As we welcome 2024, we look at the digital marketing trends that will influence the Queensland tourism industry. Check them out below.

Tourism in Queensland: Digital Marketing Trends 2024

Improved customer segmentation for better customer insights

Off the top of your head, who are your target customers? Are they families or groups of friends holidaying together? Or are you targeting solo travellers or people in Queensland for business?

Maybe you want to cater to water sports enthusiasts, adventure seekers, and backpackers. You may also be targeting retirees or even the soul-searcher types. If you're drawing a blank, you might wish to invest some time and energy into identifying your customer base and promoting your hotel.

Knowing who your hotel or resort is catering to and understanding their needs is crucial to your business' success. The information will give you an insight into the type of accommodation and amenities they're looking for. 

You can provide what they need accommodation-wise and gain insight into whether you're catering to big spenders or budget travellers. Identifying your audience also allows you to finetune your marketing and sales strategies. Say goodbye to throwing shots in the dark regarding advertising or meeting your customers' expectations.

Knowing your target audience also allows you to invest in and improve your property, whether it's the accommodation itself or the amenities. Finally, knowing who you are marketing lets you reach more guests, attract them, and increase your hotel's revenue.

So, how do you identify your customers and understand their needs? 

We recommend conducting customer segmentation. First, determine the type of traveller you wish to cater to and their needs. For example, families and groups of friends visiting Queensland for a holiday want spacious accommodation and fantastic amenities, such as swimming pools and barbecue areas.

Adventure seekers, water sports enthusiasts, and backpackers often want direct access to the beach. Meanwhile, business travellers might enjoy a spacious room with all the essentials since they probably go to meetings and conferences most of the day anyway.

Capitalise on your location, whether you're only a couple of minutes' walk from the beach or there's a bar right across your Gold Coast or Brisbane hotel.

Conducting a survey is the best way to get to know your customers. You can either perform a survey online or in person when they're checking out. Long surveys can bore your guests, so keep it short and straightforward.

Videos and 360-degree view virtual tours are in when it comes to showcasing your accommodation

Photos are great for giving potential guests an idea of what they can expect when they arrive at your hotel. But they're usually one-dimensional and only give guests one part of the story.

Videos and virtual tours give you a full of what your hotel offers, from the type of bed you have in the room to the media and entertainment amenities you provide. You can embed the videos or 360-view photos on your website and post them on your social media pages.

To get great results, consider hiring a professional videographer to shoot your videos and edit them afterwards. Want to DIY? You can shoot 360 photos using a phone with a high-resolution or a DSLR camera. Or you can invest in a 360 camera if you want to use it often. Watch this tutorial before you get started with shooting 360 photography.

Don't have time to shoot a virtual tour of your hotel rooms and amenities? Hire eTourism to shoot your video instead. 

AI chatbots or virtual assistants are efficient, but customers still prefer to talk to a human customer service agent.

Many hotels have begun deploying AI chatbots or virtual assistants for customer service tasks. You're also considering adding an AI chatbot to your hotel website to increase your customer service team's efficiency. 

But what you want might be different from what your customers need. Yes, AI can streamline your hotel's operation in several ways. However, according to a survey conducted by Survey Monkey, 90% of the respondents still prefer human customer service agents over chatbots. The question is 'why?'

Most respondents say that human customer service agents better understand their needs than chatbots. Humans also offer more thorough explanations, and the overall experience of interacting with humans is more enjoyable. Lastly, human customer service agents provide more alternatives and solutions to their problems.

But don't worry. There's still room for AI chatbots in your digital marketing strategy, customer service, and hotel operations. Apart from efficiency, AI chatbots are available 24/7. This 24/7 availability allows your customers to get answers even if your front desk or office has closed for the day.

AI chatbots can also address simple issues faster and have access to accurate information.

Boost your hotel's online presence with new video marketing strategies.

Boosting your hotel's SEO with TikTok and YouTube involves creating engaging and shareable content that showcases your property and reaches a broader audience. We also recommend including testimonials from satisfied guests to build trust.

When creating YouTube descriptions for your videos, ensure they are descriptive and keyword-rich to improve discoverability. Include relevant keywords related to your hotel and location, and feel free to use them as hashtags.

If you have the budget, invest in YouTube advertising to reach a targeted audience interested in travel and hospitality. You can partner with travel vloggers to create content promoting your Cairns hotel or Tropical North Queensland tourism. You can post virtual tours to your YouTube channel and encourage viewers to subscribe for updates.

TikTok, Instagram, and Meta are also excellent channels to showcase and promote your Sunshine Coast or Gold Coast hotel. All you have to do is develop short and visually appealing videos to highlight the unique features of your property: showcase rooms, amenities, and any unique offerings creatively and entertainingly.

Use relevant hashtags to boost your content's visibility on social media. Other effective marketing strategies for hotels include collaborating with influencers to reach your audience and cross-posting your videos on other social media platforms to drive traffic and increase engagement.

Boost Your Property's Presence Online with eTourism!

In the digital age, having a dynamic and engaging website and reliable reservation system for your hotel is a must. If you have a beautiful property with spacious rooms and world-class amenities, but you have a slow website, or you're unable to reach your intended audience, you're missing out.

Let eTourism help you create the best website showcasing your Brisbane or Gold Coast hotel. We offer professional website development and design to help you establish your online presence and convert site visitors to guests.

We also provide search engine optimisation, content, and email marketing. Need an online reservation system? We can create one for you, too.

Call us at 07 5502 2001 or fill out this form so we can start building your hotel website today. Do you have an existing website that doesn't convert, and do you need help overhauling it? We offer a free website assessment! Get in touch with us today to get started.