What High-Quality Blog Posts that Convert Look Like: AW Plastic Surgery

in Content Marketing, Destination Marketing Organizations, Event Venues, Hotels & Resorts, Medical Aesthetic Spas, Practices & Suppliers, Real Estate Management Companies, Websites by Catherine Shane

High-quality, well-written, informative, and purposeful blog content is like going fishing with the best bait imaginable. Not only are you going to attract more fish to your line (yes, an analogy for visitors to your website), but they’re going to stick around, do some exploring, try a few nibbles until you eventually hook ’em (read: convert).

However, blog content that is lacking a focus, overly-promotional, and outright uninspiring will do just the opposite – not motivate those who come across it to take any further action. Picture it like fishing with spoiled or the wrong kind of bait. Users are going to quickly bounce from the post once they realize it’s not giving them what they need. And when their desire to hang around goes out the window, so does any possibility for a path to conversion.

So how do you give them that delicious bait they so crave? You work on upgrading your blog content. It’s something that AW Plastic Surgery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, knew they needed when they started working with Hawthorn Creative to improve their overall website visibility, user-experience, and conversion rate. While our work with the boutique practice has included restructuring their website to make it more user friendly (also improving their path to conversion), search marketing (including on-page SEO and ongoing SEO to bring more traffic in), as well as organic social media management, in this particular post, we’re going to look at their blog performance in particular – and how re-strategizing vastly improved the amount of “contact us now” clicks they saw.

First Off, Why Does Blog Content Even Matter?

After all, isn’t having a company website with a strong homepage enough? Yes, while your homepage is probably the most visited page on your website (in fact for majority of websites, the homepage typically receives more than 50% of all visitor traffic), it’s usually various blog posts that make up the other core points of entry through search engines. Essentially, the more blog content you have and continually add, the more opportunity for your company to show up in search engines and drive traffic to your website in organic search – that means more visibility. (Not to mention, Google recognizes the frequent posting of quality content and rewards it with higher search rankings).

SOLUTION

Take Your Content Strategy into the Stratosphere

Content marketing is the engine powering all of your digital channels – without it, you’re going nowhere

Create Content That Compels Action

So How Do You Create Blog Content that Converts Traffic into Leads?

In the case of AW Plastic Surgery, they had a previous blog managed by another agency that was producing regular posts. And, they were actually seeing a good amount of traffic. But when it came to conversion, the issue didn’t live in the traffic; it was the bounce rates, time spent on page, pages per session, and average time per session – they were too low, a sign of low-engagement that was a result of dry copy, lack of CTAs, or links to additional blog posts to read.

After taking over the management of AW’s blog content in July (where an on-staff content writer with a background in journalism and years of writing for the web began cranking out new monthly blog posts for the brand), by November, we were able to already see a vast improvement in our new content versus the previous content created by the past agency. Our newer posts were showing these key indications:

A Lower Bounce Rate – On average, a bounce rate of 60.4% versus the previous agency’s 92.2%.
Users Exploring More Pages Per Session – On average, 1.78 pages per session versus the previous agency’s 1.13.
Higher Overall Session Time – On average, a session duration of 1:20 versus the previous agency’s 0:29.

This meant that, after entering the site via our blog posts, users were engaging and exploring more of our client’s site over longer periods of time more often than they were through these previous posts produced by the former agency. It also showed that, in that same span of time (July through November), our content was producing more conversions (which, in this case, was someone eventually filling out the “contact us” form after initially landing on the website from one of our blog posts).

So How Did We Do It?

To be honest, the previous agency had good subject potential and keyword research (which is why their posts do see a good amount of traffic), but it lacked the following four critical elements that make for good content that engages a user for a longer period of time and encourages them to spend more time exploring the overall site:

1. Copy that Sets Up AW as the Authority

While the past agency worked with AW to develop the blog’s content angles, they didn’t actually interview anyone at the practice before writing. They simply researched the subject and wrote it, sending the content to Dr. Anthony Wilson to review and edit prior to posting.

“I used to have to do a lot of rewriting,” says Dr. Wilson. “I don’t do that with Hawthorn. Their writers and editors are skilled, taking the time to personally communicate with either myself or the correct member of my team to truly understand the treatment we’re talking about – from surgery to skincare – and the target audience. The results are well-crafted, purposeful material well worth the investment.”

For example, on-staff experts are always quoted in the content, like in this post “Your Essential Fall Skincare Checklist” featuring direct insight from Tracy Thaden, a clinical aesthetician and medical assistant at the practice. Not only does this approach put a face to the very staff potential patients would be interacting with at AW, but it builds the entire practice as a trusted interpreter to digest and distill the latest trends for them – and that’s key to keeping them coming back.

2. Well-Written Engaging Copy

Since AW is a practice offering cosmetic surgeries as well as non-invasive treatments, to some degree, you can expect the copy to read a little “medical.” And while that’s certainly okay, it doesn’t mean you can’t add some flavor to the content, particularly to the headlines, excerpt, and intro.

See an example of one of our posts, “How to Get Rid of Jowls: 4 Treatments for 4 Stages of Sagging” versus an older post like “Why Are Women Electing Smaller Breast Implants?” We’re selecting these two posts in particular because, across the timeframe of September (when our post first went live) to the end of October, both of these posts saw roughly the same amount of sessions. However, our post saw an average bounce rate of 59%, 2.48 pages per session, and session duration of 1:27, while the other saw an average bounce rate of 86%, 1.23 pages per session, and session duration of 0:16. Our post also earned AW three conversions in this time frame, while the other saw 0.

3. Blog CTAs (Call to Action)

Within all of our posts, we design and include a “button” that, using snappy copy, instructs a user to take a certain desired action – i.e. read more about Dr. Anthony Wilson on the About page like in this post or book a consult related to the topic like in this post. The previous content did not, therefore, missed out on a vital opportunity to encourage users to engage with other parts of the website.

MORE INSIGHTS

5 Tips for Writing Irresistible CTAs

Meet the bit of copy that is one of the most important elements in a business’s digital marketing arsenal.

Master Magnetic CTAs

4. In-Text Links and Concluding “Additional Reading” Section

Similar to the concept above, if you want users to stay on your website and look around, you’ve got to give them the means to do so. Therefore, wherever it makes sense, we always include text links to other sections on the website (i.e. if we mention a skincare product or a service, we link to where you can find more info about it under the skincare store page or services pages). Lastly, at the end of each article, we always provide a list of “related reading,” essentially three additional articles in a similar vein to encourage a reader to keep reading.

Next Up: We Refresh Their Older Content

But, when it comes to these previous agency’s posts, we’re not throwing the baby out with the bathwater, of course. After all, many of these posts had good angles and subject potential that were clearly drawing readers in through organic traffic. So, in addition to continuing to generate new blog content, we are also revising/refreshing AW’s older pieces of blog content with higher traffic/pageviews, but lower engagement. That way, we can ensure that readers are truly getting the informative read that they want, while AW – a leading medical aesthetic practice on the New Hampshire seacoast – continues to get the leads that they deserve.

Does all the above sound great, but you’re not sure how to put it into action (nor have the time)?

Our team of designers, writers, and strategists are at your digital disposal. Just drop us a line any time.

5 Wedding Venues with Killer Instagram Accounts that Market to Millennials

in Brand Strategy, Content Marketing, Event Venues, Photography & Video, Social Media Marketing by Catherine Shane

According to The WeddingWire, the millennial segment makes up 80 percent of today’s marrying couples, resulting in a total transformation of wedding traditions and how these events are planned. But not only are millennials changing the way weddings are done, they are changing the way venues are shopped for (check out our post, How Millennials Shop for Wedding Venues, to learn more). And one of their biggest resources that informs their buying decision: Instagram. It’s not just being used for wedding inspiration but scoping out venue experiences (notice we said, experiences, not just settings).

What this means for your wedding venue? That your social media marketing strategy should be primed to capture their attention. Because it’s often the first (and potentially only) touchpoint they’ll have with you online. So, to help inspire your strategy or re-evaluate your content pillars and what you’re posting, we vetted various wedding venue Instagram accounts to bring you these select five that are ingeniously interwoven with smart marketing features that encourage conversion.

Use the Highlights Feature to Provide a Virtual Tour of Your Venue

Example: @rancholaslomas

Especially given the recent pandemic, couples want to be able to scope out your venue before touring the grounds in-person. Rancho Las Lomas, a private resort and zoological garden in Southern California’s Lawrence Canyon, gives them just that by exclusively using their story highlights section to provide a virtual tour of the property, as well as virtual tours of each of the separate on-site venues. So couples don’t just get a great sense of the spaces, but specific past video examples of how each specific space had been used, decorated, and enhanced by other couples – offering a value that couples wouldn’t glean from an on-site grounds tour. Especially if professional videography to showcase your property is out of the budget, this is a great alternative to deliver similar value.

Focus on More Than Just Your Venue Spaces – But Amenities – In Your Feed

Example: @terrain_events

Yes, like our previous paragraph pointed out, seeing your various property spaces is numero uno. But, remember, millennials tend to value experiences over material things – and their weddings are evolving into bigger and better ways to create amazing experiences for their guests (especially now, with micro-weddings being mainstream, which leaves more opportunity for couples to use their budget on ways to lavish their guests). Terrain Events, with two event venues located outside of Philadelphia, does a great job at it hitting home how they offer more than just picturesque horticultural settings, but that they build the amazing farm-to-table dining experiences to accompany them. And the way they do it is by being sure they have a good balance of drool-worthy examples of the kinds of amazing event cuisine they serve in their permanent Instagram feed. Moral of the story: Don’t forget to showcase the various unique experiential amenities couples will only and additionally receive if they book your venue.

SOLUTIONS

Social Media Marketing That’ll Stop Their Scrolling

Explore our highly successful newly engaged social campaigns

Let’s Get Social

Showcasing Real Couples & Real Weddings in Scrollable Posts

Example: @allenbrookefarms

Millennials have birthed something of an “age of authenticity,” – essentially, they value “real and organic” over “perfect and packaged.” So, sure, there’s no harm in showing a model-perfect bride and groom in perfectly posed positions, but examples of real couples in real moments – moments that matter – have more weight with this generation. Leveraging this fact, Allenbrooke Farms, nestled in the hills south of Nashville, Tennessee, spotlights a different couple and their past wedding each Wednesday for their “Wedding Wednesday” posts. Sure, there are detail shots of cakes and stationary in the mix, but what you’ll see most are honest, experience-evoking images of couples sharing candid moments with friends, family, and each other. No, they’re not always perfect, but that, in its own right, is very much what makes it so perfect.

OUR WORK

Get Ready for 2021

How our paid search strategies helped position these two wedding venues for a successful 2021

Seize the Moment

Serviceable Posts that Build You as a Wedding Expert

Example: @dewsall.court

Rather than just simply trying to sell couples on the gorgeousness of your venue, serviceable bits of wedding planning content sprinkled throughout your feed help to establish you as an expert in weddings. Therefore, they will be more likely to check back to your account for tips as they go through the wedding planning process…and look at your venue as more than just a place, but a resource they need to help guide them through this process. Dewsall Court, a venue tucked away in Herefordshire, UK, does this regularly within their account. For example, a recent November 11 scrollable post shared examples of bridal looks incorporating fur, leather, wraps, and jackets for brides not looking to wear long-sleeve gowns during the coming cold months.

TIP Another popular topic to focus serviceable posts around right now are micro weddings. As couples find themselves trying to reimagine quintessential wedding elements as they plan (or re-plan) to meet social-distancing regulations, showcasing creative ways to do smaller weddings – in terms of arranging the ceremony or reception, creative ways to do the food, virtual guestbooks, satellite dance floors or bars, etc. – are invaluable pieces of content. And they showcase how a micro wedding can beautifully be done and beautifully done at your specific venue.

Consistency in the Overarching Feed, But Not Necessarily in Your Type of Posts

Example: @vanderwendeacres

Millennials won’t spend too much time on an account that feels messy or redundant in nature. They want a carefully curated variety of content. So, while we know the above post types – when mixed together – won’t mean the photos all naturally go together, you should still try to retain an overarching photo grid that feels consistent.

Vanderwende Acres, a premier Delaware wedding venue, achieves consistency and variety in an uncanny way in its Instagram account. As you scroll down through their feed, you’ll see the color scheme – utilizing the venue’s branded color palette – evolve over the course of the year. A series of inspirational quotes, backed by a color block, are what establish the shift in color and all subsequent and surrounding images feature correlating colors.

While we know this level of curation sounds complicated (something tells us that a designer is in charge of this account), creating a similar cohesive vibe can be as simple as picking a filter that feels like your brand and applying it to each image you post.

What The Knot’s Top 2021 Wedding Trends Mean for Your Venue

in Content Marketing, Event Venues, General Marketing Insights, Photography & Video, Social Media Marketing by Catherine Shane

It’s that time of year again. No, we don’t mean engagement season – although that is very much in full swing, too. We’re talking about the time where, as we transition from one year to the next, all different kinds of industry resources are cranking out their 2021 trend predictions on what’s hot, what’s not, what’s in, and what’s out to inform, not just for consumers, but the businesses targeting them. And the wedding industry is no different.

But this coming year is undoubtedly different, given how much the coronavirus affected and transformed weddings in 2020, building the foundation for what 2021 weddings will look like. And you see that weighing heavy in The Knot annual’s Top Wedding Trends for the Year report, which overall brands 2021 as “the year of intentionality.” While, traditionally, this report encompasses color palettes, cake trends, floral inspiration, now, more than ever, “couples have leaned into experiences over aesthetics, creating hyper-personalized affairs and curated guest ‘moments.’” Here are a few of the key takeaways and how your venue can lean into them, as well.

Going Big in Smaller Ways

Just because wedding guest counts are down – giving rise to the popularity in micro weddings – doesn’t mean that the details associated with a bigger bash are down, too. In fact, it’s quite the opposite: Couples that opt to keep their guests lists down often do so in order to really lavish their guests with details and accompanying experiences (see our blog post “How to Leverage Micro Weddings to Upsell Couples” to learn more). The Knot annual trend report states that they’re seeing couples go really “deep into the details” with regards to florals as big-budget décor statements, elaborate and sentimental tabletops that don’t spare any details, welcome boxes packed with more goodies than ever and customized to guests, custom canned ready-to-drink cocktails to go, and additional fun and unexpected forms of entertainment (i.e. having a mentalist perform or a celeb sing your first dance song over Zoom.)

