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Digital marketing for resorts and hotels has become an essential part of marketing strategies in the hospitality industry. If you’re a resort or a hotel that expects to enter the South Korean market, then you know how important it is to have a strong digital marketing presence. With over 90% of the country’s population active on various social media platforms, online visibility can make or break a business in South Korea. In this post, we’ll discuss some tips for digital marketing for resorts and hotels in South Korea to increase traffic and generate more leads online. So whether you’re just starting out in the digital world or you’re looking for ways to improve your current strategy, read on for some ideas that can help!
What Is Digital Marketing and Why Do Resorts Need It?
Before we get started, let’s first answer the question: what is digital marketing? In a nutshell, digital marketing is any type of marketing that takes place online. This can include everything from social media campaigns to search engine optimization (SEO). And while it might seem like digital marketing is a recent phenomenon, the truth is that resorts have been using it for years. Many resorts have long had websites where potential guests can learn more about the property and book their stay. More recently, however, resorts have begun to focus more on digital marketing as a way to reach a wider audience and attract more guests.
There are a number of reasons why resorts need to employ a digital marketing strategy. First, the vast majority of travelers now use the internet to research their vacations and destinations. This means that if your resort doesn’t have an online presence, you’re likely missing out on a lot of potential business. Additionally, digital marketing allows you to target your advertising more specifically to potential guests who are most likely to be interested in your resort. For example, if you’re trying to attract families with small children, you can use targeted advertising to reach parents who are searching for family-friendly vacation options. Finally, digital marketing is often much less expensive than traditional marketing methods like print ads or television commercials. For all these reasons, it’s clear that digital marketing is an essential tool for anyone in the hotel industry looking to attract more guests and grow its business.
Search Engine Optimization in South Korea
SEO is one of the key elements in an effective digital marketing strategy. But SEO in South Korea is quite different from the western world. Whereas Google dominates the majority of the world, South Korea has its home-grown search engine, Naver. While Google has a marketshare of around 30% in South Korea, Naver has continued to maintain its dominance with around 60% share in the search engine market. This offers a unique opportunity for hotel digital marketing.
Naver SEO
As the largest search engine in South Korea, Naver receives the majority of web traffic in the country. Why you should use Naver is the language factor. Naver caters to the majoring Korean speakers. To ensure your website is seen by as many people as possible in South Korea, it’s essential to optimize your site for Naver SEO. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to do just that.
Naver Brand Blog
One way to optimize your hotel website for Naver is to create a brand blog on the Naver platform. This is similar to creating a blog on WordPress or Blogspot, but it’s specifically designed for the Naver search engine. By creating fresh, keyword-rich content on a regular basis, you can help your website rank higher in Naver’s search results. Since Naver SERP (search engine results page) features Naver Blogs under a special category, maintaining one under the brand name is essential to be seen online. Additionally, you can use your brand blog to give potential customers an inside look at your company and what it does.
Naver Blog Influencers
Another great way to optimize your website for Naver is to partner with popular Naver bloggers. These bloggers have a large following on the platform and can help promote your website to their readership. When choosing a blogger to partner with, be sure to select one whose audience is relevant to your target market. It is best to partner with travel bloggers for hotel and resort promotions. This sort of partnership will bring in interested visitors to your website.
Press Release
Another excellent way to get exposure for your website on Naver is to distribute press releases through the platform. This is a great way to generate interest in your website and announcements among potential customers who might not be familiar with your brand. Be sure to write persuasive press releases that are keyword-rich and informative so that Naver’s search algorithm will pick them.
Google SEO
Google is the second most used search engine in South Korea. Around 30% of a population of almost 51 million people and a 98% internet penetration rate, it’s no wonder that so many businesses are looking to optimize their sites for better visibility on Google SERP. But what does it take to rank higher in Google’s SERP in South Korea?
On-Page SEO
One of the most important things you can do to improve your SEO is to make sure the on-page elements of your website are optimized. This includes things like your title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags. Make sure your keywords are included in these elements but don’t stuff them in there just for the sake of it. Google will penalize you for keyword stuffing, and it won’t do anything to improve your ranking. Just include them naturally as part of the content. This will help guide the user traffic to your website increasing direct online bookings for your hotel or resort.
Content
Another important factor in South Korean SEO is content. Google loves fresh, relevant content, so make sure you’re regularly updating your website with new blog posts, articles, or product pages. If you don’t have the time or resources to produce new content yourself, you can also curate content from other sources that would be relevant to your audience. Just make sure you’re including a source link so you don’t get penalized for plagiarism.
Off-Page SEO: Link Building
Link building is another important factor in SEO, and it’s especially important in South Korea. Google gives preferential treatment to websites that have links from high-quality websites. So if you can get links from popular websites or directories, it will go a long way toward improving your ranking. You can also participate in forums and comment on blogs to build up some backlinks. Just make sure you’re adding value with your comments and not just spamming links.
Press Release
Just like in Naver, don’t forget about press releases! These can be a great way to get exposure for your website and improve your SEO at the same time. Make sure the press release is newsworthy and includes links back to your website. They are also a great way to build website authority and are essential for internet marketing.
Social Media Marketing for Your Resort in South Korea
With almost all the population having access to the internet, South Korea’s social media penetration is over 90%. Social media or SNS (Social Networking Services) as South Koreans call it has become essential in their everyday lives. This is an opportunity that no business should let go of. With global as well as local social media platforms available, a hotel should include them in its digital marketing strategies.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media networks in the world, with over 1 billion monthly active users. And, according to data over 40% of social media users in South Korea are on Instagram. This makes it an important platform for marketing your resort.
