Do you use direct marketing for your Airbnb?

[Ben551]

Greetings~

I wanted to share a little about my own recent marketing experiments and see what other hosts might be doing...

I expect that those experienced hosts, who are happily on Page 1 of the Airbnb and AllTheRooms search results, won't need to work so hard at it.  But those of us who are just starting out in a competitive market may need to... work a bit harder?   So far I've been experimenting with Twitter, Facebook and even printed media to see what method of marketing is the most effective for the least amount of money. 

Facebook:

Results of Facebook were interesting.  I launched 3 campaigns covering China, UK, Australia and USA all with targetted interests that match what my listing offers.  Interestingly, I have found that folks in China are the most "click happy" when it comes to Facebook (men in particular), whereas the UK, Australia and USA seem to view the the advert then pass on by without clicking.  So if your target market is in those regions, FB doesn't seem to be that cost effective.

Twitter:

I have yet to measure the results of Twitter, but I am seeing something very, very strange in regards to Twitter vs. Airbnb SEO.  I have known for a while now that Airbnb SEO was sensitive to the amount of social media mentions people make that include your listing reference.  However, what I didn't know is that it almost completely ignores Facebook and (in contrast) Airbnb SEO almost breaks when you tweet about your listing.  I mean in a good way.  Our listing climbed 6 pages in a single day after one tweet lol.  You should see our rankings graph.  All the days before hand look like "stairs" slowly, but surely climbing upwards as we work on our listing... improve pricing... etc.  Then it shoots up like a Rocket the day we started tweeting.  It then tapers off, whcih indicates that it doesn't have a lasting impact and likely means momentum needs to be maintained.

So get tweeting people!  Stop what you are doing, right now, and send a tweet about your listing.

Brochures

Lastly, printed media. We printed some of these brochure card things. 

They cost around $0.18 each to print and are a nice thick recycled paper (of course).  We put some of these at the local tourism centre, our favourite restaurants and cafes, and at the Airport.  We have even put some into the Airbnb itself for people to take with them as a reminder of their stay.

Suprisingly, our local restaurants and cafes were thrilled at the idea of putting some of these on their counter!  This is because in exchange we took a copy of their menu and put it inside our Airbnb in our guest welcome book, along with our recommendation.  Apparently it worked so well, restaurants have given us free dinners to thank us of over $150 so far!  Our guests are now eating there regularly, for dinner and when they want a cooked breakfast (since we only provide cold continental).  So I have to say, partnering with local restaurants and cafes has been the smartest thing we have done so far.  I can highly recommend it! 

As for the other uses of the brochure, we have received 5 bookings (total) that have mentioned the brochure directly.  I personally wish Airbnb would have a "how did you hear about us" question they asked guests to fill in, as they make each booking... so we could track the success of our own direct marketing better... but dreams are free 🙂

So I'm keen to hear comments from other hosts as to their experiences with direct marketing. Do you use it?  How much per annum do you spend on it?  What channels have worked best for you?

~ Ben

[Ann72]

Hi @Ben551 !  I haven't outsourced any marketing yet.  I'm taking some baby steps, though:

I created an Instagram and from IG created a FB page, because if you want to do any promotions, that's where you'd set them up.  I haven't given much attention to the FB page yet.  I am deliberately holding back until I figure out how much I want to encourage direct bookings, which would, I believe, require a website with a payment function.  I'm just not quite ready for that.

Recently an Instagrammer whose photography I like asked if he could stay at one of the houses (for free, of course) and take over my Instagram.  Since good free photography is hard to come by, I agreed.  He had a blast and increased the number of followers for me, and I got some amazing images.

The other totally free marketing I've done is through Airbnb.  Since there are something over 100 factors that go into rankings, I decided to use some of Airbnb's recommended settings and tools.  InstantBook (albeit with ALL the conditions checked), SmartPricing, and some other settings have gotten my listings all to the first page.  Part of the reason this works is that, having chosen as my minimum price the price I would want to get in any circumstance, it's easy for me, in the off season, to take Airbnb's recommendation of setting a discounted price for a 10-day period.  They in turn send emails to guests looking in the area for those dates.  This results in a few bookings (again, very much in the off-season), but even better, perhaps, is that it increases the number of clicks and visits you get, which in turn puts your listing higher.

