Seven Bed And Breakfast Marketing Ideas
Marketing is vital to every business and industry. As a bed and breakfast owner, you're competing for guests' attention against all the alternatives offered in the hospitality space — from major hotel chains to online marketplaces such as Airbnb and Booking.com. With all this competition (and with today's savvy travelers), you must be active, targeted, and intentional with your marketing tactics.
If you're like a lot of B&B owners, you've probably noticed that marketing your space can be quite challenging. For starters, ranking highly on search engine results pages (SERPs) is a challenge in and of itself. You need to be on the first page of the SERPs to get great results, but relating to what the search engines need to place you so high can be an almost impossible undertaking — even for the most experienced search engine optimization (SEO) experts.
Beyond the search engines, you're competing for traveler attention, which is often an uphill battle. When people are completing their online booking journeys, they have to go through several steps. That said, they don't want to spend a lot of time searching when they're getting excited about their next big adventures. Since many people have short attention spans and limited free time, it can be difficult for B&Bs to compete for guests' attention. This is why strategic bed and breakfast marketing is so important.
How Can You Enhance Your B&B Marketing Strategy?
When working on your bed and breakfast marketing strategy, focus on your guests' future experiences while also ensuring the booking process is simple.
Here are some ideas to use when building your next bed and breakfast marketing plan:
1. Find Your Niche
Bear in mind that you have an advantage over corporate hotel chains when it comes to finding or creating your niche in the hospitality world. You need to figure out who you're serving so you can tailor your marketing content toward the commonalities your guests encompass. Take some time to get to know your guests so you can pinpoint what brought them to your B&B and what kinds of experiences they want when they're there. If there are certain activities, events, or attractions that are enticing people, capitalize on those experiences and use that information to create content that speaks to your future visitors.
It's important to understand what sets you apart from Airbnbs, big hotel chains, and other small properties in your area. Once you've defined your niche, identify at least three details that make you different from competitors. Use this knowledge to create specific landing pages on your website.
2. Implement Pop-Up Email Captures
When people visit your website, you want to be able to cater messages to them going forward. In order to do so, you'll need their contact information. Pop-up email captures that show up when individuals visit your pages are a great way to gather this information so you can better target your product to prospective guests. You can encourage people to fill out this form by offering access to a private discount page, travel guide, or digital recipe collection once it's complete. Get creative!
3. Create a Private Discount Page
Speaking of private discount pages, when it comes to marketing ideas for a bed and breakfast, this approach can solidify new guests pretty easily. The concept works by giving website visitors a secret page that's private and isn't searchable. This, in turn, allows visitors to enjoy highly sought-after instant gratification — motivating them to continue browsing your site for their upcoming travels. It also creates trust between you and your audience, which then can lead to your visitors providing more contact information.
4. Get Social
If your bed and breakfast isn't on social media yet, now is the time to change that. Social media is a dominant channel for today's travelers. Instagram and Pinterest are great platforms for B&B marketing because they allow you to show off your space, advertise special packages, and offer other deals that might be season-specific. Of course, let's not forget about Facebook; even though other social media channels have grown a lot in the past couple years, Facebook still has more followers worldwide than any other platform.
5. Use High-Quality, Crisp Visuals
Sure, your smartphone can do a lot, but when you're putting your bed and breakfast marketing strategy together, consider investing in a professional photographer who will do right by your property. There's something to be said for great camera equipment, lighting, and editing when you want to showcase your space in a way that invites people to want to be your guests.
6. Work With Your Chamber of Commerce
People who are researching B&Bs are often looking for places where they can feel connected with the community or enjoy certain activities or atmospheres that big hotel chains simply can't offer. Because of this, many future guests may turn to local travel websites or chamber of commerce listings to find accommodations that meet their needs. If you're able to craft a relationship with your local chamber of commerce, you could be featured on the chamber's site, blogs, and social posts.
7. Offer Seamless Booking Options
People don't want to have to jump through hoops when they're making their travel plans. Make it as easy as possible for people to become your patrons by incorporating a seamless booking and payment experience.
Improving Your Bed & Breakfast Marketing Plan
There are many ways you can put yourself out there and connect with future guests. At ThinkReservations, we put your visitors first by providing a fast, professional, and comprehensive lodging software that makes it easy for people to book their reservations, make payments, and enjoy everything your space has to offer.
We invite you to learn more about ThinkReservations and let us help improve your guests' experiences starting today!