The Influence of digital marketing strategies on brand performance of hotels in Murang'a County, Kenya

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of digital marketing strategies on the brand performance of hotels in Murang’a County, Kenya. With digital marketing gaining importance in the hospitality sector, there is limited research on its effectiveness in rural and emerging hotel markets such as Murang’a. This study focuses on three key strategies: social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and content marketing, using the Resource-Based View and Integrated Marketing Communication theories to guide the analysis of how these strategies impact hotel brand performance. A descriptive research design was employed, and data were collected through structured questionnaires from 137 hotel managers across 18 hotels. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression to determine the relationship between digital marketing strategies and brand performance indicators such as occupancy rates, sales revenue, and profitability. The findings revealed that digital marketing strategies collectively explained 49% of the variance in brand performance. Of the strategies studied, SEO had the strongest positive influence on brand performance, followed by content marketing and social media marketing. However, challenges to the adoption of digital marketing were identified, including limited financial and human resources, lack of digital marketing expertise, and poor infrastructure, such as unreliable internet connectivity, which affected the engagement and effectiveness of digital marketing initiatives. Despite these challenges, the study demonstrated that the strategic use of digital marketing significantly enhanced brand visibility, customer engagement, and overall hotel performance in the region. Based on these findings, the study recommends that hotel managers integrate social media, SEO, and content marketing into a unified digital marketing strategy. Additionally, policymakers should support the digital transformation of the hospitality sector by improving internet infrastructure, offering incentives for digital training, and creating clear regulations for ethical digital marketing. This research contributes valuable insights into digital marketing’s role in enhancing brand performance in rural hotel markets, addressing a gap in the existing literature focused mainly on urban or star-rated hotels. The study suggests directions for future research, such as the impact of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality, and a comparison of digital marketing effectiveness in urban versus rural hospitality markets.