What is TikTok hotel marketing? Social media strategies for the hospitality industry are continually evolving. Right now, TikTok is one of the biggest platforms around. While TikTok’s bite-sized videos might not seem like an obvious way to promote your hotel brand, many brands are enjoying significant success. In this article, you’ll learn about the tricks and strategies to get the most out of TikTok.

Table of Contents:

What Is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing, such as TikTok marketing, uses social media to connect with customers. Using social media, you can build your brand, drive traffic to your website, and improve sales. As well as running paid social media advertisements, a comprehensive social media marketing strategy involves engaging with and listening to your followers, analyzing your results, and offering great content across all your social media profiles.

Being social and approachable is one of the advantages of social media platforms, and it’s a great personalization marketing example. Alongside other big names like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, TikTok has become a major platform and an increasingly important part of the social media landscape.

In the hospitality sector, it’s important to monitor the public perception of your brand, and social media offers a useful window into what people are saying. With social media ads, it’s possible to reach narrowly targeted demographics. You can use social media analytics to gauge your reach and engagement across different platforms and see how your social media marketing strategy drives sales.

Video: Why Should Businesses Engage in Social Media Marketing

What Is TikTok?

Previously known as Musical.ly, now TikTok, known within China as Douyin, allows users to upload short-form videos (between 15 seconds and three minutes long). Genres include stunts, pranks, singing, dancing, cosplay performances, and comedy. TikTok offers filters, special effects, songs, and sound clips. Many users upload videos directly from their phones. Users can share reactions to videos or create duets to talk, sing, or engage with an existing video.

TikTok differs from YouTube in the length of its videos, which are much shorter and offer more scope for different forms of content. TikTok marketing has also become increasingly popular. According to The State of Marketing 2023 survey report by Hubspot, 42% of marketers use TikTok already, and more than half of them (56%) plan to increase their investment in TikTok in 2023.

Understanding TikTok for Business

With a large and steadily expanding user base, TikTok marketing is attractive to businesses. While the exact mechanics of the algorithm aren’t clear, it’s much easier for a video to achieve virality on TikTok than on other platforms. The lack of traditional display ads can initially make TikTok daunting from a marketing perspective.

Many hotel brands, however, are leveraging TikTok’s exploding popularity to secure a powerful marketing channel. Strategies such as organizing TikTok challenges or holding competitions can bring in a lot of attention. At the same time, tried-and-true social media tactics like hashtag campaigns also work well on TikTok. High engagement makes TikTok highly attractive to hotels, with TikTok offering more engagement with each post than any other platform.

Why Market Your Hotel on TikTok?

There are many advantages to having a presence on TikTok for your business. Let’s take a look at some benefits that can convince you to invest time in TikTok hotel marketing.

Reach a Younger Audience

TikTok’s users skew young, with the largest demographic between ages 16 and 24. Although Generation Z largely dominates it, TikTok is more than a passing internet fad. Since 2018, it’s developed from a simple video-sharing network to a social media powerhouse — and a boon for businesses. Young travelers are very reliant on social media to plan trips and often can’t wait to share videos showcasing the highlights of their stay. Stumbling across your hotel on TikTok might push them to choose your hotel for that next jaunt.

Create New Types of Content

Coming up with unique content ideas can be a challenge. The beauty of TikTok is that you can find existing content and participate. TikTok often has fads and challenges you can take part in, from hashtag challenges to songs, dance crazes, and games. Examine successful trends and see if you can put your own unique stamp on them. TikTok content is generally not professional or polished. Teenagers perform songs and dances in their own bedrooms, while young professionals act out skits in their place of work. This informal atmosphere lends itself to spontaneity. To get a feel for TikTok’s general style, click or tap the magnifying glass icon and watch a few trending videos before planning your TikTok marketing content.

TikTok Hotel Marketing - Create New Types of Content

4 Types of Content Hotels Can Create on TikTok

TikTok is a platform that offers its users many opportunities to express themselves through different types of content. It can be a great strategy for TikTok hotel marketing as well.

