How to Use Social Media to Get More Bookings?

We now live in a world where people go online to help them finalize decisions on anything. As a business owner, you can bet that your target audience uses social platforms to find the next place to stay or the next place to do their nails. 

After all, your ideal audiences spend more time on social media sites than anywhere else on the internet. 

What does that mean for you as a business owner?

That means you can leverage social media to boost your bookings. Here's how you can do precisely that:
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1.   Use Videos

Instead of describing your establishment verbally or using pictures, why not let the videos do the talking for you? You’re missing out on showcasing your work or the beauty of your property to potential guests by failing to upload videos on your social media feed. Besides, 9 out of 10 people say they want to see more videos from brands.

Here's an example by Oasis Day Spa. They are pretty active in their social media presence and get great online reviews and ratings from people who've visited. That is an excellent indicator for future clients who might be wondering how good they are at what they do. 

 You’ll need a strategy in your filming and posting to help you make the most out of this. Here’s how to create an efficient social media video marketing strategy to boost your social media booking efforts:

• Set goals on what you want to achieve in your video marketing
• Analyze your target audience and what social media platform(s) they use 
• Check out the types of content they want 
• Schedule and promote the videos created using all-in-one scheduling software
• Analyze the social media metrics and tweak your strategy accordingly.

Here is the other thing. You don’t need a long video with a full-blown production. Even a quick, thirty-second snippet can efficiently convince your audience to make a booking for as long as it resonates with your audience. 
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2.   Promote Your Booking Link 

Since potential customers are on social media, you can also use it to help promote your booking link. One easy way to promote your booking link is by adding it to your social media profile. You can integrate booking software for this. 

Here’s an example from the Nunu Dental and Orthodontics clinic Facebook page. Nunu has included their booking link through the “Book Now” button. When visitors click on the button, they land on the company page and can book an appointment quickly. 

You can also create specific posts with the booking link. Just make sure you insert the right link in your post. You wouldn’t want people going to the wrong page after they click.

You can also promote your booking link on different online community platforms. But don’t just insert the link as soon as you join the community. You need to engage with the people in the community first. 

Social media ads can help you reach more potential customers, too. You can use a simple online photo editor to create quality ones. We’ll talk more about social media ads later.
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3.   Offer Discounts and Promotions

Promotions and deals are another great way to attract ideal customers and boost social media booking. When you make people believe they’ll save money if they avail of your service then and there, they’re more likely to avail of that service in the first place.

Here’s an example by Atlantic Hotel, which posted a girl’s weekend promotion. Their bio also includes their website link to make it easier for their visitors to make a booking into their resort.

There are other incentives you can offer to boost social media bookings. These include a free nights deal, an early booker deal, and an airline miles promotion for airlines, for example.

You should also take advantage of the seasons and holidays, e.g., Black Friday, and offer discounts or promotions. Whatever your offer is, make sure it’s within your pricing. 

4.   Cross-Promote With Other Brands

Various brands run cross-promoting campaigns. You can do the same thing. After all, you expand your audience reach when you cross-promote with other brands (they shouldn’t be your direct competitor, though). 

Take Uber and Spotify as an example. They came together for The Soundtrack for Your Ride campaign. In this cross-promotion campaign, Uber users can choose their favorite soundtrack from Spotify while on their Uber ride. That was their way of creating a better customer experience for their users, which is one way to boost bookings.

There are many ways to cross-promote with other brands. For example, you can identify a brand whose audience mirrors your ideal customers. You can also co-host events on your social media platforms or become a sponsor in a different brand’s events on social media.

You can also partner with other brands on a class offering, contest, or joint ad campaign. Creating bundle deals with other brands is also an idea.

Great brand collaborations help you create more value for your clients, which can help increase your bookings online through social media.

5.   Focus on Customer Service

You can use social media to provide the best possible customer service for customer retention. Your current and future customers are always watching on social media. When they see you care about your customers, they’re more likely to hit that book button and ultimately become advocates for your brand.

Consider this case. During a four-hour flight, Esaí Vélez’s seatback TV wasn't working. He decided to tweet a complaint to the airline, JetBlue. JetBlue kept a steady response and didn't make any excuses. Instead, they empathized with him, followed up on the matter, and gave a solution. 

In response, just 23 minutes later, the once-disgruntled customer tweeted:

What started as a complaint quickly turned into a shout-out and promotion. Pretty cool, right?

So, here are some customer service tips to follow to boost your social media booking:

• Assign skilled, experienced, and trusted staff members to oversee your social media profiles.
• Have different social media accounts to reach different audiences to provide better customer service. Additionally, post links to these social media profiles on your hotel’s bio and website.
• Try to make conversations private with unhappy customers—for instance, direct people to Facebook Messenger.
• Maintain a helpful, empathetic, and positive approach while responding.

The point here is to convince your clients that you care, respond quickly, and are always ready to provide solutions. 
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6.   Run Social Media Ads

Running social media ad campaigns is another way to help boost bookings through social media. 

According to a report by Squareup, 47% of customers used social media to interact with their stylists, and 19% booked their appointments through social media pages. About 28% of the customers bought their retail products on social media. 

These statistics show the recent consumer trends and increase in social media usage, which presents massive business opportunities. By running social media ads on the proper channels, you run a better chance of reaching your ideal client for more bookings.

For example, here's a social media ad campaign by YVE Hotel Miami Downtown. 

YVE Hotel Miami Downtown ran a social media ad with enticing discounts as an incentive to encourage social media users to make bookings with them. They also added a ‘Book Now’ button to make it easier for users to book with them directly.

Here are some things to consider for your social media ad campaign to help increase your bookings: 

• Consider using realistic videos or slideshows
• Personalize the ad campaigns also depending on the seasons
• Add powerful call to action (CTA) buttons that incentive the reader to click through. For example, “Try this for free.”
• Don't forget to include SEO best practices for best results

An effective social media advertising strategy will help ramp up bookings, but it should consider each platform's unique audience and features.

In the same way, you’d track your emails to determine the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns, you should also track your social media ads. Check how many people you’re reaching, the click-through rate, and conversion rates. Use those stats to refine your strategy.

Summary

Social media is vital to your marketing strategy. You can use social media to facilitate the online booking process for clients. It's simple. Plus, people use social channels a lot.

There are many ways to encourage people to click that ‘Book Now’ button on social media. Use videos, promote booking links, and offer discounts/promotions. Leverage cross-promotions and use social media for customer service. Finally, run social media ads.

Social media presents the tools you need to engage with current and future customers and increase those bookings. You just need to know how to use those tools.