The planet is actually home to 7.2 billion gadgets, and these mobile devices are expected to soon far outnumber the human population by a long shot. What does this mean? It means if you are serious about upping your mobile marketing plan in the hospitality or travel industry, your efforts have to be geared toward those mobile users.

To Get Started: Stats You Should Know

There are certain statistics that should be heavily considered when building any marketing plan. If you have in mind to drastically upgrade your mobile marketing efforts in the travel and hospitality business, there are a couple of statistics that should really help you see where to go with your efforts.

• 47% of consumers turn to social media for travel information and advice
• A poorly formatted email on mobile could be deleted in as little as three seconds
• At least 50% of all emails are now opened on a mobile device
• A study done by TripAdvisor showed most people have no idea where they’re going when they start researching a trip

Knowing these stats will help you with your ultimate plan to improve your hospitality service’s reach on mobile devices.

Learn how to utilize SMS text messages to your mobile marketing advantage.

Because most people keep their phone on them all the time, mobile marketing should mean taking advantage of all of the functions of that mobile device. If a customer signs up to receive text alerts from your travel/hospitality business, you get the opportunity to do things like:

• Send mass texts to alert subscribers of upcoming promotions
• Send automated review requests after a customer uses your service
• Send gratuitous messages once a guest or customer checks in, books travel or solidifies an order

Suit your email communications specifically for mobile device users.

So, you know that improperly formatted emails get a one-way trip to the trash rather quickly. If you consistently send out marketing emails to subscribers, this means they better be formatted right. Not only should these emails be formatted for mobile, they should be short and sweet. MarketingSherpa found that you get about 50 words to get your point across. You should:

1.Use headers and variant text to break up the written content
2.Use imagery to make impressions without words
3.Set up your email kind of like a newspaper ad; informational and easy to scan

Make prior customers’ firsthand reviews and insight a top advertising priority.

Travelers are iffy about trusting what you have to say as a business owner in the industry because you do have an end goal of making the profit. These consumers want to hear about your company, service, or business from the mouths of past customers. Therefore, gathering those first-hand reviews and bits of insight should be a top priority in your mobile marketing plan.

Start creating “shareworthy” posts on Facebook, Instagram & other social sites.

Since so many people do hit up Facebook, Instagram, or other social sites to get the low-down on their travel/hospitality wants, you should work really hard to create content on these sites that reaches far and wide. Shareworthy posts can be something as simple as an excellent image of your location, or it could be something as impressive as a list of cool things to do when traveling to certain areas. The more a post gets shared, the more people are exposed to your service, and you don’t even have to come across as salesy.

With a new mindset toward a world that revolves around the use of mobile devices, you can reconfigure your marketing plan to truly garner a lot of attention. Simply updating your efforts using these four steps can elevate your stance as a company in the travel or hospitality business to a new level.

Author Biography:

Joel Lee is the marketing specialist at Trumpia, which earned a reputation as the most complete SMS solution including user-friendly user interface and API for mobile engagement, Smart Targeting, and advanced automation. Jumpstart your business by grabbing your free copy of this powerful Mobile Marketing Success Kit.