[Huma0]

@Ben551 

I haven't tried any form of direct marketing, really, except posted a couple of times about my listing on FB. I have never advertised on there though. Interesting what you found about tweeting. Do you have a lot of followers on Twitter? I never really use it anymore as it seems to all be about Instagram here these days. Did you try posting on there too?

I wouldn't really bother putting time nor money into this if I just wanted to continue with short-term guests as I get enough of those to keep my rooms pretty much fully booked. However, I have been trying to attract more long-term guests the past few months (I created this post about it: https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Attracting-Long-Term-Guests/m-p/697467#M164398🙂 with varying success. While one of my rooms is booked back to back by long-termers, I am still having to fill a lot of gaps in the other two rooms with short-term guests.

Some of the suggestions on the thread included targeting organisations such as universities and hospitals that would have staff on short-term contracts looking for accommodation. I think your flyers are a great idea for this.

I am not sure about local restaurants though, as I don't live in a touristy part of town and am not looking to attract locals to the listings. Then again, perhaps the locals have friends or family who visit and would like to stay close by and I do like the idea of a free meal!

I send a lot of my guests to a local pub that has an excellent restaurant. I doubt they would offer my guests a discount, but they have apparently seemed very interested when guests mentioned that their host recommended the place. Recently, I went in there asking to take some marketing photos and when told I was a host who sent lots of guests in their direction, they were very happy for us to shoot in there. I wonder what kind of deal I might be able to strike with them. 

[J-Renato0]

@Ben551 

Thanks for sharing your experiences and ideas.

I have not used direct marketing for Airbnb.

[Inna22]

@Ben551 Amazing info, thank you. When you tweet, you make a comment, tag Airbnb and add a link to your listing? How can I find you on Twitter? 

[Rebecca181]

Thank you @Ben551 for creating such a thoughtful and informative post. My first year listing on Airbnb I used all of the above forms of marketing you mention, as well as Instagram (I was a VP of Marketing in Silicon Valley in a former life). What I learned is that I did not really need to do any of this due to my ability to manage my listing in such a way that I remained consistently near the top of the searches for Airbnb in my area. Quite a feat, because shortly after I opened, Airbnb began encouraging the 'big players' like Vacasa and other commercial property managers to begin listing with them, which I thought would tank my listing. Getting nothing but 5 star, "raving" reviews also didn't hurt - and some guests referred others to us, and also we had repeat guests. I also had my own website and I took bookings through there, and I was listed on VRBO as well. I also listed in two different coastal online magazines, and had quite a few referrals from one of them. I listed with 'owner direct' booking websites as well and all of these venues asked if they could do a story / feature my property, so that was a nice bonus as well. But most of my business came from Airbnb (for which I am grateful) and we were  booked solid from the day we opened until I put the listing to sleep 20 months later - I mean literally booked solid - had to block out days to take a vacation or get even one day's worth of rest.

I also did the same as you - Asked local businesses in our historic downtown area to display my brochures / cards and in return I sent them business / put their information in my guest welcome binder. This was a great way for me to network and meet other business owners as well. One such business owner made me a beautiful, hand-painted table for guests to enjoy in my sunroom, and also surprised / gifted me with a birdhouse made entirely out of shells (she knows I collect birdhouses). 

With all that said, IF I were to awaken my listing from the Sleeping Beauty-like state it currently is in, I would likely not do any of the marketing strategies mentioned, but would instead invest in a google ad. I think Ute here does that, with good results (she is in Germany). Have you thought of going that route? 

[Michelle-And-Michael0]

Hi @Ben551  this is an interesting subject.... Thanks for sharing your insights.

We've been lucky enough so far to maintain a high position on the Airbnb Search arena. However we did drop dramatically once, and to this day I still have no idea why....... but a few days later we were back on page one again. 

Getting some cards/brochures made is something I have been thinking about too. Like you mention, even if only for placement in the Studio so the guests can take a few with them, and perhaps pass on to friends and family..... or as a momento of their stay. 

Out of curiosity.... I see that you have the Airbnb logo on the front of the card, did you need permission from Airbnb to use that? Also, how were you able to physically apply the logo? I have designed quite a number of these type of cards for exhibition/invitation purposes.... but I would have no clue how to include a logo/symbol. I know your much more tech savvy than I am :):)

Also, on the back of your card, you have a website address, did the guests that booked, do so through Airbnb, or your website? And do you find it worthwhile having a website? Hope you don't mind all the questions! 

