Video Content for Hospitality: 3 Best Strategies to Try

Video is quickly becoming a major advertising method for a wealth of industries, including the hospitality industry. Video content for hospitality organizations can grab attention in a way that simple copy or banner ads simply can’t.

Still, images and copy are still quite lucrative in terms of reaching one’s target audience, but video has some seriously unique benefits that can help new or small hotel businesses attract new potential customers. Unfortunately, many hospitality businesses fail to really take advantage of video marketing.

In this guide, we’ll explore everything a hospitality business owner or marketer might want to know about video production, video content, and video marketing in general. If your hotel business needs a boost in revenue, read on to learn about how hospitality videos and ads can pull in the leads your business needs.

Video Marketing 101: How to Use Video Content for Hospitality Marketing

Incorporating personalized video marketing into your existing hospitality industry marketing strategy is actually not too complex. Let’s start by breaking down exactly what video marketing is. Specifically, in today’s current market, video marketing is used mainly to target mobile device users for the purpose of attracting potential guests.

What is Video Marketing?

Video marketing is a content marketing strategy that involves using video footage for commercials, ads, and social media content on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. It can be used for so much more than simple ads.

This dynamic method of marketing can do a wide range of things. It can help hotels gain followers on social media. It can involve influencers who can promote your hospitality business on their respective social media platforms with significant reach and influence.

Video can also be excellent for increasing brand awareness and painting your hospitality brand the way you’d like it to be perceived. And, ultimately, video marketing can be used to target specific potential or existing customers to get them interested in traveling and staying at your brand’s location.

Video marketing is also quite dynamic and doesn’t require an insane investment, either. Most people have high-quality cameras in their pockets already. It’s all a matter of excellent direction, planning, and getting the best travel-friendly footage for your video advertisements.

For the hospitality industry, in particular, video can be very powerful. The bells and whistles of hotels and hospitality brands are very visual, and video can capture the benefits of staying with your business while traveling.

As the world begins to open up again in the wake of the pandemic, many people are itching to travel and want the best of the best when it comes to lodging. Video can excite potential customers in a way that still images and text can’t.

The Benefits of Incorporating Hotel Video into Your Hospitality Digital Marketing Campaign

There are so many benefits to using video as part of your hospitality marketing strategy:

• Video marketing can boost revenue faster than other forms of marketing, especially in the hospitality industry.
• Video is particularly effective at swaying booking decisions.
• Video marketing drives traffic more than any other type of content marketing. In fact, video and virtual reality marketing in the hospitality industry are expected to be a major trend in the coming years.
• Videos can improve your hotel website’s overall ranking on Google search results for related keywords, making it a vital strategy to boost SEO.
• Video is very easy for viewers to consume, meaning your target audience is more likely to make a decision based on a video advertisement than content that is text-based.
• Embedding video via native advertising can boost backlinking efforts.
• Social media is a powerful channel for marketing. By working with a travel influencer on social media via video marketing, you can access an entirely new target market with ease.
• For hospitality brands that target businesses that host company getaways, video marketing can be an excellent strategy for reaching key decision-makers at prospective companies.
• For hospitality brands that invest a lot of resources into email marketing, embedding video can add a less overwhelming and easier-to-digest gateway to your brand for your subscribers.
• With video, it is easier to optimize your brand’s reach and overall brand awareness.
• Video marketing might seem difficult for hotels to take on alone. Luckily, there are plenty of options out there for hospitality brands to work with video marketing agencies, rather than taking on the task of filming alone.
• Video marketing is ideal for amplifying your brand’s unique message and mission.

With these benefits in mind, how can one get started with a lucrative and successful video marketing campaign for their hospitality business? Let’s take a look at a few examples.

Examples of Excellent Successful Video Content for Hotel Marketing

To get more inspired for your own video campaign, let’s look at a few great examples of excellent video marketing.

Virtual Tours

Consumers want to know exactly what they are putting their money into when traveling. By offering a virtual video tour of your facilities, you’re providing your potential patrons with an immersive experience that could sway their decision to book. Virtual tours are becoming a trend in the hospitality industry as well.

BTS Videos

Behind-the-scenes videos are actually quite lucrative for hospitality businesses. By showing how your restaurant kitchen is run and the efforts your staff takes to provide excellent service, you’re adding emotional, trustworthy energy to your marketing efforts.

Consumers don’t trust businesses the way they used to. The key to increasing your hotel’s bookings comes down to brand awareness, trustworthiness, and an emotional connection. Showing the real side of your business can entice your audience in a powerful way.

Travel Content

Your video content does not simply have to be video footage of your facilities. You can use video content that focuses on travel, in general, to pull in views and direct your viewers to your hospitality brand’s website.

Some successful examples of travel video content include travel tip compilations, destination recommendations, tours of certain destinations, and guides to getting around the destination your hotel is located in.

Hospitality Video Marketing Campaign Strategies to Try

These tried and true campaign strategies for video marketing are ideal for the hospitality industry.

Focus on Quality Over Quantity

Videos that are high definition and well-produced and written do the best when it comes to video marketing. If one’s hotel video is low-quality, poorly produced, and not well-written, the chances of the campaign resulting in more room bookings will be noticeably low.

Instead of producing as many videos as possible with little resources, invest time and money into a few high-quality videos. The beauty of video marketing is that a few solid pieces of content can be used across all channels, from social media to native video advertisements to website content.

Try to focus on the beauty of the hotel and the surrounding destination to really get prospects excited about your business’s unique offering.

Always Use Your Intro as the Hook

The first few seconds of your video are the most important when it comes to capturing the interest of your target audience. The hospitality industry specifically can really benefit from videos with a killer introduction. This essential part of your video must grab your viewers’ attention the moment the video plays.

A solid introduction has gorgeous imagery and tells your viewer exactly what they need to know about your business. A good introduction also sets the stage for the rest of your video. Just be sure to keep this introduction short and sweet.

Look at Your Competitors’ Content

The hospitality industry is fiercely competitive. Video marketing is an excellent way to stand out from your competitors. However, it’s important to know what your competitors are producing in terms of video marketing to get ahead of them.

Your video should be unique and stand out to your viewers in a way that your competitors don’t. Consider what your target audience is looking for. Does your hotel offer a wide range of services and luxuries? Is your location sought after? Emphasize what makes your brand different and valuable. By emphasizing the best parts of your business visually, you can entice prospects into booking a room.

In addition to going a step above your competitors in terms of video content, it is also necessary to ensure your videos have a unique tone that matches your brand.

Are your patrons the kind of people who are in need of an extremely relaxing vacation? Are they mainly business owners or professionals that host company getaways? Or perhaps your hotel has a relaxation and rehabilitation focus? Always portray the tone and goal of your business in your video marketing.

How was our guide to video content for hospitality marketing? Tell us which tips helped you improve your business’s digital marketing in the comments below.