TikTok: it’s taken the social media world by storm, proving that short-form video is the future and giving hotel brands like yours a new platform to tell their story.
So – where are all the hotels? As it stands, hotel brands have been slow on the uptake to make their mark on the platform at a time when there is a huge opportunity to get ahead.
If you’re struggling with integrating TikTok into your hotel marketing strategy – and we know a lot of hotels are – this guide is here to help! Read on to discover everything you need to know about the app, our top tips for creating hotel content that works on TikTok, how you can effectively advertise on this exciting platform – and more.
Let’s get started!
The basics: what is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media app that lets you share short-form videos with others – best known as the home of viral dance trends and challenges, the app is fast becoming one of the world’s most culturally influential platforms.
Recently announcing that they had hit over 1 billion active monthly users, it’s one of the most popular social media platforms with Gen-Zers which has led to a widespread misconception that the app is just for younger generations. But a presence on the platform isn’t only vital for youth travel brands – today’s teens are tomorrow’s travellers, and 67% of TikTok users are actually aged 25 or over demonstrating the app’s growing cross-generational appeal.
People of all ages, along with celebrities, influencers and huge brands, are now jumping on the TikTok train. If you don’t want your hotel brand to be left behind, then read on…
Why should hotels use TikTok?
Simply put: there is a huge opportunity for audience growth and reach on TikTok right now that hotel brands should be capitalising on. Brands who have successfully made the pivot to TikTok have reaped huge brand awareness benefits, often with very little advertising investment.
Unlike other social media platforms (Instagram and YouTube, we’re looking at you) even accounts with zero followers can get millions of views on a new video. This is because the algorithm – which is tailored to users’ personal preferences – makes it easier for your brand to be discovered as long as you are sharing quality, creative content.
Don’t believe us? Let’s take Cavo Tagoo Mykonos as an example. By utilising user-generated content and creating snapshots of their experiences on TikTok, they’ve generated hundreds of thousands of views on their own videos. They’ve also already amassed a staggering 127.8K followers- many of whom could be future guests.
@cavotagoomykonos @sammcglone #gabriellalenzi #isabelladesangro #mykonos #cavotagoomykonos #greece #summer #girls
♬ How You Like That – BLACKPINK
But that’s not even the most impressive part – the #cavotagoomykonos hashtag alone has gathered over 105 million views! Through TikTok, Cavo Tagoo Mykonos have built their own community on the app, increased their brand awareness to new audiences, and ultimately increased the probability of driving more bookings through their site.
So, now that you know how TikTok may benefit hotel brands, it’s time to discover how to use it! Let’s get into it…
Here’s how to use TikTok to market your hotel
Start with a strategy
As with any new marketing channel, we always recommend mapping out a strategy and setting some goals before you start posting.
To do this, you need to spend some time on the app to familiarise yourself with its unique features and to figure out where your target audience is, what topics they are engaging with, and what type of content they’re interested in. Start by exploring TikTok’s ‘Discovery’ tab, where you can follow hashtags that are relevant to your brand (similar to Instagram) and take a look at what other hotels, hospitality and travel brands are posting.
Then, decide on exactly what it is you want to achieve by adding TikTok to your marketing mix – this could include growing a brand community on the app, reaching new target audience segments or driving traffic to your website. And don’t forget to set a consistent posting schedule – TikTok is a fast-moving platform and successful accounts post regularly to reach their goals.
Set up your business account
When setting up your TikTok profile, be sure to opt for a business account that will allow you to access real-time metrics and audience insights. To set up a business account:
1. Download and open the TikTok app.
2. Login with your email, Google, Twitter or Facebook account – if multiple people will need to access the account, choose login credentials you don’t mind sharing.
3. To set up your account, tap “Profile” in the lower right corner, then click “Edit Profile” to add a profile picture and bio. We always recommend using your logo as the profile picture for brand continuity across social media platforms. When it comes to your bio, keep it fun and informative.
4. Don’t forget to link to your brand’s Instagram and YouTube accounts (where relevant).
5. Tap the three lines in the upper right corner, then “Manage Account.”
6. From there, switch to a pro account and select Business and then select the category that best describes your business – for most hotel brands, this will be Travel & Tourism.
7. Add your website and email address to your profile.
And you’re ready to go!