We we have a list of our favourite restaurants that we recommend too.... many of our guests return to tell us how much they enjoyed their meal, and thank us for the recommendation. I think it's about time we let the restaurants know where some of their clients are coming from..... maybe there could be a free dinner in it somewhere! Lol 😉

Have a great day

Michelle 🙂

[Sudsrung0]

Make yourself a google business page works well 

https://business.google.com 

[Lynnette13]

I'd like to send out a link to my property so friends of friends can book through Air BnB. Where do I finid the link for my profile? Thank you.

[Ben551]

@Lynnette13  You can find your propertly link by previewing your property, then copying the URL from your web browser.  Your listing link is the part up until the '?'. 

So when I preview my link, I see this in my address bar:  "https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/30257841?preview_for_ml=true&guests=1&adults=1"

My property link is this part: "https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/30257841"

[Jen-and-Ken0]

@Ben551 Ben- you have been SO helpful with all of the information you provided in this chat- thank you! 

First, when I try to follow your direction for URL, it automatically logs me in and therefore the link is one as the Owner and it says "Edit Property."  How do I get the public link, not the private one?

Second, I did the Tweet thing, and appreciate the tip!

Third, what is your opinion on the pricing suggestions they provide?  They seem pretty off base at times- telling me to list my 2/2 guest suite for $100 ($50/couple) which is extremely low, and other times telling me to increase my price even though it is not being booked at the current price?! 

I have thought about creating a website and Facebook page to increase bookings.  I just started early this year, and had it booked in March, but now it is silent... I need to figure out a way to market it better!?

[Ben551]

Hi @Jen-and-Ken0 aim glad some of this thread has been helpful. 

In in terms of using your public URL link, it’s using the method I described above for your listing, but yes if you are logged in it will redirect you to your hosting portal. What you have to do, to test it, is open an “incognito” or “private” browsing window in your browser, then enter the link. You will need to Google how to open a private browsing window for whatever internet browser you are using.

I think pricing is an entirely separate challenge. I recommend reading a separate thread or two I have posted on that subject. They aren’t a guide, but more a summary of my own journey of discovery when it came to both pricing and search result placement. I recommend focusing on these areas to increase your bookings! They worked very well for me.

Links to other posts:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/What-third-party-intelligent-pricing-tools-are-people-us...

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Has-anyone-tried-AirBnb-search-engine-optimisation-SEO/m...

[Jen-and-Ken0]

@Ben87 I opened Airbnb from a different computer, typed in Phoenix, AZ and looked at the map, and there is not even a pin close to the location of our home! I have noticed this in the past too, and it makes me wonder how people are ever going to find our listing?!  All the more important to have this link, yet I can't even find the home!

Thank you for the links regarding pricing- I will take a read.

[Ben551]

Oh what a great response!  Thanks folks 🙂  I'm going to do that big long reply thing where I respond to a few of the questions that are buried in here... so bear with me.

@Ann72  that sounds awesome.  I had never considered employing a professional Instragrammer. What a fantastic idea to add to the list (hence the bold)!!  High quality images are never a bad investment, as near as I can tell.  They work on Google SEO and Airbnb SEO... plus they recommend holding a pile of images back and not releasing them all at once.  Some people drip feed them through your IG or FB pages to keep up follower interest and 'likes' and so on... thanks so much for your contribution to this.  I'm guessing not many people will have thought of this approach.

@Huma0yeah the Twitter thing was weird.  I have basically no followers so didn't get any benefit from tweeting to my followers.  What happens is different - Airbnb SEO itself detects that you have tweeted and moves you higher in search results within the Airbnb platform.  I don't know why it does this, but it does.  I mean, I can tweet and have basically nobody on the internet notice it.... but Airbnb rewards me for doing it.  To do what I did, head to your listing page and preview your listing.  On your page you will see the "Share" button. Click that link and select "Twitter".  It generates a pre-written Tweet message that includes both your listing "preview" plus an [at]airbnb tag, in a way that works on twitter.  By using this layout, including the listing link and the [at]airbnb, somehow alerts the Airbnb SEO that you have tweeted your listing... if anyone shares that tweet, you'll get a second boost in Airbnb search results.

