How to Boost Your Vacation Rental on Social Media?
Social Media has become a powerful marketing and advertising platform for vacation rental owners. According to Hubspot, 80 percent of businesses claim that their website traffic increased after taking their brand to social media. This leads directly to boosting the vacation rental bookings.
As a vacation rental owner, you need to understand that since each industry is different, you have to employ a unique technique when promoting your short-term rental property on social media.
Promoting your vacation rental or hotel on social media
Before deciding which social media platforms to use, it will be crucial to know how to best make use of them. Here are various ways of promoting your vacation rental, hostel, or hotel on social media channels.
Identify the platform you will focus on
Before you start promoting your short-term rental property, do some research on what social media platform your customers frequent the most, and create a strategy to engage them. Identify your goals and make sure that every post and update you make is in alignment with your goals.
Separate your business account from a personal account
Your personal account showcases your life, and your business page focuses on your business. By separating these two accounts, you will not confuse or overlook your guests and prospective customers.
More so, you are giving them a chance to follow you even if you’re not “friends.” A separate account also allows you or your property manager to engage with customers directly and can convert them into paying guests.
Use the power of storytelling
Stories are compelling because they move the emotions. Couple those stories with visual imagery and you have a double whammy. A nice idea could be a short video with your guests praising your property and telling a story about their stay. Make sure, though, that the content is used in the right context, short, and witty. Your goal is to gain the attention of your customers and prospects and have them “Share,” “Like,” or “Retweet” your content.
Create some noise
Your goal is to boost your vacation rental on social media. Therefore, you need to make some buzz. Don’t be afraid to talk to people. You have to get the word out there that you exist.
Aside from the buzz, you can also make your property known by becoming more responsive to your guests whether they are queries or complaints.
Use #hashtags
Twitter isn’t the only social media platform that uses hashtags anymore. Hashtags make it easier for people to search your short-term rental property or hotel. The most popular hashtags are locations and events, what’s trending. Don’t be afraid to stand out like Cathay Pacific’s #LifeWellTravelled hashtag. You can also follow Airbnb’s lead in using data to find out what your guests want or are talking about. Give your guests inspirations and they will become interested in your content and your short-term rental.
Don’t limit yourself from using hashtags that are outside of your niche or industry. Use the trending hashtags to voice your opinion about a controversial topic or a social concern. When people see that you are relevant, they will notice you more.
Be consistent
You have to time how often you post content. If you do it too often, you will clutter your timeline. If it is not often enough, your audience will think you are disinterested. To avoid this becoming a problem, create a content calendar to make sure you are consistent. If you are using a Property Management System such as Nuevah you can use the Notes section for any ideas scheduling.
Your Turn
There are many other creative ways of how you can take advantage of social media to grow your vacation rental business. Each platform also has features that can help you with your marketing strategy.
You can start with the suggestions we listed for you and develop new methods as you go along. Conduct an A/B testing so you’ll know which method works and which doesn’t. Good luck!
