

A marketing strategy with an inbound approach has many benefits for a company in the hospitality industry. 

Inbound Marketing Is More Affordable

Paid advertising on mass media is very expensive and usually requires a steady cash flow to maintain it. If you stop advertising, you will often see an immediate decline in interest in your resort. A famous hotel chain may be able to afford to do this continuously, but if you’re a boutique hotel with a niche market, this may not make sense for you financially. 

Great content once posted on your social media accounts or blog will continue to deliver results by sending visitors to your website for months or even years without any additional costs. Therefore, inbound marketing offers great returns on investment and is more affordable, making it a great option for resorts both large and small. 

Inbound Marketing Allows You To Track Performance 

There’s no real way to know whether your approach is really working with outbound marketing other than the rise or fall in the number of your bookings. With inbound marketing, you can easily track interest in your brand and resort through a variety of online tools, the insights provided by social media companies, and by observing how visitors to your website behave. Based on this data, can fine-tune your own channels to reach more customers and nudge them towards more bookings more effectively. 

Inbound Marketing Provides Value To Customers

While outbound marketing will intrude on them, inbound marketing will offer tips, advice, and other details your audience is actively searching for. Therefore, inbound marketing is a chance to engage with and provide information that travelers need to make their decisions. It’s also an opportunity to impress your audience with your knowledge of the travel industry. Even if they don’t book rooms on this trip, they may remember how your blog article helped them out and become future guests one day. 

An Inbound Marketing Strategy For Your Resort

Here are a few examples of inbound marketing that will work for your resort or hotel to create loyalty among your customers, attract travelers to your website, and convince potential visitors to make a booking. 

Build A Mobile-Friendly Website For Your Resort

There will be many methods to draw guests toward your website that we will discuss. However, before all of that, you need a great-looking website developed. Your website should reflect the quality of service your resort offers and has to be consistent with your brand image. A poorly designed website with broken functionality and slow loading will not impress modern, youthful, and tech-savvy visitors. 

Your website also needs to be optimized for mobile devices since most people search for travel information on their smartphones. You will need a separate mobile version of your website for this purpose. If your images are getting cropped out or the video showing off your hotel is not loading quickly, this can turn off potential guests. 

Travelers should also be able to access the content and relevant information they desire within two or three clicks without going past too many web pages, so easy navigation is a must. Guests can be provided with the information they seek and then encouraged to make a booking with a clear call to action (CTA). You may also need to have language options if you’re targeting non-English speaking customers. 

Eye-Catching Visual Content Creation

Nothing shows off the scenic beauty surrounding your resort, its luxurious furnishings, and the superior service you offer than high-quality photos and video of the premises. This is the best way for most travelers to get a sense of the experience they are in for if they visit your resort. Create content that shows the view from a guest bedroom, the attention to detail your staff provides, and all the highlights of your hotel. 

Even a small business or boutique hotel can create compelling content using affordable means like drone videography to showcase the destination. After you create eye-catching content that is sure to impress travelers, you can post it on your website and social media to draw them in. More on this later!

Start A Blog On Your Hotel WebsiteTo Engage Potential Guests

Most customers do research on nearby attractions, tours, and other activities before making travel plans. There’s likely nobody better than you that knows the area surrounding your resort, making you the most qualified to answer questions these travelers will have. You could do this by starting a blog on your hotel website with articles that provide travel tips, the best restaurants, and activities like safaris, boat rides, and water sports depending on where you are located. 

These blog articles will be useful to not just your guests but anyone staying in that area. The top ten lists are the type of content that will get shared among friends on social media, so even if the reader doesn’t stay at your resort, somebody else might. Great blog articles can create brand awareness, and the reader may one day remember and check out your establishment. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Depending on how your target audience uses Google or Bing, you can find the most relevant keywords they type into the search engine. Everything on your website including the copy that details your hotel’s package offerings and the blog articles need to be optimized for these keywords. Apart from keywords, multiple SEO methods can help search engines understand the content you upload to your site, allowing them to present your audience with the relevant information they seek. This will ensure your content pops up at the top of search results, bringing in more website traffic. 

