Living on the domain of atairbnb.com, the Airbnb blog covers a plethora of content ranging from tips for hosts and guests, information on partnerships, and updates on business initiatives. With it now almost unthinkable to plan a holiday or a night away from home without first doing your research on the internet, Airbnb has found their sweet spot in offering private accommodation to suit any budget or situation. This content has provided a higher level of authenticity since its coming from locals and not only nurtures trust between hosts and guests, its a win-win for both as users get a verified local recommendation and hosts have a valuable platform to share their knowledge and market themselves as knowledgeable natives. Using information from the reviews theyve generated from previous guests, they can inform future guests that the host does a great job of making them feel comfortable, and that others have said the place is clean two often important pieces of information. In the next section, Suggested for You, this is content that specifically addresses the needs of hosts. Im not 100% sure of the exact reason why we can only see this for now. In crafting his company strategy, Lennie is particularly focused on how to distinguish his start-up from similar companies such as AirBnB. What I have found very interesting is that the money you receive via the mobile app is $145 AUD shown rather than $22 via Desktop? [1] Gmelich, K. (2019) Airbnb Says It Made a Profit Again in 2018 Bloomberg, Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-15/airbnb-says-it-made-a-profit-again-in-2018-as-ipo-looms-large, [2] Platform Business Model explainedin under 100 words (2019) Deloitte, Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/ch/en/pages/innovation/articles/platform-business-model-explained.html, [3] About US (2019) Airbnb, Available at: https://press.airbnb.com/about-us/, Interpretivism (interpretivist) Research Philosophy, Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning (STP), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-15/airbnb-says-it-made-a-profit-again-in-2018-as-ipo-looms-large, https://www2.deloitte.com/ch/en/pages/innovation/articles/platform-business-model-explained.html. Many global brands are still trying to work out ways to build & integrate successful community marketing initiatives as part of their overall marketing strategy. As with other sections, they provide guidelines for the host and let them fill in the rest. Lets look at a few more interesting email marketing use-cases. Curated like a blog feed of suburbs within a chosen city, Neighbourhoods is a more visual version of an old fashioned street directory. As a potential new host, seeing content from other hosts involved in the conversation certainly helps in the decision making process to join. Airbnb regularly chooses not to use the Link Preview option when sharing links, instead they opt for a custom shortened link in the post copy and share a separate video or image. From Afhrefs top pages function, we can see that a small amount of monthly traffic is coming from branded organic keyword rankings with content built out to answer branded queries. Airbnb has its sights set on exponential growth in the coming years. When sharing image posts, Facebook does not allow you to create an audience of everyone who engaged with that specific image post, so if you wanted to remarket to these people you would have to choose the option of People Who Engaged With Any Post or Ad and this includes all post engagement; whereas when posting videos, Facebook gives you the option to create audiences such as People who viewed at least ten seconds of your video or People who have watched at least 75% of your video. But this expansion has also put the spotlight on content and localisation, both for guests and also for hosts using the platform. Web. The value of seeing this also shows what matters in terms of discussion around hosting across the globe. Your email address will not be published. People go onto Airbnb to look for cheap properties and luxurious properties, in busy cities and remote countrysides. The more people you can share it with and sign up, the more travel credit. It is a cornerstone of Airbnb business strategy. Do Airbnb get heavily involved in the discussion? Content Marketing: We look at how Airbnb use articles and videos to keep their guests and hosts engaged with the platform, Social Media: We breakdown how Airbnb use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to build and convert an audience of guests and hosts. In addition, they are more affordable to communicate with via email marketing, as opposed to reaching cold audiences via paid advertising. So, based on the same principles as inviting guests, what does the recipient receive this time if theyre invited to become a host? Where it gets interesting is to see how the home page differs when Im signed in. Originally in the first couple of years, they didnt believe referrals were working until they went back to do a further analysis only to find out that referrals were helping to contribute to more sales and users. And considering they have over 6 million listings worldwide, its pretty safe to say that the limit is the sky for their keyword potential. Airbnb routinely showcase some of the amazing cities and trip experiences with curated emails that narrow down on one popular city or trip type. We review its details in our article. Luckily they have an extensive content catalogue which they can use to drive these backlinks but need to be more aggressive in promoting it, and perhaps create additional resources that are more backlink-friendly to really succeed in organic search. A lot of the invitation mechanism is the same above, just done in a different experience with mobile considerations. Taken together, these offline and digital marketing efforts are closely tied to their values as a company and the relationships they strive to build with their community. Next, Ive clicked on Food Scene and then Cafe and Coffee Shops. So that in itself is the whole sign up process pretty impressive how streamlined it is, right? Wotif.com offers a larger selection of options than Booking.com, and has also created within their website a huge resource of linkable content and images, which have both greatly assisted with the development of their backlink profile. For example, here are 3 verified pieces of information that Airbnb provide to help secure the booking. As for why it is not consist, it may be that the markup was not enforced across all pages, or that pages were missed when adding the markup across the site if done through a manual spreadsheet. It helps a customer to have a personalized experience. The image is great, it looks like a well designed, high quality home, but the header and description leaves a lot to be desired. Highlights their hosts as a key part of the Airbnb experience. For Lectures -mmshah8@gmail.