Brief

Digital Marketing in present scenario has become one of the most vital need of the hour to promote a brand on digital level across various platforms with the help of various techniques such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and much more. To stay in the market for a longer run, every brand needs to upgrade through digital Marketing. Netflix, Nike, Skillshare and more such brands grew at such global level with the help of Digital Marketing itself.

This case study will present how Airbnb in present time became a revolutionizing force in the sector of tours and travels with the help of strategized digital marketing. With a unique identity focusing on User-Based experience, Airbnb secured an unimaginable success rate of more than $50 Billion.

Story of the brand-

Airbnb, established by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk in 2007, California, are short-term rental rooms/homestays provided by the local people of any tourist place to travelers during a vacation. Initially around 2008, the brand faced a lot of disappointment due to lack of trust of the investors and the people renting their space out. With regular optimization in their marketing strategies and adopting digital marketing as one of the strategies to gain trust became an transformative force in making this brand a revolution in the world of tourism and hospitality.

Challenges-

The brand in its early phases underwent a lot of challenges and backlash. From people not believing in the vision of the brand to a globally expanded market, the brand had to adopt several techniques to stay in the marketplace for years, which eventually the brand was able to do so. With the help of strategies of going home to home of the hosts to create eye-catching virtual tours for the consumers; to bringing in loyalty program where each user will be given discounts on next visit with the brand, Airbnd navigated its place in the global sphere in more than 200+ countries with 5 Million+ hosts and 2 Billion+ guests.

Digital Marketing techniques adopted-

1. User-Generated Content- Airbnb is a brand which heavily relies upon user-generated content i.e. whatever reviews, images, videos, the travelers or hosts post on any social media platform, other travelers or hosts mostly rely on these reviews to believe in the brand’s credibility. Thus, Airbnb encourage their hosts and the travelers to put up reviews on any digital channel to build up trust of people. They feature real-time stories of hosts and travelers to sharing their experiences on airbnb to build up credibility.

2. Social Media Promotion- To make their idea reach to the masses, Airbnb collaborated with social media influencers across all platforms such as Instagram, Tikt-tok etc to increase the brand’s online presence in the world of tourism and hospitality. Hashtag campaigns are used by the brand to increase the buzz by asking influencers to come live at the rental place and share their experience with the hashtag.

3. SEO and Content Marketing- To be present in the digital marketplace, a brand must have a good SEO and content marketing strategy. Airbnb has a user-friendly website that makes the user experience worthy. They include blog posts with high-ranking Keywords, travel experiences of people, Internal linking in its own website which increases traffic on their website. With an innovative, user-friendly and digital approach, their website becomes a very important factor in brand growth.

4. Virtual tour and How-to guide- The brand also relies upon the virtual reality of a homestay/rental room provided by the host to gain trust of the consumer (the traveler). Hosts share a life-like tour of their property capturing the consumers mind. With a proper virtual tour, the website also provides How-to guides, for hosts to transform their property into an airbnb to simplify the process.

Takeaways-

In the current digitzed world where every brand is fighting to stay in the marketplace with upgraded strategies, you need to adapt to changing needs of the market accordingly. Airbnb, became a huge name in the tourism and hospitality sector only because of its openness to changing time. To be at the top of the digital world, tailored and practical approaches are needed with the help of digital marketing. With the help of presenting a virtual tour, SEO contents, social media promotion and much more, Airbnb was able to live up to its vision and gain the trust of people by redefining and transforming the travel industry. This case study presented how Airbnb was able to stay relevant with its versatility to new approaches of digital marketing which eventually led the brand to a massive success rate.