Introduction to Digital Marketing

Experiential Learning Project

AIRBNB

Submittedto: Submittedby:

Dr.NidhiPhutela Anika Endlaw(19021021067)

Kartik Singh(19021021212)
Pranav Jolly(19021021324)

Priyansha Garg (19021021335)

Shreshth Chaurasia (19021021427)

INTRODUCTION
Digital marketing broadly known by the names online marketing, internet marketing and web
marketing is the promotion of products or brands via one or more forms of electronic media. It
includes advertising or banner advertising, SEO, pay per click, Email, RSS, Voice broadcast, Fax
broadcast, blogging, video stream, Wireless text messaging and instant messaging.

A website analysis can be done for a variety of reasons. They may, for example, wish to know
how well their website operates or what their competitors do with Web pages. An analysis can
evenassistindeterminingthesite'splan.Athoroughwebsiteanalysiswillrevealhowsuccessfully the
site contributes to the company'sobjectives.

It is necessary to analyse a website in order to gain a thorough understanding of its performance.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Airbnb Inc. or AirBedandBreakfast, as it was previously known as, is an American company that
isoperatinginanonlinemarketplaceforlodging,homestays,vacationrentalsandforothertourist
activities. The business of Airbnb is such that it does not have to own any property that is listed
on their website to their clients but get profits in the form of commission from each booking that
is done through their website. The company was founded in 2008 by Brian Chesky, Nathan
Blecharczyk and Joe Gebbia and is based in San Francisco,California.

It provides it’s guests short term lodging and tourist activity solutions through their plethora of
listings on their website showing results where the guests can be accommodated. The website of
Airbnbisavailablebothondesktopaswellasmobiles.Theapphasmanyfiltersthattheguestcan choose to
personalise their stay such as the type of accommodation, the duration of the stay,
locationofthestayandthepriceofthestay,andifthereareanyotherrequirementsoftheirssoas to
customise their staycompletely.

Any person who has a property and is willing to list it on Airbnb’s website can do it very easily
byprovidingthenecessarydocumentsandlistingallthefacilitiesandotherdetailsoftheproperty and
their listing will be visible on the website. Whenever their listing is selected the person will
beinformed.

Apart from this Airbnb also has Airbnb plus which lets guests choose the places which have
verified level of conditions which include amenities like fully stocked fridge, all the cooking
appliances,toiletries, etc.andaremarkeddifferentlyfromthestandardlistings.ItalsohasAirbnb
collections which can be arranged for families, work and other socialgatherings.

The company was also the Official Alternative Accommodation Services Supplier for Rio 2016
Olympic Games. Airbnb is also a big threat to the hotel industry as the stays in Airbnb are
customisable to the fullest and also have relatively less price than that of big hotels. And also the
companyhasacquiredmanycompaniessoastogiveaneverstiffercompetitiontotheirrivals and also
providing much more destinations to their guests to choose from that to theirconvenience.
Airbnb has competitors like VRBO, Booking.com, however, when it comes to website analysis
and website engagement, Airbnb rules the market place with a comparatively higher average
session duration than vrbo and booking.com, higher pages per session and a low bounce rate.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS

Website analysis can assist in creating a visually appealing and search engine-friendly website.
Meta tags, analysis of homepage links, analysis of linked websites, link popularity, and keyword
density are some of the criteria that can assist you in analysing your website.

When analysing a website, it is important to check the usability, security, responsiveness, layout
and intuitive customer experience, overall look and feel, graphics, font used content, Call To
Action(CTA),uptodateandusefulcontent,SearchEngineOptimization(SEO),bouncerateand speed
of thewebsite.

The website that we have chosen is Airbnb is an American company that operates an online
marketplace for lodging, primarily homestays for vacation rentals, and tourism activities.

To fuel business growth, they are always updating their website and user interface, adding new
features, generating new goods, expanding into new areas, and experimenting with a variety of
approaches.

WehaveanalyzedAirbnb’swebsiteonthebasisofthefactorsmentionedabove.Airbnb’swebsite is
considered to be one of the good websites because of a number of reasons including a visual
appeal, nicely chunked content etc, which we have discussed in detail in thisreport.
LAYOUT OF THE WEBSITE
Airbnb's brand is built on principles ranging from creating a smaller, more connected world to
following your hobbies wherever they may lead you. And it reflects all of this in its design.

Airbnb'shomepagehasasimpledesign.Fromthewhiteandredcolourschemewhichisfollowed, to the
font, everything about the page isclear.

Visitors to the Airbnb homepage page are subjected to associative priming through visuals. It
ensures that the appropriate emotions are evoked.

Broadly,thewebsitecanbedividedinto4sections;Topmostsection,RightSectionMiddleSection and
the BottomSection.

1. TOPMOSTSECTION

Atthetopmostportionofthewebsite,thereisanotification“Getlatestonourcovid-19response”
whichprovidesinformationrelatedtotheirCovid-19policies.Placingthisnotificationatthetop
mostbarofthewebsiteisastrategicmovewhichhighlightstheirempathytowardstheircustomers and
also provides vital information of how certain features/ policies have now beenrevised.

This is followed by three broad options:

● Places toStay
● Experiences

As we click on “Places to Stay” or “Experiences”, a search box appears which offers the user the
abilitytosearchanyplacewithsomefiltersdependingoncheck-in/check-outdatesandnumberof guests
and also showing a few 5-star reviews with an average rating tracker to show the userhow much
other customers are enjoying theirstays.

On searching a place, an apartment listing page appears.

DespitethefactthattheAirbnbApartmentListingpagecontainsmultipledesignelements,itdoes not
appear cluttered. The layout of the page is pleasing to theeye.
Theiconography,calendar,andinteractivemapareallwell-thought-outaspectsofthedesign.The entire
presentation is easy to follow and gives you a detailed summary of theaccommodations.

Meanwhile, the “Experience and Adventures” pages feature stunning, vibrant images. Theycatch
yourattentioninstantlyandwillmakeyouwanttotryouteveryexperienceandadventureonoffer. These
images are combined with a basic font, which is applied throughout thepage.

● OnlineExperiences

Clicking on “Online Experiences”, takes us to a fresh page highlighting the main online
experiences a person can enjoy, along with their prices.

2. RIGHTSECTION

On the right side, there are options of becoming a host and further options to sign up and log in.
These Call-To-Action buttons play a very important role and are placed in a way which makes it
easier for the customers to fulfil their end goal with just a click.
 3. MIDDLESECTION

This has various parts to it, including:

● Explore Nearby: In this section, there are some places mentioned which are near to your
current location. Duration for reaching that destination is also mentioned, making iteasier
forthecustomerstodecideandplanaccordingly.Thissectionholdsimportancebecauseit
subconsciously impacts the user’s decision and they might search for more places if they
are within a specificdistance.
● Live Anywhere: This part of the website showcases where and how people can choose to
stay. For example, an entire house, flat, farmhouse, cottageetc.
● Discover Things to Do: This section has an interactive design and consists of online
activities (up-to-date), online experiences and other such interactiveevents.
 4. BOTTOMSECTION

Airbnbpresentsfoursignificantelementsfartherdownonthehomepagetohelpvisitorsfeelmore at ease
when using their website: All about Airbnb 24/7, Community and worldwide hospitality
standards, hosts and customerservice.

