Studies show that internet travel booking revenue has grown by more than 73% over the past five years with 65.4% of bookings coming from individual rental websites themselves. Effective internet marketing comprises a combination of practices including original content creation and distribution, social media marketing and monitoring, and many other lead-generating techniques that are vital to growing any business. Don’t let your cabin rental company miss out on the opportunity to grow your audience and gain more bookings through internet marketing. Follow these 5 tips to help you develop a strong internet marketing strategy for your cabin rental company.

1. Create & Share Quality Content

Content is king and the driving force of marketing strategies today. Creating valuable content for your social media followers and distributing it through a variety of channels is the foundation of a healthy internet marketing strategy. The following are some content ideas for your cabin rental company:

Blog Posts (articles to appear on your company’s website to share in social media, emails, etc.):

• “Fall Activities in the Smokey Mountains”
• “Best Places to Watch the Sunset on the Blue Ridge Parkway”
• “Must-Try Restaurants While Visiting Asheville”  

eBooks (a digital publication, longer than a blog post, that contains text and images):

• “4 Unforgettable Places to Visit in Pigeon Forge”
• “A Guide to Exploring the Smokey Mountains”
• “17 Must-See Places to Stop Along the Blueridge Parkway”

2. Optimize Your Website for Lead-Generation

Once you have developed killer content like the examples given above, you can use it to optimize your website to generate leads. Begin by including calls-to-action (CTAs) on the blog posts you advertise in social media. CTAs are graphics that invite visitors to click to download content offers, such as eBooks. Once they click, they will be directed to a landing page. This is where you grow your contact list and turn strangers into potential leads for your cabin rental company.

3. Using Hashtags Effectively

Hashtags help optimize your social media posts to be seen by people who are intentionally looking for the type of information you are providing. Hashtags can be used on Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. Tweeting on Twitter without using hashtags is like standing on a deserted road holding up a “Car Wash” sign. You are going through the motions of social media marketing, but you’re not utilizing the opportunities to reach as many people as possible through the tools that are available.

Displayed as a single word with no spaces, placed behind a hashtag, or pound sign, hashtags are used to bring all content displaying that specific tag together into one easily-scannable place, creating a database, of sorts, for related information. Using hashtags for vacation rental companies is an essential element of social media marketing, as they help you to get found in social media by people who aren’t already following your company. The following are some examples of ways to incorporate hashtags in your social media posts on Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and even Instagram:

• Area Hashtags: use specific location tags for your cabin rental company’s location and local landmarks and attractions to draw the attention of your followers who are already interested in your area, for example: #SmokeyMountains, #PigeonForge, #Gatlinburg, #Dollywood
• Industry Hashtags: #cabinrentals, #scenicview, #cozyfireplaces
• Time Sensitive Hashtags: #fallcolors, #summersales, #holidaygetaway

4. Monitor Your Reviews

Studies show that 68% of consumers trust the online posted opinions of other consumers. This means, when your cabin rental company gets a good review, people should know about it. Websites like tripadvisor.com, which has more than 68 million monthly visitors, are perfect sites to use to monitor and engage with your previous customers. When you get a good review, share it on your website or through social media. On the other hand, if you get a bad review, it is crucial to handle the situation in a customer-service oriented, non-confrontational manner, and above all else, do not delete it! Potential customers might see deleting it as a way to hide something and lose trust in your company.

Using the above practices in your cabin rental company’s internet marketing strategy will help you develop a solid online presence, and potentially increase your social media following, and possibly drive your bookings as a result.

For more helpful information on ways to increase your cabin rental company’s success, visit Paveya’s Vacation Rental Marketing Blog or leave a comment below, we would love to hear from you!