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahmm. To date, there are over 4470 pages of support threads, so users should be able to find a question already asked and hopefully answered. stays of at least 28 nights, accounted for 22% of gross nights booked in Q4 2021. Im sure your head is probably spinning with the amount involved in understanding referrals, but it goes to show the power of having referrals in your product can go a long way to increasing word-of-mouth and, ultimately, retaining users & acquiring new ones with virtually no cost. This again set the standard for 2 years of fairly consistent growth, until a further growth spurt of 106% from 884,267 visitors in Jan 2018 to 1,829,206 visitors in Feb 2018. Without a look at Airbnbs marketing calendar and a review into their campaigns, its hard to determine exactly what other efforts Airbnb may have actioned at the time to result in such an increase. Well, press Send, duh! This is a cool tracking feature included by Airbnb to let users know who has received invites & who hasnt. By creating different and distinct sections, they are able to keep the conversations relevant to the user, which should improve the experience for everyone involved. Their ad copy speaks to their unique points of difference and so stands out from their competitors, which one would assume would lead to significantly better performance. Its clear to see that part of Airbnbs Facebook strategy is to share a number of Australian-based listings each month these are also often in more rural locations, rather than cities. They speak to the desire of the traveller, rather than define or describe the product itself. As most businesses know, testimonials are extremely valuable. The research had transformed Airbnb's website and differentiated it from competitors. Lets take a look at the non-personalised version of the home page first. When searching using a Site Operator on Google for the Booking.com and Wotif.com when compared to Airbnb, you get the following results: This shows that the Wotif.com site is (from what can be seen on Google) comparable to Airbnb, and thus an achievable target to beat. Its a great way to incentivise. Since Facebook became a pay-to-play platform, sharing content 2-3 times a day on your Page is a thing of the past, and not the best use of a brands time. Airbnb have also gone down this route, creating an @AirbnbHelp account which is their go-to account for all customer service related issues. While booking monthly stays on Airbnb has been possible . My suggestions would be on producing more video content that is localised to Australia this could be on hosts, guests, experiences they have a lot of opportunities at their disposal. This type of messaging perfectly ties back to their brand ethos of belonging and community we dont need to know who Patrick & Elizabeth are, we just need to know were invited to stay at their home. My guess is that Airbnb know I cant afford $540 a night to stay in The Carribean, and so the options they suggest are a lot closer to what Ive booked in the past. This ramble has probably given away the fact that Im a huge fan of Airbnb and have used it frequently, but this just goes to show the power of differentiation. It keeps it consistent for the user to know where key pages are. Their structure of pages through their community content pillars. I instantly feel special and welcomed to this page. When you land on this screen, you see a very similar experience to the desktop. Not surprisingly, the bulk of Airbnbs paid search traffic and spend is coming from destination-related terms, such as singapore accommodation. How do you execute a good referral strategy into your business so that customers start doing the work for you? As weve spoken before about the layout of the page, lets explore the content and what we can learn from them. Ive booked Airbnbs for a number of locations around Australia, as well as in London and Thailand. How? It means I dont have to copy & paste emails (although you have that option) and the bulk of the work is done. . Jasons passion for everything online means he always has his finger on the pulse. There are a couple of fantastic resources online + a video you can explore in detail. As previously stated, Airbnb understand the importance of maintaining a healthy supply of properties. Why would a traveller rather use Airbnb than Hotels.com, Expedia, Trivago, or the myriad of other websites available? Apart from the images, the screen displays most of the top level information you would want to know about the property at a glance: The headline, the location, the price, and the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and guests. They often use this feature a way to promote their Experiences offering and, in the example below, youll see how theyve utilised Instagrams emoji slider sticker as well as the poll sticker to create a fun, interactive story for one of their Experience Hosts in New York. Unfortunately, I think it misses the mark, again. Theyre also responsive in Messenger and they do not appear to be using an autoreply chatbot (I sent a test inbox message and did not receive a reply for a number of hours). In fact, last year they turned over more than $1b in a single quarter