Make It Short, Make It Count: TikTok Marketing for Hotels and Destinations
How can you get additional visibility that converts into more guests, visitors, or employees? Explore how you can benefit by marketing on TikTok as a hotel or destination.
There is a mixture of feelings about TikTok in the business world - people are either on board or totally against it. From the perspective of marketers - we love it! It can be a very effective way to reach and engage with your audiences. Here is why and how you can bring your A-game into the short, engaging video content world.
Why TikTok Marketing for Hotels and Destinations?
Hospitality is an industry that revolves around people, feelings, and adventures. What better way to portray these than in short, stunning, and convincing videos about your hotel or destination? Here are four reasons why you should consider TikTok as part of your marketing mix:
A global audience at your fingertips
TikTok will have more than 1.8 billion users by the end of 2022. This is 22% of the entire global population. If you’re not counting children aged 0 to 14, the number climbs to more than 30%. Let’s put it even more in perspective - TikTok gives you access to 1 out of 3 people aged 14 and above globally. That’s an extremely large number of people!
The social media platform with the highest engagement rate per post
People are joining TikTok to view short, engaging, and funny video content. You’ll likely see immediate results if you consistently do it right [see chapter How Do You Get Started]. And your brand awareness stats can go through the roof.
The language of the younger generation
It’s no secret anymore that TikTok is the social media voice of the younger generation - especially Gen Zs.
87% of Gen Z highlighted that TikTok is their preferred social media platform.
Not knowing the world without the internet, Gen Zs have interacted with online content since they were born. This is the generation who quickly learned to choose and engage with the content they find interesting. Compared to other generations, they are also more pragmatic and authentic. That’s why TikTok resonates best with them - the content is primarily user-generated, entertaining, and condensed into short videos.
A rising resource for travel inspiration and planning
TikTok is not just about entertainment and funny dances. More people are turning to this social media platform to find inspiration for travel and adventure. And not only Gen Zs. Millennials are also into traveling videos.
Hashtags also prove how much TikTok users are interested in traveling and experiencing the world. One of the most popular hashtags currently on the platform is #outdoors. The pandemic and working from home likely helped to make it a rising star. Whether it’s about camping, skiing, or fishing, it’s a great way for destinations to promote their touristic landmarks or traveling experiences.
3 Ways to Promote Your Hotel and Destination on TikTok
How can you get additional visibility that converts into more guests, visitors, or employees? Here are three key things you can focus on for your TikTok marketing strategy.
Showcase Your People and Culture
Staff shortages continue to be an ongoing challenge for the industry. TikTok won’t solve this problem, but it may attract more people to consider you a potential employer.
You can create thousands of short stories reflecting your culture and your team. Today, your audience can have a peek in the kitchen, while tomorrow, they’ll meet the bartender who creates a new drink right before your eyes. They get to see what it’s like to work with you.
If you’re looking for inspiration, check out Accor’s TikTok page with heartwarming and funny videos that put their staff into a very human light.
Or read how Chili Piper got 7.5k applicants because of TikTok. They’re not from the industry, but their user-generated content strategy is a good fit for multiple sectors.
Show Emotion
Is your hotel famous for its stunning views? Or do you have that rockstar waiter who’s been constantly praised by your guests? Is your destination a unique place that makes it even more attractive to tourists? Put these elements in short videos and showcase them on your TikTok page.
Here’s how VisitTrentino promotes its regional landmarks. They combine breathtaking views with funny videos to make the experiences more relatable.
Involve Your Audience
The beauty of TikTok is that it involves everyone. A user with only a few followers can become famous just like that. Everyone has a voice that can be amplified - and you can be a powerful amplifier.
Create a hashtag challenge and invite tiktokers to make videos about you. These challenges have become one of the main tools used by companies to engage with their audience and reach potential new clients. Before launching a challenge, ensure you have a decent number of followers.
Check how Hilton is doing it - they use the #HiltonForTheStay hashtag. Can you guess how many views the hashtag has? We’d love to keep you in suspense - but here it is - 52 million views as of November 2022 😮.
When searching for this hashtag on TikTok, you also get related searches. Among the suggestions is “working for Hilton,” proving that TikTok has become a powerful platform beyond entertainment purposes.
Destinations can also leverage the power of the hashtag. switzerlandtourism uses #inlovewithswitzerland to promote its landmarks and traditions. The hashtag has more than 192 million views.
How Do You Get Started?
TikTok may not seem like a platform that requires too much effort. But that’s only an impression. Planning ahead of time is crucial for maximizing results.
Before your big debut, make sure you have a well-defined strategy. What are your main objectives with the videos you will create? How will it reflect your branding? Who will be in charge of the entire process? What’s the budget you have available for this? What are the results you expect?
Prepare content for at least two weeks to one month before getting it live. Consistency is critical for all social media platforms, so you’ll need to establish a posting cadence and respect it, if possible, religiously.
Don’t be afraid to test and have fun. On TikTok, the message is more important than the quality of the video. A video filmed from your backyard can be more popular than a high-quality 4k HD video.
Most importantly, be genuine and represent your people and your values.
Are you already rocking the game on TikTok? Tell us about your experience! What do you like most? What challenges do you face? We’d love to hear from you!
