As social media has exploded we have all seen the internet become more personal. It’s often about niche these days than mass. As a vacation rental owner you have a huge advantage over hotels because you are niche. Renters can be sure that they are tapping in to something personal and that’s precisely the point of vacation rentals – they usually attract people that want something more personal than a large corporate hotel chain.
So if you’re trying to market your rental online then getting to grips with social media is a must. The exact numbers of people actively using social media vary widely but what is certain is that it’s huge – Facebook alone is usually in the hundreds of million users. But how do vacation rentals fit into this and how do you take advantage of the trend? It’s probably better to start in reverse and think about what you can tell people by engaging with social media. That will naturally lead you to the right choice of which forms to use.
The Virtual Travel Guide
If you have ever stayed at a vacation rental, or you own one, you will know that somewhere in the living room there is a drawer stuffed with restaurant menus, theme park flyers, maps and more. That’s a great resource if you are a renter who has just arrived on the first day of your vacation. But think how much more valuable that information could be as a marketing tool for your rental listing, available for renters to see during their search process. What is the best local diner, the nearest grocery store and the best deep sea fishing charter? Why not put it on-line and become a virtual travel guide for your area?
Facebook is probably the best tool for this because it allows you to create a “Page” that you can dedicate to your vacation rental. If you haven’t tried Facebook, it’s easy – simply visit the site, register as a user and then create a page. You must register as a person first before you can create a page.
Video
If you have created a video chances are you have it online already with people like YouTube or TripFilms. If you haven’t put it online, what’s stopping you? It’s free to upload and then you can share it with others in a few clicks. If you haven’t yet considered a video for your vacation rental then now is the time. The figures for YouTube are incredible, with estimates of up to 2 billion viewers per day. But to be honest, that’s secondary – the best part is it is free to host your video on YouTube, meaning you get someone else to pay for all the streaming costs. Costs to produce a video vary but usually start at a few hundred dollars. If you’re holding a rental long term that’s a small marketing investment.
Photos
Restricted to a certain number of photos by your vacation rental site? Why not join Flickr where you can display photos for free. This vacation rental site in San Diego shows how Flickr can be used to do just that.
Last Minute Specials
If you’re struggling to fill certain off peak weeks, or even have a few days in peak season, then Twitter can be a good and simple way to promote last minute special deals. Most people think of Twitter as a place where people “follow” you and that they only see what you write if they are “following” you. But more and more Twitter is being used by people to search. So, someone not following you may simply be searching for “Vacation Rentals” or “Last Minute Vacation Rentals”. A little like Google in that respect. So you could post a tweet saying “Last minute special for 2 bed Sanibel Vacation Rental, only $100 a night” and this would get picked up by people searching for phrases like “Vacation Rental” and “Sanibel Vacation Rental”. On top of this Google is now indexing Twitter posts.
Sites that Offer Twitter and Facebook Integration
What’s also great about these forms of social media is their ability to be used on other sites. For example some new vacation rental websites like Getaway Earth allow your Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, YouTube videos and more to be integrated with your listing. And that can help to create trust in you from the renter’s perspective – to see you as a real person. This is one of the greatest strengths of social media – information can be shared in an open and fast way.
Getaway Earth has been online since August 2009 and its beta version was launched mid-June 2010
More details of Getaway Earth, especially regarding its business model can be found online at http://tnooz.com/2010/06/16/tlabs/tlabs-showcase-getaway-earth
Getaway Earth is a vacation rental listing site. The first 1,000 vacation rentals listed are free for life. Terms and Conditions apply to the use of the website, in particular we are not a party any transaction entered into between the vacation home owner and the vacation home renter.
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