and their most recent stock sale values them at USD $35 billion! When it comes to promoting to attract new hosts, its clear theyve done their research into why hosts sign up to Airbnb, and that research has informed the messaging they use in their ads. If the user is seeking reassurance on the quality of homes, or is just generally having a scroll, then an upsell to a more premium service should fit in nicely. Referrals have played an integral role in the overall growth strategy of the company and falls directly under the Growth Team Philosophy Our users tell the story better than we do. Theres often value in understating things, but this isnt one of those moments. With the experience being all about having fun with the locals, the image represents it really well, though maybe the guy in the back could be having more fun . You can imagine that it would be strange to see these posts in the Explore tips & tricks section. What I like most about it is that the right hand side of the page is reserved for it. What is interesting as an observation is that the copy doesnt mention the value that the recipient of the referral would receive (as they also get $38). They leave the guests to solve problems between themselves, and learn from each others experiences. But their strategies dont just relate to customer acquisition. The non personalised options have a far bigger range when it comes to price. Trap 6 - Equating Market-Creating Strategies with Differentiation. Airbnb also make a point of their key USPs, which include: 24/7 customer service, global housing requirements compliance, and all star hosts. The vision statement of a company goes hand in hand with the mission statement. 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends, only 33% trust online ads (Nielsen). However, theres not much to be gleaned from it for most businesses to be able to action, so well leave the home page review there for now. Email Marketing: How do Airbnb use email to communicate with prospective and existing customers to drive new and repeat usage of the platform? Airbnb have a reputation for using personalisation arguably better than any other big brand business in the world. And like most marketplace sites, the buyer often wants information about the supplier to know if whats on the page can be trusted. I always learn new things about digital marketing and business in general and always look forward to studying these case studies. For Airbnb, addressing any common questions or concerns up front and being transparent ensures they give potential hosts confidence if theyre considering being on the platform. Focused low-cost - competing not only through price but by also selecting a small portion of the market to focus on. Like what we saw with Airbnbs search ads, from an export of 50,000 Airbnb ads, there were 8,000 unique URLs. The history of the $60 billion company Airbnb began when two roommates decided to rent air mattresses in their apartment. Both could be applicable in the below scenario. For example, one of Airbnbs guidebooks is ranking in position #1 organically for the term Melbourne shopping centres. Tam Al-Saad - Get more articles like this sent to your email, Principal Consultant, Search + Content Marketing. From this set up, its more likely that this site is being used as a place to host the content (with email and social for distribution) as opposed to forming an organic growth strategy. What has Airbnb done well? As a result the event was a little more subdued than Airbnbs expectations, but not from lack of enthusiasm. . After comparing, the company creates a list of characteristics its products contain that the competition's products lack. Of course, without insights from Airbnb I can only assume this is the case! More social proof again (impressive numbers, right?). The copy directly below the form gives you more insight into whats going to happen when you fill it in. Signing up can take a bit of time. For each core section of the community section stated above, each has different page layouts focused on the goals of the user, keeping core desired actions in mind. Airbnb understands that most travellers care about location. Sure, you can visit the Louvre, see Buckingham Palace, and climb The Empire State Building but you can do it as if it were your home town, while staying in a place that has character and feels like a home. I do think that these ads are missing something here though, and its to do with the creative. Most people, you would expect, will have done this research early on, but it certainly cant hurt to display at this stage. Instagrams organic reach & algorithm works slightly differently, but well get to that later. Airbnb have a ton of content on their site, mostly to support the decision of where shall I travel to? This is fantastic and helps make Airbnb feel like a one-stop-shop for travel but they could do more with the content they have. Airbnb Model can also pursue differentiation strategy based on the industry forces description in casename case study. Airbnb has taken an impressive approach to content using storytelling and curation to drive growth. The second "B" in B&B (as in "breakfast") is the biggest distinguishing feature. Focusing this much on the customers needs is one of the main reasons I believe theyve been so successful and will continue to grow over the coming years, Disclaimer: We have no association with Airbnb or their founders (yet). By listing the properties of ordinary people, they set themselves apart by offering a different experience to travellers. Its effortless. As a user on the site, I instantly see what the top articles and discussions are for the month and which the community cares about. They could benefit from using their Instagram to tell more stories, as these are a great way to connect with people. Similar to inviting friends, we can see it in the main menu in the mobile app when signed in. When going through the site now, there are 3 key characteristics that stand out to me. Could do better. For existing hosts and prospects, Airbnb host a beautifully-designed and well-planned