How to make a $100K from your airbnb or hotel with social media

If you want to make $100K from your airbnb or hotel with social media, this is for you.

If you feel like you’re not getting as many bookings as you want - or deserve - the problem isn’t your property.

Not enough people know about you - yet.

The best way to tell more people about your stay is social media. 

But, there’s a formula to social media. That formula is what I’m going to teach you today.

The formula:

Step 1: Show the experience

Step 2: Create videos that demand attention from raving fans

Step 3: Partner with niche specific influencers to grow faster than you might be comfortable with

Let’s dive into each step.

Step 1: Show the experience

I remember working with our first stays. We desperately would try to sell the place to sleep. Aka, the house.

Our videos would focus on:

• The rustic architecture

• Comfortable interior

• Premium amenities outside

This got zero attention. It was embarrassing.

We quickly learned that the house is not what sells. It’s the experience. 

Over the following few months we would get independent videographers to some properties with one requirement:

“Live the getaway life in the most desirable way possible.”

• Some videographers would cook bright, colorful meals. 

• Others would hike to the beach for a picnic.

• Most would experience the garden outback or fire pit. 

This is when things started to click.

• Our social media content began to be shared. 

• Views and followers skyrocketed. 

• Bookings came in like they were on sale.

Embarrassment = gone

It wasn't the stay that sold.

Instead, it was the experience of escaping everyday life that sold.

Quick notes:

• Turn on all the lights inside. This lesson cost me $2,500 to learn.

• Show the amenities in use. Hot tub? Start the jets. Grill? Throw on some chicken.

• Whatever you capture, post it. This is the best way to improve and try again.

Step 2: Create videos that demand attention

Once the experience of your stay is captured, you need to turn that footage into social ready videos. 

We spend thousands of dollars each month testing our content to find what works best.

The best videos to make are:

• Guest callouts

• "Yes" videos

• Stories

1) Guest callouts

• Come up with headlines that speak directly to your perfect guest. (i.e. "This Maine Farmhouse is perfect for families").

• Place your headline over a 10-15 second video of your stay.

• Continue using the callout headlines that spark the most chatter in the comments.

• EXAMPLE (Source: Three Sisters Farm)

• EXAMPLE (Source: Onera Wimberley)

2) "Yes" videos

• Place text on your video everyone agrees with.

• Don't say this: "Minnesota summer nights are the best."

• Instead, say this: "Summer nights are the best."

• EXAMPLE (source: Bolt Farm Treehouse)

3) Stories

• The video should follow a sequence or storyline.

  • Day in the life

  • First arrival moments

  • Cooking breakfast

  • Winding down in the evening

• EXAMPLE (Source: Live Oak Lake)

• EXAMPLE (Source: Three Sisters Farm)

Tools for editing:

If you are a DIYer, I like:

• Capcut is easy to use and learn

• Adobe Premiere Pro has more capabilities

If you could live and die without editing a video, do this:

• Find someone on Upwork (this can be inexpensive)

• Hire Lodge Social (we can do this for you)

Step 3: Partner with niche specific influencers to grow faster than you might be comfortable with

How to find the perfect influencer:

• Identify your perfect guest

• Find influencers who are in that niche

• Hire them

1) How to identify your perfect guest

Who is your perfect guest? If you don't know, here are two ways to find out:

1. Chances are the perfect guest is you. What drew you to the property at first? (love the outdoors, great family getaway, etc…)

2. Read reviews. This is a dead giveaway. Guests will drop keywords like “stayed with my family”, “family retreat”, “couples getaway.”

Don’t get too specific. If you find that families are visiting from Nashville, that's good enough.

2) How to find influencers that are in that niche

Before you spend time searching for influencers, know these golden metrics:

• Follower count: 10K+

• Engagement rate: 2-4%+

The creators you partner with don’t need to be focused just on airbnb’s and hotels. If 3/10 posts are from an airbnb, you’re safe. But, they do need to be focused on local hospitality. 

Example:

• Since my perfect guest is families from Nashville, I don’t want to hire a young, hip creator from Boston who sometimes lives in a van. That’s not my audience.

• Instead, I want to hire a female creator from Nashville who travels with her family.

• It doesn’t matter if this person has only 15K followers. All 15K are my perfect guests!

• That’s why understanding your perfect guest is so important. 

3) Hire them

Cost will range.

Some just want a free vacation. 

Others make a living doing this and can charge $2,500-$3,000 per visit.

First, start small. Try to spend $1,500 or less so you know how this relationship works. Then, build up from there.

Follow this process and I promise…

You will:

• Find people who LOVE your stay through social media.

• 10x your Instagram following by creating content that demands attention.

• Turn Instagram traffic into bookings.

That's all for today. I'll see you in the next article.

Before you go

I spend about 10 hours writing this newsletter each week. The rest of my time is spent running Lodge Social.

Our marketing team will help you get more guests to like, share and book.

Work with me and my team here.

Links you might like:

1. How to turn social traffic into real bookings (Behind The Stays)

2. This is how great Instagram Ads are made (The Lodge Social)

3. Google is showing Instagram content as a search result now (Previsible)

4. How to create A+ content in 4 hrs or less (The Lodge Social)