A social media strategy created for Airbnb as a class assignment for UF's Social Media Management.

1. Bianca Bialk
2.19.2017
social media strategy

2. TABLE OF
CONTENTS
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2. SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
3. SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES
4. ONLINE BRAND PERSONA AND VOICE
5. STRATEGIES AND TOOLS
6. TIMING AND KEY DATES
7. SOCIAL MEDIA ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
8. SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
9. CRITICAL RESPONSE PLAN
10.MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING RESULTS

3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
AIRBNB’S SOCIAL MEDIA PRIORITIES ARE CENTERED AROUND
INCREASED AND POSITIVE ENGAGEMENT ON NETWORKS, AND AN
INCREASED TRAFFIC DRIVE FROM INSTAGRAM TO OUR WEBSITE.
WE PLAN TO IMPLEMENT NEW CAMPAIGNS AND STRATEGIES TO REACH
OUR GOALS:
• Follow the blogger campaign
• Bloggers and travelers taking over Instagram for a day
• Increased communication with customers before, during, and after a stay

4. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
SOCIAL NETWORK URL FOLLOWER
COUNT
AVG.WEEKLY
ACTIVITY
AVG. ENGAGEMENT
RATE
FACEBOOK https://www.face
book.com/airbnb/
5.2M 4-5 TIMES A
WEEK
3%
INSTAGRAM @AIRBNB 1.6M 1-2 TIMES A DAY 2%
TWITTER @AIRBNB 573K 2-3 TIMES A DAY 2%
PINTEREST PINTEREST.CO
M/AIRBNB
43K 3 PINS/DAY 1%
LINKEDIN https://www.linke
din.com/compan
y-beta/309694/
332K 1/MO .5%
SOCIAL MEDIA
ASSESSMENT
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY:
Most reach comes from Facebook, with Instagram following behind that.
Engagement is high on Facebook for customer service related inquiries, while
engagement is focused on more positive and uplifting comments.

5. SOURCE VOLUME % OF OVERALL
TRAFFIC
CONVERSION
RATE
FACEBOOK 3,000 VISITS 20% 1.73%
INSTAGRAM 2,000 VISITS 10% .83%
TWITTER 1,000 VISITS 2% .57%
PINTEREST 750 VISITS 2% .57%
LINKEDIN 500 VISITS 1% .66%
2. SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
WEBSITE TRAFFIC SOURCES
ASSESSMENT
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY:
Most drives to our website comes from Facebook, where our largest audience is.
The second best traffic source comes from Instagram. It would be beneficial to
encourage more traffic from our Instagram following.

6. AGE
DISTRIBUTIO
N
GENDER
DISTRIBUTIO
N
PRIMARY
SOCIAL
NETWORK
SECONDAR
Y SOCIAL
NETWORK
PRIMARY
NEED
SECONDA
RY NEED
5% UNDER 18 55% FEMALE 50%
FACEBOOK
50%
INSTAGRAM
A RELIABLE,
INTERESTIN
G, AND
CULTURAL
PLACE TO
STAY WHILE
TRAVELING
A HOTEL OR
HOSTEL
ALTERNATE
OPTION60% 18-30 45% MALE 40%
INSTAGRA
M
40%
FACEBOOK
15% 31-40 10%
TWITTER
10%
TWITTER
15% 41-55
5% 56-80
2. SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS
ASSESSMENT
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY:
Most of Airbnb's consumers are female, but it is fairly even. Most think of Facebook
as their primary social network, but with Instagram as a close second. The main
purpose of Airbnb, as found in our survey, was to find a reliable, interesting, and
cultural place to stay while traveling.

