If you want to reach a wider audience, it pays to look beyond the your platform. Just like a hotel, there are various ways to promote your listing outside of your platform. Facebook and Instagram are the heroes in the lifestyle space when promoting your listing. Why? Likes and comments can put your property in the spotlight.

Do you benefit from having your listing represented on social media? By having an online presence on these platforms and using the right hashtags and location tags, you can get your listing in front of people that are travel planning. Giving potential guests an impression of the property will persuade them to check it out. By inviting your guests to ‘like’ or ‘follow’ your social media pages, you are more likely to build a positive connection with them. Staying in touch regularly with guests and dealing with queries efficiently through your Facebook and Instagram page also increases the chance of repeat bookings.

In the lifestyle space, there are so many types of content you can share. You can share beautiful pictures of the interiors, each room in detail and just overall features. This can then blend into a neighborhood guide and you can add a guide to the area and photos of local places you love. It doesn’t just have to be pictorial, it’s good to have some written content too, be it a short blurb or a blog in the area. If doing a local guide, make sure to hand-pick some authentic places as guests are looking for the real experience.

The power of home and lifestyle photography can be startling, with people dreaming of their next inspirational getaway. If your listing is design-led, even better, get Instagramming and sharing, just think of it as the digital pages of Vogue Living. By using the right hashtags, you stand a chance to be noticed by bigger accounts and publications.

Engaging bloggers and journalists is another way that should be considered when you’re creating your marketing plan. It’s best to contact them directly and find out if they are interested first. This is perhaps the most effective way to get it out there and attract the right audience. People read reviews from reputable sources and are usually persuaded to book places that have their seal of approval. When working with bloggers it’s important to note that the exposure you often get is worth more than a paid booking.

Bringing more people to your listing is key. There’s no one-size-fits-all method for doing this — instead, you need to experiment, measure and be ruthlessly cut things out that don’t deliver. The key to understanding the channels that work for you — Facebook marketing, emails, etc — is by finding ways to measure the number of people each channel delivers, so you know what is working. Learn how to create a bit.ly or goo.gl link to your listing and use it to measure the number of people that click, each time you share your listing online (email, on social channels, in your blog). These services are free, and easy to use. It’s a rudimentary measure, but the click-through metric is enough to determine the channels that are most effective for you.

Getting on the first page or Google or YouTube is a key goal for any property listing. The goal of this technique is to drive more people to your listing by creating a video that appears on the front page of a google search, driving more people to your listing via a link. Determine what your niche, then try using google to search for similar terms. Use tools to check the number of monthly searches & ask friends — get a sense of the specific terms they would type into google to find what you’re offering. You’re aiming for something niche. Create a 60–90 second video of you talking to the camera about your place. Doesn’t have to be fancy but must include the following: Specific search term must be mentioned in the first few seconds, as an answer to the thing they are searching for. “Are you looking for a farmhouse, suitable for big groups, in Montana?”

A short description of the house and features — the idea is to tease people to click the link to your listing, not reveal everything up-front. Try to explain how guests will feel when they stay at your place — cosy, relaxed — words and phrases designed to help them picture staying with you. Ask them to book with you — “If you’d like to see more, click the link in the description of this video and take a look at our wonderful home”. Make the title of the video as close to the search term as possible: “Reviewed: Montana Farmhouse for Big Groups” (using title case helps title stand out in results) While this can take a few days / weeks for the video to appear on page 1 (really helps if you can get people to watch the YouTube video — share with me, I will definitely share it elsewhere)

At AirRentalz we provide our hosts one of the best opportunities to maximize the power of social media and Facebook. There are several ways you can use data collected from Facebook pixel tracking to refine your Facebook advertising strategy. The Facebook pixel allows you to monitor how people interact with your website after viewing your Facebook ad. Pixel tracking data allows you to show targeted ads to people who have already visited your site. You can choose to get really granular here—for example, you can show people an ad for the exact product that they abandoned in a shopping cart or added to a wishlist on your website.

Facebook can use its targeting data to help you build a lookalike audience of people who have similar likes, interests, and demographics to people who are already interacting with your website, helping you expand your potential customer base. Using a Facebook pixel can make your ads more effective by improving the quality of the ads you run, and by improving the targeting of the people who see them. In addition to improving your ads based on tracking their effectiveness, you can use Facebook pixel data to ensure your ads are seen by the people who are most likely to take your desired action.

If you wish to find out how AirRentalz can help market your property beyond our platform then click here.

Other articles: How to use video to promote your property. How hosts can partner with product brands. Using social media to promote your place and space. How do AirRentalz fees compare with other sites?