The bottom left section of the website consists of buttons of Privacy, Terms & Conditions,
CompanyDetails.WhereasthebottomrightsectionsincludetheLanguagebasedonthecountrya
userisoperatingfrom,Currencyusedfortransactionsinthatcountry,andthesocialmediahandles. These
buttons hold importance since the user will find it easy to operate and find itconvenient.

Overall, we like the layout of Airbnb’s website and webpages. There are certain suggestions that
we would like to give, which can be incorporated into the website.

➔UseofChatbot:Itcanincreaseuserengagementandhelptheusersmakeinformed
decisions.
➔ Virtual Reality tab: Website users can get a virtual tour of the place they will be
staying. This way, they can get a feel of the place thus increasing the conversion
rate.Thiscanbedoneintheformofvideotours,atleastforsomeplaceswhichare
comparatively higher priced. These virtual tours can be inserted with theimages.
FEATURES OF THE WEBSITE

● ThefirstthingontheirwebsiteisanotificationabouttheCOVID-19policies,whichisthe biggest
"problem" that the company has had to deal with because of the current situation. It
features an entire section dedicated to providing users with the most up-to-date
information about their COVID-19 response, including policy revisions, resources for
hosts and guests, health and safety practices and Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs).

● Simple and Easy to remember domainname

● Dynamic:InApril2021,anewcategoryofonlineexperienceswasaddedduetoCOVID-
19. The menu is still in the header (because it's the most essential CTA the user needs/can
perform on the site), but it's been changed to emphasise the "Introducing Online
Experiences" section.

● Easy search box: When users head to the homepage, user attention will tend to focus on
the search box. It's very simple to get started: simply enter your desired location, check
in/out dates, and the number of guests, and you're good togo.

● Internal connectivity: All social media handles are linked on the website. This helps the
usertobeawareaboutthecompany’ssocialmediapresenceandhowwellitisdoing.Since the
world is moving more towards digital content, the company is able to do their brand’s
promotion through social mediaplatforms.
● Price barchart:
○ Thepricingrangechartallowscustomerstoseetherangeofcoststhatareavailable for
their search rightaway.

○ They use spectacular graphics to highlight the acts that the main characters are
performing while they giveexperiences.

● Clear presentation ofinformation:

○ It's critical to present essential information such as the number of bedrooms,
cooking facilities, and Wi-Fi connection without clogging the page or making it
difficult to scan andunderstand.

○ Airbnb makes use of symbols and bold highlighting to make it easier for users to
skim information, and the material is put out with plenty of whitespace.

● Filters:Thewebsitehasawiderangeoffilterstomakeiteasiertonarrowdownthesearch for the

users and save time and energy. It has filters such as type of place, price range,
numberofrooms,facilitiesandamenities,houserulesandevenhostlanguage.Thismakes it
extremely convenient for users to customise theirsearch.
● Performanceandspeed:Peoplehaveanaturaltendencytolosepatiencequickly,andthis
isespeciallytruewhileviewingawebsite.Apersonismorelikelytoquitawebsitebefore it fully
renders if it takes too long to load but with this website it's completely different, it
provides renderless web pages with beautiful graphs and places to stay which helps to
capture the audience without much effort.

● Calltoaction(CTA)Buttons: Thesearethebuttonsthatleadyoutoaspecifiedactionon the

website. Airbnb has CTA buttons like ‘Reserve’, ‘Try Hosting’, ‘Learn More’, etc. They
help to get a better click throughrate.

● Security: The website is secure for users, it uses the https protocol and provides 2-factor
authenticationforyouraccount.Ithasalsoensuredsafepaymentsanduserconfidentiality
making it more trustworthy for itscustomers.

● Web compatibility: Both mobile and desktop friendly, it renders well across a variety of
resolutions, screen sizes, and browsers; furthermore, given the growing prevalence of
mobile devices, websites should work well on a variety of thesedevices.

● Relevant and accurate content: They use fewer words, as the images are the main
depictorsthattelluseverythingwecanexperiencebyclickingonthem.Keywordsareused
properly so as to keep the usersengaged.

● Aesthetically pleasing: The color scheme used by the website is simple yet attractive. It
is minimalist since the site is required to have a considerable amount of pictures and
anythingthatwouldhavebeentoodarkorgraphicalwouldhavedistractedthefocusofthe users
making it perfectly pleasing to theeyes.
● Currencytab:Oneoftheuniquefeaturesistheoptiontoviewthepricesoftheproperties in any
currency you wish to see which makes it easier for users worldwide to access the rates
according to their own convenience. It saves the users time and energy which might be
involved if they have to convert the prices, hence making them more engaged on the site.
STRATEGIES FOR ENGAGEMENT

Awebsitenothavingenoughtrafficsetsinplacearippleeffectwherebytheentireonlinepresence of the
brand getsaffected.
It has impact on the following-
● Brand Awareness: Website traffic and brand awareness go together, when you have alot
of traffic on your website it implies that the customers or users are synonymous with your
brand and what you have to offer. And so if website traffic decreases so does your brand
awareness.
● Sales and Conversions: For users to purchase your product or service they need to visit
the website and hence if there is a decrease in website traffic, there is a direct impact on
sales.
● Revenue:Salesadduptorevenueandifyouarenotmakingthesales,revenuewillsuffer.
Therefore, keeping website traffic high is important for increasingrevenue.

The strategies for increasing website traffic along with some custom strategies for Airbnb are as
follows-

Search Engine Optimization(SEO)

It includes a wide range of techniques to help your website rank higher in search engine results
usingkeywordsandphrases.Asearchengineismostlythefirstplacewhereauserssearchbegins and
hence SEO can largely impact the quality and quantity of traffic to thewebsite.

Pay-per-click(PPC) Advertising
Itisplacingadsonsocialmediasites,searchengineresultspages(SERPs)andotherwebsites.We have to
pay each time someone clicks on these ads and not for the entire ad space. We can bid on
necessarykeywordsandtargetaudiencewithrequiredcharacteristicstodrivetraffictothewebsite.

Social Media Marketing

Creating a social media presence and following on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,
Linkedin, etc. has become one of the most important ways to grow the brand, increase visibility
anddrivetraffic.Youcanlinkbackyourwebsiteinposts,blogs,adsandstoriestoincreasetraffic.

ContentMarketing
Creating high quality content for your website that is interesting as well as relevant to your users
gives more incentive to them to visit your website. It goes along with the SEO and social media
marketingstrategies.
Web Design and Development
A user-friendly website which is aesthetically pleasing, useful and relevant is more likely to be
visited by users. This makes website design a key to increasing website traffic.

Chat bot
Chatbots are software programs that allow human conversations on your website. With the
existence of a chatbot the user can get rid of his queries by asking questions, making the whole
experience more interactive. It helps in engaging the user without the existence of a human
salesperson and is a 24x7 service improving customer service. The website of Airbnb does not
have a chatbot and adding one will be a good improvement.

