It can be draining waiting for guests to stumble across your Airbnb listing on a booking platform like Airbnb or Booking.com, hoping that they’ll choose to stay with you. It’s likely that you’ll have thousands of other great rental listings next to yours that can really overshadow your listing’s spotlight.
The use of social media can help your rental flourish without distraction from outside competition and will allow you to show off your property’s best assets and highlights.
Social media is a great way to outsource guests that may not be looking for a getaway, but just couldn’t resist what your page has to offer. Not to mention, social media is a free marketing tool, ready at your disposal.
Start thinking outside of the box and stop waiting for your guests to find you – connect with them first through the power of social media.
- Where to find your Guests
You’re probably already aware that there are loads of social media platforms such as: Twitter; Instagram; Facebook; Pinterest; Reddit; Youtube; and Tiktok, just to name a few.
Specifically in relation to social media, according to Audiense.com, demographics are a way of segmenting social media users based on their age, sex and location, as well as, their duration of time spent on the online platform.
With different social media platforms come different user demographics; a great marketing tool to be aware of before marketing your rental property online.
Learning about various social media platforms, and their user demographics, can help guide you to which platform would be most effective to use to reach your ideal target guest and increase your chance for success.
An example of effective marketing platforms for your Airbnb:
- Your rental description: nearby to theme parks and attractions, large flat garden, 1 x double bed, 2 x single beds (bunk bed).
- Your ideal target guest: young family of 3-4 with children ages 5-15.
- The most practical platform for you: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest.
- The least practical platform for you: Tiktok, Youtube, Snapchat.
Facebook and Instagram’s 2021 demographics suggest that the largest age group of users on the platform, are 25-34 years old, which is usually the consensus of a younger family type image. To add, Facebook is still the largest social platform with 2.7 billion monthly users. Therefore, it is the most marketable platform due to its ability to reach a larger audience.
On the other hand, Tiktok, Youtube and Snapchat’s largest age groups range from 13-25 years old. Consequently, if you decide to promote your Airbnb listing on these platforms mentioned above, your marketing efforts could be wasted as your ideal target guest is less likely to be using these particular platforms.
Read now: Which Social Media Platform is Best for my Business
- Create Your Story
When it comes to listings or social media in general, people want to be WOWED.
What better way to do that than to create a story to evoke emotion from your Airbnb?
You might be thinking that your Airbnb doesn’t have a story, or that you don’t even know where to start. However, your Airbnb doesn’t have to be in the middle of an enchanted forest or on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean to incite emotion.
Every rental has a story, it’s up to you how you want to tell it.
Begin to focus on what is unique and special about your Airbnb. The Interior design of your Airbnb will be a big part of your social media presence. Therefore, it would be a good idea to really narrow down your ideal target guest and focus on how to stand out to them specifically.
For example, Gen Z are notoriously known for their own personal social media presence and always seem to be waiting for that perfect photo opportunity. If your target guest is Gen Z, then consider an interior design that would look good on camera to inspire their stay with you.
Story telling can be done through your Airbnb’s location, interior design, renovation progress and just about anything – even its name!
Read now: 3 Reasons Why Every Landlord Should Use an Interior Designer
- Grow your platform
Growing your social media platform won’t happen overnight, unless you buy followers and likes – but, don’t do that. The key to success with growing your Airbnb’s social media platform is to have a plan.
Set out your goals for your platform. What do you want to see from it? Do you want 5,000 followers or 50,000 followers? Would you like lots of shares and enquiries about your property?
Ultimately, the end goal for you will be to get more traffic towards your Airbnb bookings.
Here’s some tips on how to build your platform:
- Post a good mix of high-quality photos and videos
- Post regularly and consistently to your platform (every day)
- Share your social media links with previous guests so they can follow
- Link your social media channels to your listing and emails
- Respond to your enquiries quickly (within 24 hours)
- Engage with your followers and other similar profiles
- Create a professional brand identity (logo, specific colours, official emails etc.)
Read now: Using Social Media to Boost your Brand’s Reputation and Success
- Collaborate for success
A great way for your Airbnb to gain exposure on social media is to collaborate with content creators (photographers, bloggers, influencers) and offer discounted stays in exchange for their time, effort and content produced.
Some influencers will be happy to receive discounted or gifted (free) stays at your Airbnb, while others will be expected to be paid in exchange for sharing their guest experience at your Airbnb with their followers.
With 89% of marketing professionals believing in the success of influencer marketing, using an influencer marketing strategy can really help you to get your foot in the door when trying to grow your following and increase your bookings, regardless of the number of your current followers.
Try to collaborate with content creators and influencers that fit your ideal target guest, as their followers will be following them for their usual relatable content. The idea of collaborating with a likeminded content creator, is to encourage their followers over to your page.
Luckily for you, Airbnb is primarily associated with the travel industry, therefore, you should find that it is relatively easy to find UK based travel influencers that would be happy to collaborate with you.
Our top tips on how to reach out to influencers:
- Communication: Sometimes, influencers can be hard to get in contact with, especially if they have a large following and tons of messages per day. Make sure you go through the right communication channels. Usually, they have an email for collaborations somewhere on their social media page.
- Be professional: Introduce yourself, tell them about your Airbnb and why you want to work with them. Offer them a free or discounted stay with you and/or offer to pay them for sharing their guest experience with their followers. Make it a win-win situation for both parties.
- To The Point: You should both agree on the outcome of your collaboration. You’ll need to state what you expect from the content and when (dates and times). Depending on your budget, you could ask for certain requests from their content, i.e., multiple videos and photos to be posted to their Instagram story and feed.
Typically, it’s easier to collaborate with smaller content creators and influencers as they’re easier to contact and are more readily available and flexible to work with, compared to influencers with larger followings. In addition, smaller creators are usually happier to work with your budget.
Read now: An Introduction to Influencer Marketing
- Be Authentic
Marketing your property can be tricky to navigate at times, especially if you’re new to it.
The most important thing to keep in mind is authenticity. While you’re using social media to promote your Airbnb, you don’t want to be that annoying over-the-top sales person that people try to avoid.
Be genuine when you post your own content and when you engage with other accounts. Don’t start spamming accounts because they look like your ideal target guest and you want to make money – it’s a big turn off and can hurt your reputation for future genuine guests.
Our Final Say
Social media can be the most powerful marketing tool readily available to you, if used effectively.
Growing a following takes time and won’t happen overnight. Have fun with your social media pages and get creative and be consistent with your content. It’s important to keep in mind that all good things come to those who are wait.
Still a bit lost on how to use social media to outsource your guests? Speak to one of our advisors today here at Keey, to help your Airbnb business flourish.