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

For one, simply having your finger on the pulse of this trend (and all those that follow in this article, too), allowing you to suggest ideas to potential couples, makes your venue all the more valuable to them – and your blog content is a perfect place to serve that up to them (see our post “Blog Content Ideas – that Couples Will Actually Value – to Push Micro Weddings at Your Venue”).
Secondly, find ways to partner and build packages that couples can build right into their wedding pricing when they book with you – a few examples: custom calligraphy from a preferred vendor who can do handwritten invites, personalized place cards, menus, and more; a vendor who makes amazing custom welcome boxes; and unique forms of entertainment (cigar-rolling demos, floral-crown making sessions, magicians and illusionists, etc.)

SOLUTIONS

Be the First in Their Feed

Pandemic or not, newly engaged couples are still shopping for wedding venues.

Reach Them With Paid Social Campaigns

Putting a Focus on the Outdoors

Open-and-airy environments not only allow for the appropriate social distancing, but it makes guests feel at ease to be able to enjoy themselves. For that reason, welcome events, ceremonies, cocktail hour, receptions, are all being held outdoors through the event, and The Knot also reports predicting “a curation in weekend itineraries to help guests take advantage of nature’s splendor.”

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

Invest in ways to be able to offer couples more ways to maximize your outdoor space, like providing lawn games (something super trendy with micro weddings as is), firepits throughout the property with custom s’more kits, more whimsical and elegant tented or covered spaces (after all, tents are the new ballroom). But you should also reevaluate what you can offer couples in terms of your outdoor ceremony spaces as well, especially as many of your potential scenic locations and sites may have once been out of the question for 150 guests but are now perfect for a party of 15.

Visual Planning & AR Technology

Virtual technology is playing a huge role in how couples plan and experience their wedding days – for example, brides can now try on dresses virtually, weddings are streamed live through a variety of platforms, even guestbooks are now virtual. Naturally, couples also expect it from their venue.

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

You’ve likely already offer one-on-one virtual site tours via FaceTime, Skype, or Zoom, where you virtually “walk” couples through the event spaces so that they can ask questions and address concerns as they come up in real-time. But you should also consider building a virtual tour that couples can access at any time (Matterport is one such virtual software with 3D cameras that help you to virtually record your property and various venues). If you haven’t already, share videos of the spaces transformed during real weddings on Instagram, Facebook, and your website (and, as forecasted by our digital media manager in our upcoming Digital Marketing Trend Predictions for 2021, TikTok, too, will become more of a player for this specific feature in the future).
One such wedding venue collection that nails the virtual trend is Bijou Weddings based in the UK, with several of its venues, like Cain Manor, featuring website pages dedicated to “Take a Look Around” and “Real Weddings & Films.”

Weekday Weddings & Brunch Weddings

Weekday weddings have been on the rise in the last few years, but they’re expected to rise even more in 2021, according to The Knot, a result of the increase in smaller weddings and couples really wanting to use their budget to really luxuriate their guests with details and experiences. The same goes for brunch weddings, where “couples are taking advantage of daylight and sun-kissed experiences, including lush garden brunch parties and mouthwatering brunch boxes under airy tents.”

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

If you don’t already, offering weekday and brunch weddings can help make up for lost revenue in 2020. So how do you book more guests within these timeframes? Our post “How to Book More Weekday Weddings” serves up several ideas, including how to reposition a weekday wedding/brunch wedding as a bold, deliberate alternative.

Personally Portioned Plates

A safer way to serve guests at your cocktail hour or reception, “smaller plates and individualized portions are on the upswing with examples including single-serve grazing boards, mason jars supplemented by dips and dressings and, even, picnic baskets (to stay or to go),” reports The Knot.

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

If you’re a venue that provides your own catering or has couples select from a list of preferred caterers, the key isn’t just to say “yes, we do this,” but showing them the amazing presentation that accompanies these smaller, individualized portions. Think mini-gourmet mac ‘n’ cheese bowls that come covered in their own personal glass covers, different skewered bites arranged artfully on individual plates, and more.

OUR WORK

Bluemont Vineyard

How a new site, stunning brochure, and targeted social campaigns = lead-generation powerhouse.

See the Work

Tinymoons & Nanomoons

Even as travel restrictions lighten, couples will still opt to consider more local destinations for their honeymoons as opposed to the far-flung dream destinations. The Knot reports “local exploration is on the rise among newlyweds, whether it be a short trip to a local wine country or an extended road trip to a nature-driven destination near a U.S. National Park.”

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

First familiarize yourself with the differences between these two types of honeymoons: tinymoons are small honeymoons immediately following the wedding where couples stay in the same city where their wedding for a few days, while nanomoons are road trips to explore more local destinations – like a drive through wine country while staying at local inns – not immediately following the wedding.
If you’re a venue with rooms for rent, the tinymoon is the perfect feature to leverage to get couples to stay a few extra nights on property (which, obviously, means more money in your pocket). If not, it’s the perfect time to consider building special packages with a few of your preferred local hotel or resort partners to add more value to your venue. Lastly, create service-driven content around things to do in your destination on a tinymoon in the form of printed collateral or blog content to entice them to extend their stay.

10 Things that Didn’t Suck About 2020

in General Marketing Insights by Catherine Shane

2 020 felt like the longest year of our lives. In fact, we don’t think there have ever been more memes or gifs created around one subject more than what happened to us in 2020. But, hey, isn’t that in itself a show of our strength? That we were able to find, shed light on, and SHARE moments of humor even in our darkest hours as a nation, a world, a human race?

Being able to see the good among the bad is what separates survivors from the victims. And we refuse to see ourselves as victims in 2020. We want you to, too. That’s why we’re temporarily interrupting our regularly scheduled digital and content marketing posts to bring you this collection of our favorite feel-good fodder – under no particular theme, in no particular order – to fuel your 2021. Because 2020 was certainly unprecedented, but we like to think of it as unprecedented in the way we came together and cared for each other.

Pet Adoptions Soared When the Opposite Was Expected to Happen

©BarKPost via GIPHY

Once stay-at-home orders hit in early March, many rescue organizations and shelters braced themselves for an inundation of animals due to an increase of abandoned pets – the usual scenario when crises arise.

But, in fact, the complete opposite occurred: According to a report shared out by the ASPCA, animal welfare organizations across the country saw a spike in adoptions during the second half of March, with an estimated national adoption rate of 58% at the beginning of the month, jumping to 85% by the end of the month. By July, that initial sudden surge in demand had proven itself to be a bona-fide boom, with rescues still reporting dozens of applications for individual dogs.

“We’ve seen an incredibly compassionate response from people willing to open their homes to foster and adopt vulnerable shelter animals during this period of uncertainty,” said ASPCA President and CEO Matt Bershadker. “This unprecedented compassionate response […] reflects widespread appreciation of the invaluable role pets play in our lives.” Read: Rescue dogs rock.

Crayola Colored Outside the Lines with the Launch of a Box of Multicultural Crayons

In July, the major art supply company launched a box of crayons called “Colors of the World,” featuring 24 new crayons designed to mirror and represent over 40 different skin tones. Wrapped in a gradient skin tone label with each color name – Light Golden, Deep Almond, and Medium Deep Rose to name a few – in multiple languages, the pallet intends to allow children with diverse skin colors to “accurately color and see themselves into the world.” We see something instrumental to raising our kids with a greater sense of belonging and acceptance.

We Spent More Time Appreciating our Momma – Mother Nature, That Is

©Jimmy Fallon via GIPHY

Admit it: How many times did you happily walk your dog to your local park during the shutdown? Or how many more people did you witness in your local greenspaces firsthand? While, for years, studies have shown the mental and physical benefits of spending time in nature, the amount of time people spend outdoors had still been declining all over the world. So, when stay-at-home orders hit, it made the act greatly missed – and feel like a necessity for our overall health. And hopefully, it sticks.

“Ironically, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, as tragic as it is, has dramatically increased public awareness of the deep human need for nature connection, and is adding a greater sense of urgency to the movement to connect children, families, and communities to nature,” said Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder” in a New York Times article.

A Single Dad Adopted Five Siblings to Keep Them Together

After becoming the foster father of three brothers in 2018 and learning that they had yet another two sisters in the system, Robert Carter of Cincinnati, Ohio, made it his personal mission to reunite the quintette. Having grown up in foster care himself, which separated him from his own siblings at a young age, Carter located the girls after six months of the group being apart and began fostering all five children together last summer. Then, in an emotional court ceremony this past October, he officially adopted all five kids, permanently ensuring that the siblings will grow up together.

“My boys never talked about mom, they never talked about dad, just [their sisters], so I knew I had to make that happen,” Carter said in an interview with People, as he recalled the reunion at the girls’ elementary school. “We cried the entire time and that was the moment I was like, ‘Okay, I have to adopt them and keep them together.’”

Women Made History in the 2020 Election & Will Continue to Do So

©mtvstyle.tumblr.com via GIPHY

As a woman-owned and predominately women-employed company, this one really resonated with us: A record number of women ran for office in 2020, surpassing the record set just two years prior. This has teed us up for these landmark stats for 2021:

At least 117 women will be serving in the U.S. House (previous record: 102 set in 2019), including 48 women of color (previous record: 44 set in 2019).
24 women will serve in the U.S. Senate (current record: 26 set in 2020), including 3 women of color.
We will see our first female, first black person, and first Asian-American, take office as the Vice President.

This all coming in the year that marked the 100th anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage Movement’s greatest victory: women achieving full voting rights following the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

The Nostalgia of Drive-In Movie Theaters Came Roaring Back into Style

The crackle of a radio coming to life, the smell of popcorn in the night air, blankets piled high in the bed of a truck – such is the scene of a classic drive-in movie theater. Depending on your age, though, you (or your kids) may not have ever had the opportunity to frequent one of these distinctive slices of Americana – until now. Originally designed for the suburbs of the 1950s, these open-air lots to take in films from the comfort of your car had just about all died out by 2020. But given their COVID-safe sites for collective entertainment, many of these dust-gathering meeting places were recently revitalized, leading to quite the comeback– selling out shows weeks in advance. Who knows, it may have just sparked the birth of a whole new generation of moviegoers.

A 102-Year-Old from New Hampshire Proved She is a Total Badass

©Joyner Lucas via GIPHY

As a New Hampshire-based marketing, design, and creative agency, this one definitely made headlines in our neck of the woods in September, when a 102-years-young Mildred Geraldine “Gerri” Schappals of Nashua, New Hampshire, successfully beat COVID-19 after testing positive for the virus in May.

But get this: This wasn’t her first rodeo. Back in 1918, she – along with her mother – also caught and beat the Spanish Flu of 1918. “Her mother and her were basically given up for dead,” said her daughter, Julia, in an interview with USA Today. “When the doctor came back, he actually started crying and said, ‘We licked it, we licked it.’ Those were his exact words.”

As for what “Gerri” thinks of the whole thing? She jokes that Mother Nature must’ve gotten mixed up and marked her down as dead back in 1918, and that’s why she survived this most recent illness. We just think she’s more of a tough chick than she knows. And she should definitely buy a lottery ticket.

Air Pollution Was Down…Inspiring Us to Do Better

©The Hills via GIPHY

With city streets eerily quiet as lockdowns shuttered businesses and people stayed home across the globe, pollution levels from traffic-related emissions naturally plummeted accordingly. In fact, in India, where air pollution is among the world’s worst, people reporting seeing the Himalayas for the first time from their homes. In the US, in early April, NASA published satellite images of pollution disappearing over New York City.

Although, with the lifted lockdown and cars once again returning to the road, the declines are sure to be only temporary. But it gave us a glimpse of something – a brief respite that may offer lessons for the kind of world we want to build after the pandemic. Not to mention, with more people still working from home – and potentially planning to do so for the foreseeable future – cleaner air in our future no longer seems like a hazy impossibility.

A 12-Year-Old Boy Used His Ingenuity to Raise Money for Victims of the Derecho Wind Storm

After a rare storm packing 100-mile-per-hour winds – similar to an inland hurricane – swept through The Midwest this past August, resulting in widespread property damage from downed trees and flipped vehicles, a 12-year-old Tommy Rhomberg of Iowa took it upon himself to make lemonade out of lemons. Well, actually, in this case, it was baseball bats out of downed wood – more than 200 30-inch long bats, that is, handmade from downed branches from the storm, using his grandfather’s whittling tools and sandpaper. Selling for $100 per piece, a portion of each of the gleaming sluggers’ sales go to helping his local community through the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund.

Generating a waitlist of more than 600 people looking to purchase the bats, he’s still hard at work lathing and, if you follow his journey on Facebook, has even enlisted the help of some classmates. As for those customers still waiting, Tommy’s reply has been steadfast: “I am 12 years old and my parents won’t let me drop out of the 6th grade.”

We Survived & Came Out Stronger, Pretty Much Proving We Can Do Anything

© Funny or Die via GIPHY

Here’s the thing about 2020: Where many just see the face of a deadly pandemic, countless amazing things still happened. People still got married, babies were born, more dogs were adopted than ever, birthday parades gave kids the surprises of a lifetime, artists made some of the best work of their life, families spent more time together (even if, for some, it was through the screen of a computer) – the list goes on.

The bottom line is that care and compassion blossomed in 2020, unlike any other year. And while everyone wants to bury this “dumpster fire of a year” deep in the ground never to be found again, we hope this newfound care and compassion stays in the light as we embark into 2021 and beyond.

From all of us at Hawthorn Creative, here’s to a happy, healthy, and safe holiday with those who matter most.

Our Digital Marketing Trend Predictions for 2021

in Brand Strategy, Content Marketing, Destination Marketing Organizations, Email Marketing, Event Venues, General Marketing Insights, Hotels & Resorts, Medical Aesthetic Spas, Practices & Suppliers, Real Estate Management Companies, Search Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Websites, Wineries by Catherine Shane

As a marketing agency specializing in content marketing, brand strategy, website design, social media marketing, SEM/SEO, and more, 2020 was not at all the year we thought it would be. In fact, once the pandemic hit, we found ourselves having to scrap and pivot many of our meticulously-mapped out client marketing plans. But being flexible and re-strategizing at a moment’s notice is something we’re always equipped to do – after all, no good marketing plan ever stays exactly the same over time. It can’t be if looking to sync with consumer behaviors and the latest trends.

So with this in mind, we used the giant monkey wrench that 2020 threw into our marketing plans to bring you this list of 2021 digital marketing trends that we see sticking around or unfolding further in the year and beyond. It’s certainly not all you can expect – as 2020 has taught us – but, rather, some of our most intriguing findings to inform your own strategy, especially as your own marketing rulebook may be way out of date.

