4 Bizarre Myths About Influencer Marketing For Hotels You MUST Know

Have you heard about ‘influencer marketing’? It’s an endorsement of a product or a brand by any public figure.

As a matter of fact, I’m a local influencer too. If you visit my Instagram page, you will come across various posts promoting hotels and off-beat destinations.  Here’s a post from my feed.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Siddharth Joshi (@siddharth_blogger)

Earlier, businessmen and marketers used to approach celebrities for a photo shoot or to produce advertisements with them. They would then broadcast the ads on television, in cinemas, or use its audio version for transmitting over the radio. 

This approach was used by hoteliers as well. During an inauguration ceremony, they would call well-known chefs, movie stars, or any local celebrity. It would bring them in the limelight owing to Page 3.

With digital marketing in the picture, the concept has changed a lot, and hoteliers are looking out for various influencers to promote their property.

But, there are certain questions around it that need to be addressed, such as:

What is influencer marketing? Which types of connoisseurs should hoteliers approach? What are the criteria to select the right influencer for your property?

Let me give you answers to these questions. So, hold on to your seats, for in this blog I’ll guide you on influencer marketing for hotels and all the aspects related to it.

What is Influencer Marketing?

Before I begin with the marketing part, let’s understand who is an influencer. In simple words, influencers are people who have the ability to get customers into buying a product or investing in a certain brand with their convincing skills and popularity among the audience. 

It includes bloggers, movie stars, YouTubers, stand-up comedians, travel vloggers, and so on. Bringing influencers to your aid, and leveraging them to promote your business is known as influencer marketing. 

Ever since travel blogging became a trend, the hospitality industry received maximum benefits from it. Let’s take a look at how it has worked so far.

What is the Impact of Influencer Marketing on the Hospitality Industry?

Since social media came into existence, the number of influencers has grown exponentially. Moreover, it opened doors for marketers to reap maximum benefits through influencer marketing. 

As per local research conducted by the students of MIT World Peace University, Pune,

Around 81.8% of hospitality businesses invested in influencer marketing, of which 90% achieved good business. Not to forget, an average of 75% of revenue was generated by bookings from millennials and GenZ.

This research was conducted in just two cities, Mumbai and Pune, which happen to be metropolitan cities in India. If we consider the impact of influencer marketing on hotels on a global level the benefits get multiplied a gazillion times.

However, people do have certain misconceptions while going with influencer marketing in the hospitality industry. Let me clear some of them.

Myths About Influencer Marketing for Hotels

There are various misunderstandings and beliefs among users about influencer marketing for hotels. Let’s debunk them one by one.

1. Maximum Followers Give Better Visibility

One of the biggest misconceptions that has spread among social media users is that people with thousands of followers are influencers (I believed in it too). But that ain’t right. And it worked two ways.

Most users believe that increasing the count of followers will help them get a verified badge and improve their credibility. That’s why they use various hacks to bypass algorithms of social media platforms and increase their follower count.

However, this is where they fail. An influencer is known by the engagement level on their page. Wondering what’s that?

Suppose you come across a user’s page with 20K followers. Don’t rush; check the number of likes and comments on the post. The content engagement should be at least 30-35% of the follower count.

If the followers are just for show (bots or inactive accounts), the count would be high but the engagement level will be average. 

Note: Don’t fall for users with the maximum followers.

2. It Provides Result Quickly

People need to understand that overnight success is never possible. Every strategy or effort you put in will bring you results; slowly, but surely. And using influencer marketing for hotel promotion is no different.

Often people think that an endorsement by a celeb will give them hundreds and thousands of customers the next day. Put together with the myth I mentioned above, it would form a cocktail of misunderstandings (I would call it ‘wrong punch’).

Let me put an end to this myth by saying that ‘hotel influencer marketing won’t give you results in a short period.’

3. It’s a One-time Investment

Another myth that needs to be cleared is that investing once in influencer marketing will give you results in the long term. But that ain’t true. 

Achieving results in a single attempt is not possible; even if you go with an international celebrity. 

You need to invest in various influencers and that too at regular intervals and smartly to gain maximum benefits in the long run.

4. Spending Amount In Getting A Known Celebrity

And finally, coming to investment in influencer marketing. It is a common myth among marketers that spending lavishly and bringing in famous celebrities to promote their hotels will get them better recognition and business. 

