Best in Class Tips for Your Hotel Video Marketing Campaigns

The first thing that came to my mind when I referred to this topic is “Don’t Blink”.

On September 7, 2016, Apple launched their latest iPhone and Apple Watch. But this time, the world legitimately lost all chill not only because of the gadgets but also for a 107 seconds ad named Don’t Blink.

I kid you not, ‘Don’t Blink’ is one of the finest marketing videos to date. It is a sheer masterclass of words and a percussion-heavy soundtrack.

Into the bargain, the video went viral with people in awe of Apple’s marketing teams. The video is just one of those great examples that shows the power of marketing.

If you’re into video marketing but don’t have enough resources to create high-quality videos, this is a great example to learn from. It clearly demonstrates that “less is more” is still in the game.

Further, in this blog, I will touch upon some of the effective video marketing strategies. You can use this as a guide and create videos that make an impact.

What is Video Marketing?

Video marketing is a strategy to promote a brand or offering on digital channels by adding engaging video into marketing campaigns.

This approach of raising awareness, creating engagement, and driving sales have become so popular that it’s a must-have skill for all marketers today.

Why Do Hotels Need Strong Video Marketing Strategies?

Before I answer why video marketing is a must for hotels, let me set the right tone with some stats. Because numbers don’t lie!

According to wyzowl:

• 93% of marketers who use video say that it’s an important part of their marketing strategy.
• 84% of people say that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video.
• In 2018, people watched an average of 1.5 hours per day of online video. In 2021, this has risen to an average of over 2.5 hours per day.
• 85% of people would like to see more videos from brands in 2021.

These stats speak volumes about the need for video marketing. When there’s already so much happening, it’s not wise for a hotel to overlook this opportunity.

Talking about the strategies, it is highly critical for a hotel. Because video marketing isn’t just about recording, editing, and publishing; there are a lot of other activities that go behind the scenes.

If you want to hit the jackpot with your marketing videos, you need to lay down a roadmap — right from ideation to release.

Like the famous American baseball player, Yogi Berra once said, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

Top Hotel Video Marketing Tips That Actually Work

Now that you have learned almost everything about video marketing for hotels, let me help you with some top-notch tips to get a better hold of it. 

Word to the wise: No matter what strategy you use, the secret to getting better results is consistency and patience. Make sure you stay put and produce relevant content for your hotel marketing campaigns. 

1. Prerequisites

Choose the right platform

There are various online platforms where you can upload/publish videos; however, not every platform is going to deliver the results you’re seeking.

Therefore, the first and foremost thing you must do, as a part of your hotel video marketing strategies, is to determine suitable platforms.

Example: Vimeo and LinkedIn are great platforms without a doubt. But they might not be suitable for your hotel marketing videos. While Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook are more likely to drive engagement.

Further, there’s one thing you can consider to determine the most suitable platform which I have explained in the very next point.

Perform an in-depth analysis of your target audience

Before you get started with hotel marketing videos, you should be aware of your target audience.

Let me help you understand with an example.

Example: Hotel Escapade is a very well-known accommodation provider for those who seek adventure activities. Lately, the hotel decided to roll out a video to attract people to their property. Now, whom they should target? Baby boomers? Or, millennials and Gen Z? The answer is, of course, the latter.

Hence, it is important to understand guest segments, their interests, booking or traveling patterns, and everything in between. This will help you determine whom you should target and who is more likely to book a stay with you.

Over and above, this analysis will help you learn where your target audience is spending most of their time.

Use surveys to reveal guests’ true opinions

There are many ways to analyze your audience. But one more method I highly recommend is by conducting a survey.

No doubt, there are gazillion tools to gather data points, but information gathered from surveys provides a different level of valuable insight.

2. Content

Generate ideas with thought-shower sessions

We all have heard the phrase, “content is king”. But is every type of content eligible to be a contender for the throne?

The answer is NO.

To produce content that is worthy of a king, there’s a lot of brainstorming or creative approaches required. Therefore, hotel marketers must conduct discussions and brainstorming sessions. Also, invite staff from other departments to get more ideas.

Not to mention, keep an open mind and welcome even the strangest hotel video marketing ideas. Because at the generation stage, the quantity of ideas holds more importance than the quality.

Once you get a whole bunch of them, start tweaking and adjusting to create the best content.

Invest enough time and effort into scripting

I am sure you all have seen those ads on TV where a company invests millions of dollars, but they end up becoming a flop. Why? Because of a poor script, they fail to align and deliver the brand message.

When you’re producing marketing videos, you have to be extra sincere about the script – make it effective, full of impact, and engaging.

Let me remind you again – less is more. You don’t need a whole bunch of fancy elements.

Rather, put your scripting hat on and come up with something that people can connect to.

Explore different types of videos

Videos are made to capture the attention of people for a longer duration than any other advertising medium. Therefore, marketers need to tap into different types of videos to better understand what works and what doesn’t.

When you produce different types of videos, you target various audience segments. That way, you get to promote your business more dynamically.

Now, what are the kinds of videos you can try? There are many; however, in the beginning, try to keep things minimal. 

