The Hospitality Industry of Nepal is going through a significant transformation. Knowing its importance, business owners have started using digital marketing platforms to uplift tbusinessesiness. Role of Digital Marketing has revolutionized this industry with the usage of digital marketing strategies necessary to do business in this competitive world. Digital marketing has turned out to be the most common and viable way of getting to possible customers, creating a brand, and growing a group of loyal customers.
The hospitality industry comprises three primary areas. The first area is accommodations, which include hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, and other lodging businesses. The second area is food and beverage outlets, which include restaurants and fast-food chains. The third area is travel and tourism which includes airlines, cruise ships, etc.
Modern Travelers
Most of the consumers in this business are social vacationers and travelers, who spend quality of their time online researching places to visit, hotels to book, making flight reservations, and places to dine in. Modern travelers are very smart and make informed decisions before they plan their visit. They rely on various digital platforms to get the necessary information that aids their well-planned vacation.
Digital Marketing has completely changed the way travelers plan for their visit and in return, hospitality businesses have adapted to this modern culture to reach current and potential guests. It has become a necessity for Hospitality business owners to adapt to this new change if they are looking for smooth operation and growth in business.
What exactly is Hospitality Digital Marketing?
We have to admit that technology has taken over. Today’s travelers are smart enough to do their comparative research from wherever they want. So, if your hospitality business isn’t easy to find online, you will have a hard time getting bookings as you will not have an opportunity to reach a huge online customer segment. There is a saying by Bill Gates, “If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business”. You need to be everywhere relevant online for potential bookings so people can find you when they need to book a place to stay, make flight reservations, hotel bookings, etc. It is all about making your presence noticeable on various digital platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, websites, etc.
In recent days, the demand for digital marketing in hospitality industries like hotels, airlines, travel companies, etc. has become increasingly high with Social Media Marketing which works with social networking sites, and Search Engine Optimization making the website visible in search results. Having a proper business website and solidifying your presence on OTAs (Online Travel Agency) like booking.com, agoda.com, trivago.com, makemytrip.com, etc. is widely considered.
Most travelers, almost 75% start by using a search engine (e.g. Google) to find places to stay. You have to accept the fact that digital marketing will play a major role in more bookings, better visibility, and of course a stable brand name in the market.
Is your Hospitality business staying up to date with Digital Marketing trends?
Today, it is important for any hospitality business to be active, responsive, and have a consistent presence in the online space, and at the same time engage with the real market. Intense competition in the market is driving Digital Marketing into a new shape and has become the mandatory tool to promote the hospitality business. Digital marketing helps to compete with a brand on local as well as global platforms. Since, most of the customers in this industry are tourists and social travelers, who spend a lot of their time online researching about making informed decisions about their vacations, businesses need to be present on those digital platforms.
Implementing digital marketing strategies in the Hospitality business provides a consistent informative experience to potential online customers. It is thus, hospitality businesses are going digital by changing their way of doing business. They have to understand customers’ preferences while planning for their holidays and digital media is the only platform where they can disseminate information or make an impression on a huge number of customers. They have accepted the growing importance of digital marketing as a leading driver of revenue. The best you can do is to stay current with best practices for digital marketing for hospitality businesses and develop a sophisticated online strategy.
Digital Marketing has transformed not only the Hospitality industry but other industries as well. Knowing its importance, Hospitality businesses have directed a huge chunk of their online budget toward this sector to achieve business growth. Today, there are many digital platforms where you can make your online presence to promote your business. You can’t afford to miss these platforms if you want to boost your business.
Nepalese Hospitality businesses are also adapting to these changes. With the increase in the number of internet users globally, businesses are sensing the need to upgrade the mechanism in marketing. Digital marketing for hospitality businesses in Nepal has become a great way to reach potential customers at desired locations and increase the lead.
In Nepal, there are a few popular online digital marketing platforms such as search engines like Google, websites, and social media like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and mobile applications. Apart from MNCs (Multinational companies), other hospitality businesses have also started to adapt to this new digital marketing trend.
