Instagram for tourist apartments

Instagram's powerful visual impact has made this social network the jewel in the crown. How can you use Instagram for holiday rentals or apartments? Today we bring you 33 tips to shine on your potential guests' feed and attract more bookings.

Instagram Strategy for Holiday Rentals

When planning your strategy for holiday apartments, you should keep one mantra in mind. The content you publish on this social network must be Instagrammable. What a word! You certainly won't find it in the RAE dictionary.

What does it mean to have an Instagrammable Airbnb? Three fundamental elements:

• A beautiful, striking, or fun photo.

• That encourages the user to share the photo.

• That the brand (your holiday accommodation!) is recognizable in the content for Instagram.

The Instagram strategy for Airbnb should aim for your guests to share a photo on their profile inside your holiday accommodation. Isn't that great feedback?

In summary, for your accommodation to be optimal for Instagram, it must be able to answer "yes" to these two questions:

• Does the photo you publish immediately capture the user's attention?

• Does it make the user say: "Great! How wonderful!", etc.? In other words, is it able to impress your guest?

For example, you can leave a cold bottle of champagne when a couple checks in. Accompany it with a couple of glasses, some sweets or chocolates, and a welcome card. Use it to thank your guests and encourage them to share a photo on their social media, tagging your profile or locating themselves at your holiday accommodation.

33 Instagram Tips for Holiday Accommodation

Below we bring you a series of tips to start using Instagram for holiday rentals. We have divided them into 5 sections:

• Getting Started with Instagram for Airbnb Hosts

• Using hashtags

• Leveraging guest-generated content

• Achieving virality on your Instagram for Airbnb

• Converting your followers into customers

Getting Started with Instagram for Airbnb Hosts

1. Create an Instagram Business Account

Before you start using Instagram for holiday rentals, you should open an Instagram business account. The account creation process is similar to a personal one. You can read more about how to do it here.

2. Complete your profile

Your Instagram profile for your Airbnb should have all the information requested by the app completed:

• Username

• Inspiring description

• Photo

• Contact information

3. Connect Facebook

Instagram belongs to Facebook. It is advisable to link your Facebook holiday accommodation profile with the one you just created on Instagram. This will be useful if you want to advertise your Airbnb on either of these social networks. Learn how to connect Facebook and Instagram for your holiday rental here.

4. Connect your website

For Google – and therefore, to be found in the search engine – it's good if you link your social media profiles with your website. This link between profile and website is the Open Graph. You can read more about how to do it for your WordPress website here.

💡 Would you like to rank your holiday accommodation on Google? Learn how to do it in this post about SEO for holiday rentals.

5. Instagram Content for Airbnb

Once we have the basics: account, profile and website. It's time to define what content you will publish on your Instagram profile for holiday rentals!

You can alternate content that shows the characteristics of your accommodation with what your guests can enjoy if they stay there.

Use the "Save as draft" feature to prepare content in advance.

#Hashtags for your holiday accommodation

6. Use hashtags

Hashtags (the little words that come right after the # sign) are essential so your posts don't go unnoticed. Did you know that Instagram users can follow – just as they do with other profiles – hashtags? Therefore, it is crucial to correctly choose which keywords to use.

7. Use your own hashtag

One of the mantras you should follow when planning your Instagram strategy for holiday rentals is that the brand should be recognizable. Using your own hashtag is key to this. For example, the RoomToRent team uses their branded hashtag to monitor mentions and engagement.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvBTuzKhj4J/

8. Geotag your posts

We have mentioned several times that location is key in the holiday accommodation sector. In your Instagram strategy for your holiday accommodation, you should always use the geotagging option. It should point to the location of your Airbnb.

This way you provide more structured information about your business – understandable for the social network and for your potential guests –.

9. Take a look at how your own hashtags are performing

How many posts with your branded hashtag have been published? Use the "follow hashtag" function to monitor your hashtag's performance. In the following video you can see how to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf37L_QyUwA

10. Take advantage of the virality of some hashtags

If you monitor not only your own hashtags but also those you think might be relevant to your accommodation – for example, those related to nearby tourist attractions or points of interest – you'll be the first to discover viral trends.

Have you noticed that your city's latest music festival has been in the news? Post it on your Instagram!

11. Display your hashtags correctly

Here are two options for displaying hashtags on Instagram for your holiday rental:

• Display them naturally in the post description.

• Hide them below "Read more".

The latter option is preferred by most managers. For example:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuD6nanhNMf/

12. Competitor hashtags

In this post, we told you how to do market research for Airbnb. One of the fundamental parts is determining who your competitors are. Track them on social media and observe what hashtags they use. Can you use them too?

