Social media remains one of the most cost-effective marketing channels available — but only when it's used strategically. Simply posting isn't enough. The real magic happens when you create a clear pathway from social media exposure to actual bookings.
Why Social Media Works for Hospitality
If you've already got a solid brand, good offerings, and fair pricing, social media does three things really well: it gets you in front of more people, it builds trust when you show up consistently, and it reminds guests you exist when they're ready to book. You just need to make it dead simple for them to take that next step.
The Strategy: Creating a Seamless Marketing Funnel
Instead of just throwing up some pretty posts and hoping for the best, I treated the whole thing like a funnel—guiding people from their first scroll all the way to hitting "reserve."
Step 1: A Clear offer First, I got clear on what we were offering: Mother's Day reservations with a special menu worth celebrating.
Step 2: Map the User Journey Then I mapped out exactly how someone would go from seeing our post to booking a table:
- They see our post or story, reminding them Mother's Day is coming
- They get interested in seeing what is on the menu, if they still haven't booked a place for Mother's Day Brunch
- They click the link in story or the link in bio, directing to the landing page
- They land on a simple page with everything they need: dates, times, the menu, and a big intuitive reservation form to reserve
The Results
In two weeks, we got reservation emails flying in every time we posted something on social media. At the end we had received 300% more reservations than the week before the social campaigns, and five times our normal revenue for that month.
The Takeaway
Social media gets people interested, but interest doesn't equal money until you make it stupid-easy to book. Every extra click or confusing step loses you customers. When we removed all the friction between "that looks nice" and "table for four, please," the bookings rolled in.