Incorporating videos in content strategy

It is known that retention of information is more for visual material as compared to text and so
videos can be useful in making your website more engaging as well as attracting new customers.
Airbnb can include videos related to house tours, customer experiences and reviews, host
experiences, etc on its website to make the users feel more trust and inclination towards a place
rather than what pictures and text could provide.

Internal Linking
Aninternallinkconnectsonepageonyourwebsitetoanotherpageonyourwebsite.Theyareused by both
users and search engines to find content on the website. It is an important factor for SEO
asGoogledeemsapagewithmorevaluablelinksasmoreimportantanditalsoimprovestheuser
experienceinnavigatingthroughthewebsite.Workingonyourinternallinkstrategyregularlyand
keeping it relevant iscrucial.

Research the competitor

Knowingwhatyourcompetitorsaredoing,thestrategiesbeingusedbythemalongwiththecontent they
are posting, number of posts, targeted keywords, etc. is necessary so that you can improvise your
website and make sure that you are able to direct competitor traffic to yourwebsite.

Regular Strategy Analysis

Keep a tab on your traffic driving strategies, to know which strategies drive results and which are
a flop. Google Analytics is an important source of data about every aspect of your website and
examining this information is essential to develop promotional and content strategies. Analysing
mostpopularpostsandpagesandexaminingthevisitordatatoseefromwhereandhowthetraffic
iscoming.
 Analysis of Social Media Presence

COMPANY’S ENGAGEMENT PLATFORMS

Social media platforms have now become an essential component of every digital marketing
plan. Airbnb used numerous digital marketing tools to help them create a credible online
presence and a larger community since they wanted to target people of all generations. It's best to
develop your brand image across social media platforms if you want to communicate with your
audience in real time. Airbnb opted to use the best social media optimization services to earn
billions because social media plays such an important role in people's lives. They used the
platforms listed below:

● Where the company is theadmin

1. Facebook: Airbnb has amassed 16 million Facebook likes thanks to innovative social
media optimization tactics. They used a variety of ad formats, including feature
advertisements, Facebook ads, and video commercials. Airbnb's timeline is made up of a
variety of user-generated content. They've implemented a dynamic remarketing strategy,
focusing their resources on people who exhibit interest in the advertising and are likely to
convert into leads.

2. Twitter: Airbnb promotes its blog entries and exceptional listings on Twitter. Their
hashtag #belonganywhere has gained a lot of traction. They keep their feed fresh by
releasing new content on a regular basis. Airbnb used Vine short video clips to create a
4.5-minute movie that was shared onTwitter.

3. Instagram: Airbnb's Instagram feed is quite visual, showcasing the wide range of lovely
houses available on their platform to pique the interest of potential tourists. Their postsare
intelligent and original, and they use a variety of elements to ensure that their fans
interact with their content. Guests can use #airbnb to share their experiences and even
reserve a rental directly from the stream.

4. Youtube: Airbnb released its first YouTube video in October 2010 and has steadily
grown its subscriber base to 172,000 by releasing over 500 films in a variety of languages
and creating playlists for both customers and hosts, such as "Airbnb for Work" and "Not
Yet Trending." Airbnb is hoping that video content will pique viewers' interest, get
themto think about vacations, and then convert that daydreaming into actual travel
demand. The cornerstone of the brand's affinity with those feelings and long-term client
loyalty can be built on a blend of vacation nostalgia and aspiration served up through
video content.
5. LinkedIn: Airbnb is the largest community marketplace for listing, discovering, and
booking housing rooms in the world. They skillfully use the about portion of their page to
highlight not only their brand's global reach, but also the personalities and cultures of
those who work there. “No worldwide movement emerges from a single person. It takes a
whole crew to rally behind a huge project. We work hard together, have a lot of
fun,brainstorm constantly, utilise hundreds of Post-It notes per week, and give the finest
high-fives in town.” On its LinkedIn page, Airbnb creates a sense of family and
camaraderie, offering both job applicants and customers a clear picture of what makes
Airbnb unique.

● Where others are promoting the brand online (company is not theowner)

1. Blogs: Blogs on websites like Medium , Pinterest, etc are a helpful resource for
travellers. They enable the readers an insight into the Airbnb accommodation and
experiences from the point of view of customers and hosts making it more trustworthy
and providing a local lens to the whole experience.There are stories with various video
biographies of hosts and travellers, as well as their stories about why they rent out their
space and what motivates them to leave their homes and tour the world withAirbnb.

2. Referral Marketing: Airbnb encourages its customers to send out email invitations to
new members. When new members completed their first trip, they were given a $25
travel credit, and when they acted as hosts for the first time, they were given a $75 credit.
Airbnb was able to convert fresh leads this way and only had to pay out for
recommendations after new users had paid. Airbnb was able to grow in a sustainable way
as a result of this.

3. Inbound marketing: Craigslist integration helped the two sites drive more traffic and
business. People were utilising Craigslist to advertise and find short-term lodging. Airbnb
wanted to generate quality leads, so they reverse-engineered the Craigslist form to make
the two platforms work together. When someone listed a room on Airbnb, they were
given the option of automatically creating a Craigslist ad as well. They assisted the user
in obtaining new inbound connections.

4. Influencer Marketing: Airbnb used innovative influencer marketing methods to attract

journalists, bloggers, YouTubers,podcasters, and Instagram celebrities to the event.
Airbnb staged a "floating house" marketing stunt on the Thames River in London in
2015, complete with a #FloatingHouseParty where guests were encouraged to livestream,
take photos, and share their experiences on social media. 70,000 page views, 10,000 new
users, and more than 200 million social impressions were the result of the event.
BRANDING OF AIRBNB

Airbnb is an online community where hosts can list their properties and travelers can book these
accommodations for a local experience around the world. What had started with just these
accommodations or homes has now grown into offering incorporated experiences and curated
restaurants to give its users a wholesome experience.

They are able to broadcast real material that encourages viewers to book a reservation from any
place, whether it is a castle in Ireland or a treehouse in Washington State, by partnering with
their guests and hosts.

Airbnb has successfully integrated its brand storey across all of their social media channels,
resulting in a digital community built on sharing.

The brand identity: Airbnb, “Belong Anywhere”-

The Airbnb brand is generally thought to be about renting houses, but as per them it is a home.
According to the CEO Brian Chesky, “a house is just a space, but a home is where you belong”,
and hence with this global community they for the very first time have made it possible for users
to belong anywhere.
The brand strategy
Airbnb’s social media strategy has two target audiences-
1. People who wish to rent out their homes
2. People who wish to rent these houses while traveling

Some of the branding lessons that can be learned from Airbnbare-

Include your community, centre and front

On nearly every digital platform accessible, Airbnb publishes host and guest tales. The interview
videos are produced and uploaded to YouTube, short tales are created and shared on Instagram,
while also maintaining a blog with written content of the same kind.For example, the hashtag
#Airbnb on Instagram invites visitors to share tales about their vacation experiences.

