Social Media Marketing 101 in the Hospitality Sector

According to a recent survey, 80% of Instagram users follow at least one business — and most users follow several businesses across multiple platforms, whether it’s Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or another site. Tech-savvy hospitality operators know how to target the right demographics, even when those customers aren’t already following their pages.

What is social media marketing? It’s a simple concept for most professionals to understand, since it uses many of the same concepts and strategies as traditional marketing. The biggest difference is that all of the effort focuses on mainstream social channels — usually Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, though some businesses expand into smaller platforms like Snapchat or Pinterest.

What makes it unique? Although it mirrors several facets of traditional marketing, social media marketing is entirely online, which calls for a specialized approach — especially in hospitality. That often means a content calendar to organize future posts, email blasts, and ads, plus a way to track your key performance indicators (KPIs) over time. Before any of that, though, some preparation is required.

Start by preparing a general strategy — a strategy statement, similar to a mission statement, that outlines your final objective. Common goals in the hospitality sector include attracting more clientele, building awareness around local attractions, and strengthening the overall customer experience. Once your strategy is set, establish goals, milestones, and timelines that help you gauge progress over time.

Making the most of your strategy. Once you’ve outlined a plan and decided how you’ll measure success, take time to analyze your target audience. Instead of creating generic content meant to appeal to everyone, research your chosen demographic and use it to brainstorm ideas. Hospitality customers are generally drawn to stories involving hospitality — how is your business making the experience better? Are you involved in the local community? From there, build out a content calendar with expected publishing dates, target platforms, and the results you hope to achieve. Then examine the effectiveness of your plan: is your content having the desired effect, and are your audiences taking the actions you expect? Every major social platform has built-in analytics to help you track views and interactions and refine your approach over time.

Want to talk through how a video gaming terminal could become part of your establishment’s story? Connect with Monte Cristo Gaming today.