Seven tips to improve your content in 2022

To give you a hand with your content creation, we’ve put together some of our top tips to help you engage your audience in 2022.

Before you go creating anything, it’s important to figure out who your audience is. This should help to craft your tone of voice and inform your messaging going forward. Identifying key interests and priorities can give you the edge you need. For example, a 2021 study by eMarketer found that 28% of Gen Z adults class sustainability as their leading personal concern. Why not create a blog about the environmental projects your team gets involved with and share it on Instagram, like this one from Villa Hotels & Resorts in the Maldives?

Every piece of content should have a purpose. Whether you’re writing a social post, an ad or an email, define your content pillars and include a clear call to action to promote bookings or simply to encourage discussion in the comments.

Whatever your purpose when creating content, it’s important to tell your audience a story. Before they buy into your offering, they want to experience it. Hone your skills as a storyteller and create experiential content that still encourages action.

For a long time, social media was all about carefully curating a stunning grid that wowed your audience. But as TikTok continues to grow, users are more interested in seeing authentic content. Users are more conscious of ads and they’re less likely to engage if they think they’re being sold to. 

The more organic your content looks, the better. Ditch those immaculate stock images and canned captions on social media and post a picture that won’t look out of place on someone’s feed as they scroll through. This doesn’t mean you can’t promote your product online. In fact, a strong, engaged community will want to know if you have last-minute availability - just be open and sincere.

Following its blink-and-you’ll-miss-it rise to the top, TikTok has paved the way for video content on all platforms. Even Instagram, historically centred on pictures, has shifted its focus toward Reels, and you might find that your account’s engagement starts to drop if you don’t post them regularly.

In a recent study, Later analysed 81 million Instagram feed posts and found that engagement on non-Reel posts had almost halved over the last two years. The platform has been pretty vocal about its love for Reels and it definitely looks like other post types are being pushed aside.

To try and combat this, start sharing video content using the Reels feature on Instagram. There are so many different ways to do this that don’t require too much extra work. Make use of your guests’ videos (with permission, of course) or simply edit together a short video using images taken over the weekend. Bonus points if you can tell a story or show a journey for people to follow. These are some of our favourites, and it can be as simple as setting a scene:

• Double Red Duke / Chris Fynes - Room tour
• Barnsley House - Guest journey
• Luxury Lodges - Location

Every guest or follower is a potential advocate for your brand. Be the name on everybody’s lips and get people talking. Encourage your guests to share pictures and videos while they’re staying with you, engage with your audience when they tag you in a post, and drop them a message to ask for permission to reshare it as user-generated content. Villa Hotels & Resorts have created a brand hashtag that guests can use to share their user-generated content, and they already have a bank of well over 3,000 tags.

Influencers and creators can be great resources to work with if used properly. In return for a stay, meal or spa session, you can get access to a new audience and gain some incredible new content. When working with influencers, it’s important to be aware of your own following and demographic, and find accounts that align with your brand.

It’s also worth noting that accounts with bigger followings aren’t always going to be the best fit. Sometimes, you’ll see better results from micro-influencers (anywhere from 1,000 to 100,000 followers) because their smaller audience is more targeted and these influencers are often viewed as being more authentic. When The September Chronicles visited Callow Hall, the team was able to gather a huge amount of content from their stay to share as UGC. Plus, they reached a new audience of over 60,000 as Simon and Jen shared their content on their own feed too.

If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that situations can evolve rapidly. Plan your approach to a crisis and be consistent across all platforms. Your plan should include instructions for every outlet that you use, including social media, email marketing, paid ads and your website.

If you’re forced to close unexpectedly or your offering changes, be sure to make this clear on every channel. If you’re continuing to post scheduled content during a crisis, double-check that you’re not encouraging users to book something that isn’t available. Clear communication with your guests is key.

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