Connect and remain committed to higher, more significant ideals

At its most basic level, Airbnb provides accommodations, but so do a million other websites.
Their noticeable emphasis on deep-rooted values like multiculturalism, diversity, and the joy of
travel has been the key to building a distinct position in the marketplace and differentiating
theirservice. These are universal concepts that appeal to everyone on a fundamental level,
regardless of who they are or where they live. Associating the Airbnb brand with higher values
and keeping to their promise to respect them has helped the team establish a distinct position in
the eyes of its consumers.
Welcome Each Other With Love | Aibiying | Airbnb

Working the right channels

Using the same pieces of content on each platform is a typical error that companies make across
their social platforms. Because no two channels are the same, you must deliver a distinct
experience on each platform in order to be successful. And that is precisely what Airbnbdoes.
Their Instagram grid, for example, seems and reads like a traveler's diary. Their tweets, on the
other hand, are considerably more participatory, frequently inviting their followers to voteor
take part in a poll.Then there's Airbnb's YouTube channel, which is chock-full of stunning
Travel Channel-style video content.
Be present at every step of the journey
Airbnb tells us that trust is built on the foundations of producing guides, sending thoughtful
letters, and providing assurances for excellent service. Trust in a brand. The sort that leads to
repeat business, referrals, and customerloyalty.

Do something surprising every now and then

Airbnb shows us how to create unexpected brand moments that are still relevant. They're out of
the ordinary, yet they're still in line with the brand's core message. One such was the Lego House
in Denmark, which allowed lucky fans to stay there, this saw a huge amount of fan engagement
and high media coverage.
Night At LEGO House | Airbnb

Data Driven Content

Social media engagement depends on the relevancy of your material. One approach to make sure
that your postings resonate is to adapt your material to your audience's trends.Airbnb does this
by posts that disclose the most popular searches on their site. A closer dig into some ofthe
company's trend reports reveals other insights, like a preference for distant places, distinctive and
work-friendly workspaces, and longer stays. And you'll notice that the brand's social material
mirrors these insights: road trips, working from home, floating cottages, and the odd
envy-inducing vista.

Make great partners

Partnerships may result in all sorts of business benefits, including improved reputation and
distribution. They are also fantastic brand builders, drivers of consciousness and content.
Partnerships may assist to broaden your reach, promote fundamental values and provide your
public with new possibilities to connect and contribute on your social media. Airbnb’s most
recent and the biggest partnership with the IOC to promote the Olympic movement till 2028 is
the perfect example. This collaboration will result in hundreds of thousands of new hosts, new
Airbnb "Olympic Experiences," assistance for refugee athletes, a positive economic effect, and
innovative, one-of-a-kind lodgings and services.
Do you want to know what else it produces? Content. Olympian interviews and experiences have
become an important part of Airbnb's content strategy.

Understanding your audience’s needs deeply

The brand launched ‘Online Experiences’, a digital alternative to the previous “Experiences”.
This was not only a method for individuals to stay connected during the shutdown, but it was
also a creative way for hosts to generate money while their houses were empty. Online
Experiences have become a key element of Airbnb's social content strategy, and they may
continue to be a cornerstone of the company's service offering long after in-personExperiences
reopen.
Another advantage of Online Experiences is that Airbnb can learn even more about its audience
by using data from sign-ups and social interaction. Those insights will be critical to nearly every
aspect of the business, from marketing and sales to R&D and customer support.
#StayHome with a drag queen, chef or naughty sheep | Airbnb Online Experiences

Act fast
By acting quickly, Airbnb was able to have a meaningful influence on the global issue at a
crucial time. Furthermore, rather than simply contributing money, they contributed their offering.
It's a wonderful exercise for your business to explore how your one-of-a-kind product, offering,
or service may help in a moment of need.
The first initiative was#FrontlineStays, in which they collaborated with hosts to provide free
lodging to 100,000 physicians, nurses, and other frontline responders. What was most amazing
was how quickly the brand put this campaign together. The campaign #FrontlineStays was
established on March 26th, just 13 days after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in
the United States.
ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN

Airbnb is a company which strongly believes in marketing campaigns so as to stay relevant in

the market and also ahead of the competition. Airbnb offers many marketing campaigns as it has
many benefits like maintaining the brand name of the company and reiterating your presence in
the market, bringing all the marketing strategies the company has made to life, marketing
campaigns also help the company to highlight its strong point and put it as the centre of
attraction. Marketing campaigns also help the companies to identify the target audience of the
product or service and also help in determining the actions to be taken by the target audience.
The marketing campaigns organised by Airbnb were-

1. Made Possible by Hosts- This was an advertising campaign that was made to attract the
hosts who left Airbnb back to the platform for a more rich experience. Thiscampaign
was held as many of the company's hosts left the platform due to the problem the
company was facing to refund during the pandemic. The campaign was held through
YouTube and social media in almost all the countries and also on TV channels in some
countries. The duration of this campaign was all through the summer holiday season
when the effect of covid was comparatively less. Another reason for this campaign was
for Airbnb to show what the work of Airbnb is and what the company makes possible and
to fully show it to the world.

2. Go Near- This campaign was launched just after the first fatal wave of covid so as to
support domestic travel for the guests. The whole world was majorly hit by covid and
travel industry was no different, so initial studies found that people are willing to go on a
trip that is within a days drive from there home because of the uncertainties. Airbnb
partnered with local tourist agencies and businesses for travel within the domestic
boundaries of a country that started to increase the travel from the guests and also helped
 local and small businesses economically. This had a dedicated homepage on their website
to seek the partners.

3. We Accept- Airbnb has an important value that they follow, that is to provide a culturally
diverse travelling experience and when there were allegations that the company is
discriminating against its guests on the basis of race and gender, the company responded
to these with the “We Accept” campaign. Airbnb released a YouTube video with people
of different race and gender with soft music in the background outlining the message
‘WeAccept’ in thecentre.

4. Live There- This campaign of Airbnb was inspired from the huge amount of people
going to the same place to travel and having the same experience at that place like
everyone else. Airbnb showed their brand proposition by showing how you can have
unique and fun experiences from the rest of the travellers with them, with them you can
experience the whole trip like the guest lives in that place only thus providing one of a
kind experience. This campaign was also marketed through YouTube and Vimeo by
posting many videos of different countries and how you can live there. A video for India
had Radhika Apte in it to better market the campaign. They also promoted this by giving
 free trips to actors like Farah Khan, Twinkle Khanna, Shilpa Shetty and many more and
asking them to promote this by posting their pictures on Instagram and twitter.

5. Tokyo Together Curated Programme- Tokyo Olympics having no spectators was a big
blow to the sportspersons all around the world but Airbnb partnered withthe
IOC(International Olympic Committee) to give the fans 200 different ways to experience
the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. These experiences will be both online
and in person and will run through the course of the games. Athletes from more than 50
sports and more than 30 countries will take part in this to make the Olympic and
Paralympic Games special for both the sports enthusiasts as well as to support the
athletes. Fans met the US Basketballer Scottie Pippen virtually.
ENGAGEMENT LEVEL FOR DIFFERENT PLATFORMS

Social Network URL Follower Count Monthly

Activity

Website Link 98M visits

Facebook Link 16.1M Inactive (last

post in
January)

Instagram Link 4.9M 40-45 posts

Twitter Link 734.8K 10-20 posts

Linkedin Link 1.6M 1-2 posts

YouTube Link 245K 2-5 videos

Social Media Strategies Used by Airbnb

1. YouTube
With nearly 500 videos on YouTube having more than 100 million views, Airbnb continues to
engage in video marketing as a critical aspect of delivering their brand and product story.

