The Most Effective Forms of Earned Media for Hotels

By now, you have likely heard about three specific types of media, all of which are integral to the success of your hotel’s online marketing strategy. Paid, owned, and earned media, all while falling under the same general umbrella, vary in many ways. The following should give you a quick refresher of each type of media:

• Paid media: Purchased content such as pay-per-click or display ads.
• Owned media: Content you control, such as your hotel’s website, blog, social media profiles, and listings on third-party sites such as TripAdvisor.
• Earned media: User-generated content generally spreads through review sites, social media, blogs, photos, videos, etc.

As stated, using these types of media can help you achieve your hotel’s online marketing goals. Specifically, when it comes to improving your search ranking, which can, in turn, affect direct bookings. Especially in a day when Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are spending more on marketing than ever before. It is essential to pursue paid, owned, and earned media for your hotel to improve your organic search rankings.

Earned content is perhaps the most difficult to garner, yet the most worthwhile type of media. Studies have shown that consumers trust the opinions of other consumers more than any other advertising source, thus placing even more importance on user-generated content. In many cases, earned media is low-budget, making it a cost-effective way to market your hotel.

But what is user-generated content, and how can you go about increasing this content generated online by your guests, fans, followers, and brand ambassadors? It can be tricky to motivate people about your hotel, but it can be done! The following insight looks more at earned media, and provides tips on how to generate content from users:

Reviews

Your hotel needs as many reviews as possible. Not only on review giant, TripAdvisor but also OTAs such as Expedia. Encourage discussions by utilizing TripAdvisor’s widgets. Add a space to write a review for your hotel directly on your website, or upload a tab to your Facebook page where users can do the same. Post on your social media channels asking for a quick review, however, keep in mind the 80/20 rule of self-promotion! Ask guests at check-out for a review, and send a follow-up email including a link to your review pages. Many guests are happy to write a review. They need a little nudge or a reminder. Make the process as easy as possible for them. As long as you are not too invasive with your marketing, you may find the results for increasing your number of reviews better than expected!

Blogger outreach

Creating a buzz around your hotel or brand in the blogosphere is one of the most potent types of earned media. Many blogs, especially travel-themed blogs, have large communities and followings, and the level of trust among the blogger or bloggers and the community can be high. Securing blog posts about your hotel can happen on a low to no budget (depending on the blog or blogger). This makes blogger outreach a vital element of your hotel’s marketing plan. This process can be time-consuming but can pay off if done correctly. If you have a unique special offer running at your property or a big event happening soon, reach out to relevant bloggers and inform them of your hotel’s story. You never know who already might be a fan of your hotel, so put your feelers out for potential brand ambassadors! There are ample tools in existence that allow you to see who is talking about your property in the digital space, and utilizing these can give you a head start.

Social media

Social media has truly empowered user-generated content. While many fans or followers will share content with your hotel on their own, there are ways to encourage them even more. Hosting contests or giving small incentives to post a review or photo can work wonders. Remember to ask for a review and not specify that it should be a positive one. Again, people trust their friends’ and families’ words and recommendations more than traditional advertising, so take advantage of this by encouraging conversation about your brand through as many mediums as possible. 

Again, the most effective online marketing strategy for your hotel incorporates paid, owned, and earned media. Gaining the latter can mean putting in some time. It will pay off when your hotel appears high organically on search results. This could be due to a positive comment or engaging photo posted on your Facebook page from a loyal guest!