Virtual Events are Not Just Here to Stay, But the Technology Will Continue to Evolve & Grow at a Fast Rate

From Jessica Kaiser, owner and CEO of Hawthorn Creative

“At first, I think there was this initial thought that once the spread of COVID got under control that being entirely in-person would once again return to being the way events are conducted. But, really, being forced to figure out how to build events in a virtual medium – and do it well – has created some really amazing opportunities and experiences in this space. So not only do I see virtual components sticking around and being worked into parts of in-person events as they do return (resulting in what are now being called “hybrid events”), I see the technology continuing to grow and be adopted by this industry at a faster pace.

For example, I think AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) are eventually going to become event program must-haves. In fact, one full-service production company I follow, Simple Multimedia (they’ve worked with global brands like Google, Nat Geo, Nike, and more), creates VR Lounge Experiences and VR Interactive Booths for their clients, where they can virtually interact with others in a virtual space and share information. They also produce AR content that digitally brings to life once dull meeting packets or instructional documents through the lens of your phone. Such technologies open up a wider way to experience the information being shared, ultimately making meeting and events that much more layered and that much more effective at engaging attendees.”

“At-Home” Content Taking a Permanent Place in Content Marketing Strategy

From Catherine Shane, Senior Marketing and Content Manager

“I see more brands continuing to develop and push out digital content that helps their consumers to maximize ‘life at home’ – whether that’s in blog content, larger campaign efforts, or by other means. So think blog posts that detail recipes, mindfulness exercises, even at-home style and design tips – the kind of content that brands switched to almost exclusively once 2020’s stay-at-home orders first came into effect since a lot of their previous strategy suddenly felt insensitive (just two examples: “At Home with Six Senses” initiative and “The Belmond Care Package.”).

While I don’t think it will be as large of a focus by any means, I do think many brand marketers saw its merit and will continue to make it a permanent piece of their content strategy because, really, it never goes out of style – pandemic or no pandemic. In fact, creating serviceable or lifestyle content that consumers value and associate with your brand is smart marketing at all times.”

SOLUTION

Take Your Content Strategy into the Stratosphere

Content marketing is the engine powering all of your digital channels – without it, you’re going nowhere

Create Content That Compels Action

TikTok Evolving as a Popular Top-of-the-Funnel Marketing Tactic

From Matt Lawson, Digital Media Manager

“I expect TikTok to rise for hospitality and luxury brands that are focused on full-funnel marketing. Yes, the main audience for TikTok right now are users in their teens, but I see older audiences increasingly adopting the platform. According to Statista.com, 10- to 19-year-olds account for 32.5% of TikTok users, but this is quickly followed by ages 20 to 29 (29.5%) and 30-39 (16.9%), so these audiences are right in the sweet spot for many businesses and brands.

As for how they would use it? At the moment, purely for awareness, allowing companies the opportunity to showcase ‘experiences.’ For example, wedding and event venues can showcase actual weddings or the different areas of their properties; hospitality brands can share experiences relating to their property or ‘things to do’ in surrounding areas. The options are limitless. The main goal behind all of this – paid and organic-wise – is to build an audience that views your video and wants to be there, not so much lead generation, but I imagine this could be paired well with other lead-gen tactics.

Lastly, advertising on TikTok is still fairly new. This means less competition and lower costs!”

Squarespace Securing its Spot as a Preferred CMS thanks to New Scheduling Features

From Ally Gerlach, Web Strategist

“Back in the spring, Squarespace purchased one of the most popular web scheduling apps, Acuity. This made a whole new bucket of functionality available that we can implement out of the box as opposed to creating something custom (which means more $) or connecting with other CRMs/scheduling systems (also more $).

Here, at Hawthorn Creative, we’ve found this functionality particularly helpful for our wedding and event venue clients because they can now easily book tours and meetings with their own prospective clients seamlessly. But, I don’t see this stopping there at all. These features are ideal for other industries as well – like wineries booking tours and tastings, independent healthcare providers and medical aesthetics practices booking virtual appointments, and even enterprise businesses booking calls or meetings with potential clients, just to name a few. In addition to scheduling, Squarespace has also seriously bulked up on the number of systems that they can connect with natively. Overall, these changes are making Squarespace an even more viable CMS option for businesses outside of the small business and freelancer space.”

SOLUTION

Make Your Website Win More Conversions

With SEO/SEM, strategic storytelling, and one-of-a-kind creative

Check Out Our Website Design Solutions

Brands Promoting Social Justice, Diversity & Inclusion in their Social Media Messaging

From Corey Scarano, Social Media Manager

“In 2020, we saw social justice going from an effort to a movement. And since consumers are more likely to purchase from companies that take a stand on causes that align with their own values, more brands are putting social justice higher on their list of importance. In fact, brands who were silent or tone-deaf during many of the events of 2020 were naturally judged by their audiences, losing customers, investors, and revenue as a result (remember the Facebook advertising boycott this past June?).

That means companies will be baking more of these values into their overall brand presence, social media marketing messaging, as well as more inclusive influencer marketing campaigns. The key, however, will be how they do so, so that it is viewed as genuine and not as ‘woke-washing.’ It’s a delicate tightrope that brands will have to walk and one that will require thoughtful strategy and implementation.”

Web Designs Moving More toward Minimal but Oh-So Purposeful

From Kristen Ritzenthaler, Creative Manager & Lead Web Designer

“2020 presented many unique challenges for businesses around the globe. As a society, we had to make many shifts in the way we work and play and, inevitably, web design followed suit. More than ever before, websites are needing to serve multiple purposes and can no longer just be ‘pretty’ or aspirational. Thoughtful and strategic web design is going to be key in 2021. We’re seeing mobile responsiveness take center stage as more and more users are browsing the web on their mobile devices. In terms of web design, we’re seeing asymmetrical layouts and organic grids, creative typography, colorful shapes, and use of textures. Overall, the 2021 web design mantra is: minimal, eye-catching design meets modern functionality.”

Does all this sound great, but you’re not sure how to put it into action?

Our team of designers, writers, and strategists are at your digital disposal. Just drop us a line any time.

How to Vet a Top Web Design Agency: 6 Vital Questions

in Destination Marketing Organizations, Event Venues, Hotels & Resorts, Medical Aesthetic Spas, Practices & Suppliers, Real Estate Management Companies, Websites, Wineries by Hawthorn Editorial

Who are some of the agency’s previous clients? How will they measure the success of your website? Are they full-service (meaning well-versed in doing all things website-related – not just design, but writing content that is on-brand and primed for SEO, knowledgeable in SEM, etc.)? These are just a handful of the most important questions you should be asking of a web agency when considering handing them the reigns to your website.

“I’ve heard this same story from too many of our clients, where, when working with a previous developer or agency, they paid an arm and a leg for a new website, only to have to start all over again with a new agency a year later because they just weren’t seeing high enough conversion rates,” says Ally Cardello, Hawthorn Creative’s web strategist who has spent the last decade studying how different consumers journey through company websites and how to design that experience into one that turns visitors into customers. “That’s why it’s so critical to be vetting them before putting your trust – and your future business – into their hands.”

But what are the right questions to ask? We only listed a few above, but there are several key additional ones – and subsequent follow-up questions – that you should be bringing to the table. To hear Ally’s personal insight into the rest, follow the link below to download our latest e-book: “6 Essential Questions to Vet a Website Design Agency.”

NEW
Free Downloadable E-Book

6 Essential Questions to Vet a Website Design Agency

Download E-Book Here

A Website Redesign Success Story: Fathom Companies

in Hotels & Resorts, Real Estate Management Companies, Websites by Ally Cardello

We’ll be the first to preach it: If there’s anything a business needs to be willing to pour a little extra marketing dollars into, it’s a well-designed, professional company website. It is, after all, your most essential marketing asset.

That’s not to say, however, that you can’t revitalize your web presence without completely draining your marketing budget. In fact, with the right hospitality marketing team, it’s possible to upgrade your site for a fraction of the cost. And we’ve got just the example to prove it: Fathom Companies. Unhappy with their previous site, which felt stale and off-brand, the hospitality and real estate management company just premiered a brand new website – with custom animation and movement, to boot – in November of 2020.

But here’s what users would never know once arriving to the site: It cost Fathom 1/10th the price of a new site. That’s right, one little sliver from a 10-piece pie. And, most importantly, the new design and improved functionality allows them to do what they need to: Bring in more business by showcasing more than just their hospitality management know-how, but their other available services, including development, as well as capital and equity investments. Here’s how they did it.

THE SITUATION: A Website Lacking the Essentials to Book Business

Best known for managing The Press Hotel, an upscale, boutique Marriott Autograph Collection hotel in the heart of Portland, Maine, Fathom Companies also focuses on ground-up, historic renovations and repositioning of hotel, office, residential, and mixed-use properties.

But within their previous website, the above breadth of services wasn’t being showcased. While the former site did have a page dedicated to “What We Do,” it focused more on company values – important, yes, but misleading for a prospective client. And since the original site was developed quickly by a freelancer on a shoe-string budget, it also lacked gusto in everything from creative to copy. It felt more corporate, less in line with what the company prides itself on providing its clients: a curated aesthetic and attention to detail.

SOLUTIONS

Are You Losing Visitors to a Muddied Website Design?

Visitors should understand exactly what your business does within 3 seconds of landing on your homepage

Websites that Engage

While they knew they needed a new website, COVID, however, had put a vice grip on their marketing budget, as so many other businesses across the country have had to do. So, in order to best position the company as the industry recovers, they came to us here at Hawthorn Creative. As the website agency redesigning The Press Hotel’s website (scheduled to go live in March of 2021), they had already seen proof of our skill. Not just skill in design, but skill in finding unique solutions that meet their particular needs no matter the obstacles – whether that be lack of budget, lack of their own on-site staff, or lack of their knowledge. And if there’s one thing you should know about Hawthorn’s digital marketing team, it’s this: We don’t back down from a challenge. So, our designers, strategists, and developers got together to figure out how we could set Fathom up for success at a price they could afford.

THE SOLUTION: A Marketing Agency that Will Seek Custom Solutions

Fathom automatically assumed that a refreshed design wouldn’t be in their budget, just the updating of the site to build a better, more obvious services page that could be brought to the forefront. But we don’t like to leave any stone unturned, so we asked if we could take a look under the hood of the site. While we weren’t surprised to learn that it was built on a templated WordPress theme (many freelance developers utilize out-of-the-box themes when building sites to save their clients’ money), we also knew we could use this setup to our advantage. After a little bit of digging, we saw that if we simply upgraded their theme, we would have access to a library of more unique, modern design elements and animations. And that translated to a more custom approach, and custom design – something Fathom thought totally out of the question.

So, in addition to redesigning their navigation, rewriting their services section, and optimizing their site content and metadata (something else their previous developer neglected to customize), we went page by page and identified which new theme elements we’d use to bring their new look and feel to life. The result: An online experience that better served up the company’s services with a design that they had only dreamed about. And like we said, it was done at a fraction of the price of a new custom WordPress website.

THE RESULTS: A Month Out from the Site’s Live Date

But the proof is in the performance, right? Within the first four weeks alone, Fathom’s new site saw:

An 8.56% increase in sessions compared to the previous month
A 12.6% increase in the number of sessions per user compared to the previous month
A 35.8% increase in average session duration compared to the previous month

As users and search engines alike begin to discover how much the site has improved, it will only yield greater success with time.

Moral of the story? Don’t be afraid to ask or advocate for your marketing needs – even in tough times like these. Because a good website agency or developer well-versed in doing all things website-related will know how to create custom solutions that fit your needs and budget.

Ally Cardello – the author of this post – is a web strategist at Hawthorn Creative, with more than a decade of website expertise in the hospitality industry and beyond under her belt. Her spirit animal is Tina Fey, and you can always count on her to supply a witty GIF at any moment’s notice.

Top Traveler Priorities to Inform Hotel & DMO Marketing Strategy in 2021

in Content Marketing, Destination Marketing Organizations, Email Marketing, Hotels & Resorts, Photography & Video, Social Media Marketing, Websites by Catherine Shane

In 2021, travelers are planning to get back out there – at least, that’s according to Expedia’s recently released 2021 Travel Trends Report, which taps into its own massive database of search and demand data.

While the report predicts that 2021 will still be filled with road trips to nearby small towns and other regional remote destinations, it also showed that vacation-deprived Americans are once again returning to research far-flung destinations and larger cities. So much so, they grouped the top-researched destinations by two types of travelers: island escapists and urban returners – you can see the full list of Expedia’s 11 most-searched destinations as reported in this Condé Nast Traveler article. The top five alone: Cancun (#1); the neighboring resort towns of Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum (#2); Las Vegas (#3), Orlando (#4), and Punta Cana (#5).

But destinations aside, the report also detailed the latest in traveler priorities – essentially, what travelers are taking into account as they plan future trips, like refundable booking, average booking windows, and the kind of accommodations they are looking for. So whether you’re a DMO (destination marketing organization) or a hotel/resort in a small town, a tucked-away remote destination, an island, or a large city, this is the part of the report you should really be tuning into. Because if you’re not responding to these traveler priorities and preferences, you’re missing out on potential visits to your destination and bookings. We outline each of the listed priorities and how your property should be planning your strategy accordingly.

Flexibility Isn’t a “Nice-to-Have,” It’s Required

In 2020, travelers booked refundable rates 10 percent more often than they did in 2019. While this is purely related to how they booked on the OTA, what hotels should be taking away from this is that flexibility in reservations and booking is going to continue to be key in 2021. That means lowered or none-at-all cancellation fees (within smaller windows of before arrival time, say 24 hours, rather than 48), shorter required stays, pausing or lengthening the expiration date of hotel reward points, even rolling out “Book Now, Pay Later” rates or certificates valid for longer periods of time (Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas offers a Plan Now, Play Later deal that offers an additional 20 percent bonus that may be used towards upgrades or on-property purchases that its valid for three years).

No, your hotel shouldn’t be giving too many things away for free or completely getting rid of penalties, but simply relaxing the rules and restrictions – and showing that you are – will go a long way with future guests.

SOLUTION

Make Meaningful Connections Through Email

Leverage sales, generate new customers, and help retain them

Check Out Our Email Marketing Solutions

Health & Safety Advancements

This was a big concern as hotels and resorts reopened in 2020 and it will continue to be so in 2021. Yes, that means continuing the enhanced cleaning, social distancing, and other guest safety measures, but also the latest ways to show your still prioritizing the effort, like exploring these in the rapidly evolving trends in the world of touchless tech.

In fact, there are now-available technologies that allow lobby doors to slide open by holding a phone to a scanner, contactless check-in via a facial recognition software, keyless entry that requires just a press of a button on your phone, elevator sensor panels that know when a finger hovers over a button (without having to actually touch it), and contactless concierges that provide digital travel information (no more paper brochures or maps at the front desk).