Other significant Airbnb YouTube videos include:

● Views- this video has a lot ofpotential.
 ● Breaking Down Walls- it is one of the most popular videos on YouTube, with 5.9
million views.
● We Accept- with 4.9 million views, Iit is one of the most popular videos onYouTube.

Each one is thoughtfully shot, edited, and coupled with the ideal soundtrack to warm even the
coldest of hearts.

2. Instagram
Airbnb is supreme when it comes to user-generated content (UGC).

User-generated content (UGC) is created when you ask your customers to share their experiences
with your product or service on social media.

This is a match made in heaven because Instagram is a millennial show-off haven, and Airbnb's
brand is connected with "millennial cool."

This will happen organically if UGC is done appropriately in addition to a variety of other smart
marketing efforts. On Instagram, there are presently 6.4 million photographs with the hashtag
#airbnb – and counting.

3. Twitter
Airbnb’s engagement on twitter is considerable with people sharing their experiences and those
becoming threads of conversation. Airbnb uses the account to share its accommodations and
experiences and people on twitter are interactive with their retweets and comments. The brand’s
focus is also on retweeting the posts of customers and especially known personalities and
influencers which has led to greater number of followers and retweets for the brand, a sign of
good engagement.

While Twitter is one of the slowest-growing social media platforms and has struggled to make a
profit, it is also one of the best for customer care. And Airbnb makes full use of it to reply to
customer grievances as well as for positive feedback.

Here are a few examples of Airbnb Twitter to respond swiftly and efficiently to customers:
Also, here are a few examples of the company engaging with customers who share their Airbnb
experiences on Twitter:

4. Facebook
Airbnb recognises that great content is the reason for successful social media campaigns, and
they've figured out how to regularly produce extremely engaging content. Despite the fact that
Airbnb does not publish as regularly as its competitors, they received the most interactions over
the summer months.
Airbnb's content typically includes stories by their guest and host, which serves to strengthen
their brand by repeating their brand story.

5. Linkedin
To make a purchasing decision, 32% of users today require six or more touchpoints. Airbnb is
well aware of this. This carousel commercial emphasises company awareness by providing
post-COVID advice.
Airbnb adds one or two value-packed engagement ads to their marketing plan.

LinkedIn video advertisements, out of all the ad forms on the network, are the most effective at
increasing engagement and it is worth it!
ANALYSIS OF REVIEWS

The study investigates the qualities that impact Airbnb clients' encounters by dissecting a
"bigdata" set of online review comments through the course of message mining and opinion
investigation. Findings reveal that Airbnb clients will in general assess their experience
dependent on an edge of reference obtained from past inn stays. Three key ascribes recognized in
the information incorporate area, conveniences and host. Surprisingly, cost isn't recognized as a
key force to be reckoned with. The analysis recommends an energy inclination in Airbnb clients'
remarks while negative opinions are for the most part brought about by commotion. This
research offers an elective methodology and more reasonable comprehension of the Airbnb
experience. Methodologically, it contributes by delineating how large information can be utilized
and outwardly deciphered in the travel industry and hospitality studies.

The overall rating of Airbnb on google play is 4.7 out of 5. Which means definitely it is a
positive recommendation as per the reviews. The reviews show a mix of positive and negative
reviews. I am listing below the majorly given positive and negative reviews as per the site.
Positive:
 ● The search and book option has been found very useful
● The app is very easy to use and easily understandable
● It is easy to look for hotels, resorts etc. be it nearby or far away from yourcity.

Negative:
● When customers book any place, usually the total price is not shown in the very first step,
rather it is visible to customers when they click on the Reserve button.
● The customer support of the site is not very helpful.
● A lot of customers have faced login issues during verification via SMS or Email. People
do not receive verification codes hence it becomes difficult to login to theapp.

Taking a closer look at people’s reviews on social media platforms:

1. Instagram

Airbnb has a mix of positive and negative reviews on Instagram, mostly pertaining to the
service it provides or other such related issues.

When faced with negative reviews or when the customer is facing an issue, Airbnb’s
Instagram response team handles the situation with mainly two standard responses, which
are quick and within a span of 72 hours, in most of the cases.

Negative feedbacks and Airbnb’s response:

Positive Feedback and Airbnb’s Response:

2. Facebook

Airbnb is not very responsive when it comes to their facebook page, hence, various queries
remain unresolved. However, the company tries to resolve most of the issues in their capacity by
responding to the consumer reviews and feedback and ensures to take a follow up for the same.
 3. Twitter
Twitter witnesses the most number of customer reviews, both positive and negative. The
company is active on Twitter and acts as customer support for the company. There have been a
number of discussions on Twitter initiated by hosts and customers. Apart from writing reviews
directly to the company, people sometimes mention their Airbnb experiences on their timeline,
this leads to discussion and others get an idea about other people’s unfiltered reviews about their
stay.
 4. Linkedin
Over the time, Airbnb has built an image in the positive light by posting relevant content on
Linkedin and the posts related to the social causes is what gains the most attention.
People have been putting up their reviews on Linkedin and some of the examples of the same are
listed below:
 5. YouTube
Today, when a customer is looking for a product or service, they want to know its features and
more information on it. They like to be inspired, entertained, or educated rather than sold to.
Airbnb, appears to have caught on to this trend and aims to place a greater emphasis on
developing media content in order to better capture, inspire, and convert more committed fans to
their service. Airbnb invests a good amount on YouTube and creates their original content. The
videos are based on experiences and people love to see them. Some of the videos have generated
views in millions and received a lot of love from the audience.
 Digital Marketing Plan

DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital marketing broadly known by the names online marketing, internet marketing and web
marketing is the promotion of products or brands via one or more forms of electronic media. It
includes advertising or banner advertising, SRO, pay per click, Email, RSS, Voice broadcast, Fax
broadcast, blogging, video stream, Wireless text messaging and instant messaging.
Basically, it's a term used to describe any marketing efforts that occur on the internet or on a
digital device. There are various channels that organizations use to entice customers into
purchasing their products and services

IMPORTANCE
There are many details that feature the significance of advanced showcasing. With worldwide
eCommerce deals expected to reach $4.5 trillion by 2021, it’s clear that there's huge potential for
online limited time activity. Additionally, 51% of customers research their buys on Google
before making them.
With around 4.5 billion internet users around the world, Digital Marketing allows organizations
the opportunity to contact individuals on stages where they invest a great deal of energy and
cash. It likewise offers more modest organizations a chance to rival their gigantic opponents,
permitting them to utilize information and experiences to targetclients.
We've additionally perceived how fundamental web-based shopping is in the principal half of
2020. At the peak of the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, online orders were up 200% compared
with the earlier year. For a wide range of organizations, Digital marketing and the business it
produced were a help when stores were closed.

How much do companies spend on digital marketing?

Online marketing is big business. Data from 2019 shows that marketing budgets makeup on an
average of 11.2 % of companies’ revenue. In the US this compares to a yearly industry spend of
over 196 billion.
For those looking to get an interdiction to digital marketing spending, there are no firm standards
on the amount you should spend and what you should spend it on. Be that as it may, similarly as
with numerous choices identified with the subject, web investigation can give you the knowledge
expected to settle on choices on financial plans and spending.

