Sean and Elaine Lally’s viral TikTok videos have generated €350,000 in incremental business for the Hotel Woodstock in Ennis.
Sean Lally, owner of the Hotel Woodstock, told the annual conference of the Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions (AVEA) in Ennistymon that the videos were conceived during lockdown and shot on a shoestring.
Sean, Elaine, his son Oisín, daughter Ciara, a champion camogie player who is studying business marketing in University of Limerick, and another daughter Fiona, collaborate around the table to generate ideas with videographer Dominic McInerney.
They determine the extent of their promotional efforts and then execute the plans, including organising and arranging everything. They don’t invest heavily in their videos and typically only spend a modest amount on props, some of which have been picked up in local shops and even come from the lost property department.
Despite having limited budgets for social media marketing, they featured in digital awards shortlists against giant marketing organisations with six figure budgets.
Sean Lally told the 300 delegates at the conference: “We are on pretty much all the social media. Facebook was probably the biggest. Instagram is very good for weddings. Twitter goes mad every so often, depending in the video. YouTube we haven’t quite cracked. LinkedIn, we’re only just starting on it. I have a personal LinkedIn account already that’s very strong. Tik Tok is the rising star and the one that really is going from strength to strength.”
“In a lot of the videos you usually see some kind of branding. You see the front door and you see the logo. In one we managed to get in the golf club. I would like to see the videos more sales related but my daughter Ciara says: no, you’re not doing that, you can’t put that on Tik Tok. And so we end up that she usually gets her way.”
Also at the Irish Visitor Attractions conference:
- Sean and Elaine Lally will discuss their viral success on TikTok, sharing their on-brand videos.
- Eileen Dunne, the MC, interview Rachel Mackay from Hampton Court Palace, who entertained the audience with humorous and engaging stories about living on-site at the palace. Rachel has also published a book on visitor attraction management.
- Kelly Molson presented findings on clicks and conversions related to visitor attractions, focusing on “basket abandonment” and providing insights on how businesses can better understand buyer behavior.
- Eoghan Phipps, the Country Manager for Google Ireland, provided insights into the changing landscape of searching and purchasing behaviour due to Google’s investments in AI and super-search opportunities.