There are a few different ways that you can use Instagram to market your resort. The first is by creating stunning visuals that show off your resort’s best features. Make sure to use high-quality photos and videos, and include relevant hashtags so that potential guests can easily find your content.
Another way to use Instagram for marketing is by leveraging influencers. There are many travel influencers in South Korea who have a large following and could help promote your resort to their audience. You can contact these influencers and offer them a free stay at your resort in exchange for them promoting it on their Instagram account. This will help build your business’s online reputation.
KakaoTalk
KakaoTalk is a messaging app that is extremely popular in South Korea—so popular, in fact, that it has been estimated that 95% of smartphones in the country have the app installed. This makes it an important platform for marketing your resort since you can reach such a large portion of the population.
KakaoTalk and related products have become essentials in the life of every South Korean. The platform can be easily used to run marketing and promotional campaigns. Furthermore, this platform can be used to generate online bookings, process payments, and keep in touch with potential customers.
KoL and Influencer Marketing
KoL is short for “key opinion leader” and refers to people who have influence over others due mainly to their expertise or popularity. In South Korea, there are many KoLs in the travel industry who can help promote your resort through their blog or social media channels.
One way to tap into this form of marketing is by reaching out to KoLs and offering them a free stay at your resort in exchange for them giving online reviews about their experience on their blog or social media channels. This can help attract potential guests who are interested in what the KoL has to say about your resort.
Another way to use KoLs for marketing purposes is by working with influencers. Influencers are similar to KoLs but tend to have more of a focus on social media promotion rather than on blogging. Again, you can offer these individuals a free stay at your resort in exchange for them promoting it on their social media channels.
Both KoLs and influencers can be an extremely valuable digital strategy for marketing your resort since they can help you reach new audiences and generate interest in what you have to offer.
Online Advertising in Korea
Online advertising in South Korea has evolved to include customized and interactive material.
Search and Display Advertising
Daum/Kakao and Naver are the two biggest search engines in Korea, with a combined market share of nearly 70%. Not surprisingly, search ads are one of the most popular forms of online advertising in the country. Daum/Kakao offers advertisers two options for search ads: Sponsored Links, which appear at the top of the search results page, and KakaoTalk Ads, which appear as native ads within the KakaoTalk messaging app. Naver Search Ads also appear at the top of the search results page and come in three different formats: Text Ads, Site Links, and Product Listing Ads.
Naver GFA is a performance-based advertising service that allows advertisers to customize their ads based on user activity. This makes it an appealing option for small businesses or businesses with limited ad budgets. Naver GFA ads appear on both the search results page and on Naver’s network of partner websites.
Viral Giveaways
Viral giveaways are a form of marketing that has taken Korea by storm. By offering free products or services, companies are able to generate a ton of buzz and excitement around their brand. And best of all, it’s relatively inexpensive to do. All you need is a great idea and the willingness to give away some of your product. In return, you’ll get loads of free publicity and the chance to reach a whole new audience.
How Viral Giveaways Work
Viral giveaways work by offering a product or service for following or signing up for your site. When people receive a free product or service, they’re naturally inclined to share among their friends and family about it. This word-of-mouth marketing is incredibly powerful, as it’s coming from someone that the recipient trusts. As more and more people learn about your brand, the giveaway will begin to take on a life of its own, eventually, it will reach a tipping point where it becomes truly viral, at which point you’ll have everyone talking about your company.
Viral giveaways are an incredibly effective way to market your company for several reasons. First, they’re extremely efficient in terms of cost. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on advertising, you can simply give away some freebies and let people do the marketing for you. Second, viral giveaways create a ton of goodwill around your brand. When people receive something for free, they naturally associate positive feelings with your company. And lastly, viral giveaways are an excellent way to reach a whole new audience that may not be aware of your brand otherwise.
Inquivix: Your Digital Marketing Partner for Korea
As you can see, there are a variety of digital marketing strategies that resorts and hotels can use to increase their online visibility and digital footprint in South Korea. It’s important to partner with an experienced digital marketing agency that understands the Korean market and how to reach your target audience. At Inquivix, we have extensive experience helping businesses achieve their desired results through comprehensive online marketing campaigns that include SEO, social media marketing, and online advertising. Contact us today for a free consultation so that we can discuss the best way to help you grow your business in South Korea!
FAQS
South Korea is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, and it has a very high penetration rate (over 90%) for digital marketing platforms. In addition, South Korea has a very young population, with a median age of 36.7 years old. This makes it an ideal market for digital marketing campaigns that target young adults. South Korea also has a high level of Internet usage, with over 95% of the population using the Internet on a daily basis. This provides a large potential audience for online advertising and marketing campaigns. In addition, South Korea has a relatively high level of disposable income, which means that consumers there are more likely to have the budget to make purchases online. Overall, South Korea is an attractive market for digital marketing campaigns due to its high levels of technology adoption and purchasing power.
When it comes to digital marketing, Korea is a unique market. With a highly connected population and a thriving digital economy, Korea presents both opportunities and challenges for businesses looking to reach consumers online. While many global digital marketing agencies have a presence in Korea, they often lack the local knowledge and insights needed to be successful in this complex market. A specialized digital marketing agency that understands the Korean consumer and has a track record of success in the market can help businesses to navigate the landscape and achieve their goals. Such an agency can provide customized strategies that take into account the unique characteristics of the Korean market, including the preferences of Korean consumers and the way they use digital channels. With a deep understanding of the Korean market, a specialized digital marketing agency can help businesses to capitalize on opportunities and overcome challenges, ultimately driving success in this dynamic market.