Majority of Travelers Booking Less than a Month Out

Before the pandemic, the average U.S traveler was booking his or her flight 46 days in advance of their departure date, but the new normal (since August) is showing average bookings of just 29 days out – according to Expedia, this is the first time in years that that number has dropped below the 30-day mark.

This spontaneous trip-taking and shorter booking window means that hotels and DMOs need to be syncing their marketing materials to these buying patterns accordingly. For example, when you might have previously tailored much of your content and email marketing sends to talk about all there is to do in your destination starting in three months to the coming season, now is the time to not shy away from what’s immediately happening in the coming month, whether that’s local events, current seasonal to-dos in full swing (peak foliage, animal migration, etc,), or special deals or rates (your own and of local business partners).

SOLUTION

Hook Guests with Your Own Destination Blog

Give them the experiential content they crave while connecting them with your hotel

Create Content That Compels Action

Growth in Alternative Accommodations

In 2020, retreats like castles, ranches, cabins, chalets, and cottages saw the biggest growth when it came to types of accommodations that travelers were searching for most, and it’s a trend that is expected to continue in 2021 as people look to travel safety. Whether you’re a small hotel or B&B that can be booked out entirely or a resort property that offers stand-alone lodging, the name of the game is, again, tailoring your hotel marketing strategy and messaging to establish yourself as a dream social-distancing property and pushing that out.

For example, that might mean revisiting your website landing page to show splashy images or video that largely focuses on your collection of stand-alone accommodations, whether cabins, cottages, bungalows, villas, or casitas – much like how Sorrel River Ranch in Moab, Utah, and Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort in Solvang, California, do. Or, if you keep a blog, create posts around why you’re a “social-distancing dream resort” and pushing that out via your various email campaigns, social channels, and even paid campaigns. If you have no time for blogging, there’s also been an onslaught of digital listicles from a multitude of travel resources sharing their top social-distancing resorts – chances are, you could be on one or even several, much like Garden of the Gods Resort & Club in Colorado Springs is (which is something they point out on their website landing page).

Maximizing the Trip

While many travelers gravitated to virtual tours and activities to satisfy wanderlust during the lockdown, Expedia reports once again seeing more and more activities being booked (their top-trending activities include the Philadelphia Flower Show, boat tours of Biscayne Bay, and ATV and ziplining adventures in the Ruta de los Cenotes).

What this means is that hotels should be delivering the information potential guests are craving by integrating local to-dos into your website (if you don’t already). A couple of obvious ways to do so: mix it into the content of your landing page (Barnsley Resort in Adairsville, Georgia, does a great job of this) and build a destination-dedicated page (or pages) that are rife with insights about the status of local events, restaurants, tour operators, and hidden gems (i.e. Phoenix Park Hotel’s “Drive DC” page).

Marketing Essentials that Medical Aesthetic Suppliers Need to Be Providing Clients

in Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Medical Aesthetic Spas, Practices & Suppliers, Search Marketing, Social Media Marketing by Catherine Shane

As a medical aesthetic supplier, we know you develop the latest and greatest in medical aesthetic products or devices – whether that’s a skincare solution, a device, or some other technology altogether. But do the would-be consumers of that product – meaning the patients of the practices that purchase your product – know this, as well? They likely won’t or, at the very least, would certainly struggle to understand it.

That’s because so many medical aesthetic practices – your clients – don’t have the time, nor know-how, to create an in-house marketing plan that effectively leverages interest and educates their own targeted consumers about your unique product or technology. So how do you expect them to feel confident about selling your product, let alone want to make the purchase investment in it, to begin with?

You need to craft and hand them a turn-key solid marketing strategy that pairs with your product. No, we don’t mean a meager selling script. We’re talking about a multi-faceted results-driven digital marketing package that incorporates content marketing, social media marketing, and paid Google ad campaigns. Do this, and it won’t just make buying your product more of a worthy investment for them, it also helps to earn their repeat business as you add more inventory or newer models to your own line.

A Common Marketing Misstep They’re Missing That You Can Leverage

On average, 66% of medical aesthetic revenue comes from existing customers: Customers book a specific service, then learn about additional services or products during their visit through a personal consultation and promotional material.

The problem is, most practices rely on upselling customers once they’ve arrived for their treatment. This can make customers feel like they’re being “sold on the spot.” But with the right marketing strategy, practices can reach and educate customers off-site – in the form of blog posts, email marketing, and social media – while positioning themselves as a trusted source to help guide buying decisions related to your product, device, or technology.

The Solutions You Should Be Providing to Sell Them (&, Therefore, Their Prospective Patients)

It depends on your client’s unique needs, but here is a roundup of the core collection of solutions you should be offering to empower your client after the purchase of your product or medical device.

1. Blog Content

Whether your client is a plastic surgeon or a med-spa or offering some combination of similar services, their prospective patients look to them to be a trusted interpreter to digest and distill the latest trends for them. When they receive this information, it’s precisely what makes them loyal to that practice and trust them with whatever their future aesthetic treatment plan may hold.

So how do you help your client through that process? You arm them with a series of high-quality blog posts to help beef up their blog presence with content around your unique product. Learn more about how to build a digital marketing strategy in our blog post Content & Email Strategy for Med Spas: Part 1 – Content. And as a bonus for your client, regular blog posts primed with keywords also drive potential new patients to your clients’ websites – meaning consumers organically find their website when searching for content about your devices or products. Posting new and frequent content also boosts your clients’ Google website rankings.

SOLUTION

Take Their Content Strategy into the Stratosphere

Content marketing is the engine powering all of your client’s digital channels – without it, they’re going nowhere

Create Content That Compels Action

2. Email Marketing

The two most effective ways for practices to communicate with existing customers outside their offices is through email and social media. But get this: 48% of consumers prefer to interact with brands via email with conversion rates being three times higher than social media. Therefore, you need to be working with your client to create a solid email marketing strategy build around your product or device. Learn more about developing an attractive, on-brand vehicle that chauffeurs this information straight to their inboxes in our post, Content & Email Strategy for Med Spas: Part 2 – Email.

3. Social Media

While the average American spends almost two hours a day engaging with social media, many practitioners see it as a confusing landscape and are uncertain about the most effective strategy. For that reason, they’d be all the more confident when buying your product if you can equip them with all the social assets they need: creative, copy, and targeting. But we’re not just talking assets that promote the blog posts around your product, nor general materials to help your client regularly promote your product in a savvy social format – although, these are very important. We also mean paid social campaigns that let them hone in on specific audiences to deploy a series of ads that put the treatment or procedure that utilizes your product right in front of them.

4. Paid Google Ads

Last month there were 554,000 Google searches for “Botox,” 146,000 for “hydra facials,” and 21,000 for “body contouring.” Imagine if you could help your client capture just 2% of this audience? That would bring 14,000 potential customers straight to your client’s website.

While SEO is a long-term game to move websites up in the ranks, paid Google campaigns advertising your product will rocket your client’s website to the top of page-one search results, streamlining their consumers’ paths to conversion. Pair this with a low-cost, high-impact retargeting campaign, and they can expect new customers through Google search each and every month.

Does all the above sound great, but you’re not sure how to put it into action (nor have the time)?

As a full-service marketing agency, Hawthorn Creative manages the marketing plans for various medical aesthetic practices, with proven results that you can check out on our case studies page. And we’re here to help you do the same – just drop us a line any time.

How to Leverage Micro Weddings to Upsell Couples

in Content Marketing, Event Venues, Knowledge Drop by Catherine Shane

It should be simple math: The bigger the wedding, the bigger the budget, and the smaller the wedding, the smaller the budget – right? Not necessarily. Because couples that really want to pull out all the stops to really give their guests a lavish experience often intentionally opt for more intimate affairs to do so. By keeping their guest list down – say from the average 100-plus people to 30 – they are able to take that same “big-bash budget” and invest in more amenities to treat themselves and their guests to a high-quality event.

What this means for wedding venues? That micro weddings have the potential to bring in a similar dollar amount as a bigger bash. And especially as COVID has made more intimate affairs a must, wedding venues that aren’t leveraging the “luxuriate-your-guests benefits” of a micro wedding are missing out on an opportunity to not just to book more guests, but book more guests with a big-bash budget to pour into an intimate affair at your venue. The key is arming them with the experiences to inspire, excite, and, in many cases, upsell them on additional services and amenities your venue offers. Here are a few ways micro weddings allow couples to go all-in on the details…and how wedding venues can use them to sell more features.

Personalized Wedding Touches Galore

Traditionally more expensive, custom touches – like handwritten invitations in beautiful hand-lettering, custom-curated welcome boxes for guests, and elaborate escort displays – are all the more possible when being created for a much smaller guest list.

How Wedding Venues Can Leverage:

Build Custom Packages/Special Add-Ons – Worked with a calligrapher in the past who can handle all stationary or signage (invites, personalized place cards, menus, etc.)? Or a vendor who makes amazing custom welcome boxes? Rather than simply recommending them as one of your preferred partners for couples to look into on their own, work with such partners to brainstorm and create special packages or a-la-carte add-ons that the couple can build right into their micro-wedding pricing package when they book with you.

SOLUTIONS

Be the First in Their Feed

Pandemic or not, newly engaged couples are still shopping for wedding venues.

Reach Them With Paid Social Campaigns

Big-Budget Décor Statements in Ceremony, Lounge Areas & Reception Spaces

Not having to outfit a massive ceremony site or ballroom with décor means more opportunity to go big with decorative statements in smaller and more unique spaces.

How Wedding Venues Can Leverage:

Think Outside of the Box with the Spaces You Offer – If there are beautiful places on your property that you don’t normally advertise since they aren’t naturally conducive to larger groups, it’s time to take a second look to see how smaller groups could use them. Because many venues are full of unexpected spaces often overlooked that are perfect for creating separate mingling areas – like a library within a large historic estate, courtyard nooks, smaller galleries, etc. And if a couple is looking to book multiple smaller spaces – for the ceremony, reception, and smaller lounge areas – it can all add up to a similar price of booking your biggest, most expensive event space.

Thoughtful Entertainment, Activities & Ways to Mingle

At smaller weddings, many couples opt to forgo many of the traditional wedding elements, including common entertainment go-tos, like dancing to a deejay, to really customize it and make it their own.

How Wedding Venues Can Leverage:

Invest in Easy Ways to Provide or Bring in Those Unique Experiences to Sell A-La-Carte – For example, lawn games are super trendy when it comes to micro weddings (as everyone can actually participate). So by purchasing all the equipment and games once – we’re talking bocce ball, horseshoes, life-size Jenga, and more – it’s an easy additional amenity you can sell to couple after couple, rather than each couple having to bring that feature in.

CASE STUDY

The Vine

Inside our dramatic rebrand and new website for this premier Texas wedding venue.

See the Journey

Ability to Really Splurge on Food & Drink

When couples don’t have to feed a huge crowd, that means more room for a creative and detailed menu.

How Wedding Venues Can Leverage:

Creative, Multi-Course Menus – If your venue handles the food, these smaller events are the time to let your chef get really creative with what you can offer. And if you can, offer the option of having the chef work personally with the couple to create a totally custom menu (yes, it may mean the same amount of work as preparing food and beverage for 100-plus people, but the price tag the couple will be paying will also match that).
Partner with Local Experts to Bring in Memorable Food Options – Have connections with a local winery or distillery that could provide a custom tasting? Or is your venue located within a destination that has access to some really amazing food trucks? Establish relationships and talk partnerships to create custom offerings that couples can factor into their micro-wedding package with you.

The Lasting Takeaway

With experts predicting that even after big parties are deemed safe again, smaller, intimate ceremonies are likely to persist, so now is the time for wedding venues to think outside the box and get creative with what they offer to make small the new big. Not just because couples are looking to go all out on the details and create experiences for those select friends and family that they hold nearest and dearest to themselves (after all, quarantine made a lot of people realize how much they want to be around certain people in their lives), but because wedding venues can be the ones to give that them – and that can be a way to make up for lost revenue that was typically associated with the bigger bashes of the pre-COVID era. Need help brainstorming experiences, promoting them, marketing them, and more? Our creative team of strategists, brand experts, writers, designers, and more are at your disposal.

Hotel Digital Marketing Campaigns That Creatively Respond to COVID

in Brand Strategy, Content Marketing, Destination Marketing Organizations, Hotels & Resorts, Marketing Topics, Photography & Video, Websites by Catherine Shane

At this point in the pandemic, you’ve probably read a million-and-one hotel marketing blog posts about how you should be altering your digital messaging during the current crisis. But how many successful examples of marketing campaigns or initiatives have you actually come across, let alone had the chance to actually look at and digest? We did the digging for you to bring you these five examples of creative messaging and campaigns to inspire your own savvy spins.

“The Betsy Was Built for This”

By The Besty Hotel

Rather than just creating your typical safety and protocol website page, The Betsy, a South Beach, Miami, boutique hotel, is ingeniously using this moment to also craft a message that focuses on the ways that the hotel was already uniquely equipped for meeting social-distancing and isolation requirements. Using the tagline “The Betsy Was Built for This,” an additional page (separate from its safety and protocol page) touts its “two four-story buildings with 130 rooms spread over a full city block that outpaces vastly larger properties,” “plethora of outdoor spaces all washed by a perpetual Atlantic Ocean breeze,” and “multiple key-activated entrances easily, avoiding unwanted interaction with other guests.” The brand then supports the message with a newly minted promotional video showcasing the open and airy spaces of the hotel, so that guests can get a sense of exactly what a stay would be like.

SOLUTIONS

Travelers Are Ever Cautious

Does your current hotel photography or video assets give them the peace of mind to go from browsing to booking?

See Our Solutions

“Plan Now, Play Later”

By Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas

Properties may be open, but it’ll be some time before the general population at large returns to being comfortable with travel. That’s why Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, a collection of 18 hotels and resorts and 30 spas in 21 countries, created the “Plan Now, Play Later” campaign that, with the help of a seriously wanderlust-inducing video on its main page, encourages people to start planning their next trip – whether that means next year or three years from now. And to really give guests an extra nudge, the campaign is propelled by a special offer of an extra 20 percent bonus certificate (that can be used toward room upgrades or other on-property amenities) when they book now and stay later. But get this: Those certificates are valid for THREE YEARS. Talk about a good way to secure future bookings and drive incremental revenue.

“COVID-19 Prevention Plan”

By Hotel San Luis Obispo

Website pages dedicated to detailing a hotel’s safety and protocols won’t be going away anytime soon. Which is why Hotel San Luis Obispo, a new boutique hotel in Central California, decided to have fun with its approach. Rather than listing out the steps in bullet points of copy, as so many other hotels do, they mined from their playful brand style and created a visual way to, quite literally, illustrate their safety and protocols. It’s fun, on-brand, and, most importantly, informative.