1. Highlight Your Hotel’s Facilities and Amenities

Because it’s video-based, TikTok is ideal for hotels. Short videos showcasing the highlights of your venue and the local area can grab a user’s attention. You can offer the audience mini-tours of your facilities and nearby attractions. Give viewers a glimpse of the best views and amenities your property has. TikTok users have a huge appetite for these peeks into new places, especially those planning to travel soon. Don’t forget to encourage user-generated content — use a hashtag challenge to get your guests to share their own videos in and around your hotel.

2. Participate in Trending TikTok Challenges

TikTok’s viral hashtag challenges are a big part of its fame. These challenges are stunts or activities that users perform in front of the camera and then share under a particular tag. You can easily discover the trending challenges via TikTok’s Discover page. Be selective and pick trends that fit your overall social media marketing strategy. Once you’ve got an idea of the kinds of challenges TikTok loves, you can create your own challenges that reference your property and the local area.

3. Show Behind the Scenes of Operations

Taking your audience behind the scenes is a great way to add authenticity to your content. Who doesn’t love being given a sneak peek into things they wouldn’t normally see? Take your audience down into the kitchen to show breakfast being prepared or into the spa so they can see how hard your staff works to make everything perfect. Focus on different roles within the hotel, showing how important each department is to make a stay special. Does your hotel host club nights or activities? Show viewers your busy staff as they prepare for an exciting event.

4. Use User-Generated Content

It’s the users that drive TikTok, after all, and encouraging guests to make videos of their stay is a great way to promote your hotel. User-generated content (UGC) can be very powerful in getting the work out about your hotel. You can offer rewards if users share videos with your brand hashtag or participate in challenges. Guest videos make your content feel more authentic and relatable and provide future guests with something to whet their appetites. Additionally, UGC provides more content without having to give more work to your team. Use your dedicated brand hashtag to curate user-generated content.

Understanding TikTok Hotel Marketing KPIs

It’s vital for hotels to grasp the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of TikTok to utilize this platform effectively. The following table provides an overview of essential KPIs, their measurement techniques, and how to interpret these metrics to maximize the impact of TikTok in hotel marketing strategies.

Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Method of Measurement Interpretation of Results
Engagement Rate Total number of likes, comments, and shares divided by the number of views, multiplied by 100. High rates indicate strong viewer interest and interaction with content.
Follower Growth Tracking the increase in followers over a specific time period. Steady growth suggests a successful content strategy and growing brand awareness.
View Count Total number of views on a video. High view counts demonstrate content reach and initial interest.
Conversion Rate Number of viewers taking a specific action (e.g., booking a stay) divided by total views. Directly relates to the effectiveness of content in driving business objectives.
Video Completion Rate Percentage of viewers who watch the video to the end. Indicates content engagement and relevance to the audience.
Hashtag Performance Engagement and reach metrics for branded or campaign-specific hashtags. Measures the success of marketing campaigns and brand engagement.
Trending Content Appearance of hotel’s content on TikTok’s “For You” page or trending section. Signifies broad appeal and potential viral reach of content.
User-generated Content (UGC) Rate The volume of content created by users that mention or tag the hotel. High UGC rates indicate strong brand engagement and advocacy among guests.

Other Advanced TikTok Hotel Marketing Strategies

These aren’t the only TikTok marketing strategies your hotel can employ. Here are a few more to add to your repertoire.

Paid Ads

TikTok recently introduced a new advertising platform under the name TikTok for Business. With this, brands can run ads on the platform, create branded hashtags, or even offer their own custom video effects. You can develop paid ads appearing in users’ feeds or as top-view advertisements. Other ad options include inventive ideas like brand takeovers, branded hashtag competitions, or branded effects that users can add to their videos. Your ads must feel like organic TikTok content — too intrusive ads could have a negative effect. The right ad will get you quick results and a huge reach.

Collaborations with Influencers

Collaborating with influencers is now an established social media marketing strategy. According to the State of Influencer Marketing 2023: Benchmark Report by Influencer Marketing Hub, influencer marketing has grown into a $21.1 billion industry. Collaborations with TikTok influencers work the same way on any other platform: popular users create content for brands in exchange for various rewards, using TikTok’s short-form videos to promote their sponsors. TikTok has facilitated this by providing a Creator Marketplace where you can identify creators who’ll mesh well with your vision and invite them to participate in your TikTok hotel marketing campaign. Creator Marketplace also offers analytics to see how well your collaboration works for you.

