When it comes to marketing your vacation rental property, it pays to think outside the box. Websites like Airbnb make it easy for anyone to create their own rental listing, meaning it’s harder than ever to stand out from the crowd. Fortunately, there are a few strategies that casual renters don’t tend to adopt.
If you’re looking for new ways to market your vacation rental property this year, here are 3 uncommon marketing methods to try.
1. Try new social strategies.
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram have all been growing for a number of years. While they’re great tools for your rental business, they’re also saturated with all the other rental properties that are on the market. If you’re not seeing the right results from your social media strategy, why not switch things up to set yourself apart?
Taking a risk can pay off in dividends if your rental property goes viral. Play around with different methods of posting and engagement to find one that works for your business.
Think outside the box: Try creating a music video, filming a skit, or brainstorming another marketing campaign that will target a new audience. The goal is to grab your audience’s attention in a fun and engaging way. If your old strategy isn’t working, you don’t have much to lose!
2. Reach out to influencers.
If your vacation rental is Instagram-worthy, why not share it with a wider audience? Influencers are a great way to put your property in front of thousands of eyes. Bloggers and Instagrammers in the travel and lifestyle industries specifically tend to be open to this type of collaboration.
Working with influencers will usually involve offering a free stay at your rental property in exchange for a feature on their blog or social media account. Be sure to get the terms of the agreement in writing in order to protect both parties.
Influencers build their entire careers on pairing storytelling with great photography. If you reach out to the right person for your brand, your property will practically market itself.
3. Get featured.
Do some research and see if there are any websites dedicated to tourism that would be willing to feature your rental property. Official city websites might be reluctant to endorse any particular property, but local news sites, magazines, or travel sites might be more than happy to run a feature or let you take out some ad space.
If you’re drawing a blank with the tourism scene, you can cast a wider net and reach out to sites in other industries as well. Think outside the box: wedding websites might be able to feature your property as a possible venue, for instance, while home decor websites might showcase your design style. Some of these sites allow user submissions, so if you have high-quality photos, you can easily throw your own hat in the ring.
There are so many different ways to market your vacation rental listing, but not all of them are going to get results for your property. Marketing is all about finding the strategies that work for your target audience. With a little trial and error, you can come up with a solid marketing plan that increases your bookings and sets you apart from your competition.
