We’ve all been influenced by the power of Facebook advertising. You may have searched for deals on cars, clothes, or anything in between, only to find an ad based on your search popping up in your feed the next day! With any luck, the ad catches your eye and the next thing you know, you are the proud owner of a $200 bed for your cat.
There’s no denying that advertising a product or service on Facebook can reach a large audience and make a great impact. That’s why so many companies budget Facebook ads spend into their marketing plan. This strategy is especially important for travel and lifestyle brands. Most users hop on their feeds to connect their friends and share the latest news, but they also use the platform to dream about and research their next getaway.
It’s estimated that Americans see about 4,000-10,000 ads a day! So how do you make your ad stand out in a sea of…well, ads? You need to create an ad that really grabs the attention of your ideal customer. For boutique hotels, that means punching up your unique offerings and inspiring wanderlust. After all, people are going to book your hotel because they want to escape the norm. They want to effortlessly envision themselves lying in bed, in your one-of-a-kind suites. Or lounging poolside at your epic infinity pool in the jungle. The good news is, there are simple tips to get you started on creating a Facebook ad.
First things first, Facebook won’t let you run an ad with more than 20% text in an image. It’s too busy and users are less likely to click on the ad. When planning out your creative brief for an ad set, remember the three C’s: clear, clean, and classy.
Clear: It should be very clear what you are advertising. If your ad is for a discount on your hotel’s spa services and you have an image of someone on the beach, you are sending an unclear message.
Clean: Choose an image that has clean lines and tones. This doesn’t mean you can’t showcase something with some flair, but the image shouldn’t be so busy that audiences can’t tell what they are looking at.
Classy: Depending on the vibe of your hotel, this will be communicated differently. Classy doesn’t mean you can’t get sassy with your copy or image. It does mean you should think about what draws people to your hotel and showcase the best version of that. This is usually done with professional photography or video. If you are using low-resolution photos for your ad, it’s going to give off a vibe that you don’t put much care into your hotel. Show your guests the high-level treatment they will get before they even arrive!
Building brand trust starts with what you put out on the creative level, but it ends with how you manage your community. As your ad starts to run, monitor how people are responding to it. If a lot of folks are commenting on the ad, engage with them. It might be the extra push they need to click through and book. You can also monitor if people are hiding your ad or reporting negative feedback to Facebook’s advertising team. If you are getting negative feedback, that’s a cue to potentially change your ad set.
Good content rules all! This extends to the imagery you use and the copy you write. Again, using low quality or confusing photos could be the make or break difference in your bookings. Don’t have professional photos you can use? Consider holding off until you can hire a photographer OR use high-quality stock images that are aligned with your branding. Good copy also goes a long way. Ideally, you want to keep the copy short and sweet. Two to three sentences max. It needs to give JUST enough information to intrigue your audience and to make them want to know more. Adding a call to action is always good, too but can be done in the headline of a linked post or in the description section.
Here are some examples of an ad we love and clicked on!
The art of writing a quick-witted line that leads people to click on your ad is not for the faint of heart. Knowing your audience, and what tone they will respond to is key. If you are a chic, hotel designed for digital nomads, play up that angle with quirky quips. Or if you are a family-oriented resort, make sure to include that in the copy. If you have multiple audiences you want to target, you can run split tests or multiple ads to target each of those audiences.
Once your creative is ready to go, you’ll need to focus on getting your ad to the right people. This is where optimizing delivery comes in. Budget, placement, schedule, and objective all matter. Simply hitting the “boost” button on a post doesn’t cut it anymore because it’s not focused on customers with lifetime value. You can target people who visit your website and even folks who’ve gone to make a booking but for whatever reason, held off. We recommend consulting with a professional marketing team or someone who is familiar with setting up ads for this process.
The fact is, video performs better on social media than a still photo. It’s emotional, evocative, and it really drives home your offering. If you can’t afford to hire a videographer to come in and shoot a full-fledged marketing video, there are ways to get around that. You can create a slideshow with shots of your hotel to create a video-like effect or you can use stock footage to put together a video. At the Experience Experts, we’ve created short marketing sizzles for hotels using stock video to give their audience a taste of what the hotel will be like, like this one:
Hopefully, these tips get you started and on your way to creating a dynamic Facebook Ads. If you need more focused help or simply don’t have the time to set up your ad, schedule a discovery call with us. We’ll work with you to find a solution that fits your needs.
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