How to market your hotel with video content

What is video marketing? / Video marketing: a definition

Video marketing is a form of digital marketing that uses video to promote brand services and products and promotes sharing and distributing content both through traditional and modern channels, and especially by activating email marketing campaigns with the goal of creating greater engagement. 

The key to successful video marketing is to create high-quality content that resonates with your target audience and helps support your marketing goals. Investing in video is a fundamental step to ensure that your product increases the interest of the consumer in order to establish a relationship that works.  

 Why is video marketing effective?:  

1. Videos are a highly engaging format: the format currently preferred by consumers to gain views and shares;   
2. Videos are versatile: they can be used for a wide range of purposes, from promotion to training, and they can be long or short and adapted to different spaces;
3. Videos can be used in various moments of the customer journey in all the three main phases: awareness, consideration, and finally in the decision phase. 

The goal of a video marketing product is to engage potential consumers by giving them valuable, relevant, and entertaining information about the company or industry that you are promoting.  Videos can be created in various ways and with various goals, such as to educate, to create brand awareness, or show products or services.

The hotel sector and video marketing: a winning combination?

Video marketing is a powerful tool for businesses in general and hotels are no exception. In a highly competitive market, video marketing can help hotels stand out and reach a wider audience.  

Today, the term “homo videns” is gaining popularity: it refers to a population that is increasingly impacted by  by moving images. Humans are notoriously emotional animals and the best way to engage them at this level is through video. Content and image must work hand in hand to achieve the goal of creating a growing interest and curiosity towards the object to be advertised.  

Social media works precisely on this by combining text and visual elements; this is the space where video marketing must be inserted. Creating a product that can operate both on the most modern platforms, such as Instagram or TikTok, and on more traditional channels, such as YouTube or the brand website, must be the goal of marketers. 

Our attention span for focusing on an object is estimated to be 8 seconds.  A sequence of images that follow each other produces a more engaging effect than static images, even if they are bothvisual elements. In the specific case of the hotel industry, being able to see details of rooms, services (such as breakfast), and everything concerning accommodation is a key element that guides customers when booking.

In the hotel industry, video marketing can be a very effective tool for promoting your hotel and attracting potential customers and there are several ways that hotels can use video marketing to their advantage:  

•  Hotel Tours: create video tours of your hotel, showcasing its rooms, services, and the surrounding areas  can give potential customers a virtual experience of their overnight stay in the hotel. 
• Customer testimonials: collect testimonials from previous customers and create a video that shows and tells potential customers about the positive experiences of hotel guests; this type of video is a great way to build trust with potential future customers.
• Behind-the-scenes videos: create a video that shows the backstage workings from inside the hotel that featureg hotel staff.
• Destination guides:videos that boost the value of the location by offering customers ideas for  things to see and do in the surrounding area while staying at the hotel.

The value of video marketing for hotels

Here are some of the reasons why video marketing is important for hotels:   

1. Show the true value of your hotel: videos can show and talk about the characteristics and services offered. Customers can see the various specifics of interest in a realistic but virtual way: rooms, services, and quality of catering for example, that providesa realistic idea of what they can expect during their stay.  
2. Create an emotional experience: videos can create an emotional  experience for consumers. This is especially important in the hotel industry where the atmosphere is a key element of the experience. By using high-quality images and sounds, hotels can convey a welcoming and inviting atmosphere to attract more customers.
3. Improve search engine rankings: videos help improve SEO Search engine algorithms that favor visual content and videos can increase visibility.
4. Increase sharing on social media: videos are easy to share and can increase the reach of the hotel message. Customers can share the video with their friends and family, thereby increasing the visibility of the hotel by reaching a wider audience.

How to create the best video: some winning strategies

To create a video marketing content you need to follow several steps:   

1. Define your goal: determine what you want to achieve with your video marketing campaign, as mentioned above: educate, promote, or increase brand awareness;  
2. Identify your target audience: determine who you want to reach with your video and analyze the buyer personas;
3. Plan your content: Think about the kind of video you want to create: an explainer video, a product demonstration, or a company culture video.
4. Choose the right tools: 

• a tripod for better stability and video quality;  
• a quality video camera;  
• a microphone, both for narration and background sounds; 
• editing software that supports your needs; certain social networks allow you to upload and edit the video directly on the platform. 

Finally, after collecting the tools and having set goals, targets, and content, all that remains is the moment of shooting: choosing the format and editing, thinking about what you want to showand who to involve in the video will lead to a more decisive final result.

More sharing means more hype

As we’ve said, creating video marketing products isn’t just about “traditional” spaces, such as the company website, as it was in the past. Today, video can be shared on social platforms, basically for two reasons: the sharing between users and the increased involvement of a much wider population  of possible customers, faster. 

There are several ways this can happen:  

• Emotional appeal videos: to evoke emotions and connections with the consumer who is looking deeper than just text products or static images.  
• More social media activity and more sharing: having an active account becomes a plus for consumers who are looking for information about their hotel; offering funny or interesting videos could inspire some customersto share them with other potential customers.  
• User Generated Content (UGC): as in any field, even in the hotel sector, amateur videos or those created by the customers themselves creates a sense of authenticity compared to a planned and directed corporate video.  

The connection and the hype are linked by a single element that marketers must preserve: storytelling. Featuring the brand in the right way can create awareness and a very tight bond between the customer and the hotel.

Babelee

Copywriters, video creators, digital marketers and developers: this is who we are! Young, passionate, geeky and very keen on media and technology. Fancy to meet the team? Contact us or submit your cv, we love talented people.