13. Use the language of your potential guest

No one knows your ideal guest better than you. Is your accommodation positioned to attract national or foreign clients? Families or couples? Is it perfect for groups? The language – and tone – you use on Instagram for holiday rentals is critical. Make them match and make your brand memorable.

💡 Don't know who your target customer is on Airbnb? Learn how to do marketing for holiday rentals and maximize your profitability.

Guest-generated content

14. Repost guest-generated content on Instagram

What better content than that created by guests! If you succeed in getting your guests to post an image inside your accommodation and, in addition, use your branded hashtag... Score! Your Instagram strategy for tourist flats is sailing full-steam ahead.

You can use these apps for iOS or Android to repost images and photos from your guests.

15. Publish success stories with your guests' content

This advice is more geared towards holiday apartment managers than hosts. A good technique is to compile client success stories. Social proof is key to attracting new business opportunities:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqPmJR0B3TU/

16. Follow your guests

What better way to solidify yourself in your guest's mind as the holiday accommodation in your area? If you regularly appear in their feeds, you'll become their preferred option when they travel to your area.

17. Comment on your guests' photos

Commenting on your guests' posts is a good way to build lasting relationships with them. Moreover, having this feedback channel open helps you avoid bad reviews on your Airbnb listing.

18. Don't forget your goal: getting new guests for your holiday accommodation on Instagram

Creating interesting content that captures the attention of guests and potential guests is a technique for using Instagram for holiday rentals. However, you should not forget that your goal is to get them to convert (i.e., book). Do they have questions? Respond quickly.

Be consistent when using calls to action. End your posts with a "Book now".

Achieving virality on Instagram for your Airbnb

19. Follow users who follow you

This Instagram tip for Airbnb is key. Follow all users who follow you. These are already one step closer to booking with you!

20. Follow the users Instagram recommends

Trust the algorithm. Follow all the users that the social network suggests in your feed.

21. Follow the users in your address book

In addition to your family and friends, your address book is probably full of potential guests and past guests. The perfect option to increase your number of followers.

22. Follow Facebook users

Again, Facebook and Instagram share an owner (Hello, Mark!). It's a good Instagram practice for holiday rentals to follow users who have already interacted with your Facebook page on the other social network.

23. Follow an editorial calendar for Instagram

Consistency is key for any business. The editorial calendar serves to:

• Know what you are going to publish.

• When you are going to publish it.

• Standardize the tone of your content.

• Know what messages to use in each post.

24. Be consistent with the tone and message of your Instagram content

Nothing causes greater confusion for potential guests than contradictory messages or ones that are "all over the place". Try to be consistent with the style, tone, and messages you convey on your Instagram profile for holiday rentals.

You can use tools like Canva for the graphic part of your posts.

25. Use video

Video is a perfect tool to increase engagement (the interactions users have with your content).

https://youtu.be/-DEzn4L4sFk

26. Reply to all comments

It's polite to reply when greeted. Exactly the same as when a user comments on your photo. Do it to show gratitude – you might even get a follow!

27. Ask questions in the descriptions of your Instagram posts for holiday rentals

Why? Because when a user sees a question, they feel they must answer it. It's a call to action – to respond. This increases the engagement of your content.

28. Show the best details of your Airbnb

Instagram is great for showing off the details that will captivate your guest. Flat-screen TV? Ice-cold air conditioning? Excellent mattresses? Fluffy pillows? It's time to show them on Instagram!

By the way, here are some ideas to make your holiday rental listing impressive.

Get customers for your holiday accommodation on Instagram

29. Consider advertising on Facebook or Instagram Ads

Users on Instagram or Facebook are often in a "discovery mode" when browsing the social network. If your budget allows, consider paying for ads on these social networks.

Keep in mind that you will need a conversion-optimized website for your return on investment to be positive.

30. Use clear calls to action – the "Book Now" in your posts!

We have emphasized more than once the importance of having clear calls to action in all your posts. Be creative – without overdoing it – with calls to action. It is a good technique for using Instagram for holiday rentals.

31. Use remarketing

Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to show ads to potential guests who have already seen your website? This is what is known as remarketing!

32. Analyze how your Instagram strategy for holiday rentals works

If you want to make data-driven decisions, you must first collect the data. The Facebook Analytics panel displays all information about your ads and the engagement of your posts. Take this data into account to make decisions.

33. Don't expect immediate bookings: Work, work, work

Don't expect your first booking to arrive immediately after completing your profile and uploading a few photos. Make consistent publications, according to your editorial calendar. Using Instagram for holiday rentals is nothing but work, work, and work.

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