Abstract
Social media is one of the important components useful in marketing and advertising hotel products. Since Las Vegas is a city that has various modern hotels, the use of social media is very vital in the creation of awareness among the target consumers concerning the available products. The hotel industry in Las Vegas needs to employ social media in communication to relay the intended message to its potential consumers concerning the products offered by various hotels in the region.
For effective marketing of hotel products, the hotel industry in Las Vegas needs to employ social media in aspects like market segmentation, pricing, branding, and placement or distribution of its products. Using these aspects, the hotel industry in Las Vegas reaches out to a wide array of consumers in a creative and strategic manner, and thus increases sales and revenues in hotels found in the region.
Introduction
Technology has initiated various advancements in several sectors of human life that include business, agriculture, tourism, and hospitality. Some of the major advancements introduced by technology include social media used in communication such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Social media has made tremendous effects on the operations of many industries in the world, which include hotels. Over the recent past, the use of social media in marketing of the products that the hotel industry offers has risen to a pronounced level.
Currently, several hotels are marketing diverse products like accommodations, food and beverages, and conference facilities using social media. Therefore, the paper examines the importance of social media in marketing of the products that the hotel industry offers to customers in Las Vegas using market segmentation, pricing, branding, and product distribution.
Market Segmentation
The social media has played a very important role in the marketing of the products that the hotel industry in Las Vegas offers. McDonald (2012) explains that for effective marketing of products in the hotel industry, the hotels need to understand their type of consumers and their market segments. Hotels in Las Vegas need to employ the different types of segmentation used in marketing, which includes geographic, behavioral, demographic, and lifestyle.
Segmentation enables the hotel industry in Las Vegas to divide their consumers, according to their needs, preferences, and tastes, and thus offer products that match their expectations. Remarkably, the hotel industry cannot downplay the crucial role that social media plays in market segmentation.
Social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are very useful in pulling out details from consumers concerning what they expect from the hotels. Therefore, the hotels in Las Vegas use the suggestions and opinions from social media and convert them into products that match consumer expectations.
Products such as accommodation, food and beverages, conference facilities, and other recreational facilities offered by hotels in Las Vegas achieve optimum marketing if the hotel industry employs the social media in marketing. A good understanding of various market segments that exist in the target market helps hotels to tailor their products in a way that suits the expectations of consumers and produce services that match the needs of the target segments (Dibb & Simkin, 2013).
Social media is practical in informing consumers about the available products and creatively persuading them to purchase the advertised products. The application of the social media in the marketing of products in the hotel industry is vital because it facilitates the passage of information to a wide spectrum of individuals, who access social sites often.
Moreover, the hotel industry in Las Vegas can use social media to get feedback from past consumers concerning their perceived product quality, and therefore, it aids in the improvement of product quality. Using social media, hotels can be in a good position to market their products to the right consumer segment and offer products of the desired quality.
Pricing
The hotel industry in Las Vegas can use social media to inform their potential customers on product prices. Since modern consumers are concerned with product quality and utility for their money, social media is very instrumental in increasing their awareness of the products and the existence of additional components like after-sales services and product price. It is imperative for the hotel industry in Las Vegas to understand that increased consumer awareness leads to an equivalent rise in the purchase and consumption of products offered by hotels.
According to Muller (2012), the rise in the purchase of hotel products happens because consumers receive an increased awareness of the product quality and price from social sites. Moreover, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube can help hotels communicate with a wide array of potential clients concerning the products available and their prices. By conveying the correct information on the product price and components, the hotel’s industry increases customer willingness to purchase and consume the products offered by hotels in Las Vegas.
The use of social media does not only comprise of marketing hotel products in Las Vegas but also aids in understanding factors like purchasing power and buying behaviors of consumers. To understand the buying behaviors and purchasing power of consumers, hotels need to engage in consumer survey and research on the buying habits of the target clients. Remarkably, social media plays an integral role in understanding the buying behavior and patterns of consumers (Sigala, Christou, & Gretzel, 2012).
The social media also facilitates a good understanding of the prevailing trends and perspectives of potential consumers towards the products offered by the hotel industry in Las Vegas.
Hotels can use social media to engage consumer focus groups and opinion leaders in the production and marketing of their products to the target consumers. The use of social media to interact with consumer focus groups and opinion leaders is important because it provides a platform where consumers and hoteliers interact and exchange ideas concerning product price and quality.
