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Social media, specifically Instagram, has been a great supplement to my Airbnb listings for several reasons, and if you aren’t using it, you’re missing out! So, I want to talk about my Airbnb social media strategy and share some tips and first-hand advice about using social media for your short-term rental property.
If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Sarah, a top-rated Airbnb superhost with 4 profitable vacation rentals on 30A in the Florida panhandle. We are also family travel bloggers who use the freedom and flexibility that come with being Airbnb hosts to travel the world, with and without our kids!
Airbnb Social Media Strategy
Strategy is the keyword here!
My Airbnb hosting mindset is always doing things smarter, not harder. I am a big fan of the 80/20 principle. It’s important to have a solid plan in place before adding something to your busy life. So, before you start social media accounts for your Airbnb on every platform and start tagging anyone and everyone, let’s break down the best ways to use social media for your Airbnb.
Using Social Media For Your Airbnb
On a personal level, we often use social media to share snapshots of the highs and sometimes lows of our daily lives. It’s a way to connect with loved ones. The end goal is typically to have a good conversation and memories to look back on.
However, when you use social media for your business, the goals are different. With each post, you should offer something of value to your followers. This could mean inspiration, first-hand knowledge, tips, or a variety of other things. You are also giving your followers a closer look at your business, sometimes even behind the scenes.
Before I go any further, I want to quickly explain what I mean by “social media” in this post.
Social Media Platforms Explained
The following list shares examples of social media platforms.
- TikTok
- X (Twitter)
- YouTube
- Threads
- Snapchat
Of these, the most frequently used platforms to market your Airbnb are Facebook and Instagram. As a content creator, I use all of these for Our Little Lifestyle (my family travel, shopping, and Airbnb hosting blog), which can be quite a hassle to keep up with. However, I only use Instagram for my Airbnb rental properties. I’ll share why in just a few minutes!
What Is Your Airbnb Social Media Goal?
Before jumping into my Airbnb social media strategy, I want to share my goals behind it. It’s important that you define your goals, too!
My goal with my Our Little Retreats Instagram account is to act as a virtual guidebook for guests and remain relevant to past guests who often rebook.
Over time, it does attract other visits to the area, local businesses, other Airbnb hosts, and prospective guests. That is a positive side effect and great for networking, though! You are welcome to follow me on any of my Instagram accounts as well.
My Airbnb Social Media Strategy
So, now that you know I only use Instagram for my Airbnb, let me share exactly how I use this social media platform for my 30A condos—it may surprise you! I have a link to my Airbnb’s Instagram account at the bottom of my Airbnb house manual and link to it twice in my converations with guests prior to arrival.
First, after they respond to my welcome message, I let them know that I will be putting reccomendations together shortly. The sentence looks like this:
“Also, if you have Instagram, I have an account at www.Instagram.com/ourlittleretreats, and the story highlights act as a virtual guidebook. Feel free to tap through those!”
Next, at the end of my reccomendations, I add the following sentence:
“If you look through those Story Highlights at www.Instagram.com/ourlittleretreats, you will see all of these places in there to help to get a feel for the area.”
Nine times out of ten, the guest immediately follows me on Instagram and continues to do so long after their stay. This is great because they can get all of the information they need now and also see new stories I post with last-minute deals, new restaurants, calendar openings, etc..
Using Instagram For My Short-Term Rental
The main feature I use on my Instagram is Instagram Stories. If you visit the Our Little Retreats Instagram account, you will see that I actually don’t post very often. Honestly, static posts just never seem to do well, so I prefer stories and Instagram reels.
Helpful Instagram Stories
Again, if you look at my Instagram account, you will see that my Instagram Story Highlights are titled by topic, including Dining, Drinks, Shop, Explore, etc. I also have a story called This Month, where I post any upcoming events. These are where the magic is!
Instagram stories expire after 24 hours. However, you can choose to Highlight or Add to Highlight any Instagram story. So, I strategically save my stories into these highlights to help my guests envision places, share restaurant menus and event schedules, answer questions, etc. My guests frequently comment on how valuable this is! I go in and clean them up from time to time, but most of this content has been there for years and requires very little work from me. Again, working smarter, not harder!
