Social media marketing is a form of marketing that uses social networks, communities, blogs, wikis etc. to promote content related to your business through social media channels for marketing, sales, public relations and customer service purposes. Social media such as Facebook and YouTube have enormous user bases and by promoting your hotel property through such social media websites you gain access to these audiences and you can increase traffic to your hotel website, build brand awareness and more.

Increase website traffic
Social media marketing is the most effective marketing techniques available today as it has one of the largest user bases and it is viral in nature i.e. it spreads from user to user like wildfire. A few examples of user base size –

• YouTube has about 258 million users, and more than 50 percent of them log in weekly.
• Facebook has about 101 million users with more than 50 percent who log in daily.
• 1.2 million Blogs are posted per day.

As you can see, social media sites have enormous user bases. By using social media marketing to attract attention, you can increase traffic to your hotel website. Moreover, the traffic generated will be more relevant than what you would get through typical advertising. The only drawback is that it may take a little time to gain momentum.

Build brand awareness
A hotel’s brand value is as important online as it is offline. People place their trust in brands they know and so, if you have an excellent reputation online, people are more willing to book at your hotel. Blogs or posts containing your hotel name, website url, logo and positive comments by previous guests on social media sites (that are visited by millions) are good ways of creating awareness and building a positive reputation for your hotel online.
 
Improved Conversion Rates      
Lead generation and improved conversion rates are two of the biggest reasons to adopt social media as a marketing tool. Social media marketing can improve this rate by making potential guests aware of your presence and provide them with valid reasons to trust the promises you make.

To summarize, social media marketing is an Internet marketing strategy that you can use to build your brand, generate buzz, and increase your website traffic. These social media allow you to interact with others, create and promote content that can get links and viral attraction, with the right strategy you can reach key influencers using this medium. Social media marketing is one of the most effective and cost effective method of capturing the attention of online audiences.