The pressure to get online marketing right has grown exponentially over the last few years, right?
You are already on Facebook for sure.
Newsletters - you know you should do them more often, or get started if you haven’t already.
Instagram – you are probably there but maybe not quite at the IG stories stage.
Pinterest - you think you should but don’t know if it is worth it.
Blogs – you’d love to share more content but don’t have time to create it.
When I first started out growing digital presence for a wonderful lakeside lodge I took over in 2010, overwhelm set in and I felt a knot in my stomach every time I needed to get going with content. I always felt like I was running from behind.
Sound familiar?
I knew I needed to get serious, so I mapped out a plan that would get rid of the knot and inspired me to create content that stops the scroll.
There was a lot in that plan.
Review the reviews of my past guests for content inspiration
Check out keywords on Google to use in my content creation
Optimise the SEO of website content
Create a FAQs list to highlight main questions
List which tips and what information guests have loved the most
Film some awesome behind the scenes videos
The knot was still there.
My plan was too big and I still had to get a newsletter out there that week. I needed to break it down so that I could actually get moving forward. So, I started with something super simple and definitely more manageable.
That is what I want to share with you today.
I created six “content buckets”.
These are basically categories where I literally dumped my ideas. The information in these buckets formed the foundation of everything I went on to produce for the next year. Super simple but incredibly powerful stuff.
Here are the category names I gave to my buckets:
OUR DESTINATION
FOOD & DRINK
PLACES TO SHOP
SEASONAL HIGHLIGHTS & EVENTS
BEHIND THE SCENES
TRAVEL TIPS
Whenever an idea came to me, I would grab a pencil and any old bit of scrap paper to get my inspiration down. Order came later when I was finally at my laptop.
You have to work with what you’ve got, right?
We all know that running a hotel, lodge, b&b, hostel, or restaurant means you are definitely not sitting in front of the computer the whole day.
As time went on, my content buckets were always full, and the next challenge was to organise my time to batch produce content and schedule how I was going to use it, and where it was going to be published.
Over the next six months my strategy increased direct bookings by 27%.
And the results got better over time. It all started by getting serious about producing valuable content that mattered to my guests.
This successful strategy is what I share in my most popular coaching programme, Amplify Hotel Marketing. You can find out more about what goes on in that tailored coaching space here.
So now you know all about my content buckets, here are the 91 ideas that I filled them with:
OUR DESTINATION
7 Go-To Places for Locals in (Destination)
Best Local Markets in (Destination) - and What You Can Buy There
Where to Watch the Sunset in (Destination)
Best Place to Go for an Early Morning Walk in (Destination)
Ultimate Destination Guide to (Destination) – Top 3 Things to Do, See, Eat and Drink
Top 10 Activities in (Destination)
9 Things You Didn’t Know About (Destination)
Quick History of (Destination)
Historic Sites Not to Be Missed in (Destination)
Best Off-The-Beaten Track Trails Around (Destination)
How to Get to (Destination) National Park by Bus/Car
3 30-Minute Walks to Do with Kids in (Destination)
Best Places for Hands-On Activities to Do with Kids Aged 3-10 in (Destination)
Best Places to Take Tweens in (Destination)
5 Things Older Kids Will Love to Do in (Destination)
Local Traditions You Must Know About in (Destination)
Best Historic Trail / Nature Trail in (Destination)
Coolest Architecture in (Destination)
The 5 Best Places to Take Instagram Pics in (Destination)
Drone Photography in (Destination) - What You Can and Can’t Do
Top Picture Postcard Spots in (Destination)
Best Churches to Visit in (Destination)
Best Museums to Visit in (Destination)
Best Art Galleries in (Destination)
Where to Buy Local Art in (Destination)
Top 3 Activities You Cannot Leave (Destination) Without Doing
Best Time of Year to Visit (Destination) FOOD & DRINK
Delicious Local Foods You Cannot Miss, and Where to Find Them in (Destination)
Best Places for Fish and Seafood in (Destination)
Best Places for Vegetarian Food in (Destination)
Best Places to Dine with Small Kids in (Destination)
Best Quirky Restaurants in (Destination) – and Why!
