Becoming an Airbnb host and publishing an Airbnb listing is an excellent first step toward making your dreams of earning passive income via a vacation rental a reality. But while some may come across your short-term rental and make a direct booking through the platform, the truth is that you still need to promote your Airbnb to bolster your rental business.
Starting with a social media marketing strategy and targeting social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram (the two are heavily intertwined being that they belong to the same parent company) is a great move. But how do you establish a social media presence and get the word out about your vacation rental business effectively?
Here are five helpful strategies that will help you market your Airbnb:
1. Creating a Facebook Page: The Basics
Creating a Facebook Business Page is a relatively easy process, making it one of the top social media channels for those who are just getting started. To start posting your Airbnb listings on Facebook and marketing yourself to potential guests, follow these few easy steps.
- Create an account (use the email associated with your Airbnb account and all other social platforms so that all relevant information comes into one place).
- Add basic business info to your page like your name, a tagline, and other relevant information. Because this is an Airbnb business page, you might need to get creative here.
- Provide your contact details and other in-depth information needed on your Airbnb page such as a quick description, some of the properties (you should connect Airbnb links), and even the categories your page belongs to.
- Ensure your page isn’t sparse by adding a main profile photo and a cover photo. Your target market is always looking for photos when considering bookings on Airbnb, so it’s important to add them here for a strong social media presence and to build trust.
- Customize certain elements of your experience like notifications and privacy settings.
- Connect other social media accounts like Instagram.
Once you’ve done all this, you’re ready to start promoting your Airbnb listings!
2. Targeting the Right Audience
It’s important to know your audience before you begin working on building your Facebook page. If you start before you identify your target audience, there’s a good chance you’ll get minimal results, generating frustration as you try to make your listing stand out. Much like you position your Airbnb platform advertising to appeal to certain people, think about who you want to find your Facebook page. Are they older individuals looking for a quiet getaway? Are they young digital nomads constantly looking for new experiences? When you know your audience, you can market it to them far more effectively. Trying to reach a broader audience will result in inconsistent results that won’t serve to increase bookings for your vacation rental property.
3. Crafting Engaging Content and Engaging with Your Community
Engaging content on Facebook is vastly different than, say, creating engaging content on TikTok. Engaging content on Facebook might include gorgeous pictures and videos introducing users to your rental properties, posts that give your Airbnb more attention by highlighting the many amenities on your short-term rental property, and even helpful content about how Airbnb guests can use the platform with greater ease. Put simply, you want to create helpful and compelling social posts that will help promote your Facebook page and get more bookings. It’s also worth noting that, much like how Airbnb SEO exists, Facebook SEO is something you should be taking advantage of as well. Use specific keywords that Airbnb guests are searching for on Facebook and use hashtags that will get more eyes on your posts.
That said, creating appealing posts isn’t the only activity you should be doing. It’s important to engage with your community both on your FB page and off it. This means finding Facebook groups where your Airbnb content will fit right in, answering questions on your social media pages, and communicating with individuals who leave comments on your page. To get the most out of Facebook, you have to be just as communicative as you are hosting on Airbnb!
4. Utilizing Facebook Ads (While Measuring and Analyzing Results)
Facebook advertising is made considerably easier as Facebook has its ad campaign system to help you drive eyes to each post on Facebook. When you use Facebook marketing, you have a wealth of resources in-platform. Creating Facebook ads is straightforward and all you have to do is figure out who you’re targeting, how to use high-quality images, and follow best marketing practices to generate copy that appeals to users. You will need to learn the ins and outs and figure out what’s working and what’s not to get the most out of Facebook ads. If they’re running a special offer, take advantage of this as well as you will need to pay out of pocket to run ads.
During each ad campaign pay attention to your analytics. Are you reaching the right audience? Is it resulting in bookings? If not, what can you change? You’ll eventually get the hang of creating ads that result in better business.
5. Leveraging Influencer Collaborations
Social proof is what rental platforms like Airbnb thrive on. User-generated content like user reviews on a direct booking website informs users whether they should make a reservation. So, how can you leverage this to fill an occupancy? The best strategy is to collaborate with influencers. Influencers impact bookings by promoting your Airbnb and social page, sharing stories about their experiences that audiences will use to help them find the right Airbnb, and driving more guests to book your property. Establish a budget and carefully research influencers to make sure you’re working with the right people.
Facebook Is a Great Platform to Market Your Airbnb on When You Know What to Do
The right social media marketing strategy can create more traffic to your Airbnb rental. However, if you’ve been searching for “how to advertise my Airbnb on Facebook”, you may be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information out there. Get started with the guide above to launch your page and start improving your reach to customers who want to book your property. If you ever need to return to the drawing board to rework your approach, you have the basic formula above!
