Facebook Business Tips to Help Drive Engagement

With nearly 2 billion active users, it’s no surprise Facebook is the top social media site. In terms of vacation property management, most everyone uses Facebook to 1) Connect with current and potential guests, 2) Connect with other industry experts and 3) Enjoy the marketing perks that Facebook brings to businesses. As long as businesses are using the social platform correctly. Many rental managers struggle with posting, engagement and seeing true results from Facebook. So to help everyone out, here are some Facebook business tips:

Facebook Business Tips for Rental Managers

Know the Audience

Facebook users connect with content more than any other audience. According to Neil Patel, there are more than 3 million links shared on Facebook every hour. These users enjoy reading, sharing, commenting and liking what they see.

With that in mind, companies that manage a Facebook page should share a variety of content that appeals to their fans, which in turn, encourages them to share it. Businesses should always be professional and post relevant content that ties to their brand.

How to start: Study audience demographics. Consider age, gender, the page’s most popular content, follower interests, topics, fan location and all other data points to better understand the audience.

Share Who You Are

Among the top Facebook business tips is to be yourself! Start with your business, and ensure the page is filled out completely with who you are and what you do. The page should have: a cover photo, profile picture and a full About section. Include a working phone number, website, email and any other important contact information.

For example: Property management company specializing in <location> vacation rentals. Then, talk about services and what sets you apart. Add something special, too. Think about your interests and any special awards the business has won.

Write and Share Evergreen Content

Evergreen content is content that lasts a long time. It does not expire in the short-term, and readers can use it as a resource. One top example are blog posts. Well-written blog posts provide Facebook fans with relevant content and may include tips, tricks, personal stories, successes, etc.

Consider this: You want to write a blog about an event in the area. Instead of writing about just one, write about the top 5 or 10 signature events in the area.

What’s a signature event? Think about the festivals, shows, fairs and other events that have occurred in the area for 5, 10 even 20-plus years. Include them all. Other evergreen content includes high-quality photos, graphic images with tips and videos. Think about what your fans want and need, and create it.

Create and Share High-Quality Videos

As visual content trends rise and videos become more popular, vacation property managers should use this to post videos.

Stats show videos have a 135 percent higher organic reach compared to photos. (Coschedule)

As the travel industry is concerned, videos should showcase the area, a fun event, sunny day, romantic sunset, food and anything else travelers may enjoy.

Duration/performance: Short videos – less than 1 minute – do well, but most Facebook users are scrolling through content. Due to the pace in which they scroll, videos 15 to 30 seconds may perform better. Those who have longer videos should post them as well. As a general practice, produce videos from 30 seconds to a few minutes, and work them into a Facebook strategy.

Teach With Graphics

In addition to videos, graphic images also perform well on Facebook. A photo with a quote will perform OK, but in most cases, fans have already seen it. Try a fun or interesting fact about the area. Think about interesting things guests need to know. Research the history and celebrities from your area. Then, create a graphic and post it.

For example: Did you know Park City hosts the Sundance Film Festival, the largest of its kind in the U.S.? Did you know Dolly Parton grew up Sevierville and has used her success to help build the area – including Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge – into one of the most-visited places in Tennessee?

These fun facts reach audiences, teach them new things and provide value they may want to share with their followers.

Post Your Page to Other Social Accounts

Most companies have more than one social media account. If not, they should because the audiences are different for each one. What works on Facebook will not work on Twitter, etc. Even though social media can become time-consuming, companies should manage at least two sites to increase their reach.

Cross-promotion: Find creative ways to drive them from one site to another. Is there special content posted on Facebook versus Twitter or Instagram? What about photo albums, videos or contests? Cross-promote content, deals and accounts to maximize reach and help increase engagement.

Create Facebook Ads

Heard the phrase, “You have to pay to play?” This is even true when it comes to social media. It’s not just Facebook; it’s all major social platforms. Facebook ads allow companies to target users based on: age, location, language, gender, educational level, relationship status, interests and more. Think about your audience, the types of fans you want to attract, and run an ad targeted to them.

Social media sites know their value and take advantage of it. The good news: It’s not too expensive to run ads on Facebook. Many times, companies can boost a post for as little as $5/day.

Interested in other social media accounts? Check out our tips for Instagram.