“The Floor is Yours”

By The Hoxton

The Hoxton, a London-based hotel collection with locations in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn, in addition to throughout Europe, is no stranger to uniquely branded packages paired with amazing creative. One initiative they launched this past summer (but not currently being offered at the moment) was “The Floor Is Yours.” Targeting group travelers (whether family reunions or corporate) with social-distancing in mind, guests could book an entire floor of one of their properties at a discounted rate to play (or work) as hard as they like.

How to Stay Relevant with Couples Who Haven’t Rescheduled Their Wedding Date Yet

in Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Event Venues by Catherine Shane

Couples with scheduled weddings had it rough in 2020. And while majority of them – even after the heartbreak of postponing after all that planning – have long re-booked their wedding dates with venues in 2021 or opted the quick-hitch courthouse or virtual marriage route, there is still likely a segment of stagnant folks in your client list. They might be those couples still set on hosting a big bash when everything finally blows over. They might be those couples heeding warnings about ultimately needing to postpone again in 2021. And they might be those couples who now have other, bigger things to worry about in comparison to what boils down to be a one-day event.

Whatever their reasoning may be, if a client hasn’t rescheduled their date yet, here are a handful of touchpoints to help your venue stay relevant so that when they are ready to finally reschedule their date, it’s definitely still with you.

Leverage Nostalgic Dates to Show You’re Sincerely Thinking of Them

By now, their originally-scheduled-but-now-postponed wedding date has probably come and gone. If you were able, you used this date as a time to touch base and let them know you were thinking of them with a memento, card, or even just a personal email. So even if you missed out on this first milestone, you still have the opportunity to send something on what should have been their six-month anniversary. Or better yet, on the anniversary of the date they got engaged (if you have that information). Sure, it can smack a little bit of those one-size-fits-all holiday cards you get from the dentist, but if it hits all the high notes of sincere, hopeful, and maybe even a little funny (cue the hundreds of tongue-in-cheek “2020 sucks” memes for inspiration), it can go a long way. At the very least, it demonstrates empathy, but it can also rekindle the relationship between the couple and your venue.

Position it as You Want to Ensure Them “Wedding Date Dibs”

Yes, this is a classic sales tactic, but it’s a very real risk they run if they wait too long to re-book. Because once things begin to approach “normal” again, the floodgates will really open and you’ll be inundated with new wedding inquiries. If they don’t seem to have a sense of urgency when it comes to rescheduling at all, this is a good approach to use when you are checking in with them, whether via phone, email, or, if they’re that unresponsive, carrier pigeon (just kidding…kinda).

SOLUTIONS

Target Your Unique Client Segments via Email

Stay top-of-mind with couples who haven’t rescheduled their wedding date.

Check Out Our Email Marketing Solutions

Share the Advantages of a Micro-Wedding

A focus on safety may be the underlying aim of a micro-wedding, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be as creative or memorable as a bigger bash – especially to couples that might be opting to hold out on when bigger bashes are back in style. So your ultimate place to prove that to them: your blog, pushed out in targeted email campaigns. Not only does this kind of content equip your clients with how to get creative with a micro- or socially distant wedding, but it also shows how it can be done beautifully at your venue. Not sure what to post? Check out our post, Blog Content Ideas – that Couples will Actually Value – to Push Micro Weddings at Your Venue, for topics you may not have even thought of yourself.

Use Examples of How Your Venue Has Been Able to Flex & Add Value for Other Couples

Using real-life examples from your recently hosted weddings is another great way to demonstrate your mastery in all things new on the nuptial front in the age of COVID. For example, perhaps you were able to help one couple set up a live feed thanks to a local videographer partner so that the oldest members who could not attend could still be there to witness the action. Or perhaps you came up with a totally new way to use one of your function spaces in a creative and not something-you-typical-offer way. Or maybe you were able to create a custom payment plan. While you might not offer all these services or features for your typical clients, if it’s a hard re-sell, you might as well pull out the big guns.

CASE STUDY

Red Ridge Receptions

A boutique website and brochure for a breathtaking venue.

See the Journey

But Be Careful to Not Overdo it

If you have issued refunds in full or mostly in full with the postponed couple already and they aren’t being motivated by some sort of contract, keep all the above touchpoints in your tool bag for sure. However, it can be like having to make a sale all over again, so you don’t want to overdo it and potentially run the risk of turning them off entirely (after all, COVID has caused many people to re-evaluate their priorities in life). Just try things here and there and trust the process. After all, they said, “I do” to your venue once before.

Hotel Email Marketing Examples that Capitalize on the Current Travel Climate

in Content Marketing, Destination Marketing Organizations, Email Marketing, Hotels & Resorts by Catherine Shane

We know a good email when we see one: A short and punchy subject line that intrigues; an easily scanned layout that prioritizes content hierarchy (i.e. most important content featured first); and a compelling design that isn’t just on brand with the business but keeps readers’ attention – email after email send.

While all these principles still apply, on account of the current pandemic, email marketing is in a bit of a strange space right now. Don’t get us wrong, we’re not saying email marketing isn’t currently effective. In fact, multiple email marketing platforms have reported a spike in email engagement since the start of the global health crisis – not just from boredom at home, but because subscribers, since they usually “opt-in” to receive newsletters, trust the information and are more likely to engage with it versus all the other sources constantly coming at them via social media.

Rather, the email marketing issue our clients have been pondering as of late is: What kind of emails should I be sending? After all, you want to keep your brand top of mind by sending emails, but yet you don’t want to seem insensitive. With that in mind, we’ve pulled a handful of hotel email marketing examples that sync up with the state of travel right now in order to target those ready – and those not quite ready – to travel to their destinations.

Hotel Email Marketing Example 1: Catering to Those Who Are Not Yet Traveling

FROM Omni Hotels & Resorts

While this particular email was sent back in March, its approach – to show subscribers how they can replicate the Omni hotel experience at home with virtual travel content, DIY spa pick-me-ups, and recipes – is still applicable to target those who are not yet ready to travel again. In particular, we’re talking about those guests who are flight away from your hotel. And because it has been predicted that air travel will not return to its pre-COVID-19 levels until 2024, it’s essential that you are continuing to keep your brand relevant and top-of-mind with your nation-wide consumers.

Hotel Email Marketing Example 2: Catering to Staycationers

FROM Suiteness

While Suiteness is not a hotel, but an OTA specializing in booking suite accommodations in major national cities, this email still applies. Here, they are specifically targeting those in their send list that live in or near Temple, Texas, by showing them the potential suites they could book for a staycation, plus a link that goes to their website with more suite options in the city. While the “Tips Concierge” section below that section is cute, we think the email would be better served with a list of some of the essential “socially-distant safe” attractions that are currently open or even a link to a blog post that caters to the segment – like “10 Destination To-Dos that Even Locals Don’t Know About” – to help entice readers.

SOLUTIONS

Custom Email Strategies that Target Your Unique Guest Segments

Leverage Sales, Generate New Customers & Retain Them

Check Out Our Email Marketing Solutions

Hotel Email Marketing Example 3: Catering to the Drive Market

FROM Provenance Hotels

Like the staycationer segment, for some time, the bulk of travelers to your property will be your drive-market folks, whatever that natural driving-distance radius may be for your particular hotel and destination. In this email, Provenance Hotels pushed out a road-trip series they created, which promoted various road-trips to their hotel destinations of Northwest Oregon, New Orleans, and Nashville, as well as road-trip-themed offers from their featured hotels. We’re assuming it was sent to past drive market guests to those specific destinations.

Hotel Email Marketing Example 4: Sparking a Little Wanderlust in the Meantime

FROM Opal Collection

If the act of segmenting your email lists or creating new content and email campaigns to target specific consumers is too much of a lift for your internal marketing team right now, if anything, use your pre-COVID content to provide mini-moments of escapism on a wider level (see more here “How a Hotel Can Pivot Its Marketing to Provide Much-Needed Moments of Escapism”). Because the public is looking for uplifting ways to curb the inevitable anxiety that arises every time they turn on the news – travel escapism being a valuable medium to do that.

In this email’s case, which Hawthorn Creative produces monthly for Opal Collection, we used our usual email template. But instead of driving subscribers to the Opal Unpacked blog like we always do, we shared inspirational travel stories from the recently-live digital version of Opal Magazine, including a travel influencer couples’ experience driving down Florida’s Gulf Coast and a narrative about a native New Englander’s trip up the coast of Maine. Sent to the usual list of more than 400,000 subscribers, it saw a reported open rate of 31% (to put that in perspective, the open rate for these monthly sends typical hover between 16% and 19%).

OUR CLIENTS

Opal Collection

How creative email campaigns extend content reach for this hotel collection

See the Work

Other Hotel Email Marketing Ideas

Segment & Deploy Re-Engagement Emails

While email engagement, in general, is healthy right now, people are still getting more emails than usual and that can lead to email fatigue. And when subscribers are not opening your emails time after time, it can lower your sender reputation and push future emails toward the spam filter. So the best thing to do is separate the non-engagers out and target them with a re-engagement campaign or even send them less frequent emails. Once you start to see they are engaging again, they can be moved back to the original list.

Create Custom Emails for the Guest Segment that Had to Cancel

Don’t miss out on re-booking a guest that had to cancel on account of the pandemic. But rather than just showcase the ways your hotel is providing a safe social-distant environment in order to entice them to book again, sell them on the destination by providing a round-up of top business and attractions that are open – and doing social-distancing well.

Pre-Arrival Emails that Shows Booked Guests Know What’s Open

Similar to the idea above, but instead targeting guests who have already booked, create a pre-arrival email that gives them a preview of what they take advantage of – not just in terms of amenities and programming at your property, but also activities and attractions to experience in the greater destination.

5 Steps for Handling Negative Online Reviews

in Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Event Venues, General Marketing Insights, Social Media Marketing by Jennifer Munro

As a hospitality professional, no doubt you’re well-versed in handling complaints (listen, empathize, offer a solution, etc.), but as more and more consumers take to cyberspace to air their grievances, are you equipped to handle it? Sure, crowd-sourced reviews are nothing new, but COVID has only served to add fuel to the fire.

That’s because the entire process of planning a wedding has been turned on its ear, from virtual tours and video chats to interactive online planning tools. The ever-changing COVID landscape has prompted the downsizing, postponement, or outright cancellation of weddings that have been in the works for over a year – or more. That can lead to unhappy clients taking to The Knot or Wedding Wire – and increasingly, Google and Facebook – to post negative reviews.

So how should you handle those reviews in order to safeguard your carefully developed reputation and digital presence? Here are some tips rooted to the current crisis, but certainly applicable at all times.

DON’T Take It Personally

Although it can be tempting to lash out in defense of your product or service, it’s important not to take negative reviews to heart. A negative review may have little to do with you, and there are people out there who will never be satisfied. Case in point: A visitor to Stonehenge in August of 2020 left a one-star review on Tripadvisor, reporting that it was “SUCH a boring site. The rocks have no meaning behind them, it doesn’t matter how they got there.”

THE STATS

According to a study by global market research firm TNS NIPO, fewer than 25 percent submit negative reviews out of vengeance; 30 percent post negative online reviews simply to vent.

DO Respond Promptly

Cyberspace never sleeps. It’s important to respond quickly to negative reviews before they escalate – and before more potential clients read the review. A prompt response shows the customer that you value their feedback, and can actually strengthen an established relationship: A whopping 95 percent of consumers say they will return to the business if their issue is resolved quickly and efficiently.

THE STATS

Most reviewers (70 percent) are looking for a response, and all of these complainants state that they have already sought satisfaction through traditional customer service channels. Of those, 53 percent expect to get a response from the business within one week.

SOLUTION

Engage Couples with a Robust Social Media Strategy

Beat out all idle competition by actively creating connections via Instagram and Facebook.

See Our Social Media Marketing Solutions

DON’T Neglect the Positive Reviews

Even if positive reviews don’t necessitate a response, it’s good practice (and good manners!) to at least acknowledge them once in a while with a simple “thank you.” Why? First, you want to show your customers that their satisfaction matters, and that you appreciate that they took the time to leave a positive review. Second, you don’t want to give customers the impression that leaving a bad review is the only way to get your company to engage.

THE STATS

According to Search Engine Journal, 78 percent of consumers feel that a business cares more about their customers when they respond to reviews (positive and negative) than when they do not.

DO Take It Outside

No we’re not talking fisticuffs on the meticulously manicured ceremony lawn, but rather offline. While it’s important to initially address the customer’s concern publicly, Facebook and Yelp are not the place to play he said/she said. Apologize, then ask the customer to contact you privately via direct message. Your willingness to meet the challenge head-on shows potential customers that your apology isn’t just for the sake of appearances.

THE STATS

Of those seeking a response to their negative online review, only 38 percent receive one.

OUR CLIENTS

Bluemont Vineyard

How a series of targeted newly-engaged social campaigns became a lead-generation powerhouse for this Virginia farm and winery wedding venue.

See the Work

DON’T Forget to Ask Customers to Write a Review

You may be wondering: Is it okay to ask for a review? The answer is a resounding “yes!” A positive review is a great way to turn a happy customer into an online advocate, but there are some caveats. Here are three tips to asking for (and getting) online reviews.

Make it easy. Let customers know you are listed on review sites and provide them with the details. Consider adding your venue’s review sites to the back of your business card – not only will it serve as a reminder when the customer gets home, but it increases the likelihood that they will mention you by name.
Ask in person. A personal request at the appropriate time makes all the difference. Most people (85 percent!) write reviews for altruistic reasons, so that should be the basis for your request. Let them know that their unbiased review gives potential clients a true perspective on your business and helps them make informed decisions. (This is not the time to mention the sales contest your manager just rolled out.)
Leverage happy moments. Look for touchpoints in the buyer’s journey to figure out when to ask. For example, following up a compliment with a request for a review is a natural next step. If it’s not appropriate to make the request at the height of customer satisfaction (say, at the altar right after they proclaim, “I do!”), follow up with a handwritten personal note after the event. And be sure to check a site’s terms of service and review guidelines. While Yelp makes it clear that soliciting reviews is a violation of their rules, Google and Tripadvisor go so far as to provide free tools for companies to proactively reach out to consumers.

THE STATS

77 percent of consumers would be willing to leave an online review if asked.

As wedding research and planning moves increasingly to an online platform, proactively reaching out to customers for feedback becomes that much more important. The warm handshake has given way to the distant virtual wave, and finding ways to connect on a personal level requires some creative problem-solving.

It may seem like a daunting task, particularly if you haven’t taken steps to manage online reviews prior to this, but it’s never too late to start. Consider drafting customizable responses to common scenarios so that you can devote more time to unusually harsh or time-sensitive criticism.

