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Best Methods for Effective Internet Marketing

Internet Marketing

Andrew started this discussion 14 years 2 months ago

We just opened Idahostel in downtown Boise, Idaho last month and have seen good initial results. To date, we have implemented the following strategies, some of which will take a few more months to become fully effective:

*Bookface (Facebook), 1,000+ followers, great resource for getting the word out on our events.
*Twitter, just getting going, but positive so far.
*website (www.idahostel.com), with focused effort on SEO and content updates/upgrades, including Blog and RSS feeds... decent for an amateur site, but still needs some work.
*Local networking through chambers of commerce, the university, etc.
*Some broadcast marketing, very weak results, expensive, won't be doing much more of this.
*Hostelworld.com, 3 total bookings in 5 weeks, much weaker then expected.
*Word of mouth, good in the Portland-Salt Lake-Seattle-San Francisco markets so far.
*Local media (print, web & news), awsome so far, tons of great press has given us solid links to the website and good regional exposure.

With the aformentioned in mind, can anyone recommend some other creative approaches to marketing that will help us in the slack season? How important is it to list with BOTH hostelbookers and hostelworld?

Lastly, how readily should the hostel industry embrace social media and technology based bookings & reviews (iphone apps, foursquare, etc.)? If someone could shed some light on how many of their bookings come from social media versus more traditional methods, it would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

-Andrew-

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canhostel

14 years

Print brochures to distribute to the surrounding hostels in states and provinces nearest you as well as to the local tourism information. For a cheaper way, make letter size posters and send to the surrounding hostels. Most will have boards to put them up. You can then send these to the local University as well just for top of mind awareness.

Can't hurt to be on both HB as well as HW, just make sure you keep track of what you are alloting on each. There is also Hostelclub and Gomio. Just allows you to have access to guests who may just use one of the sites and not the other.

Not sure if you are interested in group business but if you are, find out about local sport competitions, Boise field trip options (for out of city schools) and send information about yourself to the local organizers as an accommodation option so when out of town groups are inquiring your information is sent out.

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myallocator

14 years

Hi Andrew, try signing up for Hostelbookers, Gomio, Hostelsclub etc.. and use a channel management provider to update your hostels prices and availability, so you do not need to login to lots of different booking engines to update them. This will maximise your hostels exposure in the Internet and you will without doubt get more bookings. We operate http://www.myallocator.com which is a low cost channel management solution for hostels but there are others such as Siteminder, ratetiger etc.

Kind regards,

Mark.

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Andrew

14 years

Good call. I like the groups market approach, although those functions generally go to the highly saturated corporate hotel folks... we'll have to work on tapping into that market.

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canhostel

14 years

Some might go into the saturated corporate hotel but there is saying something for not having to share a bed (hotel room with two beds for four people). Sharing a room and not a bed can be a powerful motivating factor along with saving a bit of money.

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hosteltraveler

14 years

Andrew,

Try a new booking engine for your website. Check out Instant World Booking/HostelTraveler.com for the lowest possible cost among the others:
Booking Engines for Hostels

Here's some additional advice for maximizing reservation potential as well as saving money and time with a service like HostelTraveler.com:

1. If you list with 3rd party marketing sites, ensure your listing is up to date and accurate. Include as much information as possible, not only about your property, but also about local attractions, restaurants, etc.
2. Make sure to spell-check your listing. Incorrect spelling signals to guests that the property is not professionally maintained. Incorrect spelling also prevents proper translation of your listing information (HostelTraveler.com translates your content to 15+ world languages, with a separate page for your listing in each language).
3. Add photos. Listings with photos gain at least 4x more traffic than those without photos. Make sure your photos are large and complement your property and location. Select an appropriate primary or index photo.
4. Add a complete calendar of availability. Your calendar is important, since guests prefer instant booking over online requests. Make sure you have complete availability online, and at least 6-9 months of availability.
5. Don't waste time managing your calendar manually. HostelTraveler.com features an XML feed that can import and export your availability to your calendar management or front desk system. And, we integrate with other services like MyAllocator.com mentioned in the posts above. Tell your software or service provider that you want them to integrate with Instant World Booking. Send them this URL: http://www.instantworldbooking.com/blog_iw/category/xml-feeds/
6. HostelTraveler.com features an avanced geo-coded location system that many other services do not. This new system will enhance search functionality on our service, making it easier for guests to find you. Include an accurate street address on your listing. We even offer tools to help you identify your precise GPS coordinates. Guests will not book properties that they can't easily find.
7. Add your website URL to your listing. Yes HostelTraveler.com actually allows a link to your homepage from our website, unlike most other providers. We provide free links to your homepage from many of our 100+ websites. A typical property will have viewable links to your homepage on at least a dozen or more of our domains. For better exposure, upgrade your links to Premium Paid Links.
8. If you already work with us, link to us. Cross-linking between domains helps to build search engine rankings. Read more at: http://www.instantworldbooking.com/link-to-us.php
9. If you have videos of your property, post them to one of our blogs.
10. When you list with HostelTraveler.com for free, we provide Alerts and Opportunities when you log in at our website. These provide information on improving your success with online marketing.
11. For more ways on how to work with us, check out: http://www.instantworldbooking.com/work-with-us.php

Remember, it can take several weeks to several months for Google and other leading search engines to effectively index your page. Instant World Booking has proven to be very successful in gaining top search engine rankings for its listed lodging partners. One last reason it is very important to use the instant booking method is that we use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to market your property on Google and other sites. Use of a PPC campaign can cost you hundreds of US dollars. However, for our partners who use instant booking, we advertise your property in PPC campaigns for free.

Additionally, only Instant World Booking gives you up to 15+ specialized pages just for your property, with each page translating your property information into a different language. This is something you probably don't even have on your own website. Again this service comes at no cost to you.

One last note, persistence and patience is the key to success. Online marketing is "collective". This means it is more effective to advertise your property on 2 services than 1. Persistent online presence is necessary to achieve online name (brand) recognition, and to gain higher search rankings for pages containing your property’s name.

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