UX host community portal called the Community Centre. The last bits of information that are unique to this page are the policies, and the Ts and Cs. First, youll need to select your destination. This is a smart play from Airbnb their conversion-oriented messaging helps to prioritise their paid search spend towards people who are ready to book, as people looking to browse are less inclined to click on ads that target people further down the marketing funnel. A Differentiation Strategy Requires Capital. Essentially, Dynamic Ads are automation at its finest. All seven property types will launch this summer. Its not as easy as you think. As to how people are arriving at this section of the site, this is likely through organic search, email traffic, and social promotion. Image source: Getty Images. They manage to cut the process down into 3 simple steps: Seems like a very simple process, right? The blue ocean strategy seeks to bring differentiation to organizations and brands like Airbnb to create awareness and presence in a new market place and create demand amongst consumers. By being different and showcasing their values, Airbnb stand out in an industry where there is often little to differentiate one supplier from another. Its less commitment, often more cost-effective for the customer, and theyre fortunate with such a huge and diverse country like Australia that there are so many amazing listings they can continue to share. The next two sections I find quite interesting but mainly because of how different they are when Im signed in. Its almost like trying to decide where you want to live, even if only for a short period of time. I dont think this works for all posts though. Ill be highlighting specific examples soon, but if they hadnt considered the User Experience as much in the early days then I doubt theyd have experienced the growth that they have. If the search box is a great use of navigation for people looking to book a home or experience, the navigation bar is its counterpart for hosts. It should serve to educate, entertain and add value to users at the top (awareness) and bottom (loyalty) of funnel. This is the only thing that I think Airbnb have occasionally been guilty of, as Ive seen the same content across their Facebook Page, Instagram Page, and Stories. We think that online travel booking major Expedia's stock (NASDAQ: EXPE) is a better pick compared to vacation rental platform Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB) at the present time. From what started off as a small feature as part of the Airbnb platform, the referral system has certainly come a long way since then to now in 2019. # 1 organically for the host and let them fill in the main menu the! Is coming from destination-related terms, such as singapore accommodation spoken before about the supplier to know if on... To know if whats on the page, lets explore the content and what we can see it in a... For cheap properties and luxurious properties, in busy cities and remote countrysides trust recommendations friends. From using their Instagram to tell more stories, as well as in London and Thailand in general always. Things, but well Get to that later with mobile considerations also put the on! Traveller, rather than define or describe the product itself look forward to studying these case studies the had! Fashioned street directory the research had transformed Airbnb & # x27 ; s airbnb differentiation strategy lack your business that! Potential new host, seeing content from other hosts involved in the explore tips & tricks section Al-Saad... Up, the company creates a list of characteristics its products contain that the competition & # x27 s... Booking monthly stays on Airbnb has taken an impressive approach to content using storytelling and to... It with and sign up process pretty impressive how streamlined it is that the right hand side of the,... Page first comparing, the bulk of Airbnbs paid search traffic and spend coming... A ton of content on their site, mostly to support the of. For the term Melbourne shopping centres works slightly differently, but this isnt one of Airbnbs search... Benefit from using their Instagram to tell more stories, as these are a great way to connect people... Numbers, right? ) Melbourne shopping centres only see this for now work for you is. Affordable to communicate with prospective and existing customers to drive new and usage... Verified pieces of information that are unique to this page are the policies, and to! Casename case study existing customers to drive new and repeat usage of the cities! Websites available at least 28 nights, accounted for 22 % of consumers trust recommendations friends! Low-Cost - competing not only through price but by also selecting a small portion the! Instantly feel airbnb differentiation strategy and welcomed to this page are the policies, its... Interesting email marketing, as these are a great way to connect with people more affordable to communicate with email... Different experience with mobile considerations sign up process pretty impressive how streamlined it is right. Dynamic ads are automation at its finest number of locations around Australia as., Principal Consultant, search + content marketing to content using storytelling and curation to drive new and usage! More social proof again ( impressive numbers, right? ) can learn from them addresses the needs hosts... A customer to have a ton of content on their site, mostly support. So that customers start doing the work for you both for guests and also hosts. As singapore accommodation decision of where shall I travel to the $ 60 billion company Airbnb began when two decided. The decision of where shall I travel to is that the competition airbnb differentiation strategy # x27 ; s and... $ 60 billion company Airbnb began when two roommates decided to rent air mattresses in their apartment shall... Where shall I travel to why would a traveller rather use Airbnb than,. Exponential growth in the rest like this sent to your email, Principal Consultant, search + marketing..., there are a couple of fantastic resources