Hotel operations have been one of the main businesses of the tourism industry which has brought about Thailand's revenue and reputation for a long time. Especially in the age that digital plays a role in every dimension of life. The marketing of the hotel business today must develop into full digital marketing.

Khun Ukit Tungseubkul, Founder and CEO of MintedImages Co., Ltd. one of the mentors and instructor course, The DOTS: Hotel Game Changer by SCB SME has provided digital marketing knowledge specifically for hotel operators to meet the needs of the customers and the digital age

Why Digital Marketing?
 

Technology brings a change in which the most changing technology is consumer behavior, but it is the consumer who approached the digital media. Which Khun Ukrit points out that the media in the analog era does not reach today's consumers. That is the answer to why Digital Marketing and from before that consumer behavior is direct. Consuming a lot of product advertisements through the media Then resulting in purchase but today's consumers are less loyal to the brand Including the promotion information search Price comparison, etc., it is necessary to have an effective online marketing strategy.

"Think of online, Think of mobile "

According to Google statistics, current people watch mobile phones 150 times a day. Thai use mobile phones to watch Facebook for about a half-hour a day and 70% of purchases made on mobile devices. This information is the source of digital marketing rules. The important thing is "Think of online- Think of mobile " Every communication that goes out must be suitable for viewing on mobile phones. Whether the image was posted on Facebook / IG / LINE The text size must be suitable for reading on mobile phones and interesting enough to not be plowed through.

However, there is still a misunderstanding of the importance of online media. Because it's not just about Social Media. Khun Ukrit emphasized that in online marketing Website is the most important part. Because aside from being the only asset that entrepreneurs can hold online the website is also a "Silent Sales" storefront that is open for sale 24 hours a day, 7 days. It is an important factor for customers to decide before coming to the hotel. Which, if compared with good salespeople A good website must be able to bring out the most points of sale, service, and user-friendly. And use all digital media to pull customers into the website Because for the hotel business, it is considered an E-Commerce business model in which online shopping until payment occurs. Customers have never seen a sales page. Unlike other businesses such as real estate, etc. that use online as a tool to pull customers to buy with sales.

Website is more important than sales
 

As already mentioned, websites are at the heart of online marketing. Every digital media is used to drive customers to the website. Which for the hotel business Digital media tools used are divided into Online Media (Rich Banner), Google Search (SEO, SME), Social Media (Facebook, Youtube, LINE, IG, Blogs), including the creation of Word of Mouth (via Friend get Friend, Forward Mail, Forum / Webboard)

In addition to being a "Silent Sales" The special feature of the website is the ability to keep detailed visitor statistics. Like how many people watched it, how long they watched it, which page they watched, how long Click on which button? Where do you leave the website? The statistics here, when combined with social media statistics, can be used to analyze the buying behavior of customers based on the Sales Funnel principles. Allowing operators to know problems and improve communication strategies and increase sales. For example, using Social Media to create travel inspiration/awareness to reach the market. 100,000 people click on the website. (Research / Consideration) 5,000 clicks, 50 Booking / Conversion, 40 Experience, 5 Loyalty / Post Stay

Online Marketing Tips in 5 Steps  

1. Build Your Online Identity using Facebook / Website. Which the thing to be aware of is that it must be easy to spell and type easily Even if the typist is still found Because, in the real world, customers don't sit back and remember how each brand is spelled correctly.
   
   
2. Make people see (Create Awareness) with tools. Banner / VDO / Facebook Ad emphasizes that the material used for media must be suitable for reading on mobile phones. (Font can be read Interesting style)
   
   
3. Search Engine Mandatory Google Adwords and SEO are very important for people in the online world to find us.
   
   
4. Time to sell (conversion). Set clear sales goals.
   
   
5. Finally, must measure results (Analyze / Optimize) with tools Analytics / Insight In order to improve and develop the strategic plan

Strategy for finding real customers online

In digital marketing, Facebook is the most effective platform to reach your target audience, because Facebook has all the information that people do on mobile phones. Regardless of the page that clicks Like, the content that is read Relationships with various people around them, etc., which indicate their preferences and tastes. And Facebook also predictions of people's behavior (Predictive Behavior) very precisely.

Many people think that creating a Facebook Page must have a lot of Like, but the fact that Like does not mean sales. And sometimes, the top people who like it are not real customers. However, Facebook users are divided into 2 groups. First, a group that likes to Click (Engager) click without thinking anything and watchers, namely watching but not clicking. The statistics say that most of these people have the status and power to really buy. Importantly, statistics say that 90% of people who view ads and buy products won't click. Therefore, social behavior is not a potential buyer.

Online advertising communication must find real customers using various devices. Of powerful platforms like Facebook and Google. Khun Ukrit emphasized that it is advertising, not viral. Because advertising is something that entrepreneurs can control and target to find real customers. While Viral has no control and may sweep away the non-customer groups to tumultuous pages.

Target customers using Facebook and Google

Entrepreneurs can use Facebook to target the core audience by selecting demographics, interests, behaviors, location and connection and target custom target groups. Also known as Custom Audience, is to shoot advertisements directly to our designated customers using the old email/telephone database. People who are interested in our hotel. Which can be seen from people viewing the website, engage with applications, Facebook / IG pages, etc. But things to keep in mind are If the customer has many groups It must be adjusted to the media that is suitable for each target group as well. If you are not sure which workpiece will work, you can do A / B Testing. Run 2 workpieces at a time and see the feedback.

As for the video clip, it has more influence on people's lives. Therefore, missing advertisements must think about video. And the video clip design must be vertical (9:16) to be mobile. For the clip-on Facebook, people will watch only 3-5 seconds when plowing. While the clip-on YouTube, people watching longer than the clip used on Facebook must give the selling point and the hotel brand come out from the beginning of the clip.

However, if outside of Facebook, Google is a digital marketing platform that has the most comprehensive tools from Google Search, Google Map, Google Ad, YouTube, Gmail, and Display Network. Khun Ukrit summarized the principle of using Google tools that the hotel business has Google Search as the starting point. If people remember the name of the hotel, they will search for. Which we must pin Google My Business to our hotel to appear on the map Otherwise, people will see other nearby hotels. In the case that people are not specific, the hotel will search by entering the name of a tourist city such as "Family hotels in Pattaya" Which operators must market SEO and SEM with various keywords Let our hotel name appear when customers search for. In addition, Display Network is a tool for the banner to appear on various websites. That can match the target group without having to use high costs.
 

And what Google is a powerful online marketing tool is the ability to effectively retarget customers. If a customer clicks on the website and has not yet decided to reserve, Google will be retargeting by serving ads to track that customer in all Platforms to encourage buying. But retargeting is only possible if people enter the website. In this regard, Khun Ukrit emphasized once again that the secret of successful website is 1) Beautiful appearance, nice to see (UI - User Interface) 2) Easy to use (UX - User Experience) 3) Having a good backyard programming system, fast loading, easy to update, so it's important that designers and programmers have to be the same team. 4) Must Support marketing strategies for conversion.

Finally, the important thing is the measurement

The advantage of digital marketing is that it can be changed all the time. But knowing how to adjust it Must be evaluated in order to take the feedback numbers for analysis to find a solution. Which operators can see the response from the statistics on the website. Because every digital media tool is used to draw customers to the website to make reservations. Information on all website access, such as the time of entering the website Which web pages people read for a long time Which page on the website did people leave? Where do people come to the website, etc. All of this can be determined/modified / modified by the marketing strategy. Including the data to set the online marketing budget figures such as Cost per Click (CPC), Cost per 1000 impression (CPM), Cost per Acquisition (CPA), etc.