However, that’s partially true. Yes, it does benefit you, but it may not work all the time. Sometimes, the investment wouldn’t give the desired result. It could be due to choosing the wrong influencer, promoting improper content, or targeting the incorrect audience.

How to Select the Right Influencer For Your Hotel’s Influencer Marketing?

I hope I’ve cleared the doubts and misconceptions you had about influencer marketing for hotels. Now before you go ahead with it, let me share some quick tips on selecting the right influencer for your property’s marketing campaign.

1. Time for Some Googling

As they say, Google is the epitome of information. The best way to find the right influencer for your hotel’s marketing is Google, ‘the top influencer for hospitality business’. 

You will come across certain list posts providing details of connoisseurs of the hospitality industry. You can connect with them for your hotel’s influencer marketing. 

Alternatively, you can go with an area-specific search such as ‘influencers in Pune’. It will help you in promoting your property among local audiences through local influencers. I will guide you about them ahead in the blog.

2. Waste A Bit Of Time on Social Media

Whenever I used to spend time on Facebook, my mom always said, “Next time if I see you wasting time on your phone, I’ll burn it or throw it away”. A decade later, she is the one who promotes my achievements and blogs on her page. 

I do agree that social media does waste your time if you keep on scrolling for hours, doing nothing but liking and sharing memes. However, if you invest your time smartly in engaging with influencers and their content it’ll be beneficial for you. 

There are various hashtags for influencer marketing, such as:

• #influencermarketing
• #influencers
• #influencerwanted
• #digitalinfluencer
• #influencerlife
• #hotelinfluencer
• #influencermarketingforhotels
• #travelinfluencer

I can go on and on, but these are the trending ones. You can just follow these hashtags and connect with the users posting some classy content and have better engagement on their posts. 

Moreover, approaching them to promote your property is the smart step in finding the right influencer for your hotel. 

3. Try Referrals

Another way to find the right influencer for your property is by using referrals. I’m sure you would have certain acquaintances in the hospitality industry.

You can ask them to recommend some known connoisseurs for your hotel’s influencer marketing. Alternatively, you can keep an eye on your compset and check which influencers they are collaborating with.

Depending on the engagement on their promotional posts, you can opt for that influencer too. However, don’t spend excessively just because your compset did it.

4. Read More Blogs

Over time bloggers have carved a niche for themselves. Moreover, blogging has become the most sought-after profession among netizens. 

In fact, travel blogging has paved the way for many travel enthusiasts to become an influencer with their blogs. Similarly, many hospitality connoisseurs turned into influential personalities by blogging on trending topics (I’m one of those bloggers).

You should start researching about them and reading their articles. Go ahead with the ones providing intriguing and relevant information in their blogs.

Pro-tip: Opt for the ones appearing on the first page of Google, as they have better user engagement and contextual and informational content. 

5. Do Some Ground Research in Your Locality

Using influential persons from your locality is a cost-effective way to go with your hotel’s influencer marketing. Let me explain with an example.

I recently met a guy, Mr. Sven Hoogeland on Instagram. He happened to be a hotel marketer and an influencer in the hospitality industry. 

As I went through his feed, I came across various posts where he has promoted hotels where he stayed. Here’s one of his posts for your reference.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sven Hoogeland | Travel (@travelling.dutchman)

Similarly, you can find such influencers in your locality having a wide reach among your target audience, and every post by them can help you generate better business opportunities.

6. Connect with Talent Agencies

Whenever I hear the word ‘talent agency’, the first thing that comes into my mind is Joey and his agent Estelle.

 I literally loved the way she got roles for him, not to forget the famous Dr. Drake Ramoray of the soap opera ‘Days of Our Lives’. 

Many celebrities and artists share their portfolios with talent agencies in search of various opportunities. And they get paid depending on their previous work experience and popularity. 

You can approach these agencies to find the right person to promote your hotel by staying and sharing experiences among their followers.

7. Don’t Forget LinkedIn

Finally, one last way to find the right person to promote your hotel is through LinkedIn. See, hospitality is all about being professional, and LinkedIn is the best platform to find the right influencer for your property’s marketing.

Do you know that LinkedIn provides an influencer badge to profiles that create an impact on the audience and influence them?

This feature can aid you in finding hospitality influencers to promote your property with their LinkedIn posts.