Ways for Hotels to Better Target Their Drive Markets

in Content Marketing, Destination Marketing Organizations, Email Marketing, Hotels & Resorts, Search Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Websites by Catherine Shane

“Staycationers,” “backyard travelers,” “weekend tourists.” Whatever you prefer to call them, it’s these folks – your drive market guests – who are going to be making up the bulk of hotel business for the foreseeable future, even as travel restrictions loosen and a vaccine or proven treatment is eventually found. That’s owed to two core reasons: Consumers apprehension of air travel and a desire to embrace more affordable, close-to-home destinations in order keep more money in their pocket (in case of an additional shock to the system…after all, 2020 has been a year of many unexpected major events). Some hard but honest truth: In late July, the International Air Transport Association released an updated global passenger forecast predicting that air travel will not return to pre-COVID-19 levels until 2024, now a year later than previously projected.

Despite all this, the US is still experiencing an undeniable wave of “revenge travel,” a term used to describe the act of consumers zealously indulging in leisure travel – even taking more trips than they usually do – on account of not being able to do so for the past several months. Think of it like trying to make up for lost time. And that’s why we’re seeing a growing segment of staycationers, backyard travelers, and weekend tourists. So how do you capitalize on this movement and appeal to your drive-market, wanderlust-hungry guest, while doing so safely and effectively? Here are a few content marketing must-haves that, if your hotel or resort marketing team hasn’t yet already implemented, should do so – and fast.

Sell Your Destination First

In a post-COVID world, travelers will be more cautious than ever, therefore, will want to know what the experience is like in the destination: what businesses are open and how many, what social-distancing or hygiene measures are being put into place, what kind activities – cultural, outdoor, etc. – are available? It doesn’t matter if the destination is an hour or a several-hour drive away – they won’t decide to travel there until they’ve considered these factors. And the best way to position your hotel in front of them is to deliver that destination information they’re craving by clearly integrating local to-dos into your website. A few suggestions:

Update Your Landing Page Make sure it focuses not just on your beautiful property, but your activity-rich destination and all you can still do here while keeping a safe social distance (i.e. outdoor activities, nearby hikes, outdoor dining experiences – Troutbeck in New York is a good example).
Destination-Dedicated Pages Build out an additional page (or pages) – linked in the top nav – that caters to regional travelers with insights about the status of local restaurants, tour operators, and hidden gems (i.e. Phoenix Park Hotel added a “Drive DC” page in its navigation bar, which is designed to showcase just how much there is to do in and around the DC area).
Blog Content Use your website’s blog content to regularly push out posts that naturally speak to attractions/to-dos that encourage social distancing (I.e. “X Location’s Best Outdoor Dining Experiences” or something akin to this post from Eat This, Not That).

Ready to Work Smarter, Not Harder? Request a Free Website Audit

Request Your Audit Now

Create Drive-Oriented Content or Campaigns

Since guests will clearly be driving, road trip–themed content from the nearest major cities demonstrate how close you are, shows off all the recently reopened stops and attractions en-route to your property, and inspires what to do once they are in your destination. Much like destination-focused content, this themed content can live on your website and your blog and even become part of a larger campaign. A couple of examples to inspire:

Road Trip-Themed Blog Post Series For our Opal Collection client, for whom we manage the blog, Opal Unpacked, we created a road-trip themed series, promoting different road trips that link together driving-distance attractions as well as the client’s various properties to post up at during the trip. Not only do the hotels’ own independent websites link to the story rooted to their respective destination, but we then pushed these pieces out in various email campaigns targeting former drive-market guests who have stayed at their various properties.
Road Trip-Themed Website Page Instead of living on a blog, Provenance Hotels’ “Last Ditch” road-trip series lives on a separate page they built on their collection’s website promotes various road-trips, as well as a road-trip-themed offer from featured hotels. They also promoted the content with a custom video that was shared across their various social media platforms.
Personalized Road Trip/Driving Directions Perhaps the easiest: You can create separate pages on your website, detailing directions to your destination or hotel from major surrounding cities or regions, but then weave in fun places for your guests to stop along the way. Want to make it feel really personalized to better engage different drive markets? You can make each set of directions/road-trip routes display solely to certain users depending on their location (called geotargeting, more on that in the final paragraph). And it can be as small as changing a paragraph or word to as big as an entirely different page.

Cater Specials & Packages to Locals

In the post 4 Essential Steps Hotels Should Take Now to Market Themselves in a Post-Pandemic World, we talked about how you shouldn’t be discounting your product too steeply. But there are other ways to add value by creating packages or specials that cater to regional guests. For example, perhaps a creative family package that, with the price of a typical two-night stay, comes with a branded backpack containing instructions or clues for an on-foot, outdoor scavenger hunt that reveals a true local’s look at the destination. Or maybe a girlfriends’ getaway package that includes a discount to the on-site spa. Or a wellness package, featuring daily use of your resort’s kayaks or bikes or free smoothies each morning.

Ramp up Your Geotargeting Efforts

The hope is that all the above efforts will reach your potential guests via a simple Google search or, if they’re already following or subscribed, via your social media or email marketing. But, if you really want to get in front of your ideal audience fast and effectively, the name of the game is geotargeting advertising.

Geotargeting through social media and other paid advertisements will allow you to advertise all of the above content, packages, or any other specific hotel messaging to your various drive markets – whether you want to serve it up on a silver platter to consumers within your state or neighboring states, a certain neighboring city or cities, or within a specified mile-radius of your hotel. Yes, this costs money, but by filtering your audience, it actually extends your advertising budget (as you’re spending less money on a smaller audience) and increases engagement (since you’re serving people the right content at the right time) – all of which contributes to an increased ROI.

Account-Based Marketing 101

in General Marketing Insights, Knowledge Drop by Dan Seitz

Leads, leads, leads. For many of us, our primary marketing objective is to generate leads. It seems to be what unites marketers across so many different industries and verticals. We want more and more prospects to fill our company’s sales funnels. Not just leads, but qualified leads. More qualified leads means more revenue, right? Well, imagine if ALL your leads were qualified. Better yet, imagine that they weren’t just qualified but all worth the revenue of your top clients. Wouldn’t that be amazing?! Think about all the time you’d save by not creating proposals for clients that will never close or for clients who you just know aren’t a great fit. Think about all that revenue (aka moola) and all the sweet sweet cred you’ll get around the office for being the best!

This doesn’t have to be a fantasy! With Account-Based Marketing (ABM), this can be, and is, a reality. When marketing and sales combine their powers you can start to focus on your quality of leads, not just the quantity.

What is Account-Based Marketing?

Hubspot defines ABM as “a focused growth strategy in which Marketing and Sales collaborate to create personalized buying experiences for a mutually-identified set of high-value accounts.” So, basically, have sales and marketing work together to build ideal customer profiles (ICPs), so both can work together to help close those high-value leads or accounts.

Let’s say your company provides corporate event planning to major companies across multiple industries across the country. You’ve looked over your closed deals from the last year and have found that deals for companies in the financial industry have revenue that is twice(!) the size of leads from companies in the healthcare industry. So naturally you now understand that a lead from a finance company is much more valuable than from healthcare. If you know that the deal size is likely to be double, wouldn’t you treat that lead or account a little differently? Maybe give them the white glove treatment? That’s where ABM comes in.

Ready to Work Smarter, Not Harder? Request a Free Website Audit!

Request Your Audit Now

Marketing and Sales, Peanut Butter and Jelly

Before implementing an ABM strategy, we are often communicating to our audience by looking at them by industry: “How can our product/service solve the challenges of X industry?” with ABM, we drill down even further. Instead, we communicate directly to the accounts or companies within those industries. “How can our product/service solve the challenges of X company?” See the difference? Adjusting our focus on the company allows us to look at the specific traits that indicate whether they are a good fit for sales to pursue. These traits are known as firmographics, such as company size, annual revenue, number of offices, etc. Think demographics as people and firmographics as companies. Down the road you can get even fancier with intent data from third party software (aka, know if they are actively in the market for your services).

Marketing’s job will be to attract those accounts and then alert sales to when they have either engaged with the website or marketing content or have actually converted on the site. Sales’ job is then to provide a more personalized nurturing communication to ultimately close the business. Sales should have an arsenal of tools to use in that dialog, so having marketing collaborate to define that process will be the key to success.

Here’s another example for ya: You receive a notification that a contact has downloaded one of your awesome pieces of gated content featured on your site. The contact happens to work for a massive financial services conglomerate that you have flagged as a key account (hopefully in your CRM, you have one of those right!?) that matches your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile, again, firmographics). This will then trigger an automated email sequence (from your marketing automation platform, you have one of those right?! If not, check this out) that contains content specifically geared to contacts in that organization about how your product/service will solve all their challenges. This can also initiate your sales team to reach out on a personal level. Now that your team is armed with knowing the contact’s interest (and contact info) based on the content they have consumed, sales can have more meaningful and valuable conversations with the prospect.

Benefits of Account-Based Marketing

Other than the obvious (REVENUE BABY!)… let me breakdown three major benefits.

Focused Sales Efforts – No longer will sales have to spin their wheels with conversations going nowhere or with no payoff. Give sales the focus and direction they need to only be having fruitful conversations with high-value accounts.
Sales and Marketing Collaboration – ABM will force these two to be best pals. Marketing will need sales to help inform who those high-value accounts are and sales will need marketing to come up with compelling materials that are specific to those accounts’ needs. When these two teams are working together on a shared goal, magic can happen (like peanut butter and jelly).
Building Your Ideal Portfolio – If you can continue to sell to your ideal customer profiles (ICPs) in mind, then you’ll continue to close accounts that match your ICPs. This means you’ll have more of the clients you want, and less of the clients that have to take. In my experience, this usually results in happy employees! Teams working on fulfilling projects resulting in fulfilling revenue.

If you’ve ever asked yourself the questions from earlier in the post, then ABM is the right next step for you. Implementing can take all different shapes and forms, but it’s all about knowing your audience. By creating a customized experience that is geared towards your high-value accounts, you can see an increase in quality of leads and the revenue that goes along with it.

Dan Seitz is the Director of Strategy at Hawthorn Creative and has helped execute marketing strategies for clients from all over the hospitality industry. He believes it was Professor Plum in the ballroom with the candlestick.

Vetting Social Media Influencers: Q&A with The League Collective

in Brand Strategy, Content Marketing, Destination Marketing Organizations, Hotels & Resorts, Marketing Topics, Markets, Photography & Video, Print Marketing, Social Media Marketing by Catherine Shane

ocial media influencers are nothing new. But here’s something that is: Social media usage is way way up – by approximately 30%, given the impact of Coronavirus.

If you’re a hotel or travel brand, you’ve likely explored partnering with influencers to help raise brand awareness in the past. But now, it seems as though the time is especially ripe for these kinds of campaigns – yes, because of the stat above, but also because influencers can serve as an extension of your marketing team. And that’s something you might need more than ever right now if you’ve had to cut your marketing budget or your in-house marketing staff on account of this pandemic.

Still, that doesn’t mean you should sign on with just anyone who claims they are an influencer (and it seems like everyone is an influencer these days). “The first thing a hotel needs to do is ask themselves, ‘what do I want to get out of this partnership?’” says Zach Brose, one-half of The League Collective, a lifestyle brand that he curates with his wife, Tara, out of LA, California. “Do they simply want to raise their follower count? Or do they want great storytelling content and imagery? Is it a combination of both, or something entirely different? Once they nail down their marketing goals, only then should a hotel start evaluating influencers.”

It’s something Zach and Tara know plenty about as they have partnered with hundreds of hotels and resorts (54 hotels in 2019 alone!) in more than 47 different countries since starting The League Collective in 2016, including everything from boutique hotels in Paris to global collections like Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. They also partnered with us here at Hawthorn Creative for a custom shoot for one of our long-time clients, Opal Collection (see the entire case study here) in 2019. Which is why we’ve tapped the duo to give us the lowdown on the types of questions to ask and aspects to be aware of in order to best vet an influencer partnership.

Say a hotel/travel brand is approached by an influencer promising all these followers if put up for a two-night stay, all expenses paid. What should a hotel do to determine if this is worth their time?

Zach: Well, first, that all depends on if that (more followers) is even what the hotel wants. But, in this case, let’s say it is. The first thing I would do is simply look at the influencer’s social media accounts, blog, and website, and assess their brand from the content they are putting forth: Are they on-brand with your brand, therefore going to be able to even speak to the kind of guests you target?

Tara: They should also be able to answer questions related to their social media insights – i.e. “Can you give me your number of impressions on any single day?” If they have those sorts of stats or examples of ROI from other clients readily available, that’s always a good sign – you know they are more professional. You can also look to platforms like AspireIQ, Social Bluebook, Social Blade, which will show things like an influencer’s follower rate over time. If you see things like that they grew by 10,000 followers in one day that might indicate that they bought followers. And that’s not worth it: Even if all those followers are real people, chances are they are not engaging with the influencer’s content and that’s not going to help get your brand in front of anyone.

Zach: Definitely. Be sure to check out the likes, shares, and kinds of comments on their content. In my opinion, this is all way more important than their follower number because it shows that people are engaging with their content.

So as an influencer, is that – an increase in a certain number of followers – something you can even promise at the outset of a partnership?

Zach: Tara and I will share information like that based on past projects with clients, but it’s really not what we, personally as a brand, like to put the emphasis on. What we view as our number-one priority for our clients is creating high-quality content and telling a story about the hotel/destination experience. We’re the last people to say we’re “influencers” – to us, we’re content creators and that’s the value you’re going to get.

Tara: Yeah, you can get a beautiful girl in a bikini to post a shot of her at your property, but is it really focusing on your property experience or more on her? And it may get a lot of likes or comments – which is good – but again, who are the people liking the shot and what are they saying…are they who you are trying to target?

Why is capturing content that tells a story so important to you and something hotels should value?

Zach: Because that is precisely the stuff that is going to engage, resonate, and be remembered by a client’s target audience. We’re in the age of the experience economy – people want to spend their money on experiences over material items, so the key is showing them the kinds of amazing experiences they can have if they choose to stay with you. Not to mention, people tend to trust other real people (even if they are clearly sponsored) more than they trust the business that is clearly selling something.

Tara: Yeah, we think it’s smart marketing to capture the destination experience, too – so the culture and traditions, local cuisine, landmarks, and locals. You can’t expect guests to stay on your property the entire time, so providing insight into the destination will help make your resort stand out.

We teamed up with a travel social media influencer couple, The League Collective, to produce lifestyle images for the cover and an interior road-trip itinerary feature for the 2020 issue of Opal Magazine.