7.  HOMEAWAY- 2.4M FOLLOWERS
 STRENGTHS: Posts every day, shares actual listings from website that
customers can click to drive traffic to website
 WEAKNESSES: Posts are very similar, not much content variety or
follower sharing
 TRIPPING- 48K FOLLOWERS
 STRENGTHS: Posts almost every day, has many posts that inspire
viewers to book a vacation
 WEAKNESSES: Many pictures do not lead to a house listing or their
website in general
 VRBO- 273K FOLLOWERS
 STRENGTHS: Posts 3-5 times a week, posts often lead to website or
house listing
 WEAKNESSES: Not a large variety of posting content
2. SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
COMPETITOR ASSESSMENT- FACEBOOK
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY: I focused on the competitor's Facebooks, as Airbnb's
Facebook has the largest reach. Overall, Airbnb has the largest number of followers
compared to their competitors. Their strong social media strategy is helping them with
gaining and keeping followers.

8. 3. SOCIAL
MEDIA
OBJECTIVES
OVERALL BUSINESS
GOALS:
“In 2017, Airbnb’s primary goal will be to
induce more positive feedback on
Facebook, our primary social network. We
also aim to gain followers on Instagram and
website traffic from Instagram by posting
about real experiences customers have had
with their stays. The focus will be on staying
in a home/apartment instead of a hotel while
traveling, thus getting a more culturally rich
experience.”

9. 1. Increase positive Facebook engagement by 40% by
reaching consumers through customer service leading up
to, during, and after their stay
2. Gain 400,00 Instagram followers in the next 6 months by
posting personal content with good photography
3. Drive 30% more traffic to website in the next 6 months
through Instagram by posting more real-life listings with
link in bio
SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES
TO SUPPORT BUSINESS GOALS

10. QUANTITATIVE
 Number of unique
visitors by Instagram
 Number of Instagram
followers
QUALITATIVE
 Positive Facebook
interactions
KPIS
KEY SUPPORTING MESSAGES:
• Culturally enlightening alternative to hotels
• A place where stories start
• “Belong anywhere”

11. 4. ONLINE
BRAND
PERSONA
AND
VOICE
ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE OUR BRAND:
CULTURAL
ADVENTUROUS
DIFFERENT
GENUINE
FUN
HOME
EXAMPLES OF BRAND VOICE IN SOCIAL MEDIA
INTERACTIONS:
POSITIVE AND FRIENDLY INTERACTIONS WITH
UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS
GENUINE AND DETAILED “GLIMPSES” IN POSTS
PERSONAL POSTS THAT TRANSPORT VIEWERS INTO A
NEW PLACE FOR A LITTLE

12. 5. STRATEGIES AND TOOLS
 PAID
 FACEBOOK- Boost popular organic posts once a week
 INSTAGRAM- Boost story posts to show up as "sponsored" once a
week
 OWNED
 INSTAGRAM- Give influential bloggers or travelers the ability to
"take over" Airbnb for a day and post Instagram stories with their
"real-life" experience, not just a staged photo
 ALL OUTLETS- Work with a travel blogger as he/she stays in various
Airbnbs throughout the world. Tell his/her story through photos and
their blog posts, give readers the opportunity to stay where he/she
stayed
 EARNED
 FACEBOOK- Host a free weekend stay at a featured Airbnb by
encouraging followers to share post, tag friends, and like the page
 ALL OUTLETS- Encourage guests to communicate with customer
service and review the house by offering them a 10% off next
Airbnb discount code

14.  EXISTING SUBSCRIPTION/LICENSES
 CANVA
 PHOTOSHOP
 TOOLS
 APPROVED- BUFFER, HOOTSUITE
 REJECTED- N/A
5. STRATEGIES AND TOOLS

15.  MEMORIAL DAY 5/29
 FIRST DAY OF SUMMER 6/21
 FOURTH OF JULY 7/4
 LABOR DAY 9/4
NO CURRENT EVENTS
LEAD TIMES: LEAD TIMES WILL BE APPROXIMATELY ONE
MONTH WITH EFFORTS BEGINNING IN APRIL
REPORTING DATES: REPORTING DATES WILL OCCUR ONCE
A MONTH AT THE END OF EACH MONTH UNTIL OCTOBER
6. KEY DATES AND TIMING

