Is Your Hotel Content Strategy Targeting Mid- and Bottom-Funnel Traffic?

A hotel’s content strategy must target the entire journey to catch travelers as they start dreaming of a trip and keep them engaged until they book. People may travel for leisure only once or twice a year, which means their hotel reservation likely won’t be an impulsive decision. While this might sound discouraging, hoteliers who understand the content marketing funnel can have content in place to convert occasional and frequent travelers into registered guests.

If you create top-funnel content only to increase brand awareness, you’ll miss opportunities to capture leads who are ready to book. If your property has a good social following and solid website traffic but lacks conversions and occupancy rates, it may mean your mid- and bottom-funnel content strategy needs a second look. We’ll show you the importance of targeting audiences with lower-funnel content and share some ideas that get results.

Mid-Funnel Content Marketing for Hotels

Middle-of-the-funnel shoppers are more than aware of your hotel—they’re interested. Top-funnel content, like an article on the ‘Top 5 Destinations for Foodies,” got their attention, and now they are looking for more information. Hoteliers’ strategies should include mid-funnel content to engage and inform searchers throughout this consideration phase.

Educate Potential Hotel Guests

These potential guests are now diving deeper into your property’s website and social channels to evaluate its offerings and compare it to competitors. Each traveler is trying to answer a question: Does this hotel solve my lodging needs? None of the generalized content you used to build brand awareness—best-of articles, listicles, and such—works here. A mid-funnel hotel content strategy must be targeted and specific to answer searchers’ questions and nurture leads. 

Prioritizing content by search intent is one Search Engine Optimization trend to deploy during this stage that will help attract those looking for precise offerings, like event centers, family vacation destinations, or luxury travel. Then provide in-depth mid-funnel content highlighting the relevant features, room types and styles, and amenities. Use a mix of landing pages, email campaigns, and social media posts to showcase the property as the ideal solution for each qualifying query.

Engage the Hotel’s Audience

A hotel’s mid-funnel content strategy should also help hoteliers identify qualified leads and engage with them. Pop-ups asking for newsletter subscriptions or free travel guides are two content marketing ideas for hotels that help separate qualified leads from less-interested searchers. Hoteliers can use the subscriber database and guest history to target mid-funnel travelers with email content related to their past search and booking behavior. Engage potential hotel guests on social channels and offer contact forms on the website to foster relationships and provide a forum for people to learn more about the brand or ask specific questions.

Examples of Mid-Funnel Content

Content should focus on selling an experience, inviting travelers to imagine themselves at your property, enjoying the amenities, the rooms, or on-site dining. An influencer’s social media post is one example of mid-funnel content that effectively builds relationships with potential guests while highlighting one person’s experience with the features, rooms, or amenities. A searcher in the consideration phase is looking to be moved toward a decision, so a hotelier can get good engagement through many types of content, including:

• Nurture campaigns and newsletters
• FAQs
• Expertly crafted property descriptions
• Video tours and high-quality photos
• User-generated content featuring the hotel
• Testimonials and reviews from satisfied guests
• Influencer campaigns detailing the guest experience

Bottom-Funnel Content Marketing for Hotels

When customers are ready to commit to traveling and book a hotel, it’s time for hoteliers to deploy bottom-funnel content to close their sales pitches and generate revenue. During this stage of the buyer’s journey, guests should need only a minimal push to complete their transaction. Calls to action are important here as is creating a sense of urgency for booking. You can use special offers to build the guest’s confidence they are getting the best deal, and offering content detailing the cancellation policies and other booking details can address any concerns preventing someone from booking. The hotel’s content strategy must offer more than a Book Now button to be effective.

Help Searchers Decide on Your Hotel

Add content to your hotel’s website and social feeds that provide undecided searchers the information they need to purchase. This can be an informative room comparison grid on a booking page or a blog post with a quiz to match someone with their perfect suite. Videos are also persuasive pieces of content for a hotel’s content strategy. Consider creating a virtual tour of a popular room or highlighting property features. Time-sensitive content marketing the property as a holiday destination or featuring a limited experience can speed up people’s decisions. 

Reassure Guests of Their Hotel Choice

Potential guests want to know they are making the right choice, and your hotel’s content strategy should reassure them that they are. When you’ve worked to improve your hotel’s guest satisfaction, brag about it to bring in undecided guests. Testimonials and reviews are excellent bottom-funnel content that can accomplish this and lead a searcher to trust that your brand delivers on its promises. If you’ve been recognized by magazines or received travelers’ choice awards, these are golden topics for bottom-funnel blog content or landing page copy. If your hotel has experiential marketing events on-site or is near a venue with upcoming shows, targeting guests interested in particular dates with these attractions can give them additional reasons to convert.

Examples of Bottom-Funnel Content 

Self-promotional landing pages, emails, and videos are examples of bottom-funnel content for a hotel that can encourage the audience to complete their transaction. Target potential customers across your hotel’s content marketing channels using calls to action and urgency-inducing phrases to inspire them to act. Some ideas for effective bottom-funnel content include: 

• Optimized booking engine landing pages
• Landing pages highlighting travel packages
• Video tours and videos showcasing the property’s features
• Information on room types
• Hospitality award logos and accreditations for your brand
• Reposted user-generated content highlighting happy guests

Without mid-funnel content marketing, hotels would offer sales pitches too soon and turn away interested searchers. And without a bottom-funnel content strategy, hoteliers would fail to give potential guests the final nudge to book. If you think your hotel’s marketing strategy has gaps in any part of the funnel, contact TravelBoom today. We’ll review your strategy for missed engagement opportunities to get your bookings back on track.

About TravelBoom Marketing

TravelBoom specializes in developing and executing customized data-driven marketing solutions that drive direct bookings and growth for its clients. With over 25 years of experience in digital marketing for travel and hotels, TravelBoom leverages advanced data science and analytics to uncover insights and develop strategies that greatly enhance results for our clients and reduce reliance on third-party channels. TravelBoom is also host of the world’s #1 ranked Hotel Marketing Podcast and its quarterly Traveler Sentiment Study both of which can be found at www.travelboommarketing.com.