Social Strategy: Make Yourself Useful
Last month, I jetted off to the West coast to explore Portland for a long weekend. I didn’t stay at a hotel. Instead, I rented my accommodations from Airbnb, an online service that allows regular individuals to rent their private residences to travelers. There are a number of reasons to choose Airbnb over a traditional hotel when traveling, but here’s the most appealing to me: its innately social nature makes traveling a totally different experience.
The experience varies with the host, but generally, Airbnb hosts (and guests) are interested in sharing highly personalized recommendations. In Portland, I got to stay in the heart of the city, with people who know the city intimately. They pointed us to the best food trucks in town, gave us an insider’s tour of the Oregon coast, and chatted with us over locally roasted espresso. It was a pretty perfect introduction to Airbnb. I’d recommend both my Portland host and Airbnb to my friends. But let’s say a casual college acquaintance of mine decides to visit Portland next year. I probably won’t even know she’s going, so I won’t be able to tell her where to stay in Portland. Enter Airbnb’s latest smart decision: Airbnb Social Connections.
Now, when you browse Airbnb, you can choose to link your Facebook profile to Airbnb search. Instantly, Airbnb will generate a list of accommodations that are personally connected to you. You can view fascinating connections like hosts who are friends of your friends, places your friends have stayed, or people who attended your alma mater. I linked my profile and found the results amazing. I was connected to people I have never met in Barcelona, San Francisco, and more—all via my real life Facebook friends. Genius.
This was a brilliant move by Airbnb because, most importantly, it adds a layer of trust to the search for accommodations, an element that’s missing for first-timers. But more than just putting wary travelers at ease, Social Connections was a good decision because it’s social in all the right ways. Rather than just yammering about themselves on Twitter or Facebook, Airbnb’s social strategy focuses on the people who are actually using their brand.
Integrating Facebook to Airbnb search is smart marketing because it quietly encourages people to travel more while raising Airbnb brand awareness. However, what makes Social Connections so great is that it actually benefits consumers. It’s a social networking function that makes using Airbnb easier. And when your social strategy is about making people better at something they want to be better at, you’re headed in a good direction. If you want to build a strong social network of brand champions, stop focusing on the latest gimmicks to attract more followers. Instead, ask yourself: how can our brand add value to our fans’ lives? Then get busy on that.
Airbnb, you’re doing it right. Let’s all take notes.