If you’re thinking of targeting clients from a specific market like South Korea, then you should be aware that people there don’t use Google as much as local search engines like Naver to research travel destinations. If this is your target market, you have to be on Naver and optimize for that platform. You can also start a brand page on Naver Blogs since many Koreans use it to find information. You can even partner with Naver Blog Influencers who already have a large readership if you’re unfamiliar with the local language. For more on the importance of SEO, read Why You Need to Invest in SEO Content Services. 

Build Your Social Media Presence To Reach Your Target Audience

All the blog articles you write and stunning video content you produce can be shared on social media. Furthermore, you can even interact directly with users to answer any questions they might have or additional info they need in response to your posts. By keeping track of the performance of your posts, you can learn more about your audience, and get fresh ideas for your future content. You can build anticipation for upcoming events, and seasonal packages and even generate buzz through contests. 

While Facebook and Instagram are great for travelers from around the globe, some markets will need your presence on platforms you may be unfamiliar with. In South Korea for example, KakaoStory is a photo-sharing app used by many and KakaoTalk is the messaging app used by more than 90% of the smartphone users in the country. To reach this audience, your brand needs to be present on these platforms, consistently sharing content, and using its features for marketing your resort. To learn more about it, read Social Media Marketing in South Korea.     

Utilize Reviews From Past Guests

Unless they’re returning guests who’ve been to your resort or are familiar with your brand, nearly everyone checks hotel reviews left by people online. No doubt you are already adding special touches to your services like complimentary drinks and a customized welcome message which go a long way to making their stay comfortable and memorable. 

While this is great for building their loyalty during their stay, you can also leverage this emotional connection later. You can always request feedback and follow up with past guests by inviting them to leave a review on your website. As positive reviews accumulate over time, the likelihood of more guests being convinced will grow. 

Build Local Partnerships  

It’s always good to network with local businesses that are operating near your resort. Local tour companies, restaurants, spas, and other businesses can complement what your resort offers. These partnerships can benefit both parties and you can recommend travelers to your trusted business partners. Your content like blog articles can link to your partner’s website or social media and you can expect them to do the same. This type of link-building is another SEO strategy you can use to get more website visitors and improve your search engine rankings.  

Why You Need A Digital Marketing Partner For Your Inbound Marketing Strategies

It’s always best to hire an expert with industry knowledge and experience to make a strong marketing plan for the following reasons. 

They Understand How Inbound Marketing And Outbound Marketing Strategies Work 

A marketing agency will employ a team well-versed in the concepts of both inbound and outbound marketing in today’s competitive digital landscape. They will be aware of which methods will work in your industry, and what’s perfect for your budget.   

Creative Talent And Technical Skills 

Creating a mobile-friendly, easy-to-navigate, and impressive-looking website requires both technical skills in coding and creative talent for graphic design. The same applies to blog content which requires writing skills and knowledge of SEO best practices. By hiring a professional agency that specializes in content creation and marketing, you can sit back and focus on keeping your guests satisfied instead of worrying about SEO.  

Experience Working With Hotel Industry Clients 

If you’re new to the hospitality industry, you may be unsure of how to successfully launch digital marketing campaigns. By hiring the right people with years of experience and a portfolio of clients similar to yours, you can get their advice and rely on their skills for your inbound marketing.

They Know Your Target Market

If you’re unfamiliar with how to reach your target audience in countries like South Korea, your own marketing efforts may go to waste. You need a partner on the ground who understands the audience you are attempting to reach, and the best platforms to reach them through.  

Looking For A Digital Marketing Partner For Your Inbound And Outbound Marketing Strategies?

Whether it’s search engine optimization, social media marketing, or web design and development, then Inquivix is the inbound marketing partner for you. Inquivix has years of experience in providing digital marketing for resorts and hotels, as well as retail and fashion brands breaking into South Korea. 

We have unique insight into the challenges of reaching this target audience and the best platforms they can be reached on. Inquivix can help your company flourish in this market and the wider Asian region. For more on what we do, check out Inquivix today!

FAQs

What Is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is a way to draw in your target audience by creating content they value and making it easy for them to find it online. By creating such content that delivers the information they need, you can direct these potential customers to your website. 

What Are The Types Of Inbound Marketing For Resorts?

Content such as videos, images, blogs, and guest reviews can be created and/or shared on a website and social media platforms used by the target audience. Search engine optimization (SEO) methods can be used to make this content appear before your potential guests when they search for related information on search engines while making their travel plans.