Start brainstorming content
Okay – now the fun begins! As with any social media platform, the type of content you share on your hotel brand’s TikTok feed is crucial to engaging your target audience. You only have a few seconds to make an impact on TikTok, so you’re going to want to ensure your content is exciting and entertaining enough to stop your audience mid-scroll.
What type of content works best for hotels on TikTok? Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Showcase your local knowledge by sharing the best-hidden gems in your neighbourhood. The more specific you can get to your guests here, the better! For example, if you know a lot of your guests who visit you are digital nomads, you could share the 5 best work-friendly coffee shops in your neighbourhood. Or if guests visit you to take part in adventurous outdoor activities, create a TikTok video that walks you through the best experiences for adrenaline junkies on your doorstep.
- Lots of people head to TikTok to learn – and travellers turn to social media for travel tips – so share travel hacks by providing practical tips including the best ways to get around your destination and the ways in which potential guests can make their trip as easy (and cost-effective) as possible.
- Create funny content – humour works really well on TikTok since many people on the app are scrolling to be entertained. Don’t be afraid to have fun with it, get your team on the ground involved and jump on the latest trends (more on that later!).
- Introduce your team in a creative way – people love to see the faces behind a brand and your team is at the forefront of your guest experience, so it makes sense to put them (and their personalities) front and centre.
- Film mini-tours of different areas of your hotel to highlight the property’s unique selling points. Not sure what features to focus on? A good starting point is to check the most mentioned phrases in your reviews – this will give you valuable insight into what your guests value the most about your experience! Take this TikTok for example:
@citizenmhotels Baby it’s cold outside 🍁 stay in your 2x2m bed and gaze at the cityscape instead. Inspo @simplycie ✨#citizenm #citizenmhotel #cozycore #fallvibes🍂 #newyorkviews #babyitscoldoutside
♬ original sound – citizenM – citizenM
Create your first video
Armed with ideas from your brainstorming session, it’s time to start shooting and editing your videos. You can upload existing video content – which we recommend to give yourself more editing options – or shoot straight in the app by tapping the + button at the bottom of the screen.
The footage you gather will depend on your video topic, but there are a number of TikTok editing features you can include to upgrade your clip. You can:
- Add music – music is vital on TikTok and choosing popular, trending tracks can help your video gain more traction. Tap Sounds at the top of your screen to explore the TikTok Sound Library for access to over 150,000 royalty-free tracks.
- Change the video speed – use the Speed buttons at the bottom of your screen to adjust the pace of your footage. Use the slow-motion effect to add some drama, or keep things moving by fast-forwarding.
- Apply a filter – tap the Filter button on the right-hand side of your screen, or swipe your finger across it, to choose from a range of categories including Portrait, Landscape, Food and Vibe.
- Add effects – tap the Effects button at the bottom left of your screen, where you’ll find a range of effects in categories such as New, Trending and Interactive.
- Include text – many TikTok videos include a text overlay to tell a story. Tap the pink tick at the bottom right-hand side of your screen, then click Text and write your captions. You can adjust the font, alignment and colour of your copy and you can even use the Set Duration tool to set when text appears and disappears.
- Record a voiceover – add another layer to your video by adding a voiceover. Simply tap the Voiceover button on the right-hand side of the second editing screen, drag the bar to choose the point in your video that you would like to voice over, and then press Record.
Once you are happy with the video, hit Next. This will take you to the caption page where you can describe your TikTok, add hashtags (more on those later) and share your video. Press Post and watch the views pour in!
When you have got your head around the basics, be sure to spend some time exploring TikTok’s other tools like polls, Duets and Q&As – there’s a whole host of interactive features built-in to help your content drive engagement and spark conversations with your audience.
And if your first TikTok video doesn’t go viral overnight, don’t get disheartened. It’s important to keep experimenting with different types of content until you find the right fit for your brand and audience.
Look at your existing content for inspiration
You don’t always have to start from scratch when it comes to creating content. Do you have a bank of videos that have proved popular when shared on social in the past? If so, there’s nothing stopping you from sharing this content on TikTok.
Using TikTok’s editing features that we mentioned in the last point, you can repurpose your hotel brand’s existing video content into the TikTok format before uploading it to the platform.
Start by doing an audit of your current video content and see what might be suitable for TikTok. Whether it’s a short pan of the golden beach that’s on your hotel’s doorstep or an old Instagram boomerang of the bright lights of your downtown city centre location, any existing material you have can be useful. This will save time and resources in terms of creating new content and you might find it helps when coming up with ideas for what you can post.