Make sure you choose creators with followers in your target demographic, and be prepared to offer attractive rewards for top influencers. It’s a good idea to have a social media marketing budget you can use to reward your creators.

Hospitality Industry: Learn About Different Tech Trends

You’ve discovered TikTok marketing for hotels and are probably curious about other technology relevant to your business. Learn about interactive apps for hotels, automating check-ins and services, and how your hotel can facilitate travel and exploration in the local area.

In “The Latest Technology Trends in the Hospitality Industry,” you’ll learn how technology can make your guests stay more enjoyable and encourage positive feedback.

Social Media Marketing and Your Hotel

TikTok marketing for hotels is just part of the social media marketing story. You’ll need some inside knowledge to get the most out of other platforms. Every platform requires a specific approach if you leverage it effectively. You’ll need to understand how different types of content will perform, how to generate the most engagement from your audience, and which demographics are most likely to use a specific social network.

With some key social media marketing tips, hotels can increase brand awareness and sales. In “Social Media Marketing Tips to Promote Your Hotel,” you’ll discover the best strategies for making social media work for you.

TikTok Hotel Marketing - Social Media Marketing and Your Hotel

Leverage Facebook Marketing for Hotels

As a dominant network in the social media space, Facebook is an indispensable marketing tool. Getting the most out of the platform requires understanding the demographic and the site’s mechanics, and how content is promoted or downplayed.

In “Facebook Marketing for Hotels: How Facebook Can More Drive Sales,” you’ll learn how to appeal to a Facebook audience, what is and isn’t acceptable on the platform, how Facebook ads can work for you, and what content will get you the best return on your investment.

TikTok Hotel Marketing FAQs

TikTok is a platform where short, creative and engaging videos are the way to go. Some of the most effective strategies include behind-the-scenes videos that showcase hotel culture, videos highlighting nearby attractions, and working with TikTok influencers to enhance the prestige of your hotel. Hashtags can also boost visibility.

TikTok is an ideal platform for targeting young adults with interesting videos. Ultimately, the most effective way to use TikTok is to create viral content that captures your hotel’s USPs. It can also be useful to keep up with the latest TikTok trends and to join in when the trend feels like a good fit for your brand.

TikTok has a huge user base and is especially popular among young adults, which makes it perfect for targeting that particular demographic. It is also a platform where creativity thrives, so it offers hotels an opportunity to showcase their culture, energy, brand values, and amenities in unique ways.

The best way to attract hotel guests on TikTok is to create engaging and interesting content that helps to highlight the best qualities of your hotel – whether that is your facilities, the level of service you offer, or the quality of your rooms. You can also promote special offers and engage directly with your followers in the comments sections.

The best ways to drive traffic towards your TikTok channel are to promote the channel on other platforms, join in with viral TikTok trends, make effective use of hashtags, and regularly post engaging content.

The social media marketing landscape is constantly changing, but TikTok is set to play a major role for the foreseeable future. By leveraging its enormous reach through engaging short-form video content, your hotel can benefit in terms of brand awareness and increased sales.

Want to Learn More About TikTok Hotel Marketing?

Marketing plays a crucial role in helping businesses to maximize bookings and revenue. It is the main way those in the hotel industry can reach out to potential customers, conveying their unique selling proposition and brand values. In the following articles, you will find more essential marketing strategies to boost your revenue:

More Tips to Grow Your Business

Revfine.com is a knowledge platform for the hospitality & travel industry. Professionals use our insights, strategies and actionable tips to get inspired, optimise revenue, innovate processes and improve customer experience. You can find all hotel & hospitality tips in the categories Revenue Management, Marketing & Distribution, Hotel Operations, Staffing & Career, Technology and Software.

Submit an Article

This article is written by:

Martijn Barten

Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. With 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, I specialize in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have successfully developed, implemented, and managed revenue management and marketing strategies for individual properties and multi-property portfolios.