Crafting an Effective Social Media Strategy for Your Hospitality Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

Average read time: 5 minutes

Social media isn’t just about posting pretty pictures, it's your business's gateway to attracting new customers, building meaningful relationships, and turning followers into loyal fans of your brand.

A study by TINT showed that 76% of consumers have used social media to search for or discover new products and brands, and 69% of consumers have made a purchase based on something they saw on social media.

However, posting sporadically on your page isn't going to get you results. To turn that potential into real results, you need a solid strategy.

But what is a strategy, and how can you build one that transforms your online presence?

---

What is a social media strategy?

A social media strategy is a plan that helps you to utilise your social media platform(s) in an achievable and measurable way. It includes what your goals are, your key performance indicators (KPIs) and what you plan to do to achieve them.

---

How to build your social media strategy:

Step 1: Define your goals

The first step is to define what your goals are for your social media platform(s) and how these align with your overall business objectives. An easy way to do this is to set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) so that you create clear, focused objectives.

For example:

• Increase the visibility of a seasonal menu

• Attract more local followers

• Increase the number of reservations

	Specific	Measurable	Achievable	Relevant	Time-based
Increase the visibility of a seasonal menu	Promote the seasonal menu to increase website visits to the menu page	Achieve 1,000 visits to the menu page	Use targeted social media ads, post twice a week about seasonal dishes, and share customer reviews	Higher menu visibility drives more orders for seasonal items	Reach this goal by the end of the seasonal menu period (e.g. in 6 weeks)
Attract more local followers	Gain 300 new Instagram followers from the local area	Track follower growth and location data via Instagram insights	Share posts highlighting local events, partner with local businesses for giveaways, and showcase your business's connection to the community	Attracting local followers increases the likelihood of visits to the venue	Achieve this within 2 months
Increase the number of reservations	Increase hotel room reservations by 15% during the next quarter	Track bookings through the reservation system by using either a unique tracking link or exclusive promo codes	Promote special weekend packages on social media and run a targeted ad campaign showcasing the hotel's amenities and local attractions	Boosting room reservations directly impacts revenue and occupancy rates	Achieve this goal within the next three months

Step 2: Know your audience

You can't begin planning how to connect with and engage your audience, without first defining who your audience is. This helps to ensure that you are creating relevant content that works towards achieving your objectives. This can include:

• Who they are (age, interests, location)

• Where they spend their time online (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok)

• How they use social media (research, entertainment, education)

A simple and effective way to define your audience is by filling out an audience persona document. This helps you break down key pain points and gain a clearer understanding of how to target them more effectively.

Conducting a social media audit before you get started can also benefit your strategy. This involves evaluating all existing content across your social media platforms to assess the quality, relevance, and performance of the content. This includes identifying what is working well, what needs improvement or is no longer relevant, and what topic gaps need to be filled

Step 3: Walk before you run

When starting to implement a strategy in your social media, it's important to focus only on a few key areas at a time to prevent feeling overwhelmed and to manage your time effectively.

Instead, start with one or two clear goals and focus on one or two platforms. Once these are running smoothly and you've had time to refine your approach, you can expand your strategy.

Step 4: Plan your content

Plan your content at a volume and consistency that suits your schedule, ensuring that it supports your SMART goals. Use insights from your social media audit to prioritize the content types that work best for engaging with your target audience.

In order to find what works best to achieve your goals, include a mix of content that all align with your SMART goal. For example, if you want to increase the visibility of your seasonal menu, don't just post photos of the food! You could also include a behind-the-scenes look at your kitchen, some customer reviews, and a questionnaire asking your customers what item they want to try first.

To make planning even easier, grab my free Content Calendar Template, it's perfect for mapping out campaigns, organising content ideas, and maintaining a consistent posting schedule.

Step 5: Schedule your content

Consistency is key to success - you don't want your followers/potential new followers to forget about you!

Scheduling your content in advance eliminates the need to constantly log in and post. Instead, you can dedicate one session to planning and scheduling everything, saving time and effort.

Top tip: Look at what times your target audience is most active on your chosen platform to boost engagement.

Step 6: Engage with your audience

Don't just post and ghost! Your social media page shouldn't just be a digital billboard for your brand, it's about building connections.

Set aside a few minutes to reply to comments and messages, re-share any user-generated content, and interact with your audience through polls or questions in your stories.

These small actions foster loyalty and connection with your audience by making them feel valued and heard, encouraging them to engage with your business in the future.

Step 7: Track your success

In order to learn from and adapt your strategy, it's important to track your progress. However, too many metrics can be overwhelming and not very useful, so stick to the measurable and relevant KPIs you established in your SMART goals.

As your strategy goes on, you will start to see patterns in your results. For example, maybe your audience engages with still images the most on Facebook, but on Instagram, reels are the most effective.

It's useful to compare how your content is performing compared to your competitors so that you can set realistic benchmarks and evaluate your performance.

If you're feeling lost when it comes to the numbers, why not try my free Social Media Analytics Tracker: perfect for staying on top of your platforms, comparing content performance, and tracking key analytics.

A great place to start is by looking at websites like Hubspot or Hootsuite, which regularly release generic social media benchmarks categorised by industry. However, if you want more specific comparisons, you can invest in a competitor analysis service (with me!).

---

Final thoughts

Social media success doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a journey of trial and error. Every month, quarter, and year, reflect on your strategy: analyse what worked and what didn’t, and adjust your SMART goals to keep them aligned with your brand’s vision.

If you want to invest in a bespoke social media strategy or have social media taken off your hands completely, get in touch!