Are there ways for a brand to determine that an influencer is capable of delivering them great experiential content before embarking on a partnership with them?

Tara: It comes down to research (which you should already be doing anyway to make sure their brand is in line with yours). So that means following them for a bit – not just their feed but watching their stories for a little while. If the person is just posting a lot of pictures of themselves and not of the hotel or destination, that’s probably not what you want from them in terms of content.

Zach: Also pay attention to their level of seriousness. Does it seem more like a fun thing they do on the weekend? Or have they invested more time in honing their skill – i.e., asking you pointed questions about the kind of content you want, have invested in photo gear, etc. Sure an influencer can get a great shot on their iPhone that will get likes, but most worth their salt will actually have professional cameras and some photography knowledge (even if it’s self-taught, like me). For example, we have a drone and that allows us to get great aerial shots and our clients really love that.

You talk a lot about setting up expectations with clients. What kind of things should brands know to make sure they are getting exactly what they want from an influencer?

Zach: For one, determine the mode of payment for the influencer: Is it a paid project versus a free stay (what we call an “exchange/collaboration”)? When there is some sort of additional monetary budget involved (beyond a stay), that usually tells us the client is very serious about getting specific content, so we make sure to have conversations around that. If it’s simply a “we will put you up for a night as long as you post about us” exchange/collaboration, normally they’re just looking for some exposure – and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Tara: We also like to ask them to send us other content produced for them that they liked or other comparable content that was produced for a like brand – it helps give us a sense of what they want us to capture, the mood, the vibe, and so on.

Zach: And if it’s a paid project, we definitely like to create a shot list – basically an outline of the shots they want, where, what time, with certain props (like a picnic on the beach), and our style of outfits. That way, we know that we are all on the same page to deliver them exactly what they want.

Let’s talk budget. Can you give some cost/trade examples and what hotels can expect to get?

Zach: It won’t be the same for all influencers, but for us, our general rule of thumb is you want to do a simple exchange/collaboration, you can expect one post from us per each night of stay – that’s our baseline. If you’re offering other amenities beyond that, say meals, spa, etc., then more content and exposure would come from that – it’s just a matter of talking it out about how much. If you’re looking to get more than just exposure, but content from us that you then have rights to and can push out on your own social media feeds or on your website, then we would expect additional payment. Because, at that point, you’re not just leveraging the power of an influencer, but looking for a professional shoot.

Going back to content that tells a story, is there something hotels can do to help make sure the influencer can get accomplish that?

Zach: I think one of the best things a hotel can do is give a heads up to all the staff that an influencer is going to be on-site to shoot. In the past, we’ve been out shooting and a pool manager will stop us and say something along the lines of “you can’t shoot here,” when we’re just trying to get the best content we can for the client. Ideally, we even just have the marketing contact’s direct phone number, so we can just text them if we have an idea – like flying the drone over the pool for five minutes – and they can get us the permissions we need. When we have more freedom, it allows us to get our clients the best imagery possible.

Tara: Yeah, and I’d say for bigger paid projects or campaigns, having someone on hand to help facilitate our shoot is great – whether that’s the marketing manager or just another random staff member to help set things up, grab resort props for a particular shot, share shot ideas. Of course, it’s not a must, but it allows us to do our job more efficiently so that we can get the right kind of content for the client and loads of it.

About Zach & Tara Brose of The League Collective, @leaguetravels

The first iteration of The League Collective was born in 2016 as a simple Instagram account that shared the travel experiences and insights from husband-and-wife team, Tara and Zach Brose. At first, both continued to hold down day jobs (Zach as a graphic designer and Tara as a model), but, as their passion for travel grew, they decided to go full-time with their travel brand in 2017. Today, as an ideal marriage of their creative backgrounds and sense of wanderlust, The League Collective has evolved into a lifestyle brand for all things travel, fashion, and design.

Blog Content Ideas – that Couples Will Actually Value – to Push Micro Weddings at Your Venue

in Content Marketing, Event Venues, Marketing Topics by Catherine Shane

Small, intimate weddings are nothing new. And, for wedding venues, we know they may not be your biggest revenue-generators as compared to the big wedding bashes that had come to dominate the industry in a pre-COVID world. But, unfortunately, in a COVID world, the former wedding rules – large venues, long guest lists, and packed dance floors – no longer apply. We’re not saying it won’t ever get back to normal. It will – you’ll start to see that once a vaccine comes out. But, because people have become more cautious, careful, and critical now (and will be for the foreseeable future), it may be some time before all couples and their guests feel completely comfortable gathering in a big group.

So why not show how a small intimate celebration – or what has now been coined “a micro wedding” – at your venue can deliver them that much-needed peace of mind, while still being an awesome bash? In fact, as couples are now finding themselves trying to reimagine quintessential wedding elements as they plan (or re-plan) to meet social-distancing regulations, it can actually serve as a ripe content marketing opportunity to make your venue to stand out. The place to do that: your blog content. Because not only does this kind of content show potential couples how a micro or socially-distant wedding can beautifully be done, but be beautifully done at your specific venue, encouraging conversion. Not sure what to post? Here are four examples of catered content and how to market a micro wedding to couples who are shopping.

Blog Post Idea #1: “X Major Benefits of Hosting a Micro Wedding That Couples Don’t Realize at First”

If you’re looking to book more micro weddings, this is an obvious topic to tackle – not to mention, it capitalizes on some “fear of missing out” with the use of “That No One Realizes” (other options: “That No One Talks About,” “That the Wedding Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know About”).

Some of the benefits to touch on in this post:

Saving Money or Making a Splash It’s a no-brainer way for couples to cut costs or – on the flipside – allow them to really spoil or luxuriate their smaller group of guests.
Breaking from Tradition to Make it Really Unique/Custom Smaller weddings naturally seem to encourage less traditional expectations (read: fewer family members/friends breathing down a couples’ necks with input), meaning couples can get more creative.
More Quality Time Couples get to spend more time with loved ones, rather than trying to touch base with everyone during a larger gathering.

Even better, fold in what makes a micro wedding so special at your venue. For example, perhaps you’ve got a variety of open and airy ceremony spaces ideal for social distancing or have created a handful of elopement or micro wedding packages – the ability for a couple to envision what they could do at your property is a major selling point for them, and a big win for you.

Is Your Website Effectively Capturing Your Unique Venue Experience?

Request Your Free Audit Now

Blog Post Idea #2:“Tips & Tricks for Choosing Your Guest List for Your Micro Wedding”

No matter what size wedding a couple is having, whittling down the guest list can cause headaches. In the case of a micro wedding, that typically means a guest list of 50 people or less, which often has couples biting their nails over who makes the cut or not.

Some natural tips and tricks to touch on in this post:

Start With the A-Listers Suggest not to divvy your families and friends into a first string, second string, third string – think only first string, nothing beyond that. A good rule of thumb: If they’re not on your holiday card list, don’t feel guilty about not inviting them.
Set Boundaries Early Particularly with parents about how this is going to be a small wedding (in the age of COVID, they should understand). If couples have narrowed down their A-Listers and have leftover spots (even if just a couple), divide by two and give each set of parents that predetermined number of invitations available to them.
Be Judicious with Plus Ones Because the most important thing is having the couples’ loved ones there.
Note that It’s a “Micro Wedding” on the Invites Which can help prevent some misunderstandings if some guests start comparing notes about whether they were invited or not.

Blog Post Idea #3: “X Creative Ways to Throw a Safe, Socially-Distanced Wedding Ceremony”

With regulations requiring couples to avoid face-to-face seating, use protective screens and face coverings, and limited access to non-essential social spaces, it can feel a bit overwhelming to throw an event that feels, well, normal and beautiful. The key is showing potential couples that it can be done.

Some ideas to touch on in this post:

Make Masks Their Own Instead of buying the wedding party matching robes or socks, suggest having custom masks made to match. As for wedding guests, masks and personalized hand-sanitizer can actually double as wedding favors, especially with a personal touch like embroidery of the couples’ initials.
Outdoor, Open-Air Ceremony & Reception Spaces That Wow The name of the game is having enough room to disperse the crowd, so, as a venue, you can actually showcase your best spaces for that, plus the seating arrangements that naturally work in each space (see next post example).
Create A Virtual Guestbook To limit the sharing of pens or photo-booth props, WedShoots is just one example of an app that allows couples to build a collective wedding album online, where guests submit photos and express their well-wishes in the comments. Eventually, couples can print out a photo guestbook for a physical keepsake.
Satellite Entertainment Stations to Steal the Show Satellite dance floors and bars provide more than one space for guests to bust a move or refresh their beverage. Sure, it’s a health and safety precaution, but also a great way to get guests to explore different entertainment experiences throughout the party.

Blog Post Idea #4: “Our Favorite Socially Distanced Wedding Ceremony Seating Ideas & Arrangements.”

So if guests shouldn’t (or don’t feel comfortable enough to) sit side-by-side, how will the actual ceremony go down? Again, this is a great post to showcase the unique and versatile seating arrangements your spaces can accommodate.

Some examples to touch on in this post:

Wedding in the Round Place chairs, stumps, or benches in a circle or spiral configuration with ample space between or in spaced-out clusters (so that families who are comfortable with each other can opt to sit together).
Standing Room Mostly Provide spaced-apart seating up front for guests who need to sit (think elderly), then ask your guests to stand (especially since the ceremony will be shorter than usual), allowing them to determine how close they want to stand next to each other.
Lounge-Style Seating Opt for an eclectic arrangement of sofas, love seats, single sofa chairs, ottomans, and more to let guests decide where they want to sit, with who, and how many people – plus, it makes for great photos with a really fun vibe.

Other Micro Wedding Ideas & Examples to Chew On

Our Wedding Designer’s 5 Favorite Details for Small Weddings Have your on-site expert share some top insights.
Our Top Socially-Distant Wedding Spaces on Property Profile your best spaces and what they’re capable of.
How This Couple (Or These Couples) Pushed the Envelope for their Micro Wedding Share inspiration from a couple (or several) about some of the coolest inspiration/features from their micro wedding, held at your venue

So are you ready to get to writing? We are. But seriously, if the act of content marketing feels a bit intimidating or too time-consuming, our on-staff wordsmiths and content experts are happy to assist – just drop us a line. Because valuable, insightful digital content doesn’t just help reach couples who are doing their research, it positions your venue as the place to deliver on their dreams.

The Art of Marketing a Socially-Distant or Micro Wedding at Your Venue

in Content Marketing, Event Venues, Marketing Topics, Photography & Video, Search Marketing, Websites by Catherine Shane

Just because the world shut down this past spring, doesn’t mean that couples – who had to forego their originally planned wedding events – still didn’t get married. Sure, most couples (roughly 93% worldwide according to TheKnot, actually) rescheduled their celebrations to later this year or into 2021. But only a minuscule 7% actually canceled their weddings altogether, meaning that the remaining balance honored their original wedding date – either by seriously scaling back their guest list to comply with social distancing rules as certain states allowed, opting for a quick-hitch courthouse marriage, or doing what is now being referred to as “a virtual wedding,” where couples host an intimate ceremony from home that invites friends and family to tune via a video platform.

The takeaway? Whatever this pandemic throws at us, one thing is for sure: Couples will still find ways to get married. So in order to make sure your venue capitalizes on “love always finding a way” and not lose business to a courthouse or virtual marriage, it’s critical that, right now, you are best showcasing how your venue, vendors, and featured amenities have adapted to what desirable weddings will look like amid coronavirus – namely, the micro wedding. And we have just the steps.

Update Your Website to Speak to the New Normal

Tweaking your website may seem obvious, but it can’t be understated. Not just to stress how your venue is addressing concerns for hygiene and cleanliness, something that people will expect to see for some time across all industries – whether weddings and events, hotel and travel, restaurants and craft beverage creators, and more – but to also show how your venue can easily cater to this new standard. For example, update or add in pages that show layouts, food distribution details, seating arrangements, so potential couples can get a sense of how their wedding can be hosted – effectively and safely.

And perhaps most importantly: Rethink imagery. Prior to the pandemic, it was natural to show off big celebrations with hordes of people – it wouldn’t have raised any eyebrows. And because imagery is so important – especially to the Millennial generation (see our other post “How to Design a Wedding Venue Website that Speaks to (and Converts) Millennials”) – it’s essential to have the right selection. Opt for images showing detail shots of happy couples, fewer people, and your spacious settings. Avoid showing crowds; even if it’s a great shot that captures an utmost level of joy and excitement, images like this are too much of a turn off right now.

Make Video a Marketing Must-Have

Video, when done well, has certainly proven itself as a powerful marketing tool in any industry. But especially as social distancing has recently dominated our lives, it’s become a critical way for couples to vet a potential venue from afar. So, if you’ve never been able to find a good enough reason to finally take the plunge and invest in video marketing, now is the time. It allows you to emotionally engage with couples using images, music, and storytelling while showcasing how an intimate wedding at your property can become the wedding of their dreams. In fact, according to the folks at Google, as of 2019, 55% of consumers use online videos to make purchase decisions.

SOLUTIONS

Take Your Prospects from Browsing to Buying

Break through the noise in a crowded digital landscape

See How We Can Help

Use Your Blog to Inspire Creative Approaches for Hosting a Smaller Wedding

Your blog has always been a way to show that you know weddings and that you know the latest trends. And by offering valuable pieces of wedding-resource and -related content, it doesn’t just help potential couples find your website during internet research, but positions you as a resource they need and, therefore, their ideal wedding venue.

None of this has changed in the face of the pandemic. Because guidelines are forcing couples to reimagine quintessential wedding elements – such as cocktail hour and entertainment – as they plan (or re-plan) to meet social-distancing regulations, your blog is a key place to give them that much-needed info. And, in the process, it shows potential couples (or those who’ve had to reschedule their wedding dates) how a micro wedding or socially-distant wedding can beautifully be done at your specific venue, encouraging conversion. A few examples of content ideas that cater to this: “How to Choose Your Guest List for a Micro Wedding,” “5 Creative Ways to Throw a Safe, Socially-Distanced Wedding Ceremony,” and “Our Favorite Socially Distanced Wedding Ceremony Seating Ideas & Arrangements.”

Leverage Real-Life Socially-Distant or Micro Wedding Examples

It’s no secret that personal testimonials from previous client couples, as well as “real wedding” stories, help capture and present weddings at your venue as once-in-a-lifetime experiences. This is still the case, so once you do host a handful of weddings that cater to this new normal, be sure to leverage them. Reach out to past couples and ask to use their wedding story and imagery to create a section on your website (or a series on your blog) that depicts real examples of socially-distant weddings held at your venue.

