Hotel marketers need to take advantage of these trends if they wish to have a successful 2015, speakers said during a webinar.

2015 presents an opportunity to be a stellar year in the hotel marketing world but only if hoteliers take advantage of the trends, according to speakers during a recent webinar.

“Before you know where you’re going, it’s important to know where we are now,” Tim Peter, president of Tim Peter & Associates and an HNN columnist, said during the webinar titled “Big, bold, visual: What you need to know about hotel marketing in 2015,” which was hosted by Leonardo.

“We’re in the good old days. Right now is as good as we’ve seen in quite a while and probably as good as we’re going to see for quite a while,” he said. “Hopefully things will be a little better in 2015, but you never know when the economy is going to turn again, so we really want to take advantage of when things are actually going really well.”

“Content marketing can help hoteliers thrive, not just survive,” said Christine Beuchert, senior director of marketing and ecommerce strategy at Marcus Hotels & Resorts. She said content marketing is important for the hotel industry to avoid commoditization; to combat the trend of declining organic search; and because customers expect readily available product information.

The speakers identified marketing trends to keep an eye on in the coming year:

1. The Internet is everywhere

“Customers can browse and buy, anytime and anywhere,” Peter said.

He said there are four categories in which consumers interact with companies:

• mobile;

• wearables (which will become more prevalent beyond 2015);

• usables (for example, mobile payments); and

• invisibles (things that disappear into the background but still act as a source of connectivity, such as the thermostat).

He said there are approximately 13.4 billion Internet-connected devices in the world and roughly two Internet-connected devices for everyone on the planet.

“In reality, your hotels typically house more devices every night than guests. And that has a real impact on what your guests’ expectations are all along their find, browse, shop and buy process,” he said.

He said context is important to the connectivity conversation. For instance, hotel marketers need to think about where their guests are when they access information, what is most important to guests within those contexts and how marketers can use that information to drive consumers to book.

“Think about how you can segment customers by context: observe, measure and learn your customers’ pain points in each context,” Peter said. “Do you make it easy for people to call you? To reserve without a credit card? Do you make it easy to coordinate with Apple Pay or Google Wallet so guests can accomplish goals and drive you toward your goals?”

Context is queen, Peter said.

2. We’re all publishers now

If context is queen, then content is king, Peter said.

“We need to help our customers find the content they need in the contexts that matter to them,” he said.

Beuchert agreed, saying great content can lead to: product differentiation; more inbound website links; websites that are “sticky” and convert at a higher rate; engaged customers and an increase in loyalty; and the ability to leverage social media channels.

Peter said marketers need to cut through the clutter and create content that is:

• snackable: simple text, easy to read and easily scanned;

• shareable: use imagery to convey your brand because images sell; and

• sharp: content should be large, bold, clear and should answer customers’ questions quickly.

3. Deep customer insights

Data are the crown jewels, Peter said.

“Guests are leaving digital footprints. That data is the crown jewels because it gives access to deep customer insights into what your customers really care about,” he said.

He said data can highlight customer behaviors, wants and desires; leads to product, promotion, placement and pricing decisions; and cannot be easily duplicated by the competition.

Peter said marketers should be willing to start small. “This isn’t about big data; it’s about big questions. What are the things that matter to your guests? What are the questions that they have? And how can you use the data that is created to help them answer those questions and help them make a booking decision?”

He said marketers should also anticipate, analyze and adapt to changing customer needs. In addition, the crown jewels need to be protected.

“Privacy and security matter. Protect your customers’ information like your business depends on it. Because the simple fact is: It does,” Peter said.

4. Storytelling

Beuchert said storytelling should be kept top of mind when it comes to content marketing.

“If you are trying to tell your story and differentiate, your website needs to be more like a book, more like you’re telling a story and more engaging. This is going to make people want to come in and visit and learn a little bit more,” she said.

Beuchert provided tips on how to use visual storytelling:

• sell the experience with a consistent story;

• make pictures easily viewable across different devices;

• incorporate video to engage customers (keep it short for mobile users);

• use Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to share photos; and

• create a YouTube channel.

She also posed the question: What’s your “Instagramable” moment? That is, what do hoteliers have at their properties that are magnets for which guests want to take a photo? She pointed to the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, which does a high-heeled shoe sculpture that is large enough for a person to sit in. Beuchert encouraged hoteliers to find what is unique at their properties to turn into Instagramable moments.

5. Design for mobile

Beuchert said hoteliers need to keep mobile in mind for marketing.

“Tablets have become one of the primary sources for travel research,” she said, adding that travelers will often abandon non-mobile-optimized websites.

She provided three tips when it comes to designing for mobile:

• leverage unique capabilities (swipe, zoom and pinch features);

• make the experience easy with features such as click-to-call and interactive maps; and

• a mobile-optimized booking engine is mandatory.