Emails have become obsolete… social networks have taken over.
Emails have gone out the window… social media has taken over. And you have to choose between the two to set up your vacation rental marketing campaign.
Right?
Well, not really. To start, emails are not that outdated and still work very well, the statistics are there to prove it. Thus, emails and social networks should not be taken separately, but as a whole, as a global and complementary set.
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To succeed in combining both emails and social networks, you will have to put in place the right strategy, the one that will prove to be the most effective.
This is to avoid wasting both your time and your money. And incidentally, if you don’t want to annoy your potential customers with too much presence in their everyday life.
So let’s take a look at the best way to create a marketing campaign for your short-term rental that integrates both social media and email.
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1/ Add social media icons and tweetable posts to your emails
Start with the basics: you should always have your social network icons in the emails you send to your travelers.
They should also be in the back of your mind when you create your own website for your B&B, like for example these short-term rental apartments in Montelimar in the Drôme.
You should place these social network icons at the top of your email, or at least in a very visible place.
You can also discover how to choose the best social networks for your business
As soon as possible, add a quote that can be directly retweeted. Your quote must make sense with the rest of the content of your email.
This way, your audience will be able to easily tweet your quote, with just one click, it makes life easier and you will have certain results.
Also, remember that your quote should be short enough to fit within the 140-character limit of Twitter.
Read also: 9 tips to create very successful newsletters with email marketing
2/ Generate highly targeted advertising on Twitter and Facebook
Redirecting an existing advertisement is much more effective than starting your own marketing campaign, as travelers who have shown some interest in your accommodations will see your advertisement.
This so-called “behavioral marketing” strategy is relatively new and is part of the new marketing trend that is developing. The idea behind it is to only show people products that they are really likely to order, which really optimizes your advertising budget.
How does it work? You find out who clicked on a link in your email by setting up a tracking tool on your website.
Read also: 7 mistakes to avoid in your email marketing campaigns
This will send the information to your advertising platform, which will issue a specific cookie for your visitor so that only those who are interested will see your ad on Facebook and Twitter.
And as far as Twitter is concerned you can configure this technique directly in their system.
For Facebook, there are dedicated applications like Perfect Audience that do this job very well.
Read here: how to choose the best social network for your advertisement
3/ Create an email marketing campaign for your social networks… and vice versa
If you need to boost your social networks, you can set up an email marketing campaign for that.
You can directly ask your subscribers to join your social network accounts… but they will need a little incentive to take the step.
For this, you can create a competition, offer a promotion code, or a discount for the stay of those who will have responded favorably to your request to take action. Just make sure that you have a professional and quality approach to reach the largest possible audience.
Otherwise, you’ll simply drive your travelers away…
Discover here The impotance of collecting email addresses form your website visitors
You can also turn things around and do the same for your social networks and encourage travelers to subscribe to your newsletter.
Again you will need to give them a good reason to subscribe to your vacation rental website’s newsletter. And make sure you always send them quality content, otherwise, this strategy will backfire.
Discover GetResponse, a complete email marketing tool that you mostly need
4/ Create a social network only for your newsletter subscribers
If you think that your newsletter subscribers, i.e. your future and former customers who have vacationed in your rental apartment, have an interest in sharing their experiences about the region, good addresses, and places to visit, you can create a social network dedicated to them.
However, you must follow some simple recommendations before you start to avoid all this falling into the water.
Rad also: 15 tips to become an expert in email marketing
Remember, first you should create a survey to ask your subscribers if they would like to join a social network specific to your vacation rental. Also ask them what they prefer: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest…
Then, you can create this social network, to which you will add ONLY the people who answered your survey and agreed. Also, keep in mind that you will have to moderate the group. And avoid using it as a way to sell your products, which may irritate your members.
Read also: the importance of social networks in digital marketing
5/ Make the most of each social network and associated groups
Each social network has its own specificities, which you may find difficult to master completely. It would require too much time investment.
However, tools exist to easily grow your list of newsletter subscribers, and thus potential customers for your bed and breakfast.
For example, on LinkedIn, an email will be sent to each new member of your group
On Twitter, you should be interested in lead generation cards, which will collect emails for you
Read here how to become an excellent marketer on the internet
As for Facebook, you can put calls to action on your page. These are buttons where you can say “sign up” or “get the guide” (meaning the top 10 must-see sites in your area.
With an email tool like MailChimp, you can also add an email capture form to your Facebook page.
These tools have been specially created by the developers, so their results are convincing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you have understood that emails and social networks are complementary. While social networks are the medium for a cooler and more interactive relationship, emails are still a great way to communicate more complete and serious information and to set up a conversation.
Start testing some of the above ideas now and give your opinion and feedback in the comments below!