OBJECTIVES

Construct A Brand

The aim of digital marketing also involves setting up another brand. Developing a brand not just
addresses putting your organization name in people’s minds. Well-known brands that are
especially connected with effective connections are additionally more trusted by consumers.
Organizations also discovered that the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and Pinterest could energize this sort of brand.

Develop Revenue

Increasing revenue is the primary objective of digital marketing Fortunately, the web offers each
organization a few opportunities to boost their performance.

By combining SEO with pay per click, or PPC ads, your organization will build the likelihood of
getting distinguished by possible customers.

You will place yourself as a specialist in your field with strategies, for example, content
showcasing and web-based media promoting that likewise thinks often about your customers.

Boost Traffic

Paid advertisements are probably the easiest objectives of digital marketing which has various
methods of getting to our ideal interest group and selling your goods and services.

They give paid promotions on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, and a few other informal
communities. You can also do paid promotions or direct associations in the field that worriesyou,
through contacting influencers, bloggers, etc.

Maintain A Continuous Flow of New Insights

You can expect direct deals in the event that you have your own site that sells the products. but,
if you run a company offline like a car dealer, you can utilize digital marketing to make online
leads that would be usedoffline

It’s important to have a continuous lead for your sales team to have enough leads. Given your
marketing strategies, you may also expect an rise in client visits to your shop.

Reduce The Cost of New Consumer Acquisition

The cost of attracting new clients is ordinarily high for most businesses. Organizations spend a
lot on drawing in new buyers hoping they would become brand Loyal fans and make ordinary
buys that would create benefits.

However, markets are bombarded with hundreds and thousands of item decisions, making
keeping up with loyal customers inconceivable.
 SWOT ANALYSIS OFAIRBNB

STRENGTHS

Globally Recognised Brand- Airbnb is known globally. Airbnb's popularity among travel
brands is unparalleled. Actually, according to Google Trends, Airbnbs' internet search popularity
exceeds that of rival travel businesses.The strength of the brand Airbnb appeals to the consumers
straight to the platform, and the organic traffic to the website shows this. Around 91 per cent of
all Airbnb traffic came from direct or unpaid routes between January and September2020.

Engaged Guest Community- One of Airbnb's biggest assets is its guest community. The nature
of the Airbnb experience, as well as the personal touch of hosts and interactions with them, make
it easy for visitors to participate with the Airbnb community. The guest community is critical to
Airbnb's business because it creates word of mouth, which brings organic traffic straight to the
platform and saves the firm money on marketing and advertising.
And Airbnb has the statistics to back it up. Indicators of visitor involvement, such as the number
of travellers who leave a review (68 percent left reviews for their stays in 2019) and repeat-guest
revenue (69 percent of 2019 revenue was generated by stays from repeat guests, up from 66
percent in 2018), are gradually increasing.

Custom-Built Platform- Airbnb is quite proud of its platform, and deservedly so. Thecompany's
patented technology is developed to meet the specific demands of hosts and visitors. For hosts
and guests, the platform offers industry-leading features such as pricing suggestions, scheduling,
integrated payments, community assistance, host protection measures, reviews, feedback, and so
on.Airbnb's strategy to establishing this online and mobile app ecosystem of hosts and guests that
interact on the site is unique, and it incorporates a plethora of safety protections via AI
andautomation.
Airbnb's payment capabilities have a global reach in the tourism industry, and they are crucial to
allowing independent hosts to join the platform. Finally, Airbnb displays its desire for the global
market by making its platform available in 62 languages and dialects, ensuring that its services
are customised for hosts and guests globally.

Social Media Presence - Airbnb is on numerous social media sites, which allows it to get
maximum publicity amongst consumers.
WEAKNESSES

Covid-19 wreaks havoc on financial performance- Coronavirus interruptions have had an

influence on Airbnb's financial health and operations. Airbnb's efforts to mitigate the epidemic
will continue to have an impact on the company's operating results.

Lack of a unified marketing strategy- Airbnb lacks a unified marketing plan due to the
business model's crowdsourcing nature. It is mainly centred on places with a high concentration
of hosts, and it aims to appeal to both hosts and tourists. This might help to divide the work
necessary to have a bigger impact.

Lacking SEO- When looking for a place to stay online, Airbnb is typically not listed as an
option.Another area where the marketing plan fails to make a significant impact is through
search engine optimization (SEO). Users will only see Airbnb in their top search results if they
search for it directly, rather than the destination or kind of lodging. Many of the top positions are
occupied by hotels and travel companies who have invested in SEO in order to get on Google's
first page.

OPPORTUNITIES

Continued global expansion- Airbnb is yet to develop in certain global areas, particularly in
emerging nations. As an early entry into the travel market, taking advantage of possibilities
throughout the world may be a tremendous potential for development. It still has the opportunity
to grow its host and guest communities in areas with lesser penetration, such as China, Latin
America, Southeast Asia, and a few smaller markets.

Increase the functionality of its mobile app- Airbnb, like many modern services, has a
smartphone app that allows users to make bookings from anywhere, even while on the road.
Investing substantially in a flawless mobile experience will increase the accessibility of their
goods to more travellers.

Customise its marketing in order to enhance market penetration- The varied variety of the
places offered by Airbnb contributes significantly to the company's distinctiveness. It may
capitalise on its unique selling point by launching specialty marketing efforts aimed at certain
categories of passengers. This might give them the impression that they are participating in a
tailored experience, giving an aura of exclusivity.
THREATS

Reduced travel demand- Covid-19 has had and will likely continue to have a significant
influence on travel demand and passengers' willingness to utilise Airbnb. This might have a
detrimental impact on Airbnb's company and financial situation.

Competitive threats- Vrbo, FlipKey,TurnKey, Plum Guide, and other competitors compete
directly with Airbnb's business strategy of providing unique apartments directly to guests.
Furthermore, companies like Booking.com and Hotels.com provide deeper hotel savings than
customers who book directly with hotel networks. These two categories have the potential to
erode Airbnb's primary benefits of low cost and uniqueness.

Responsibility for the material on Airbnb's platform- Due to legislative changes in many
regions, Airbnb may face claims relating to information or material available on the site provided
by third parties, such as hosts. In the United States, for example, legislation is being proposed
that would make short-term platforms responsible for user-generated material. The introduction
of the Digital Services Act may modify the guaranteed responsibility under the EU's E-
Commerce Directive.
GOALS OF THE DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN

Airbnb’s digital marketing strategies aim not just at attracting new customers, but also at
retaining the old ones. They emphasize on developing relationships with their hosts. The
company’s digital marketing efforts aimat:

● Brand awareness and offering solution to the problem: Digital marketing can aid
prospective customers in becoming aware of a need, a phenomenon known as problem
awareness. Solution awareness is a term used to describe how your marketing can make
prospective customers aware that your company provides a solution to a problem.
Airbnb invests in digital marketing in order to spread awareness about the brand and to
make people aware of the solution they are offering. Airbnb invests a huge amount of
money in content marketing strategy to come up with unique content, highlighting the
kind of experience which the customers will be having at their stay.

