Senior Citizens and Social Media

Alright, I am not saying all senior citizens, just the group that includes my parents, early to mid 60’s, that have little to no use with social media platforms. Remember how I left my last blog? You cannot teach an old dog new tricks? This would be my parents. Here is my short story about them. In 2019, they decided to start an Airbnb. You would think I could do a mic 🎤 drop at this moment, but I cannot. This was the year of “Rona”. They went about taking photos of the house they turned into an Airbnb. I think they did an amazing renovation of the home. The initial pictures that were posted were not as inviting as one would hope. They still got bookings with final comments of, the photos do not do the house justice. There is a customer service level that is achieved when you receive so many high ratings. This is called a Superhost and they are recognized for their hospitality. https://www.airbnb.com/d/superhost Thankfully, they still received high ratings, but that only lasts for so long when there is minimal stays and reviews coming in.

This year had become a struggle as she had lost her Superhost. She did not have enough reviews and felt like her place had sunk. Not stunk, sunk. Although, she cannot help the fact that her house is not far from a stinky place called Sanamax. Sidenote, if you go to NWTC you know the smell I am referring to. I decided to take some of my newfound skills that I have learned in the Marketing program and help my parents out. My mom and dad both have Facebook. Not very savvy on the platform, but they know how to look at pictures, like pictures, unfortunately post WAY too many photos, and instant message on messenger. I sat down with my parents and did a SWOT analysis of the business. Chapters 1-3 provided a good understanding of how to brand their business and create a SWOT analysis. We went over the place as a whole and then broke it down from inside, outside, accommodations, and amenities. I then took all new photos of the home, posted them on their Airbnb and removed the older photos that truly did not do the place justice.  I also advised that they need to stop taking photos of the bedrooms and posting them while keeping the other ones up. That could confuse a guest as to how many rooms you have even if it says only 3 rooms available. Once that was all completed, I created a new logo for their Airbnb, and we have found two fonts that work best when making creating any marketing displays. Once I had access to her Facebook page, I started updating the photos on the page as well as connecting it to a new Instagram account. My mom said, I have never used Instagram. What do I do with that? I reflected onto Chapters 4 and 5 and explained how these two platforms work together.

How to connect the two platforms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10UKnFsBvXA. I did run into a bit of a snag when trying to connect the two platforms.

I had to do a little research and found that this was my error message and how to fix it: https://help.instagram.com/820908501364727 & https://help.instagram.com/contact/151081798582137

 I also use a hashtag whenever I make a post and the link as to how to book. I also explained the “call to action” button at the top of the page that you can click to book your stay at their Airbnb.

After reading about Employee Advocacy in Chapter 15, I realized I would have to teach my mom on how to go about liking the posts as herself, not as the owner. I explained that if she goes directly onto the page as the owner of that page, it will like the page as the company name and it will not be listed as her. I referenced back to Chapter 5, “When creating a Facebook business page, start by inviting the people you know. Invite family, friends, employees, and coworkers to like the page. Follow industry thought leaders and send Facebook invites to them to like your page. Once these thought leaders start to follow your page, their followers will start to follow as well.”. Baby steps I tell her as well as myself. I then told her to share the page to her site. I said this will increase the analytics of the business page, Chapter 18, as it will be seen by other people that are not currently “liking” her page.

I can say that I have put this book into great use when reviewing my parents Airbnb. Even better yet, I am happy to be in the Social Media Marketing class! After redevelopment of her page, she called me up and said, “Nikki! I have a new booking!” The next day, the same thing. Within two weeks, she received 10 new bookings. As time goes on, I will have to continue to teach them new tricks. Sometimes less is best. Did you just hear me take a deep loud sigh? I take it day by day and continue to do the work for them as we keep progressing in forward steps. I schedule posts and not always about the looks of the home, but events and activities going on around the area. Although, she would like to take a photo every second of redecorating and a flower bloomed and post it to the page, I had to remind her that this is a business, not your personal page. Again, teaching an old dog new tricks.

Check out the pages and drop a comment or suggestion. If you know anyone that is coming to town, share the info.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cayo-Estate-LLC-108797344219201

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cayoestatellcairbnb/

Airbnb: http://airbnb.com/h/cayoestatellc