Marketing Your Guesthouse Online

Many guesthouses and B&Bs around the country enjoyed the boom in business that the Soccer World Cup brought about, but it has been a challenge for these small businesses to keep the momentum going since the World Cup ended.

Many of the most successful South African lodges used the Internet to catch the lion’s share of bookings. The Internet provides many opportunities for guest house and B&B owners to market their businesses, especially when budgets are tight and traditional advertising is sometimes not an option.

The first place consumers often look for holiday accommodation is online – studies have shown that consumers trust organic search results when it comes to making a decision about a brand. Thus a guest house or B&B with a solid online presence is more likely to attract consumers to their website than those small businesses which rely solely on traditional advertising.

As a guest house or B&B owner, there are a number of ways in which to engage with your consumers online, drive them to your site and ultimately turn visitors into bookings.

Engage On Social Media

Social networks provide fantastic opportunities to make contact with consumers. Even if others in your industry are not using Social Media, your consumers are and that’s what counts.

In the third quarter of 2018, there were 2.27 billion active monthly users on Facebook, and 326 million active monthly Twitter users tweeting 500 million times a day. And as mobile Internet usage increases, these numbers will continue to increase.

Facebook and Twitter can be used to build online communities, build trusting brand-consumer relationships and can be integrated with various other eMarketing tactics (such as WebPR). Use Social Media to promote your content, pictures of your guest house and surrounding areas to entice potential customers.

Optimise For Search

Search engines are often the first port of call for a consumer who is looking for more information on anything in particular. Thus, it is important to ensure that your website is shown as relevant when someone conducts a search using keywords which are related to your brand.

Careful keyword research and planning is needed to ensure that your website targets the correct search terms related to what consumers are searching for online. A combination of organic and paid search advertising will significantly boost your guest house’s search ranking.

Content Is King

PR can and should be at the heart of any online marketing strategy. It complements other eMarketing tactics and is a great way to provide value to consumers whilst promoting your brand.

Guest houses and B&Bs have the opportunity to produce content which is both informative and promotional. Write about tourist destinations, local events or travel tips – something which is of use to consumers and which will generate awareness of your brand. Use these opportunities to provide as much useful information as possible

Whilst there are many things which can be done to increase your guest house’s presence online, it is usually a combination of tactics which renders the greatest results.

The beauty of eMarketing lies in the fact that your marketing efforts can be tracked and measured. This will ensure that you are focusing your efforts in the right places and spending your budget wisely.

The content in this article was provided by Mirum Agency.

About Mirum Agency:

Mirum is a global digital agency that creates experiences people want and businesses need. In 25 countries throughout the world, our company is united by a shared desire to be global and interconnected, to work collaboratively with clients, and to break down the silos that keep brands from delivering meaningful customer experiences. We like to learn from the data how to make things better. How we work:

Be Borderless: Across our network. Through our disciplines. And with our clients. We remove the borders between our people and our process to create work that is more efficient, more impactful, and more enjoyable than ever before.

Balance Motivations: Brands need people. And people need brands. So by always understanding the balance between business needs and human motivations, we create solutions that transform the lives and futures of both.

Always Innovate: Our entire agency is united by and entrepreneurial drive to innovate. So whether our challenge is to transform business, design immersive experiences, or activate new audiences, we push what's possible. Not just to make something new, but to make what's next. 

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