● Acquiring new leads and customers: Most organisations want to increase the number of
leads and customers they have. A firm will never develop beyond where it is today if it
doesn't generate new leads and customers. In order to scale a business, there is a need to
bring in new blood.
Airbnb does this through Google display ads as well as by investing in social media ads.

● Building community: Airbnb focuses on building relationships and providing the best
value to the customers. There is a need to construct campaigns that establish communities
of advocates and brand boosters to move prospects, leads, and customers beyond a
shallow, transactional relationship. Social media, such as a Twitter page, is one of the
most successful ways to do this activism.
Airbnb has its Twitter page which acts as a customer service page. People post their
queries or appreciation about the company or their experiences on the twitter page.

Statistical representation ofAirbnb’s growth:

● Increased visitors over the years
When Airbnb first launched in 2008, it had very few guests, but the rate at which the number of
guests grew was astounding.
The number of guests continued to rise, from over 2 million in 2012 to over 4 million in 2013,
and Airbnb showed no signs of slowing down.

● Airbnb's Funding Increase

Airbnb investment increased from $7,200,000 in November 2010 to $112,000,000 in July 2011,
$200,000,000 in November 2012, and finally $450,000,000 in April 2014, according to Google
statistics.
 ● The Increasing Number of AirbnbListings
According to VentureBeat, the increase of Airbnb listings has been genuinely astonishing. It
continued to rise from 50,000 in 2011 to 120,000 in 2012, 300,000 in 2013, and 550,000 in 2014.

SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING OF

AIRBNB (STPMODEL)

Segmentation- Airbnb segments their market on the

basis of Geographic, Demographic, Behavioral and
psychographic factors. Geographic factors include
region and density. Demographic factors consist of
factors like age, gender, life-cycle stage, occupation.
Behavioral factors are the degree of loyalty, benefits
sought, personality and user status, and psychographic
factors include social class and lifestyle.

Targeting- Airbnb’s target market includes the

travellers and hosts.
Travelers: This market category primarily consists of
persons who desire to participate in tourism. Rather
than simply touring new cities, travellers sometimes
have other goals in mind. The reasons could be
numerous, but they all share a desire to stay
somewhere other than home.

Hosts: owners or renters who are willing to rent out

their properties are referred to as hosts. The reasons
for this differ as well. They may be looking for a way
to make money from an empty room, or they may
simply want to meet people who share their interests.
Whatever the reason, every host wants to list their
present residence onAirbnb.

Airbnb's target market includes both travellers and

hosts.
Positioning: Airbnb's distinguishing qualities included ease of use, service, accommodation
reviews, and insurance against harm for hosts. Airbnb has been successful in building their
positioning strategies to improve the prospects/ customers perceptions of their service. These
perceptions include:

From the perspective of the host:

- Making money: When people rent out their properties, they have the potential to
boosttheir income. The monthly average price of renting a place per night is two or even
three times higher than the real rent.

- Winner of the competition: Fortunately, there isn't much out there. Airbnb is reliant on a
large amount of user feedback. Other rental websites, such as " Couchsurf," do not have
the same level of popularity asAirbnb.

From the perspective of a guest:

- Price range: Guests can choose their ideal match from a wide range of prices using the
website's "low from high" price option.

- Guests are free to explore different places of theirchoice.

- Some of the properties include tennis courts, pools, bikes, and other amenities which are
not very common in case of moderately priced hotels.
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES

Pull and push are the kinds of digital marketing.

Push digital marketing occurs when a marketer delivers a message to a receiver who is not
actively seeking the material, such as display advertising on websites and news blogs. When the
recipient has not actively sought the marketing message, email, text messaging, and online feeds
with personalised content can also be classified as push digital marketing. Push marketing
enables you to target your demographics and spend your marketing dollars to advertise your
goods to individuals you know are interested in what you have to offer. A push marketing
campaign might be more expensive in terms of upfront expenses, therefore you must be certain
that your marketing will reach the appropriate people at the right time. Push digital marketing is
exemplified through behaviour targeting.

Blogging, email marketing, social networking, infographics and other kinds of visual message,
and search engine optimization are all examples of pull digital marketing (SEO). A pull
marketing strategy may also incorporate public relations or other methods of contacting potential
or existing consumers who you want to keep engaged. While a pull marketing campaign may be
less expensive to launch, it will cost you in other ways.If you are launching a social media
campaign, for example, you will need to employ someone to handle your social media and reply
to individuals who make comments or ask questions. Social media gets people talking, which has
a significant influence on sales. Pull marketing also necessitates a higher time investment, but it
provides you with more opportunities to entertain and educate your consumers about your brand.

Airbnb focuses more on inbound techniques to generate more traffic to Airbnb and so that
morepeople are attracted and lead to profit generation for the company, which is the ultimate
aim.
Some Digital Marketing strategies which we think will be profitable for the company to invest
in, include:

1. Google DisplayAds

Our digital marketing plan would include investing in google ads since Google Ads can
improve the aesthetic and visual appeal thus attracting more customers from around the
whole. The photographs of real apartments and rooms can act as a driving force for the
users since they get an idea of the look and feel of the place they would be visiting.
Thiswill also help to reach out to a wider international audience. Airbnb's plan is to keep
using digital marketing tools because they assist them grow their consumer base. This
technique will have an impact on the user's brand recognition. This is a good way to
reach out to the target audience while trying to convert visibility intosales.
2. Social Media and social media analytics tools

Social media platforms allow and encourage engaging conversations. Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, YouTube, and other popular social media platforms are just a few examples. It
also used social media analytics tools to target the audience for some relevant and
specific rooms and stays. Now, marketers can converse with clients on social media at
any time of day or night. Customers are now being engaged by brands through social
media.

● Video Marketing- YouTubevideos

The use of YouTube videos to explain their product and brand storey has been
crucial. While other brands try to sell their products on YouTube, Airbnb not only
aims to sell their business, but also instills a desire in the viewers' hearts to bea part
of the experiences. Rather than boring traditional commercials, they share unique
experience stories
The company’s YouTube channel has almost 500 videos with more than 100
million views.. Even the hosts are provided with technical assistance in order to
promote their stays. This helps to keep the quality of the product high.
According to us, this is a great opportunity and the company should invest a
goodamount of money for the creation of videos for their YouTube channel since
this is a great source of influence for the people and can drive traffic for Airbnb.

● Instagram
Airbnb’s instagram strategy is known for having User Generated Content as a
major part of their plan. The company currently has 4.9 million followers and is
active on Instagram. It runs campaigns, maintains its Instagram feed, regularly
puts up stories and puts up story ads. This works well for the company since
engagement on instagram is high.
Investing in this platform for the content, ads would be profitable for the company
looking at the engagement rates.

● Facebook
Around 60% of consumers use social media to finalise their vacation destination.
In addition, the recommendations help in gaining 15% new clients. As a result,
Airbnb's marketing approach has largely centred on Facebook in order to
boostrevenue. They have started posting photographs of their various residences
in addition to their holiday place recommendations. In the minds of users, this
creates a desire to stay in beautiful areas.
3. Digital Content Marketing

To boost customer engagement, content marketers employ a variety of content and

tactics. Airbnb is no less, it creates great content to increase the engagement. Content
marketing is needed for:
● Airbnb Digital Campaigns:
Campaigns have long been a topic of debate on social media. It improves the
image of businesses and addresses challenges.