Revenue Generation from Digital Marketing for Hospitality Businesses is much more impactful than traditional marketing.
Digital marketing has proven to be very much effective compared to offline and traditional marketing. With the rapid expansion in information and communication technologies, digital marketing has beaten the traditional form of marketing. Today marketing is all about connecting with potential customers in the right place and at the right time. This makes it necessary that businesses should be there where potential customers spend most of their time, i.e., on the internet. A good digital marketing strategy should be in every business toolkit- especially in today’s digital world. With a few good tips and tricks, businesses can make good use of digital marketing tools to maximize return on investment.
At present, the Hospitality industry is one of the booming industries among various sectors. With the introduction of Digital Marketing tools, this industry has achieved better financial returns than what it used to achieve earlier. It has not only made an impact on return on investment but also has proven to be cheap, affordable, and effective. Compared to traditional forms of marketing, Digital Marketing is much more impactful when it comes to product promotion and revenue generation.
Nepalese businesses have started to realize the importance of digital presence, and have started investing in digital marketing to capture the market share. It has made a great impact on their revenue and business growth. There is still a good chunk of Hospitality businesses that are following the traditional way of marketing. It has now become mandatory to apply a digital form of marketing in their business processes to uplift the business, for which they can seek assistance from digital marketers.
Sources of Revenue through various Platforms of Digital Marketing
Google Ads
Google Ads is one of the popular online advertising platforms developed by Google. On this platform, the advertisers bid to display brief advertisements, product listings, service offerings, or videos to web users or potential customers. Here, ads can be placed in both search engines like Google Search and on non-search websites, mobile apps, and videos. Google Ads should be of high priority when implementing Digital Marketing for Hospitality businesses, and you should be fully aware of how it works.
Website SEO
More than a million travelers are using search engines to search for Hospitality related services. These numbers are growing year by year. Search Engine Optimization technique enables you to get a higher rank for your businesses by using certain keywords. Here are some of the best SEO strategies for Hospitality businesses:
– Optimize your website by adding attractive visuals and media to lower bounce rates.
– Add links on your websites that connect to other pages.
– Make your website responsive and mobile-friendly.
– Include your keywords in page titles and web page content to get a rank on Search Engine
Result Pages.
Keeping a mobile-friendly page is an essential element in SEO because more than 50% of travelers search for accommodation details, travel agent details, airline details, etc, on smartphones. It is, therefore, you might lose many bookings if your page is not mobile user-friendly. For Hospitality marketing, SEO should always be considered a topmost priority to get organic bookings.
This is the very reason why Digital Marketing in Nepal has started paying much attention to SEO in these recent years.
Social Media Marketing (A major channel to focus upon)
A business that doesn’t use social media as a marketing tool may not even exist in a certain market segment. It is one of the best tools for the hospitality industry and a lot of Hospitality businesses are leveraging social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Linked In & Instagram to engage with their target audience. If your business has a good product and service, people will post images, reviews, or ratings on social media which will increase the popularity of your business on social media. This can be a good opportunity to engage with potential customers on social media. Here are the best steps for increasing your business visibility on social media:
- Check all online platforms to see what works best.
- Make a good content strategy.
- Use videos, and gifs about your services, and share customer experiences on social media to generate interest in people.
- Promote your product and services on all social media platforms.
- Use Facebook paid ads to reach the target audience by using attractive images with promotional offers and effective calls to action such as take a tour, book now, send a message and find a reservation for bookings to increase your customer base. Through Facebook carousel ads, you can promote your business in different ways. Facebook advertising is one of the cheapest forms of advertising which gives you valuable leads at a very lower cost.
- Link your website to your social media and the same with your social media account.
In the context of Nepal, as reported by domestic social media marketing agencies, there are more than 10 million active Facebook and Instagram users. So, you can see that social media has the greater power to provide a massive amount of online traffic to your websites. It has now become one of the biggest platforms to share and gain information globally.