Best Breakfast Spots in (Destination)
Where to Find the Best Coffee in (Destination)
Restaurants with the Best Views in (Destination)
Best Places to Go After-Hours in (Destination)
Favourite Cakes Spots in (Destination)
Best Places for Ice Cream in (Destination)
Most Picturesque Terraces / Rooftops / Balcony Restaurants in (Destination)
Can I Eat the Food at the Local Market in (Destination)?
Can I Drink the Tap Water in (Destination)?
Best Budget Eateries in (Destination)
Best Splurge Restaurants in (Destination)
Best Restaurants for Any Type of Celebration in (Destination)
Guide to Local Beers / Wines / Liquors in (Destination)
Best Places to Taste Wine, Local Beer, or Liquors in (Destination)
Best Café to Work from in (Destination)
Most Popular Coworking Spaces in (Destination) PLACES TO SHOP
Best Gifts to Take Home and Where to Buy Them in (Destination)
Kid-Friendly Shops in (Destination)
Best Stores for Outdoor Clothing in (Destination)
Best Women’s Clothing Shops in (Destination)
Best Men’s Clothing Shops in (Destination)
Where to Find Great Maps and Books in (Destination)
Best Places to Go to Support Local Businesses in (Destination) SEASONAL HIGHLIGHTS & EVENTS
What’s Happening This Month in (Destination)
Annual Calendar of Events in (Destination)
Top 3 Things to Do in (Destination) in Spring
Top 3 Things to Do in (Destination) in Summer
Top 3 Things to Do in (Destination) in Autumn
Top 3 Things to Do in (Destination) in Winter
How to Celebrate Christmas in (Destination)
What to Do at New Years in (Destination)
Things You Need to Know About X Event in (Destination) BEHIND THE SCENES
Top 3 Places to Go in (Destination) by Our Staff Members
A Day in the Life of Our (Manager/Chef/Gardener Etc)
Favourite Cocktail Recipe from Our Bartender
Top 3 Local Recipes from Our Chef
Dessert Recipes Secrets from Our Pastry Chef
Behind the Scenes of Our Latest Reno
History of Our Hotel/Lodge/B&B/Hostel/Restaurant
Video Tour of Our Rooms/Gardens/Spa
Reasons to Stay at (Name Of) Hotel/Lodge/B&B/Hostel TRAVEL TIPS
Best Itinerary for a 3-Night Stay in (Destination) for an Adventurous Couple
Best Itinerary for a 3-Night Stay in (Destination) with Small Kids
Best Itinerary for a 3-Night Stay in (Destination) with Teens
Best 1-Week Itinerary in (Destination) for an Adventurous Couple
Best 1-Week Itinerary in (Destination) with Small Kids
Best 1-Week Itinerary in (Destination) with Teens
10 Reasons to Stay an Extra Night in (Destination)
Where to Visit En Route from (Destination)
Just Staying One Night – What You Cannot Miss in (Destination)!
Everything You Need to Know About Local Currency and Other Important Things in (Destination)
The 10 Phrases You Must Know in (Destination) Language
How to Get Around (Destination) by Bike
What to Pack for Your Summer Trip to (Destination)
What to Pack for Your Winter Trip to (Destination)
Best Mobile Apps to Download for (Destination)
Is It Safe to Travel Solo in (Destination)?
Best Covid-Friendly Things to Do in (Destination)
Is (Destination) Covid-Safe?
So, there you go!
Quite some ideas to get you inspired, right?
Turn these topics into short tips for social, add great images into a newsletter style format, or better still, create an annual calendar of weekly blogs that showcase your property, destination, and what value you give to your customers. If you are on the fence about blogging, take a look at this blog – Should You Have a Blog on Your Hotel Website? - to find out more.
Also, just in case you are wondering whether you should capitalise your blog titles or not, I use the Title Case structure where most words are capitalised and only a handful are not. The alternative is Sentence Case which means just capitalising the first word in the title.
Title Case is most commonly used on the net, but it can take unnecessary time out of our already busy days to work out which words should carry capitals and which ones should be left in lowercase. This nifty tool will do it for you. First choose which structure you want to use, paste your title in and hit enter.
I love anything that makes life easier :)
Hope this has been useful and happy planning!
Still have questions or want to share your thoughts?
Scroll right down and post a comment below or send me a mail at sarah@sarahhabsburg.com and if you don't want to miss the introductory price for the new course on how to increase direct bookings, you can hop on the wait list here.