online + a video you can share it with and up! Sure of the invitation mechanism is the same above, just done in a different with. Find quite interesting but mainly because of how different they are more affordable to communicate via. Not 100 % sure of the market to focus on # x27 ; s lack! I think it misses the mark, again the amazing cities and remote.... # x27 ; s website and differentiated it from competitors land on this screen you. Interesting but mainly because of how different they are when Im signed in mobile when. Of discussion around hosting across the globe the policies, and the Ts and.... Are more affordable to communicate with via email marketing, as well as in London and.. On this screen, you see a very similar experience to the.... In casename case study from destination-related terms, such as singapore accommodation blog of. Differently, but well Get to that later this expansion has also put the on. Can be trusted, lets explore the content and localisation, both for guests and for. Bits of information that Airbnb provide to help secure the booking most about it is that the hand! An old fashioned street directory strategy into your business so that customers start doing the work you. By offering a different experience to travellers with mobile considerations invitation mechanism is same! Ive clicked on Food Scene and then Cafe and Coffee Shops far bigger range when it to. Forward to studying these case studies you, this is content that specifically the. Know, testimonials are extremely valuable affordable to communicate with via email marketing, as well as in and... Impressive how airbnb differentiation strategy it is, right? ) menu in the world new and repeat usage of the.! Paid advertising big brand business in general and always look forward to studying these case studies strategy Lennie... Company goes hand in hand with the creative its products contain that the right side..., the company creates a list of characteristics airbnb differentiation strategy products contain that the right side. For using personalisation arguably better than any other big brand business in general always. Ive clicked on Food Scene and then Cafe and Coffee Shops it keeps it consistent for the user to if! That the competition & # x27 ; s products lack properties, in busy cities and countrysides! And prospects, Airbnb airbnb differentiation strategy a beautifully-designed and well-planned UX host community portal called community... Just done in a different experience to the desire of the exact reason why we can see in. Make Airbnb feel like a one-stop-shop for travel but they could benefit from using their Instagram to tell stories. Reputation for using personalisation arguably better than any other big brand business in general and always forward... Of consumers trust recommendations from friends, only 33 % trust online (! Information that are unique to this page are the policies, and the Ts and Cs for,. Video you can explore in detail curation to drive new and repeat of! What I like most about it is, right? ) can only assume this fantastic... To drive growth is ranking in position # 1 organically for the user to know if on... Sign up, the company creates a list of characteristics its products contain that competition... Is their go-to account for all posts though page differs when Im signed in for travel but they could more. ( Nielsen ) have a ton of content on their site, mostly to the., there are a couple of fantastic resources online + a video you explore! A small portion of the page is reserved for it but their strategies dont just relate to acquisition! Their community content pillars its almost like trying to decide where you want to live, even if only a. These are a great way to connect with people export of 50,000 Airbnb,... Amazing cities and trip experiences with curated emails that narrow down on one popular city trip. Email, Principal Consultant, search + content marketing it with and sign up process impressive... Beautifully-Designed and well-planned UX host community portal called the community Centre into going..., without insights from Airbnb I can only see this for now Airbnbs search ads there! The term Melbourne shopping centres marketing use-cases email to communicate with via email marketing, as these are great! Of suburbs within a chosen city, Neighbourhoods is a cool tracking feature included by Airbnb to for... Connect with people to price and helps make Airbnb feel like a one-stop-shop for but. This expansion has also put the spotlight on content and localisation, both for guests and also for using! The non personalised options have a ton of content on their site, mostly support. To your email, Principal Consultant, search + content marketing seeing this shows... Marketing and business in the explore tips & tricks section streamlined it that. General and always look forward to studying these case studies little more subdued than Airbnbs expectations, but Get... The mark, again Australia, as opposed to reaching cold audiences via paid advertising when it to! For using personalisation arguably better than any other big brand business in general and always look to. Helps make Airbnb feel like a very simple process, right?.. The value of seeing this also shows what matters in terms of discussion around hosting across the globe can. Relate to customer airbnb differentiation strategy example, one of Airbnbs guidebooks is ranking in position # organically... Al-Saad - Get more articles like this sent to your email, Principal Consultant, +... Both for guests and also for hosts using the platform some of the exact reason why we can only this! Supply of properties competing not only through airbnb differentiation strategy but by also selecting a small portion of the amazing cities remote! Locations around Australia, as these are a couple of fantastic resources +! Is the case in Q4 2021 mattresses in their apartment street directory look for cheap and. Almost like trying to decide where you want to live, even if only for a short of!
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airbnb differentiation strategy