How to Use Social Media to Boost Your Short-Term Rental Visibility

As a property manager, if you want to get your short-term rental properties more exposure, you need to invest a considerable amount of time and effort — along with a portion of your marketing budget — into advertising on social media. With billions of people around the world using platforms like Facebook and Instagram, there’s plenty of opportunity to improve your brand’s visibility that you don’t want to miss out on.

There are many ways to harness the power of social media to your business’s benefit, so let’s break down some tips for succeeding with social media for vacation rentals that you can use today.

Choose the Right Platforms

Vacation rental social media is a unique niche, which is why it’s crucial that you determine your target audience and identify the platforms they tend to gravitate to. 

If you’re wondering where to advertise a short-term rental, Facebook is your best bet, seeing as it is the most popular social media network overall; however, if you’re trying to attract a younger demographic, Instagram is the ideal platform. TikTok can also contribute to capturing a younger audience.

Once you choose which platforms and apps to focus on, ensure you properly set up your account. Complete your profile with high-quality photos and details about your rental; showcase what makes you and your property unique and worth choosing over the competition.

Engage With Your Audience

Though phrases like “Book Now!” have a place in your social media for vacation rentals marketing strategy, you want to be wary of sounding too sales-y. Consumers want to feel like the businesses they support care about them beyond just making a sale, so connecting and engaging with your audience can go a long way in growing your brand.

Respond to comments, ask for genuine feedback, and find ways to continually connect with your followers. Do your best to get to know them and everything they want from their vacation. The more engaged you are, the more trust you’ll build, and social media algorithms will work more heavily in your favor, improving your visibility.

Run Promotions and Contests

A great way to boost engagement and visibility for your rental is to run promotions and contests. You can share a post on Instagram encouraging people to like and comment with their favorite travel money to be eligible for a complimentary one-night stay at your rental or a nice discount. Doing so gets people talking on your page and can help build a sense of community among your followers.

Invest in High-Quality Photography

People want to stay in beautiful accommodations when they travel, so excellent photography is crucial to advertising your business effectively. Your photos are your first impression to potential customers, so you need to make them count.

Hire a top-tier photographer to capture your rental in the best light possible. Show off the key features of both the interior and exterior, along with any amenities that make your property stand out from the competition. Update these photos regularly to ensure that everything stays up-to-date.  

Take Advantage of Paid Rental Property Advertising

Advertising increases visibility and bookings, so you don’t have much to lose but a lot of potential business to gain. When using social media for vacation rentals, you also need to allocate a percentage of your marketing budget to paid advertising, which can help place your brand right in front of your target audience. You can select specific demographics, behaviors, interests, and more to ensure your ads reach your ideal customers. There is a low entry point for paid social; as little as $20 over 4 days can increase the exposure to your properties across your chosen audience.

Use the Right Vacation Rental Hashtags

Hashtags are essential when promoting your rental on social media, as they help draw in new followers and increase your visibility. Research popular vacation rental hashtags and take a look at which ones your competitors are using to determine which are the most relevant. You can also create a hashtag unique to your rental property and encourage customers to use it and spread the word.

Post Consistently

Consistency is key; if you post infrequently, algorithms won’t promote your page, regardless of the platform you use. You’ll want to post frequently enough to drive engagement and stay in the algorithm’s good graces, but not too often that it comes off as spammy. 

Partner With Influencers

Influencer marketing is more popular than ever, so now’s the best time to take advantage of it. Local influencers and travel bloggers can help spread the word about your rental property and encourage their followers to book with you. Because they’ve garnered trust amongst their audience, their word means a lot to them. That’s what makes influencer marketing so powerful, and it can completely transform your business.

Keep Track of Your Analytics

You want to use the right social media strategies to boost your rentals’ online visibility, and if a certain strategy isn’t driving results, you won’t want to waste any more time investing in it. That’s why it’s crucial to monitor your analytics.

Check your insights frequently to get a good idea of what posts drive the most traffic. You can also see what time your followers are most active and which content resonates with them most. All of that information can help you alter your social media strategy in a way that gives you the best results for your rental. 

Go Live

Most social media platforms offer users the ability to start a livestream. Going live lets you interact with your customers in real-time; you can answer questions, provide updates, conduct tours of your rental property, or simply talk about what makes it worth booking. Altogether, going live can help you build credibility and trust within your audience, boosting your visibility in the process.

Boost Your Rental’s Visibility and Grow Your Business

Vacation rental social media isn’t always easy to navigate, but when you use the right social media strategies, you can continue to draw in new customers with your rental property advertising and create a community of travelers who are loyal to your brand.

As your rental properties grow in popularity, you’ll want to protect them from pet damage, theft, bodily injury, intentionally malicious acts, and simple slip-ups (we’re all human, after all). With Safely, you can protect your rental before, during, and after every reservation. That way, you can focus more on boosting your rental’s visibility and less on things that could go wrong within your property. For more information, contact us today.