A guest blog by Instasize

Searching through social media has become a natural step for customers before they decide to transact with a business. If you’re not on social media, people will begin to question your credibility if not your existence and it’ll be hard to achieve social media booking growth. This is especially true for experience-based businesses such as hotels, tours, and even restaurants. 

There’s no downplaying it, if you’re not leaning into the key role of social media in tourism marketing by running an account on any of the top social media platforms — Facebook or Instagram — then you’ll get left behind. These platforms will not only help inform your potential customers about your business, but with the right tactics, they can reveal current tourism market trends and become incredible tools to increase your bookings.

Below are the best ways to increase your social media booking growth this 2022: 

Don’t forget to add a call-to-action (CTA) button 

Facebook and Instagram have CTA buttons available to any business account. The Book Now CTA in particular requires an account with an accredited scheduling partner. These CTA buttons allow customers to schedule appointments instantly, for free! Plus, having the button available means that you’ll spend less time answering queries about availability. 

Having a simple CTA button is a straightforward way to let your customers know what action you want them to take after visiting your profile just like adding a quick apply button to any virtual job search for platforms like linkedin and indeed the convenience of not having to open another window or make a phone call is also an added bonus for your customers. Adding a simple link to your WhatsApp can also be a good alternative in order for your customers to easily get in touch with you regarding any bookings, orders or other concerns.

Today’s customers look for instant gratification, if booking an appointment requires more effort than necessary, they might get turned off. 

According to Facebook business, a Chicago-based hair salon was able to increase their bookings by a whopping 40% just by adding the Book Now CTA on their page. 

The buttons are not just convenient for customers, but for businesses as well. Using the free scheduling tool allows you to manage all your bookings on your page. It also allows you to sync it with your personal calendar. You can also track the performance of your buttons through insights and save your customer’s information and booking history. 

If you prefer to receive calls or emails, you can also choose other action buttons such as Contact, Reserve, or Order Food. 

top tactics for social media booking growth

Image source: https://www.instagram.com/tahananbistro/

Tahanan Bistro (@tahananbistro), a modern dining destination in the Philippines, uses the action button “Contact” as a simple way to get their customers to place a reservation. Tapping on the Contact button will reveal the restaurant’s mobile number and email. If you have a phone number as a contact option on your profile, you can also use call tracking to analyze the source of your leads and therefore improve your social media marketing campaign if needed.

Invest in video 

Sometimes a photo or a caption isn’t enough to summarize what you have to offer. A hotel, for example, is more than just its beautifully designed rooms and amenities. But how do you communicate everything through a photograph? 

Posting videos regularly can help customers get a feel of the experience that you offer and give them a more in-depth look at your services. Videos also allow you to add other elements such as music, which can help capture the character of your business. 

elevate social media booking growth with video

Image source: https://www.instagram.com/laesperanzagranada/

To promote the property as a wedding destination, La Esperanza Granada (@laesperanzagranada) posts videos of its beautifully manicured grounds accompanied by instrumental love songs. This makes it easier for guests to visualize the place before booking an event or a stay. 

Instagram videos get more engagement than any other form of content on the platform. Even other social media platforms like Twitter, enjoy up to 10 times more engagement with video posts

When posting on Instagram, it would be a great idea to use Instagram Reels as the platform continues to highlight and promote Reels creators. 

Pro-tip: To create videos that stand out, use photo and video editing apps like Instasize that give you a wide selection of eye-catching filters and effects. Plus, it’s incredibly user-friendly too! 

Introduce the people behind the brand

Any restaurant can highlight its stunningly plated food. Any hotel can boast about its carefully curated rooms and high-end facilities. Competition is tough no matter what industry you’re in and the best way to differentiate you from all the others is by introducing your customers to the people that make the brand

social media booking growth by introducing people

Image source: https://www.instagram.com/redtreehouse/

The Red Tree House (@redtreehouse), a boutique hotel in Mexico City, introduces the people behind the hotel in its Story Highlights entitled “Hosts”. Adding a photo and a short description of each host gives guests a deeper understanding of what the hotel is all about. 

Oftentimes, what sets businesses apart from their competition aren’t their products or promise of quality service, but rather their people. 

Customers will keep coming back if they are able to form a deeper connection with your brand, and the only way you can do that is by allowing them to get to know YOU better. 

Don’t stop with the business owner or boss, you can highlight a different staff member every week. For example, if you run a restaurant, you can introduce everyone from the head chef, the sous chef, and the waiters. Revealing the faces behind a brand helps build trust and loyalty. 

Encourage user-generated content (UGC)

UGC remains to be one of the strongest forms of marketing because it increases your credibility as a business. Posting UGC on your profile presents proof that your service is worth posting about and recommending to friends. 

increase social media booking growth with user generated content

Image source: https://www.instagram.com/ovolohotels/

Ovolo hotels (@ovolohotels), a luxury boutique hotel group, shares content sourced from its guests. The posts highlight not only its uniquely designed properties across the globe but also the one-of-a-kind experiences each of its hotels offers. 

The hashtag #ovolohotels currently has over 13.8 thousand posts, with customers happily sharing snaps of the hotels’ Instagrammable spaces. 

Aside from using the hashtag yourself and promoting it across your social media pages, it’s highly recommended to add signs or stickers around Instagrammable spots within your property. This will remind guests to take photos and share them on social media. Restaurants can also remind guests to share their photos by adding a simple CTA on their menus such as “Tag us on Instagram @username!”.

Tell a story

Storytelling is the secret to a successful social media booking growth content strategy. That’s why almost every social media platform out there has created its own version of Stories. However, that doesn’t mean that your stories should only be told on Instagram Stories and the like. 

Tell your stories through meaningful captions or well-thought-out videos. Hard-selling doesn’t work on platforms like Instagram. Instead, create content that provides value to your audience.  

tell a story

Image source: https://www.instagram.com/fromkora/

From Kora (@fromkora), a New York city-based food business. They use its captions as a medium to tell stories and provide background about the food and ingredients they use. This educates their customers about the cultural significance of each dish, making them all the more special. 

By telling stories, you can create a community of loyal followers who not only enjoy your products or services but also share the same beliefs and values. From Kora, for instance, has an infamous 10,000-person long waitlist. 

Get Started

Social media is undeniably your best tool to get more bookings and encourage repeat visits. In fact, engaging with your guests digitally can increase your return rate by 40%

Marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all type of thing — what works for others, may not work for you. Don’t forget to research your audience, test your content, and discover what works best. With these tips and examples to guide you, you’ll increase your bookings in no time. 

Conclusion

Once you’ve mastered these 5 tactics to gain bookings from your social media platforms, you’ll need an online booking software that allows customers to place a booking on your site. Rezdy is an online booking software that allows your customers to easily place a booking. From real-time availability viewer, automatic email communication, secure payment gateway integrations, and reporting tools to track your business’ performance, not only will you make it easier for your customers to book through your business, but you’ll also save time and reduce your admin duties so you can go back to doing what you love most – creating memorable experiences with your guests.

Curious to see how Rezdy is the right fit for your business? Start a FREE 21-day trial or request a demo so you can test-drive a high-quality solution for yourself.

If you enjoyed this article – Top tactics for social media booking growth –  then make sure to follow the Rezdy blog. There are a lot of marketing tools and tour operator tips designed with businesses like yours in mind.

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