Airbnb Social Media Audit
By: Penelope Lee
Airbnb’s Brand Logo
Social Media Learnings
When reviewing Airbnb’s posted material, it is relevant that the content being posted on Airbnb’s social media isn’t necessarily consistent or solid. The main platform being used is Instagram. These posts are short and sweet, usually containing a couple of photos of a unique destination along with a simple few-word description. As for the other platforms, Facebook has not been posted on in months and lacks any sort of presence. TikTok, on the other hand, hasn’t been posted on in two weeks, and the last post was a more random one about how a couple turned their RV home into an Airbnb.
When looking at platforms like LinkedIn, we can see that they took a more business approach. Seeing that the app is generally business-based, this approach to content did make a lot of sense. However, they are extremely inconsistent about when and how frequently they post. The most recent post was two weeks ago, but it was a message to Gen Z from their CEO. Their posting inconsistency is obvious and might make users steer away from using the app.
Their most recent controversial post was the company stating that they were there for people who were affected by the California wildfires. They were attempting to show that they could be a resource for families and individuals in need. Many comments were extremely negative towards this message. Some found that they were trying to take credit for Airbnb hosts offering their homes as sanctuaries for those in need. Some comments referred to the business as a “parasite” and viewed the message as a PR stunt. Instead of replying to each individual, two days later they posted an info card stating that their company helped over 25,000 evacuees. Although this did send a message to those who felt the company was using this tragedy as a marketing ploy, their response was slightly delayed. While the response was good, it wasn’t immediate, meaning they lost valuable time to combat negative comments.
The majority of all the comments on the page are still negative, even on their recent posts. The issue with this is that it’s extremely hard to combat negativity when it’s all negative. Recently, it has been speculated that Airbnb’s CEO is connected with Elon Musk. This has caused many users to bash the company, with some saying they will no longer use it. The problem is Airbnb is not responding at all. They are continuing to push a happy narrative, even though their consumers aren’t accepting that marketing push. The New York Times wrote an article about billionaire Airbnb CEO being said to take part of Elon’s Government Initiative.
By highlighting this about the CEO, customers were not happy about it.
Instagram Comment from @nikistall on their most recent post had this to say about this recent information:
“WOW. Partnering with Elon is not a good look. VRBO just got all my business.”
Before this, about two to three years ago, Airbnb was consistent with responding to customer complaints and thoughts. The company had an Airbnb Help profile where customers could go directly to get immediate service for their issues. In these previous years, the company would usually respond to negative comments with a simple apology, then ask the user to contact them directly or via email so they could resolve the issue off social media.
Make it stand out
Here is an example from their Facebook. This comment was also on their most recent post.
Airbnb Suggestions from AI
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Airbnb Suggestions from AI 〰️
When giving Chatgtp a task of coming up with user generated content for social media, the system had a few specific ideas for Airbnb. The first suggestion they came up with is #Airbnbstorytime. The idea is to get hosts or consumers to tell positive experience stories about Airbnb. The next was photo challenges, where consumers could use a hashtag and share what their Airbnb law looks like. As well as host spotlights, where hosts could show the behind the scenes of what. Their generated response, in my opinion, continued to push the happy narrative of the company. The idea that coming up with new ideas will allow for more positive interest in the brand and less of the negativity it is continuing to receive.
Three Learning and Corresponding Thoughts
Airbnb is downfall is continuing due to their lack of customer service and human resources
The company needs consistency and also need to be quicker with their negative responses, due to the fact, that they are dealing with real time issues
An idea is a 24 hour help line that is actually staffed with real people. This would allow for customers to have a place to call instead of immediately going to the company’s socials and bashing them online.
Reviewing hosts before accepting a reservation
It has been found that a lot of customer’s negative experiences are with hosts. Whether it’s not providing correct cleaning services or the home not being the same as expected, there are a multitude of ways people are disappointed in Airbnb’s quality.
A way that this could be resolved is having Airbnb inspectors in largely booked areas. These individuals could check the home and clear it before a guest enters it for its stay. This would allow for the home to be up to Airbnb’s standards and not just the hosts
Watching what big names in the company do and how they act
The CEO publicly considered being apart of Elon Musk’s group is entirely a bad business move. Seeing that the company wants to cater to everyone and not just conservatives, it pushes away a good amount of business.
I am not saying that he can not decide for himself to do this or not do it, but I will say that making it public causes for bad business and allows for negative reviews and comments to overpower the media.
For example, The majority of the comments on Airbnb’s most recent post were entirely about this situation. They were all negative and even went as far to say they would not use the company’s services again.
Thoughts about VBRO
(Airbnb’s competitor)
VRBO’s focus is on families and large groups
By tapping into this they are able to directly target a certain group of people and tap into the idea of providing spaces for events.
Small user base and reach to consumers
Seeing that VRBO is growing as a company, they need to take the initiative and start to tap into new markets and areas.
By doing this maybe they could market to specific groups like, bridal party venue
Marketing and Social Media growth
Seeing that there is a lot of negativity surrounding Airbnb at the moment, now is the chance to hop onto their customers
Preparing a SWOT of their own company and Airbnb’s could help the company learn what they can improve on.