I found it also really helps if you start posting into already watched and popular hashtag groups.  People will see your post, like it, share it and sometimes follow you.  So it's not all about your direct followers on Twitter, it's an indirect engagement system.  Personally I found this easier to use than Facebook.

As for restaurants, ya know I'm actually not in a touristy area either.  We are in a small village on the outskirts of the city, tucked away in the forest.  We have maybe 2 good restaurants and 1 decent cafe.  Since we like eating there (it's amazing) we decided we wanted to support our local businesses and encourage guests to eat there instead of driving into the city.  Local businesses are also the ones that are the most willing to promote you.  From our favourite spot we've had one booking already.  A family who live nearby wanted somewhere for Grandma and Grandad to stay, when they visited from Australia.  They saw our place was just around the corner from their house and immediately enquired.  Long story short... they stayed for a week and are likely to be repeat guests next year.  Again, I think this was the best thing we've done... free meals and bookings... just brilliant.

@Inna22  Heya - in terms of Twitter, I've just posted some brief instructions above to Huma.  If you follow that guide you'll have no trouble.  Wife and I made a twitter account called [at]ThePauaCottage to match our business name.  So far so good... though I wouldn't say we're pro's at it!

@Rebecca181  That's very good advice.  I think if I were constantly at the top of Airbnb search results, I wouldn't bother with much direct marketing either.  The site has enough traffic to maintain a constant stream of bookings... if you're at the top 🙂   That is so lovely about your local business owner support.  We are getting a little of the same reaction here too.  Other businesses are welcoming us right in to the community, as they know accomodation brings money into our local village economy where it is needed. 

Hey thanks for the tip about Google advertising.  We actually have Google advertising as an "in progress" active experiment at the moment, however we have been delayed as Google would like to verify our address by posting us a "card" in the mail, which will take about a month to arrive in New Zealand (rest of the world takes 15 days or so).  Until we verify, they will neither create a business page for us nor advertise our business.  So it's a bit of a hold up.  I'm quite keen to use this one and compare to how the others perform.

@Michelle-And-Michael0  Hey thanks for contributing.  I definitely think having some printed media is a good idea. We spoke to Airbnb about making a printed card and they were fine with it, so long as all the traffic was being directed to their platform (which it is).  We bought a custom domain name becuase it's easier for our guests to remember it than the long airbnb website address, but that domain name is automatically redirected immediately to the Airbnb website.  If you follow it now, you'll see what I mean.  It doesn't point to an independent website.  I don't mind the questions at all 🙂

Hahah yes!  I would make sure your local restaurants are at least... aware... of what business is coming their way from you.  One restaurant has said if they arrive and say they are from our cottage, they will get a complimentary glass of fruit punch on arrival (alcoholic or non alcoholic).  They say this is working well for them, plus then they know how much business we are sending them.  Our current guests have apparently had breakfast 4 times and dinner 3 times at one restaurant down the road from us.

@Sudsrung0  I agree, a Google business page is something to consider, but I recommend being careful with this for security reasons.  If you make a Google business page it will ask you to specify your exact address and it will show it on a Google map thereafter.  This will allow people to learn of your address prior to receiving a booking confirmation.  Just something to be aware of.

I think that brings me to the end of the list! 🙂

~ Ben

[Ann72]

@Ben551 Yeah, it was cool, and even better - free!   Airbnb couldn't provide professional photography, so I asked the local designers and architects for recos, and they all said it was so expensive and hard to find that it was a real problem.  But having good new pictures periodically is so important!  I'm having a different Instagrammer come in June to photograph the other house.  He'll also post on his website in addition to social media.  Both provide 25 high-res images I can use as I wish.  I even got some drone shots.  (If you're on IG, I'll follow you - I'm @Diagonair.)

I wouldn't enter into a similar arrangement with a random blogger, because it's the free photography I'm most interested in, not some mildly popular wordsmith's ramblings.  🙂   No need to block the calendar and pay to have the place cleaned for that!

One question for you and everyone else:  do you encourage your guests to follow and post about your place?  If so, how?  I sign all messages with my IG handle, @Diagonair, but I don't come right out and say anything about it.  Should I?