Hop on the latest trends and challenges
One of the things that TikTok is famous for – and which sets the platform apart from other social media channels – is viral hashtag challenges. While original video concepts do work well, the best performing TikToks are often those that put their own unique spin on an existing trend.
Taking part in these challenges is a great way to speed up your brand’s account growth and reach millions of new users. When you go on to TikTok’s Discover page, you will be able to see what’s trending. We’d always recommend sticking to your content strategy, though, by only selecting trends that are relevant to the type of content you want to share.
@ryanair I’d rather sit in 11a and stare at the wall #ryanair #rodgercleye
♬ original sound – Ryanair
Another great way for you to jump onto this trend when you’ve built a substantial audience is by creating your own TikTok challenges centrered around your property or neighbourhood!
Focus on experiences and activities – not just your properties
Of course, you’ll want to shout about your hotel and all the various facilities it has to offer guests – but don’t overdo it. The biggest mistake brands can make on social media, especially on TikTok, is coming across as salesy and talking about themselves too much.
Remember, you should be sharing content that will resonate with your target audience. If you’re finding it difficult to do this, think about other activities and experiences outside of your hotel that they might like to share on TikTok. For example – eating at new restaurants, watersports at the beach, sightseeing or experiencing the local nightlife.
Curate and share user-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) – that is, photos and videos shared by your guests – is a crucial part of any hospitality brand’s social media strategy. And when built into your hotel’s TikTok content strategy, it can be a powerful marketing tool.
Why? Well, UGC is particularly powerful in building trust with your audience. By sharing video clips of guest experiences on TikTok, you will help to make your hotel become more authentic in the eyes of potential guests. Plus, it also takes some of the pressure off you and your team for creating new content! It also shows that you value your guests’ experience, which makes them more likely to visit again.
One way that hotels can curate UGC on TikTok is by creating a dedicated brand hashtag. For example, JO&JOE has its own #JOANDJOE hashtag on TikTok. By doing this, they’re encouraging potential guests who stumble across their video to come and stay at their hotel.
@jo.and.joe Quelles sont les choses que vous aimeriez dire à propos de JO&JOE ? #joandjoe #joandjoeparisgentilly #aubergedejeunesse
♬ son original – JO&JOE
If you’re not yet active on TikTok, you might be surprised to find UGC from your past guests already being shared on the app (as has been the case with a number of our clients). This is yet another reason it’s important to have an active TikTok presence – so you can see what people are saying about your brand, and respond to show you value their feedback.
Just remember to ask for permission to reshare the video from the original poster first!
Tap into the power of TikTok advertising
One way to reach a wider audience and drive traffic to your website is to advertise your hotel brand on TikTok. If you already have a paid social advertising strategy in place (and if not, why not?) then it might be time to add TikTok into the mix.
You can create paid ads that act as feature advertisements for your hotel brand in the feeds of the platform’s users. The app offers a wide range of ad options, including in-feed or top-view advertisements as well as more thorough engagements such as brand takeovers, branded hashtag competitions, and branded effects. One of the best benefits of TikTok advertising, besides the reach, is that it’s a time-effective way of getting results. But remember – you want your ad content to feel organic in people’s feeds. Again, if it’s too salesy or obviously branded, this will likely put users off.
If you plan to use TikTok for advertising, you’ll need to create an ad account for TikTok Ads Manager. Visit tiktok.com/business, click “Get Started” and complete your information. And watch this space for an upcoming blog post on this topic where we’ll deep dive into advertising on TikTok (sign up to our email newsletter to be the first to know).
Partner up with TikTok influencers
A great way to grow brand awareness and reach new audiences is to work with TikTok influencers on shared campaigns and video collaborations. Influencer marketing is a huge part of the app’s ecosystem and well worth tapping into to grow your hotel brand’s TikTok account.
@experienceaddict Affordable place to stay in London😍 #towerbridge #londonstay #londonhotels #londonhotel #londontrip #fyp #foryou
♬ Best Friend (feat. Doja Cat) – Saweetie
TikTok has made this even easier with their Creator Marketplace (https://creatormarketplace.tiktok.com/) – here, you can find creators who are a good fit for your brand, invite them to collaborate on campaigns and even view analytics that allows you to see the results of your collaborations in real-time.