Here are some video types for your reference:

• Explainer
• Product demonstration
• Hotel culture
• Behind-the-scenes
• Guest testimonial
• Employee portrait/appreciation

3. Production

Create an intriguing intro

When the content is decided and a proper plan is laid down, the next thing you should work on is to make the intro of the video intriguing.

Why is it important? Because it allows you to show what your company does without boring your audience.

Over and above, with an intro, you not only inform the audience about you but also leave them wanting more.

Note: The first 10 seconds of your video plays an important role. During that, people decide whether to abandon or watch the rest of the video.

Produce high-quality videos

Quality also makes a great impact on your hotel marketing videos.

Get into your viewers’ shoes and ask yourself, would you stick around to a video that is pixelated or blurry (or in general, of poor quality)?

I am sure you’re getting the point.

Hence, when you produce marketing videos for your hotel, ensure that it is great looking and professional. High-quality videos let your viewers perceive your hotel and brand as successful.

Use the best tools possible

To produce good-quality videos, hotels must also invest in tools. There are several video editing tools available in the market — both free and premium. 

You just need to have a solid understanding of your requirements and see which video editing software suits your needs.

Here are some of my recommendations:

• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Wondershare Filmora
• Apple Final Cut Pro
• Adobe After Effects
• Lumen 5

4. Promotion

Social media marketing

When it comes to promotions, social media is one of the indispensable aspects.

Once your video is published, make sure you’re extensible in promoting it on every relevant social media platform. 

However, there are certain things you should keep in mind:

• Decide the right platform
• Convert your video according to each platform’s resolution
• Select the type of video you should promote
• Use relevant hashtags
• Make sure the caption is catchy
• Analyze your video performance
• Make changes/Improve based on your analysis

We have an in-depth blog on social media marketing for hotels. You can have a look and implement any strategy for your hotel marketing video promotion.

Paid advertisements

Online paid ads are also a great way to reach your hotel marketing video to a wider audience. Not to mention, it works faster than organic approaches.

The reason paid ads are so impactful is that you can define a lot of aspects (such as demographics, and geographical location). The more you fine-tune these aspects, the higher your chances of getting better engagement.

Influencer collaboration

Influencer marketing, at present, is growing rapidly. As people are consuming a lot of content created by influencers, it’s not a bad idea to bet on this segment.

All you have to do is find the right influencer/content creator from the hospitality domain, check his/her engagements and if it suits you, ask for a collaboration.

Now, collaboration could be both monetary and non-monetary. That completely depends on you.

Example: You can ask an influencer to share your video with his audience. Or, you can rather, choose to feature him/her on your video. There are plenty of ways to go about it.

5. Analysis

Understanding and analysing metrics are critical for marketers to enhance their promotional game. When conducting an in-depth analysis of your hotel marketing videos, you get a clear picture of how the content is performing.

Here are some of the things to consider:

• Check view-through rate (VTR), number of people who viewed your video ad after seeing it.
• Keep track of the click-through rate (CTR), which is the number of clicks your ad receives divided by impressions.
• Take a look at the watch time as well. It is basically how much the video has been seen by the audience.
• If your video is on YouTube, do check the analytics there as well. YouTube analytics let you monitor the performance of your channels, videos, and claimed content with all the necessary metrics and reports.

6. Brownie Points

While all the above tips are legitimate and will help you extensively boost your video marketing game, I also want to add some recommendations.

Following are the types of videos you can try to reap maximum benefit.

• Create “a day in the life of a” videos. Wondering what exactly it is? It is that genre of video marketing where you walk your viewers through the day of someone.

Example: You create a video “a day in the life of a housekeeping manager”. Here, you can show each and everything around the manager’s work — from the moment s/he walks into the hotel to the moment s/he signs off for the day.

• Vlogging is also a fantastic way to engage with your audience. Further, according to a report, over 44% of internet users watch vlogs every single month. I am sure it shows how effective this form of video marketing is.
• Interviews/podcast is one of the hottest video marketing strategies and its popularity is supremely high.

Initially, a podcast was about online audio broadcast. However, today, it is in the form of a video. And despite that, these types of videos do away with the visual element to focus more on the content.

Honourable Mention: Try 360 and Virtual Reality Videos

Many hotels around the world are using 360 and VR content to boost direct bookings and online engagement.

Now, if you aren’t aware of 360 and VR videos, these are videos captured using specialist omnidirectional cameras. Not to mention, both the terms are essentially interchangeable.

Are these sorts of video marketing effective?

Let me answer that with some stats:

• According to a report, ever since the Radisson Hotel chain has introduced virtual tours, it has achieved a 135% increase in online revenue amounting to $7,200 per hotel per month.
• The same report also suggests that West Hotels by Hilton received over 250,000 views and witnessed a 7% increase in room bookings with the help of 360 videos. And all of it within 12 months.

360 and VR videos are becoming popular. People are extensively inclined towards this type of content. Therefore, if your hotel isn’t utilising it, then it’s certainly lagging behind.

Let me know in the comments if would want to read a dedicated article on 360 and VR videos for hotels.