Enhanced Website Experience
Well, a good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is necessary for the hotel industry business, but a good website experience also matters a lot to get good potential bookings. We must provide the best experience for our users where they get complete information. Add a good bunch of attractive galleries of images or videos of your business with a suitable call to action to attract your potential customers. You need to ensure that attractive photos and videos are used as focal points on your website. Guests love to go through pictures of your property, and the services you are offering. So provide them with what they want. It might be what makes them choose you over a competitor. Furthermore, the booking process should not be difficult; rather, the process should be smoother and easier. For a smooth website experience, it must incorporate good navigation bars, making users easy to get the required information.
Content Marketing
As said before “Content is King” and the same follows within the Hospitality industry. Whatever we post or share online is ‘Content’ and it is up to you how you present your content to viewers. You can use various types of content like videos, text, ads banners, images, and many more as a piece of information. Content Marketing can be in the form of blogs, infographics, and videos. Information with only texts is not eye-catching. Content can be anything that engages people. Content marketing is the foundation strategy for the Hospitality business. It is the most affordable means of promoting the business with the highest impact.
This form of marketing has started becoming popular in Nepal as well, as people have started becoming more advanced and realistic. Hence, Content Marketing is so vital that it has the power of leaving a lifelong remembrance to the public.
Blogs- the most trusted resource
Company blogs are very famous these days and have now become an important platform for building trust and influencing the behaviors of consumers. Though Facebook and Twitter are popular, when it comes to trust, people choose blogs. If your business is new, you rely on blogging to reach potential consumers and grab their attention. Blogging helps to make your website visible and searchable. So, the main purpose of a blog is to connect you to the targeted audience. If your blog is more frequent and better, chances are that your website gets more views, which might lead to a targeted audience. This shows that a blog is an effective lead-generation tool. Add a great call to action (CTA) to your content, and it will convert your website traffic into quality leads. Great blogging provides credibility to your business, especially if your brand is new in the market.
Email Marketing
Though, a traditional form of digital marketing method, it is still effective. In the Hospitality industry, this acts as an effective way of engaging clients. Through emails, you can always update your consumers on new products & services, offers & packages, etc. This way, you can have quality clients.
Email marketing needs creativity. It needs to plan well with all the informational and captivating information that will push consumers into buying your services.
Some important facts you should know:
- Search engine drives around 93% of all website traffic.
- Content with images gets around 94% more views.
- Make your content strong as the average customer attention span is only 8 seconds.
- Infographics are liked and shared on social media three times more than other types of content.
- Search ads can increase brand awareness by 80%, and display advertising increases website traffic by 200%.
- 55% of buyers search social media.
- Google receives an average of 63,000 searches every single second.
- 81% of internet users agree to blog posts as a trusted source for information or advice.
Over the years, the Hospitality industry of Nepal has developed a digital streak. Hospitality businesses in Nepal have come to acknowledge the power of social media and digital marketing, and are investing in it, and tapping into its hidden revenue sources. Not only in private businesses but the usage in digital marketing used by the Government of Nepal. The best example we can see is the promotional campaign used by Nepal Tourism Board for promoting Visit Nepal 2020. Digital Marketing may sound a bit high-tech, but in reality, is a simplified way of doing marketing and has helped the business grow into a place significantly. With a strong digital marketing strategy, you can reach your potential customers, and build a loyal customer base for your business.
In the face of stiff competition, making a place in the market needs to make yourself visible to the customers. This requires effective online marketing tools to fight back. Digital marketing empowers your company to stay competitive and make a place ahead in the crowd. It helps in cost-cutting, reduces manpower requirements, and provides credible results.
In conclusion, digital marketing is the future of marketing for the Hospitality industry of Nepal. It is no doubt that Digital Marketing has become a boon to the Hospitality industry of Nepal where it has eased the business processes with better market coverage and share.