Take, for example, one of our clients, The Vine, for whom we did branding work and a refreshed website design. Located about halfway down this venue’s website landing page, a collection of image tiles depict real couples who held their wedding at this premier wedding property near Austin and Houston, Texas. Based on the style of wedding that strikes someone’s fancy – boho chic, Southern elegance, or classic glamour, to name a few – users can click on the couple (i.e. “Kaitlyn & Michael”) and be taken to a page that tells the experience of their wedding in copy, testimonials, and imagery.

Roll Out/Promote Special Packages, Offerings & Vendors

You may already have special packages built around elopements or intimate affairs, so don’t be afraid to push them – they are what couples are looking for at the moment. Or perhaps, consider refining the package to have added value to make it more attractive – free champagne toast, use of a private suite not typically included in the package, etc. The name of the game is to find ways to offer little added elements of service, rather than steeply discounting your packages and amenities.

You can also get your preferred vendor partners in on the action, too, especially if they too have had to morph their services to meet with the times. For example, you might promote some of your favorite interactive entertainment providers, such as drone deliveries, which can hover around the event space to drop off desserts or small goodies to guests (and always a fun element to watch). Or maybe there’s a local mask-maker who can work with the couple to create custom masks for their special day. Or even a transportation service with a fleet of small cars, ideal for transporting guests in their seating “bubbles.” If a preferred vendor can do it and make it special, don’t hesitate to show it off.

Key Steps Hotels Should Take Now to Market Themselves in a Post-Pandemic World

in Brand Strategy, Content Marketing, Hotels & Resorts, Photography & Video, Websites by Catherine Shane

Owed to a consumer environment that approaches everything with more caution than ever, it might feel a bit like the Wild West in the world of hotel marketing right now. What kind of content should you be developing? What kind of tone should your content take? How often should you be sending email campaigns to push that content out? While we tackle those specific questions in these previous posts – Blog Post Ideas for Hotels & Travel Brands in Our “New Normal” and Hotel Email Marketing Strategy in Today’s Travel Climate – there are basic essential steps hotels should take asap as the industry as a whole heals from the effects of COVID-19. After all, while your audience may be smaller than usual, there is still an audience out there that is eager to engage with your brand; the key is to make sure you are connecting with them in a way that addresses the current climate. So how do you do that? It all starts with these essential hotel marketing strategies.

Update Your Property Website to Ease Their Concerns

This may seem like a no brainer, but it can’t be understated. Because right now – and probably for the foreseeable future – travelers will have higher concerns for hygiene and cleanliness. This means you need to clearly stress the steps your hotel is taking to address those concerns on your website and other digital platforms (social media, email campaigns, etc.). One of the most common ways hotels (and other businesses alike) are doing that is by dedicating a page on their site to COVID-19 property precautions and updates, including outlining the protocols they are following (and expect guests to follow, too) like hand-sanitizer stations at certain guest touchpoints, signage throughout public spaces on social distancing requirements, and what the arrival experience will be like (temperature check, touchless check-in, etc.).

Some additional food for thought: Team up with hygiene and health groups. For example, Four Seasons is currently collaborating with John Hopkins Medicine International for its Lead with Care campaign, which very visually promotes efforts like the stationing of a hygiene officer on each property, hourly cleaning of public areas, blacklight room inspections, etc. Because implementing creative measures such as these give your guests some post-lockdown peace-of-mind, which will ultimately be critical to your bottom line.

Lastly, you should evaluate your website’s imagery. A few months ago, images of a busy hotel bar or bumping pool scene wouldn’t have raised any eyebrows – in fact, they were desirable, showing that this is the place that everyone wants to be, so why aren’t you here, too? Now, as the very scenes the public is trying to avoid, these images can quickly be a turnoff, so be sure to update your website imagery to show your spacious property, relaxing amenities, and socially-distant experiences. Maybe even consider doing a new shoot or invest in video marketing to give guests a sense of just how great your property is in a time when people want to relax in privacy.

Is Your Website Effectively Capturing Your Unique Brand Experience?

Request Your Free Audit Now

Create Content that Speaks to Your Drive Market

It’s likely that those who will be visiting your property over the next several months will be your drive-market folks – travelers who crave a getaway, but will want to stay closer to home and maybe have less to spend or are trying to budget accordingly. So, as you start to weave in more travel-related content back into your blog or on your website to encourage booking, cater it to best speak to them. For example, road trip–themed stories from the nearest major cities are a great way to demonstrate how close you are, show off all the recently reopened stops and attractions en-route to your property, and inspire what to do once they are in your destination.

Other story ideas might revolve around under-the-radar attractions or businesses to check out in the destination (for example, “10 Destination To-Dos that Even Locals Don’t Know About”), as drive-market visitors may have visited your destination before and been to all the obvious touristy to-dos – just make sure they are actually open. Another idea is highlighting the destination’s top attractions/to-dos that naturally encourage social distancing (like local botanical gardens, outdoor fire pits on-property, or rolling expanses of nature preserves). Think of this as a way to show them why they should come back – and why now is the time.

Don’t Discount Your Product; Think Value Add-Ons

While we all love a great deal, if you are repetitively marketing discounted hotel stays or other deals, it can come off as desperate…not to mention, consumers are thinking twice now about whether or not they want to purchase something, regardless of how steep the discount. Rather, find ways to add little elements of service that won’t have a big impact on your bottom line. For example, free breakfast with a two-night stay, champagne at arrival, or complimentary fitness or yoga session.

It’s also likely that guests will want to spend time with their families and friends, many of whom they’ve been forced to isolate away from throughout this crisis. Consider implementing packages that encourage and reward multi-generational travel, girlfriends’ getaways, etc. Or “de-stressing” programming on-site: yoga sessions, live music in the hotel lobby, meditative treatments, pasta-making classes with the on-site chef, etc.

Sell Your Destination First & Foremost

One thing that will continue to be at the forefront of a consumer’s hotel selection: the destination itself. Even before the pandemic, prospective hotel guests first look – and definitely spend more time studying – a particular destination before they even start to think about where they’re going to stay (see our post 5 Experiential Marketing Examples That Hotels Use to Hook Guests). Now, more than ever, guests who are looking to venture out again are going to be heavily evaluating what’s going on in the destination – what’s open, what’s not, natural social-distancing activities they can do, etc. So the key is to directly demonstrate why your destination is special and the right choice for them right now. While your blog content or activities page is a place to do that, you can also potentially partner with other local businesses – all of whom will also be looking to dig out – to create videos, content, and offers to help attract travelers to your destination.

The Top 5 Benefits of Marketing Automation

in General Marketing Insights, Knowledge Drop by Dan Seitz

As our marketing succeeds, our businesses grow – and when your business grows, your marketing and organization will become more and more complex. While complex may mean complicated, it shouldn’t have to mean difficult. With any growing business, there comes the inevitable growth of moving parts to navigate through, and also where the risk of waste, inefficiencies, and human error rises. We can’t help ourselves. No matter how organized a business may be, we are still human, and there will undoubtedly be times where things can start to fall through the cracks. But instead of correcting this with more time or more people, let’s look at how technology can solve our challenges.

Cue The Terminator music, because robots are about to rule your world…..

Marketing Automation

Okay, so we don’t have to worry about any Arnie-beef castle-murder-robots, but technology will, and pretty much already does, rule the world. It’s in almost all the things we do and love, making our lives better and, most importantly, making them easier. This is exactly what we want out of marketing automation.

A marketing automation platform helps marketers, like us, by doing tasks for us. Tasks that would take a human a great deal of time and effort. Common tasks, like capturing contact information and sending emails, can all be simplified and automated. These automated actions can be as complex and customized as needed to fit your exact needs and scale with us as we grow. By leveraging a platform, such as Hubspot or SharpSpring (my two favorites), will make our lives much easier.

Here are 5 examples of how you’ll benefit from marketing automation:

Organization

Organization is key to any successful…organization. This may seem straightforward, but I cannot stress enough how impactful a marketing automation platform can be on your day-to-day. Imagine a rusty old filing cabinet down in your basement that’s been overflowing for years. We all have one. Your wife has been begging for you to sort ever since you couldn’t find the paperwork for your adopted dog named Ozzy (that example got oddly specific). Combing through all those files, who knows how old they are, sounds like a straight-up nightmare… but what if you had something managing that for you? Every important document, all perfectly organized the way you like? Now that’s the straight-up dream.

This is how a marketing automation platform with a built-in CRM works. Every customer contact, past and present, organized with detailed information. You can even remove contacts who are no longer of value or identify the contacts who are likely to buy, so sales can find them in a few clicks and focus their efforts. As our organizations continue to grow, this CRM technology will be able to grow with you and help you grow quickly.

Ready to Work Smarter, Not Harder? Request a Free Website Audit!

Request Your Audit Now

More Time

Time. If you’re like me, you love time! Less time doing repetitive busywork, more time doing rewarding engaging work. Marketing automation allows us to spend more time doing what matters, like closing business and fulfilling great customer experiences. What’s so great about technology is that it’s advancing so quickly. What would take a full team to accomplish in a day, now only takes minutes with a few clicks of a button. Just think of all the other things you could do with that time!

Efficiency

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, Woody and Buzz, Thelma and Louise, Time and Efficiency. Talk about iconic duos! Time and efficiency go hand in hand. Both have a direct impact on each other. If we can be more efficient with our processes, we have more time to achieve other initiatives. Marketing automation isn’t just doing things for us, it’s doing this quickly and effectively! How much more efficient is it to use three different tools to do one job compared to having to manually send an identical email to 900 different email addresses? Very! A good automation platform should be a swiss army knife or a tool belt. Everything you need in one spot for anything you need.

More Savings

It’s obvious, we already covered saving time, but time is money! Maybe I should have led with the money bit? Marketing automation allows us to save money. No more allocating unnecessary money, budget, staff for these now automated tasks, the automation will have you covered. And better yet, you can start to re-allocating those resources to other impactful needs, such as web development, content marketing, social media campaigns, a foosball table, the possibilities are endless! If I’ve learned anything about marketing automation, it would be why to do more with more when you can do more with less.

Reporting and Success

Combine all the previous benefits and add an extra layer on top, tracking and performance. Any great marketing automation system is going to have tracking and reporting metrics. So what does this mean? This means you can take the guesswork out of your efforts and see clear results. How engaging are your emails? How engaged are your contacts? How effective are your contact forms? And if you go with one of our favorite platforms, like SharpSpring or Hubspot, you’ll be able to tell how much revenue you are generating through your marketing efforts. These are all questions that can inform strategic decisions, which can result in monumental positive changes in your strategy, and ultimately, will then result in better organization, time savings, efficiency, and budget savings.

So, if you haven’t yet, or are considering upping your marketing by integrating a streamlined automation tool, then now is the time to do it. Every minute you spend on a task could be a minute saved, and every dollar you spend could have been better spent.

Dan Seitz is the Director of Strategy at Hawthorn Creative and has helped execute marketing strategies for clients from all over the hospitality industry. This blog post was automated, Dan is actually a fully automated writing robot fueled by human brains.

First Off, Why Does Blog Content Even Matter?

SOLUTION

Take Your Content Strategy into the Stratosphere

So How Do You Create Blog Content that Converts Traffic into Leads?

So How Did We Do It?

1. Copy that Sets Up AW as the Authority

2. Well-Written Engaging Copy

3. Blog CTAs (Call to Action)

MORE INSIGHTS

5 Tips for Writing Irresistible CTAs

4. In-Text Links and Concluding “Additional Reading” Section

Next Up: We Refresh Their Older Content

Does all the above sound great, but you’re not sure how to put it into action (nor have the time)?

RELATED READING

Use the Highlights Feature to Provide a Virtual Tour of Your Venue

Example: @rancholaslomas

Focus on More Than Just Your Venue Spaces – But Amenities – In Your Feed

Example: @terrain_events

SOLUTIONS

Social Media Marketing That’ll Stop Their Scrolling

Showcasing Real Couples & Real Weddings in Scrollable Posts

Example: @allenbrookefarms

OUR WORK

Get Ready for 2021

Serviceable Posts that Build You as a Wedding Expert

Example: @dewsall.court

Consistency in the Overarching Feed, But Not Necessarily in Your Type of Posts

RELATED READING

Going Big in Smaller Ways

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

SOLUTIONS

Be the First in Their Feed

Putting a Focus on the Outdoors

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

Visual Planning & AR Technology

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

Weekday Weddings & Brunch Weddings

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

Personally Portioned Plates

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

OUR WORK

Bluemont Vineyard

Tinymoons & Nanomoons

How a Wedding Venue Can Lean into This Trend

RELATED READING

Pet Adoptions Soared When the Opposite Was Expected to Happen

©BarKPost via GIPHY

Crayola Colored Outside the Lines with the Launch of a Box of Multicultural Crayons

We Spent More Time Appreciating our Momma – Mother Nature, That Is

©Jimmy Fallon via GIPHY

A Single Dad Adopted Five Siblings to Keep Them Together

Women Made History in the 2020 Election & Will Continue to Do So

©mtvstyle.tumblr.com via GIPHY

The Nostalgia of Drive-In Movie Theaters Came Roaring Back into Style

A 102-Year-Old from New Hampshire Proved She is a Total Badass

©Joyner Lucas via GIPHY

Air Pollution Was Down…Inspiring Us to Do Better

©The Hills via GIPHY

A 12-Year-Old Boy Used His Ingenuity to Raise Money for Victims of the Derecho Wind Storm

We Survived & Came Out Stronger, Pretty Much Proving We Can Do Anything

© Funny or Die via GIPHY

Virtual Events are Not Just Here to Stay, But the Technology Will Continue to Evolve & Grow at a Fast Rate

From Jessica Kaiser, owner and CEO of Hawthorn Creative

“At-Home” Content Taking a Permanent Place­ in Content Marketing Strategy

From Catherine Shane, Senior Marketing and Content Manager

SOLUTION

Take Your Content Strategy into the Stratosphere

TikTok Evolving as a Popular Top-of-the-Funnel Marketing Tactic

From Matt Lawson, Digital Media Manager

Squarespace Securing its Spot as a Preferred CMS thanks to New Scheduling Features

From Ally Gerlach, Web Strategist

SOLUTION

Make Your Website Win More Conversions

Brands Promoting Social Justice, Diversity & Inclusion in their Social Media Messaging

From Corey Scarano, Social Media Manager

Web Designs Moving More toward Minimal but Oh-So Purposeful

From Kristen Ritzenthaler, Creative Manager & Lead Web Designer

Does all this sound great, but you’re not sure how to put it into action?

RELATED READING

NEW Free Downloadable E-Book

“At-Home” Content Taking a Permanent Place in Content Marketing Strategy

NEW
Free Downloadable E-Book