8 Instagram Tips for Hoteliers (+Practical examples)

Instagram is king. We have all heard that. The social media goliath has amassed over 1 billion active users. More than 50 billion images have been uploaded on the platform and an average of 100 million photos and videos are shared every day. It features users from all demographics. It has become one of the most powerful social media platforms and one you should definitely consider adding to your strategy if you are a hotel owner.

Why? Because you are lucky to be working in one of the most picturesque industries. The travel industry. 

And Instagram’s content revolves around that. Breathtaking views of sublime landscapes, remote resorts in crystal-clear waters and countless selfies. Lots and lots of selfies from travelers, experiencing a destination alone or with loved ones.

Instagram is here to stay. So it’s important to know how to use it in order to be able to take full advantage of its features. Bellow, we will show you 8 tips and tricks you can easily use to improve your Instagram game. So if you are a hotelier open the app and keep on reading.

Let’s dig in!

1). Post-High-Quality Images

Instagram is all about sharing beautiful images. Whether it’s a photo of your hotel, rooms, staff or something entirely different, make sure it looks professional. Pay attention to the photograph’s sharpness, colors, and contrast. It should be vivid and appealing, immediately grabbing the viewer’s attention.

You might have to work with a professional photographer on this one. He will know how to produce stunning content that showcases the best of your establishment. Your presence on Instagram depends on the visual content you produce so don’t neglect that.

2). Post frequently

Posting once a month is not a way to build an audience on social media. You should post as often as possible, having an average of 3 posts per week as a minimum. This will make your brand stick in your audience’s mind and help your content stand out from the content noise.

3). Use relevant hashtags

Hashtags are extremely important on Instagram. They can help users discover your content and increase its reach further enhancing your social media presence.

Perform thorough research and find hashtags that are used by your target audience or those that someone would type when looking for a business like yours. You can even use tools like Display Purposes or AllHashtag to discover new hashtags according to the keywords you have chosen.

4). Make a business account

This might seem obvious but many Instagram users tend to neglect its importance. By switching your hotel’s profile into a business one you can enjoy several important benefits.

a). You gain access to Instagram Insights

We all love information. Especially when it concerns our business and target audience. Packed with graphs and statistics, Instagram insights can provide valuable knowledge to the modern travel professional.

You can see each post’s performance and extract valuable information about what kind of content works with your followers. It gives useful demographics of your audience. Their age, gender, location and which time they are most active. Additionally, it shows your account’s general performance over the last week and makes it possible to view an outline of your posts, ranking them through various factors.

It’s not the most advanced Analytics tool but it’s surely something that can help you better understand your audience and make better decisions in regards to your content strategy.

If you are interested in learning more about Instagram insights you can check this detailed guide by Hubspot.

b). You can add a Contact Button

Your business should be easily accessible by your potential customers. Especially on social media. That’s the whole reason they are called social, after all.

You can set up the button so your potential guests can easily email, call or send you a message. Engage with your guests, give them information and generate new leads, with a tap of a button!

c). You can promote your posts

Reach more people and generate new leads by promoting your posts. By having an Instagram business account you can easily create ads from your posts and stories directly from the app. You can direct the people reached, to your profile, website or even direct messages.

It’s not the most sophisticated way of making ads on Instagram but it’s a simple and easy to use tool for your social media marketing.

5). Manage and schedule your posts

As a travel professional and hotel owner you probably have tons of things on your mind. Remembering which days and times to post on Instagram can be an additional pain you probably want to avoid.

That’s why it’s important to schedule your posts in advance. It can make your work on social media seem much less overwhelming and help you better organize your social media strategy.

Luckily there are several tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, Loomly, Sprout Social and SocialOomph that can help you do just that. Compare their features and pricing to see which works best for you!

6). Use Stories to engage with your audience.

Since their introduction, Instagram Stories have taken the world by storm. They have almost 500 million daily active users and are becoming the main form of content on Instagram.

Many users even prefer them over posts since it allows them to easily share images and short videos in more creative ways. Instagram’s AR and artistic filters have allowed users to unleash their creativity and share moments from their every-day life which all disappear in 24 hours.

You can use them to post beautiful short videos of your hotel. Show your guests around the rooms. Make slow-motions of someone diving into the pool! Let your creativity roam free with Instagram’s stories and engage with your audience!

7). Ask your guests to tag your business in the images they share from your hotel

This can be a great way to spread the word for your hotel. Additionally, you can use some of their best posts and reshare them through your account adding a personal tone to your content mix and showing your guests that you appreciate their efforts.

8). Tell your unique story

Speaking of personal tone, Instagram is a great platform to show the personal side of your business.

Share the stories of your staff. Show your guests the people who play a discrete but crucial role in making their vacation unforgettable. Post photos and videos from events and activities that take place at your establishment.

Your hotel is a living entity and Instagram’s arsenal of creative tools is great for showing that.

Conclusion

Instagram is the perfect social media platform for businesses in the tourism industry. More than 1 billion people use it to share images and videos from their vacations and every-day lives.

Its visual power makes it an incredible tool for story-telling. It offers countless creative ways to share your hotel’s unique story. Use it to engage with your audience, share their experiences, become part of their holidays and make them come back for more!

Using Instagram like a pro is definitely something that can help your marketing efforts and increase your bookings.

What’s even more important though, is to offer unique bookable activities to your guests. And that’s where we come in.

Triparound offers an outstanding online activity booking software that will make your concierge’s life much easier and create a new profit center for your hotel.

Schedule your free demo today and see how we can help you.