As with influencer marketing on any platform, the key to success on TikTok is working with influencers whose followers match your hotel’s target market.
When it comes to payment, there is a Suggested Talent Fee section where you can choose between a) to be negotiated or b) providing an initial suggested fee per sponsored video. If you don’t already, we recommend having an annual influencer budget for your hotel brand – free stays are no longer going to cut it if you want to work with the best in the game and see a real return on your investment.
Proactively engage with other relevant accounts
Engaging with other users through meaningful comments and replies on TikTok (or any other social media account for that matter) is another hugely important element of your strategy.
It’s not enough to just post your videos and forget about your feed – people want a personal touch from brands on social media, and they are far more likely to trust those that interact with them in a genuine way online.
We recommend finding and tapping into existing subcultures on TikTok that are relevant to your hotel brand. You have communities out there built around budget travel, luxury travel, adventure travel… the list is endless. Not to mention other community niches that might be relevant to your guest segments, like digital nomads or backpackers.
Once you have found these communities, set aside time each week (or each day, if your team has the capacity) to engage with user accounts and be part of the conversation. And don’t forget to monitor your own video comments, messages and any tagged user-generated content so you can respond promptly.
By interacting in an authentic way with your audience, you will become a natural part of their community while growing your own brand community on the platform.
Use targeted hashtags
To increase the visibility of your videos in your target audience’s timeline and ensure you’re reaching people who want to see your content, your TikTok posts need to feature hashtags.
To find relevant hashtags, analyse similar industry content and look at what hashtags your competitors are using. There are also several free hashtag finder tools available online that can help you find hashtags for TikTok. If you are looking for some inspiration to get started, you’ll find lots of great hashtag examples in the videos under #TikTokTravel.
How many hashtags should you be using? We recommend around 5 hashtags for each TikTok post, combining trending and popular hashtags with more niche hashtags for the perfect mix. Keep testing different combinations and always make the hashtags relevant to your video for maximum reach and engagement.
Have fun with it
TikTok is more light-hearted and less curated than other social media platforms, so make sure you have fun with it! Tiktok is a great place to put your brand’s personality on display – engaging content is way more important than a cohesive aesthetic on this platform.
Videos that are a bit silly, funny, and show that you don’t take yourselves too seriously will work well on this channel. One of the features of TikTok that users love is the ability to add a range of editing effects and music to their videos. As a result, there are plenty of quirky dance videos and challenges that have gone viral, so get your teams on the ground involved and get stuck in!
Measure your success with TikTok analytics
In TikTok analytics, you’ll find 3 tabs – Overview, Content, and Followers – which can help you determine how TikTok is working for your hotel brand.
- Overview – here, you will find your Video Views, Follower Count, and Profile Views over the last 7 or 28 days. This gives you a quick view of how your content is performing and also allows you to identify any trends. For example, if you see a spike in video views on a particular date, dig a little deeper to find out of one of your videos did particularly well and make a note of what you can replicate in future content.
- Content – this section is great for gaining a better understanding of how your videos are performing over time. If all of your top-performing videos share similar features, formats, or hashtags, be sure to make a note of this – you might have identified a sweet spot for your hotel brand.
- Followers – this tab gives you a deeper insight into your hotel brand’s TikTok audience. You can see how many followers you have, a gender breakdown of your audience, top locations, your 7-day growth rate, follower activity, and the videos your followers watched the most in the last 7 days. This information can help you determine whether you are reaching your target audience. You can also see when your followers are most active on the app which can help you determine the best days and times to post.
The above information allows you to see what type of content is working and – just as importantly – what isn’t, so you can adapt your future strategy accordingly.
Need help marketing your hotel on TikTok?
If your hotel or hostel brand wants to use TikTok to drive business growth, engage new audiences and grow brand awareness, then drop us a message and let’s see how we can support you.
Our TikTok service includes full management of your brand’s account on the app, from content planning through to editing, posting and audience engagement. We work closely and collaboratively with our client’s teams on the ground to help gather content suitable for this platform.
Our TikTok management service can also include TikTok advertising, influencer marketing and virtual video marketing training with your onsite teams. Our team manage social media accounts for some of the world’s leading hospitality businesses, so you’re in good hands.
Drop us a message to find out how we can help you.