Brand Marketing
Social media is a very good platform which hotel industry in Las Vegas can use in advertising their product brands to the target consumers. The fact that social sites provide easy access to various individuals implies that their use in advertising hotels brands in Las Vegas translates to an increase in the level of awareness among several individuals in the target market.
Notably, good marketing of hotel brands results in a rising need from potential customers to associate with the brand and hence increases their willingness to purchase the products availed by the hotels. A good brand facilitates effective marketing because it strategically relays the intended message to consumers concerning the product quality, price, and the need to consume the product (Salver, 2009). Therefore, social media plays a crucial role in the marketing of products that hotels in Las Vegas offer.
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are some of the best social platforms that facilitate the marketing of hotel products to consumers in the target locations. Since access to these social sites is quick and easy, effective use of these sites to advertise hotel brands leads to an increased willingness among consumers to purchase and consume hotel products.
Burkard (2013) highlights that branding requires a good understanding of consumer preferences, tastes, and dislikes on aspects like color, design, and shape as they determine consumer perception concerning product quality.
Furthermore, the fact that individuals of different demographics do visit these social sites frequently implies that the hotel brand receives a high level of marketing and advertisement. The hotel industry in Las Vegas can employ celebrities and opinion leaders in advertising their hotel brands to target consumers because they influence consumer perspectives on product quality and brand.
Placement/Distribution
Social media facilitates good communication to the target consumers on the various distribution or placement points of the products offered by hotels in Las Vegas. By using social media, several people get to know about the various hotels found in Las Vegas and the different products that the hotels offer to consumers. According to Muller (2012), consumer willingness to purchase the products increases owing to the amplified level of awareness on the products.
Accommodation, food and beverages, conference facilities, and other recreational facilities that hotels in Las Vegas provide achieve extensive publicity on a wide spectrum of individuals due to social media. Therefore, the role played by social media in marketing hotel products is critical and therefore hotel industry in Las Vegas cannot underscore its use in marketing its diverse products.
Since social media creates a platform, where consumer focus groups and hoteliers interact and exchange ideas concerning product quality and prices, the platform can assist in the identification of market segments in Las Vegas. As a result, the hotels in the region will tailor their products to suit the needs of consumers in a given segment and place the products strategically for the consumers to access them easily and quickly.
It is imperative to understand that the majority of products offered by the hotel industry comprise of services that lack mobility (Burkard, 2013). Therefore, placement and distribution of these services occur through the identification of consumer needs in the market segments and establishing a hotel so that consumers visit and purchase their desired products.
In addition, social media enables the hotel industry in Las Vegas to identify the different needs of consumers in various market segments and helps the hotels communicate product distribution points to the target consumers, and thus, facilitates marketing of the products offered by hotels in Las Vegas.
Conclusion
The social media is among the products that emerged due to technological advancements, and its impacts affect various sectors of contemporary businesses such as marketing, consumer behavior, advertising, and sale of products. Initially, the use of social media was limited to the young people in society, but the use has increased into various business establishments. Currently, several hotels use social media to communicate and market their products to the target consumers.
The use of social media in marketing hotel products rose tremendously owing to the fact that its application results in increased awareness among a wide array of potential consumers. For effective marketing of products, the hotel industry needs to employ and utilize the social media in aspects like market segmentation, pricing, branding, and placement or distribution.
Overall, the social media plays an important role in marketing products offered by hotels, and its application is very critical in the growth and development of the hotel industry in Las Vegas and beyond.
References
Burkard, N. (2013). Market Segmentation and Branding in the Hotel Industry with Special References to Hilton Cooperation. New York: GRIN Verlag.
Dibb, S., &. Simkin, L. (2013). Market Segmentation Success: Making It Happen! London: Routledge.
McDonald, M. (2012). Market Segmentation: How to Do It and How to Profit from It. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Muller, C. (2012). Social Media Marketing: A Critical and Evaluative Account on the Emergence and Principles of Social Media Marketing and its True Potential to Enhance the Marketing Initiatives of Hotels and other Organizations. New York: GRIN Verlag.
Salver, J. (2009). Brand Management in the Hotel Industry and Its Potential for Achieving Customer Loyalty. New York: GRIN Verlag.
Sigala, M., Christou, E., & Gretzel, U. (2012). Social Media in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality: Theory, Practice, and Cases. London: Ashgate Publishing.