Now, I also share stores that don’t get put into highlights. I frequently share local business posts and reels into my stories, last-minute openings, photos of the area, etc, and just let them expire after 24 hours. This is a great way to get future guests excited about their upcoming trip and to stay relevant to past guests. Seeing their favorite places often plants the idea of a return trip, making them repeat guests!
Engaging Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels are also a great tool! I use these more as inspiration and include videos that I take when I am at our 30A beach condos. I post sunset reels, seasonal events, walking tours, and more. It’s just little glimpses into what their vacation will be like. Instagram tends to push these out to more people, including those who don’t follow you, allowing you to increase your reach.
I always share my Instagram Reels with my stories and even add them to highlights when appropriate!
Airbnb Instagram Posts
Slow and steady is the approach here. Honestly, static Instagram posts get the lowest reach in my experience. Here, I share my listing photos over time, basically just to fill the space. You can caption them with specific details about the photo, selling amenities, or answering frequently asked questions. But don’t worry too much about these.
Instagram As An Airbnb Virtual Guide Book
You have heard me mention my Instagram account as a virtual guidebook more than once. That’s because that is exactly what it is! It doesn’t replace my custom reccomendations or my Airbnb house manual, but it helps tie it all together. Often, guests feel like they are here long before their trip. It helps them find places and activities that interest them and rule out things that don’t.
The best part is that you can always add to it! As new restaurants open, I take photos of menus and my food when I dine there, adding it to my highlight. As establishments close or change menus, I remove them from the highlight. It’s SO MUCH easier than editing a hard copy guide or editing all of my templates.
Turning Airbnb Guests Into Repeat Guests
This has been the best surprise! I love it when a past guest “hearts” one of my stories or sends me a note about something I post. It makes me feel connected to them and encourages them to come back and stay with us again.
It is so valuable to have all of my past, present, and future guests in one place and willingly at that! Other people do find and follow my page, sometimes family and friends, other local owners, and guests coming to the area and staying elseware. Oftentimes, those don’t convert to actual guests for me, but it does keep me at the front of mind if anyone asks them for 30A Airbnb recommendations. It’s all about building a brand!
Supplementing With TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook
In my opinion, Instagram is enough for your Airbnb social media marketing. While it may be tempting to have a Facebook page as well, Facebook lacks the story highlight feature, which is so valuable to me.
While you can always start these accounts for your rental, it’s often better just to use your personal accounts on each platform. From time to time, share photos, videos, and stories about your rental and link back to your Airbnb listing!
Choosing Your Airbnb Social Media Strategy
When it comes to choosing the best Airbnb social media strategy for you, it’s crucial to understand your target audience. You need to ask yourself what you are looking to get from it. It’s easy to want the most likes and follows possible, but if you’re not attracting your target audience, is it really helpful?
Engagement rates are very important for the long-term success of your Airbnb social media accounts. It’s much better to have 100 followers with 50+ watching each of your stories than to have 1000 followers with only 50 people engaged. It shows the social media platform that your content is valuable!
If your Airbnb goals align with mine, go ahead and start that Instagram account. Or, if you already have one, maybe clean it up a bit and utilize my Airbnb social media strategy that I mentioned in this blog post.
More Airbnb Hosting Resources
If you enjoyed this post about finding the best Airbnb social media strategy for your short-term rentals, you’d appreciate all of the other FREE 5-Star Airbnb hosting resources here on my blog.
If you are a seasoned host, you can browse all of my Airbnb Hosting posts here.
Or, if you are just getting started or even simply considering purchasing a short-term rental property, start with my 5-Star Airbnb Hosting Guide. It walks you through everything you need to know to get started on Airbnb, from deciding where to buy a rental property to buying guides for every room!
You may enjoy these other posts for Airbnb hosts:
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- Airbnb Tax Guide
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- Must Have Airbnb Essentials
- Getting Started on Airbnb
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Great article, thanks! I had an instagram for our beach shack, and it was deleted saying it didn’t follow community guidelines. It literally had just nine photos of our shack, and a lot of local businesses had followed it. I’m kind of cautious about setting it all up again if it will be deleted. I had a link in the bio to the air BnB site and wondered if that was a problem. Or I didn’t have it linked to my personal contacts or in my name. I know it’s hard to comment without seeing the site, but was just wondering if you’d heard of this happening before?
No, but if it violated community guidelines, maybe it wasn’t set up as a business account or something along that lines. I would absolutely set up a new one. There are no issues having a link to your rental.