Let's start with a question. Which of these sounds better to you and makes you want to click?
"Boutique Hotel in Portland Oregon"
Or
"Award-Winning Boutique Hotel in Portland Oregon"
?
The second one, right? A phrase like “Award Winning,” “Top Rated,” or “Ranked the #1…” establishes immediate credibility and entices potential guests to choose you over the competition.
Winning an award, achieving a high in TripAdvisor, or earning a mention in a major publication is certainly a cause for celebration. That means you are doing your job right. Hotel awards and high rankings provide affirmation that your hotel and staff deliver excellent service to your guests, that you offer first-rate facilities, and that guests continually report satisfying experiences at your property. After you have given yourself a much deserved pat on the back, it’s time to start thinking about ways you can use the award or other type of distinction to your advantage. You can leverage your award to spread brand awareness, build trust with potential guests and search engines, and draw more people to your property.
Promoting the Award on Social Media
The most important thing you can do is turn this award or high ranking into links and social media mentions. How do you do that?
Almost all bodies that issue awards will give you some sort of official “award” like a plaque, certificate, or window sticker to display at your property. This is great for guests that are already there, but what about people who are still in the planning stages of their trip and are deciding whether or not to book a stay at your property? You can promote the award on your website and social media to set yourself apart and encourage searches to choose you.
Here is an example of how Odysys customer The Lodge on Little St. Simons Island promoted their mention in Conde Nast Traveler.
First things first, get a link from the publication or organization on their announcement or press release. In other words, if they do a press release or announcement on their site, ask them to link to your website in the release. Then, you’ll want to make a press release of your own to announce the award or designation which you will then share that on your social media accounts, website, and blog. Always link to the official source and any other coverage you have have received as a result, such as tweets and other social media posts.
As an example, check out how Los Castanos managed to turn a recent award into 3 different blog posts! Don't be afraid to use your award to generate plenty of additional content on your blog or social accounts.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
What is the official name of the award and the body that issued it? Was it a business journal, a chamber of commerce, a travel ministry, or a print publication like a paper or magazine? Link back to their site and the press release or official announcement they likely posted on their own site. If it has received any additional coverage, such as through social media, you’ll also want to link to that on your site and promote it like crazy on social media.
Most of the time, there will be winners in other categories as well. Get the names of other winners and their social media accounts. Then give them shout-outs on your own social media accounts. When you post to Facebook, write something like “So honored to be mentioned alongside @soandso and @soandso at the @XYZ Awards.” People tend to like it when they are mentioned in someone else’s blog or social post, which means they are more likely to re-share the post or mention you in one of theirs in the future. This is a great way to get free links and a promotional boost for yourself.
You can also ask friends, partners, vendors, etc to share the news about your award as well. If you have a blog post or announcement on your own site, ask them to link to that instead of the official announcement.
For example, when Odysys client RimRock Inn was mentioned in The New York Times, we were more than happy to give them a shout-out on our Facebook page.
And finally, don’t forget to update your social media profile’s “about” or “description” section with a mention of your latest award!
Serenity Ranch Bed & Breakfast is ranked as Canada's #1 B&B on TripAdvisor. You can see how they have showcased this prominently on their Facebook page, by including it both in their profile picture and their About section. They also shared the news on their Facebook page.
Tips for Promoting Your Award on Social Media:
- Create a press release and post it to your website or blog
- Link to the official announcement or website/page from your release
- Post a link to your announcement on social media. Don’t forget to @mention the issuer of award and use any hashtags from the event or award if appropriate
- Ask friends, partners, vendors, etc to share the news of your award
- Update your social media account’s “about” or bio/description section with a mention of your latest award, or just call your property “award-winning”
Display the Award on Your Website
You will also want to display the designation somewhere on your website so potential guests can see this designation while researching. Awards & designations create “trust signals” that help to push a potential guest towards a conversion. If provided, you can embed a badge in your footer or somewhere visible on your homepage. For example, TripAdvisor provides a Certificate of Excellence you can put on your site. Other relevant pages to display awards on your site could include your “rooms” pages, your “about us” page, and even your “rates or policies” page. Think about the pages where your potential guest will make their decision as to whether or not to click that “book now” button.
At the bottom of their homepage, Banana Azul has included a place where you can view their TripAdvisor reviews and showcased their TripAdvisor badge.
However, you might not always be supplied with a virtual badge that can be easily displayed on your site. Maybe you have received a physical plaque, but a photograph of the plaque probably won’t look visually appealing online. If they provided you with a certificate of some sort, you could scan that certificate and then upload the image to your site. You may also want to take photographs of you and your staff receiving the award. This may limit your options, but it can still be a great way to show off your accomplishment if you aren’t given an official badge to post online.
If you have a lot of awards, some properties even feature them on a dedicated page on their site. You can put the badges in your “About” section or the “News & Awards” page, if you have one. Here is an example of how Serenity Ranch has showcased their many awards:
In addition, if you have an Instagram account, use it to showcase the badge, any other pictures, or even a screenshot of your announcement headline.
Add Some Panache to Your Search Results
You can also work this award or high ranking into your title tags and/or meta descriptions. Try to add “award winning,” “best ranked,” or “top ranked” to your title tags. For example, you could try something like “Name of Your Hotel | TripAdvisor’s #1 B&B in Newport OR” or “Name of your Hotel | Award Winning B&B in Newport, OR.” Depending on the name of the award and other SEO considerations, your home page title tag may not always work. You may instead try incorporating it into the title tag for other pages, such as your accommodations page, your About Us page, or even your Contact page. The Meta Description can work quite well also. For example: “Ranked Newport’s #1 Bed & Breakfast on TripAdvisor, the XYZ Inn is a….” or “See for yourself why our Inn is TripAdvisor’s #1 ranked B&B in Newport…”
Greenlake Guest House is ranked #1 on both TripAdvisor and Yelp. They used this “top rated” designation in the home page title tag and meta description as well as the meta description on the “About” page. Their search results really stand out!
REMEMBER: It’s not about the ranking - It’s about the click!
Incorporating a message into your title / description for key pages may not increase your site’s ranking, but it should increase the number of clicks you’re getting from Google. I’d rather be ranked #5 on the page and get 100 clicks than be ranked #4 and get get 50 clicks. While a searcher is still browsing the search results and hasn’t even clicked on your website, they will see that your property has won an award or earned a top ranking. It will set you apart from other hotels and entice searchers to click and learn more.
More Tips
These are the pages you should definitely update after earning an award or ranking:
- Meta description on home page
- Meta description on rooms/accommodations page
- Title tag on about page “award winning”
- Have a ‘reviews’ page or the like? Incorporate into the Page Title or Description there too!
Update these pages with a badge and a headline/sub-headline about the award or ranking:
- Home page
- Accommodations
- About
- Reviews
Other Ways to Promote Your Award
- Send an email to your newsletter subscribers and let them know about the award. Include a link to your post/announcement and ask for social media shares, likes, etc.
- Advertising on AdWords or in Facebook Ads? Try including your award in your ad copy. But be aware: there are some hoops you have to jump through with AdWords to do this.
- Submit your announcement to the local news station and newspaper. They may even decide to feature your property in a segment
Winning an award is gratifying and exciting. All bed & breakfast owners and independent hoteliers should feel proud if they win an award, achieve a high ranking on TripAdvisor, or snag a mention in a prominent publication. However, the award won't mean much unless you know how to leverage it properly. Promote it right and you can use your award to increase brand awareness, draw more searchers to your website, and drive even more bookings to your property. Who knows, it might even lead to more awards in the future!