16. 7. SOCIAL MEDIA ROLES
AND RESPONSIBILITIES
SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR- MARGARET POOLE
Operates, directs, and oversees all social media outlets.
Coordinates and manages all social media plans and
objectives.
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER- JERRY GERVICH
Performs day-to-day social media posts and customer
service inquiries. Works with social media director to
create content that is aligned with brand’s goals.
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR- TOM HAVERFORD
Coordinates with social media manager to fine-tune
scheduled posts. Point of communication for partnerships
with other brands and public figures

17. 8.
SOCIAL
MEDIA
POLICY
“AS A COMPANY THAT USES THE BENEFITS
OF TECHNOLOGY AS ITS MAIN PRIORITY,
SOCIAL MEDIA STANDS TO BE ONE OF THE
MAIN MARKETING TOOLS
THAT AIRBNB WILL USE MOVING FORWARD.
IT'S A WAY FOR CUSTOMERS TO SHARE
THEIR EXPERIENCE IN A GENUINE WAY
THAT CAN REACH OTHER CUSTOMER
BASES ORGANICALLY.
AS AN EMPLOYEE FOR AIRBNB, YOU WILL
BE EXPECTED TO KNOW AND
DEMONSTRATE ONLY THE BEST
PRACTICES IN SOCIAL MEDIA. CUSTOMER
SERIVICE WILL BE:
POLITE, FRIENDLY, THOUGHTFUL.
POSTS WILL BE:
GENUINE, SPECIFIC, AND ALWAYS
ADHERING TO THE MOTTO OF THE BRAND.
POSTS WILL BE USED FOR:
BRAND STRENGTHENING,
ANNOUNCEMENTS, EVENTS AND
STORYTELLING”

18. SCENARIO 1-
RUDE OR HATEFUL COMMENT
POSTED ON FACEBOOK
ACTION STEPS:
 Screenshot
 Respond to person politely
 Urge them to contact customer
service
 Inform Social Media Manager
PRE-APPROVED MESSAGES:
Hi, (name). We're so sorry about
your experience with Airbnb, and
we'd like the chance to make it
better. Can you call our customer
service line at 855-424-7262?
SCENARIO 2-
SOMEONE’S STORY OF AN
UNPLEASANT STAY GOES
PUBLIC/VIRAL
ACTION STEPS:
 Screenshot post
 Reach out to customer to
better the situation
 Always offer discounts,
coupons, refunds, free nights,
etc. based on situation
PRE-APPROVED MESSAGES:
Depends on nature of situation.
9. CRITICAL RESPONSE PLAN

19. 10. MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING
RESULTS
SOCIAL NETWORK URL FOLLOWER
COUNT
AVG.WEEKLY
ACTIVITY
AVG. ENGAGEMENT
RATE
FACEBOOK https://www.face
book.com/airbnb/
5.3M 4-5 TIMES A
WEEK
3%
INSTAGRAM @AIRBNB 1.8M 1-2 TIMES A DAY 2.5%
TWITTER @AIRBNB 580K 2-3 TIMES A DAY 2%
PINTEREST PINTEREST.CO
M/AIRBNB
44K 3 PINS/DAY 1%
LINKEDIN https://www.linke
din.com/compan
y-beta/309694/
335K 1/MO .5%
RESULTS ASSESSMENT:
In 3 months, we are on track to reaching our goal of 2 million Instagram followers
with an increase of 200,000 followers. Our engagement, in turn, is higher. The
implementation of a frequent Instagram story has steadily increased followers.
The blogger’s journey has also brought a 20% increase in Facebook follows.

20. 1O. MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING
RESULTS
Qualitative KPIs/Sentiment analysis:
An analysis on Facebook pulled from 100 of the most recent comments, wall
posts, and shares show a 34% increase in general positivity. As compared to
a pull of 100 posts from March of 2017, the posts in June of 2017 have less
to do with customer concerns/arguments and more about questions or
praise.
The opportunity for customers to get in touch directly with customer service
through e-mail prevents concerns from being posted publicly.
Other:
The blogger campaign gave customers a reason to tune-in to the social
media platforms, increasing our engagement and followers.