A new, hybrid form of marketing is on the rise. You may have seen this in many recent campaigns with celebrities endorsing products and services through blogs or social media posts. Influencer Marketing takes these old ideas but adds a modern twist to them by focusing more heavily on content-driven messages rather than celebrity endorsements alone. The results are collaborations between brands and influencers for better marketing outcomes!
With the rise of social media, influencer marketing has been one of the most successful ways to increase awareness about a business. In the hotel industry – Google now shows third-party hotel reviews, and this changes how hotels compete with other businesses in their field; they need to keep up or risk falling behind competitors.
The hotel industry has seen a major boon in staying power with the use of influencers to market their business. A recent study from the World Travel Market has found that social media influencers are becoming a major player in the travel industry, with younger travelers being significantly influenced by other people’s vacation posts.
- Seventy-eight percent of travelers are influenced by recommendations by people they know when making travel choices, and 63 percent were influenced by “consumer opinions posted online.”
Influencer marketing is a great way to be able to create authentic content about your brands. This form of advertising has an increased conversion rate and drives traffic back to the hotel’s website or landing pages.
Celebrities are not the only influencers out there. Influencer marketing is about finding someone with an audience and building a relationship so they can speak to that specific group of people on your behalf. This person will be naturally protective of their reputation and loyal to those who trust them, which is why you want a real authentic connection when working together rather than just throwing money at it for exposure or fame’s sake