Statistics show you have an advantage when using YouTube to promote your hotel, resort, inn, or bed and breakfasts.

I am going to explain how you can benefit.

Welcome to another edition of Hospitality Property School.

I’m your instructor Gerry MacPherson.

As an independent hospitality property owner, you should understand the importance of marketing and are constantly thinking of ways to get your property’s name in front of as many people as possible.

Promoting your video on YouTube can be an economical way to grow if used frequently as part of your marketing strategy. It is the number one video sharing site in the world and it is the place to get your videos seen.

Here are some reasons you need to consider YouTube.

Total number of monthly active YouTube users: 2 billion

Total number of daily active YouTube users: 30 million

Average mobile viewing session: 40 minutes

Number of videos watched per day: 1 billion

Number of mobile YouTube views per day: 1 billion +

62% of businesses use YouTube.

51% of YouTube users say they visit the site daily.

70% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices.

YouTube services are available in more than 100 countries in 80 languages.

Those stats should make you raise an eyebrow.

Using YouTube Will Help You Get Found On Google

Have you noticed that videos are appearing more often in Google’s search results? Google considers video to be as important as text-only pages, and YouTube is the 2^nd most visited site after Google, plus, Google owns YouTube.

By incorporating YouTube as part of your marketing strategy for your property, you’re also increasing the influence of your website. The more influence your website has in Google’s eyes, the higher your page rankings.

The first thing you need to know about using YouTube is that your videos must have a unique focus and be directly related to your property.

Why is this important?

You want to ensure your videos are exactly what your current and potential visitors are looking for. This is your chance to drive bookings.

Ways to Benefit from Video

1. Upload regularly

Especially if you’ve developed a decent pool of subscribers, viewers will be counting on you to create, edit and upload new content. This adds relevancy to your property. This also applies to any other website where users can follow and engage with your content. It’s best to add content whenever possible, even if it isn’t as consistent as you’d like.

2. Put thought into your titles, description and tags

Experiment with different titles and descriptions. As with other social networking sites, selecting relevant keywords to increase hits is a common SEO strategy for marketers. It helps audiences find content that interests them. A quick tip is to watch your videos from the beginning and then create a list of words and phrases.

Your video descriptions should be short, informative, and multi-purpose. Describe your video in a sentence or two (using your top keywords), and include a link to your properties website or blog.

3. Create a YouTube channel with your brand

When you create a channel for your videos, you are telling YouTube that you are the official representation of your brand.

This makes it easier to find you when someone is searching your property or related terms.

4. Share your videos

Get other website owners to embed your videos on their websites by cross-promoting with them.

Every time someone embeds your video on their website, Google gives more credibility to your website.

5. Consider collaborations

Collaborative videos are popular on YouTube. Viewers like them because they’re an opportunity to see YouTube favourites working with someone else, and creators like them because of the additional exposure. Look for popular YouTube channels with offering that complement (rather than compete with) your property, and try pitching the idea of a collaboration.

6. Share your videos on other platforms

Encourage others to share. Social media metrics are a factor taken into consideration by Google when ranking pages. If they are high-quality videos, others will share, and this will tell Google that you are producing content that is valuable to your current and potential customers.

7. Don’t confine your videos to YouTube

Just because you create a YouTube channel, doesn’t mean people will go looking for it. As part of an effective YouTube strategy, make sure you spread the word.

When you post a new video that you want people to see and share, you should embed it on your website, write a blog post about it, tweet the link, and post it on Facebook.

8. Give your viewers options

Include text, video illustrations and activate closed caption (once you learn how to do this, make sure you check the text to make sure it is accurate). This will increase the overall engagement.

9. If you have a blog (and you should)

You can re-purpose your content for YouTube. You can take advantage of this by taking any of the high-quality articles you have written for your blog and creating a video for YouTube. It will be easier for searchers to find your property online and will build backlinks to your site.

10. You can have a worldwide audience

By consistently creating video content, visitors are going to find you who would never found you any other way.

11. Let your customers do the talking

Many hotels, resorts, inns and bed and breakfasts have had great results by posting videos of customer testimonials on YouTube. This is a highly effective way to build trust and credibility with potential guests who may need that extra “nudge” to book your property. Video testimonials are proven to have a much bigger impact than written ones.

Are these making sense? Let me know in the comments

12. Get interactive

As people view your videos, they will rate their quality and leave comments. To keep the momentum going, you should monitor and respond to all feedback as quickly as possible. If possible, personalize your responses to each visitor.

13. Engage with similar content uploaded by other users

Like and comment on videos uploaded by other users. Not only might those users stumble upon your videos and channel, but anyone else who sees that comment or like might as well. Do this with videos that have a similar topic, interest or theme as yours to attract new viewers.

14. You can build your email list by encouraging your viewers to subscribe

Subscribing is the best way for your viewers to know whenever you’ve uploaded a video, created a new playlist and more. It also gives you an estimated figure as to who will eventually view your video.

If you provide valuable, engaging content, you have the ability to build an email list you can use to stay in touch with current and potential customers.

15. The audience will stay and promote you

Videos with a personal touch help to increase trust and in turn guests.

If your YouTube viewers trust you they are more likely to stay with and promote you if the opportunity arises.

16. Use clickable links to reference other content

At the end of the videos, you’ll find relevant videos and newer content with clickable links. You can add these to cards and/or End Screen while editing your video in the site’s video manager. This feature can also link back to any web pages or sites your video covers.

17. Use YouTube stories

YouTube recently created YouTube stories, which are similar to Snapchat or Instagram stories. A story is a collection of short videos that can remain visible for a day or until they’re deleted. Google is now testing Al to swap backgrounds in stories, running a beta version of it with some content creators.

18. Run a contest

Running or promoting a contest on YouTube is an easy way to get people to watch and engage with your content. However, before you post a contest, make sure to read YouTube’s rules and guidelines.

If you would like your own review or promotional video and are not sure where to start, let us help. Visit KeystoneHPD.com, scroll to mid-page and click “Hotel, Resort, Inn, Bed and Breakfast Promotional Videos” for information.

In Conclusion

If your goal is to increase bookings, you have to market your property and to market effectively without breaking the bank.

Over the years YouTube has proven to be an effective method to share what your property has to offer and by using the 18 techniques I have listed you’ll be well on your way to increasing both bookings and your bottom line.

Do you currently promote your property using video?

Let me know in the comments.

You will have access to this episode for the next six weeks and then it will get locked in the vault for Hospitality Property School Group members only.

To see all the other valuable material you’d have access to as a member of the Hospitality Property School Group, check out the short video in the episode post-show notes.

In the next episode, I will talk about using Facebook for your business.

That’s it for today’s episode,

Until next time, have a fun day.

Are you getting your weekly INNsider Tips? You can find the link in the show notes.

⇒ TO READ OR LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE ON KEYSTONE HOSPITALITY PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT:

https://keystonehpd.com/promoting-your-video-on-youtube-is-it-worth-it-241

Join the 6 Day Challenge Video Series

For a Limited Time SAVE $90.00

https://keystonehpd.com/6-Day-Challenge

Get Your INNsider Tips

Join one of your private groups

https://keystonehpd.com/private-groups

Say hi on social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KeystoneHPD

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KeystoneHPD

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Keystone-Hospitality-Property-Development

Listen to The Hospitality Property School PODCAST here

keystonehpd.com/hospitality-property-school-podcasts

YouTube

https://youtu.be/i2zdim-tKL4

A Division of Keystone Hospitality Property Development