#WEACCEPT
Airbnb introduced a non-discrimination policy on their website in 2017 in
response to complaints of visitors being discriminated on the basis of gender and
ethnicity. They even created a video commercial using simple pictures and music
for the occasion. The commercial urges viewers to think about the main idea
outlined by the bold typography.
#LIVETHERE and #WEARETHEAIRBNB are two more popular initiatives.

Such campaigns require the content team to come up with such content
whichwould touch the emotional side of the consumers and trust on the brand.

● Quality images: Airbnb is selective about the content that it publishes on its
website. Anyone interested in lighting their space can request a free photographer
to come in and photograph the housing. Airbnb has a tool for this. 3000+
freelance photographers from six continents are part of the network. The appeal of
a website is enhanced by high-quality photographs. The amount of space available
and the likelihood of being rented out increase.

4. Search Engine Optimisation(SEO)

SEO is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic on your website.
Google, like every other search engine, has a crawler that goes out and collects
information on all of the stuff they discover on the internet. Crawlers return all of the
results to the search engine in order to create an index. This index is then put into an
algorithm, which attempts to match all data with your query.Search engines are becoming
smarter, and companies are harnessing the full potential of the internet. Airbnb increased
visitors organically to create brand presence by utilising finest search engine optimization
services. They drew attention through search engines by ranking for terms that included
the word "accommodation" in their keywords. They optimised their whole website to
compete against organised hospitality sector competition by employing sophisticated
 search engine optimization methods. We need to continue to do so as Airbnb is a bit
lacking in terms of its search engine visibility.

5. Email Marketing

E-mail marketing allows you to enter the realm of the customer's inbox. It establishes a
personal connection between the company and the client. E-mail marketing strategy
connects all of a company's online accounts, including its website, application, blogs,
social media, and others.It utilizes regular postal mail to meet likely clients.Airbnb relies
heavily on email marketing. Their primary focus is on user retention and assisting users
in having memorable Airbnb experiences. Email is the medium through which they
promote communication between hosts and potential travellers.

6. Conversion Rate Optimization

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of improving the percentage of

website visitors who do a desired action. Purchase of a product, clicking ‘add to basket,'
signing up for a service, filling out a form, or clicking on a link are all examples of
desired activities.

Conversion Rate= Number of conversions/ total number of visitors x 100

To boost your conversion rate, utilise CRO tools to examine web pages that are
underperforming in relation to your conversion objectives and determine what is stopping
visitors from completing a desired action, such as clicking a CTA button, joining an email
list, or adding anything to their shopping cart. Once you've discovered any roadblocks
that your website visitors are encountering, you can make better educated judgments
about what modifications to test on your pages (through A/B or multivariate testing) to
increase conversion rates. You should also examine your highest-converting pages to see
what works—what is it that persuades consumers to complete the conversion funnel on
those sites? This is an important step for Airbnb as the company needs to continuously be
aware of the changing environment and adapt itself to these changes by incorporating the
CRO tools in its strategy to improve conversion. As due to the pandemic the habits and
preferences of its customers are evolving and the company is also incorporating such
things by adding ‘Online Experiences’, new CTA buttons,etc.

7. Pay-per-clickAdvertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an advertising technique in which marketers put ads on a platform

and pay the platform's host when their ad is clicked. The ad's objective is to direct users
who click on it to the advertiser's website or app, where they may perform a valued
activity, such as purchasing a product.Every time an ad spot appears on a search engine
 results page (SERP), an auction for the term is held in real time. The winner, who appears
in the top position, is determined by a combination of various variables, including bid
amount and ad quality. These auctions are what keep the PPC machine running. They
begin when someone uses a search engine to find anything. If advertisers are interested in
presenting advertising relevant to a user's search query, an auction is initiated based on
keywords that marketers bid on. The winning adverts are then shown on the search
engine results page.

Advertisers participate in these auctions by creating accounts on platforms such as

Google Adverts and deciding where and when they want their ads to display. Accounts
are divided into campaigns for easier management and reporting of various regions,
product kinds, or other relevant classification. Airbnb has a considerable amountof
advertisements on various platforms and their ad content talks to their distinct points of
differentiation and so distinguishes them from their competition, which one would expect
to result in much higher results. When it comes to landing pages, they primarily use local
images to offer a more relevant result, and it appears that they are trying short form sites
vs longer ones to determine which converts better. In any case, the information is very
related to the search phrase and locality, which can'tharm.

8. WebsiteDevelopment

Website creation is a way to make people aware of the services and/or products you're
giving, to explain why your products are important and even necessary for them to buy or
use, and to see what distinguishes your firm from competitors. Customers will be
influenced greatly by displaying this information with high-quality photographs and a
well-thought-out presentation, so attempt to make your product as relatable and enticing
as possible. Only when web development is done correctly can it be considered cost-
effective. Good website development companies will build websites that are long-lasting
and require minimum redevelopment. Businesses should anticipate to pay for minor
updates and maintenance throughout the year after a one-time expense. Bad website
development, on the other hand, will result in a never-ending back-and-forth with
programmers and designers, raising expenses and delaying access to a functional,
effectivewebsite.
BUDGET ALLOCATION
Many businesses are interested in using digital marketing to help them build their businesses, but
they are unsure how much it will cost. Marketing has moved from traditional offline to digital
platforms, and the good news is that expenses have decreased. It's also possible to argue that
internet marketing is far more effective than its predecessors, which mostly consisted of print
ads, TV and radio commercials, and direct mail. There are several aspects that influences
investment decision:
● Marketing objectives
● Business size
● Timeline
● Marketing budget

Curating a digital marketing plan for 3 months for our organisation, we’d like to go for the
following services outsourced to the digital marketing agency:

S. No. Services rendered Cost per quarter (3 months)

1 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Rs. 4,05,000

2 Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC) Rs. 5,90,000

3 Social Media Marketing Rs. 5,85,000

4 Email Marketing Rs. 3,00,000

5 Website design and maintenance Rs. 5,50,000

6 Social Media Campaign Rs. 5,60,000

7 Consulting and strategy development Rs. 3,10,000

8 Performance review & KPI reports Rs. 2,60,000

9 Conversion Rate Optimization Rs. 2,15,000

10 Google data studio campaign Rs. 8,00,000

TOTAL Rs. 45,75,000

JUSTIFICATION OF THE BUDGET ALLOCATION

1. Google Data Studio and Analytics Tools: Google Data Studio aids in the
comprehension of data by allowing to create stunning visualisations and dashboards
thatturn data into stories. It is necessary for companies to process the raw data and turn
that into actionable insights in order to make profitable decisions. Not only does Airbnb
use data to improve their service and search, but they also use it to improve their hiring
procedures and consumer categories. Airbnb also uses data to demographically
personalise the search experience.We are investing Rs 8,00,000 in such analytics sinceit's
the foundation of business and especially for a company like Airbnb that works
internationally, it’s of utmost importance to understand the data and make informed
decisions.
We believe that investing the highest amount here would definitely be profitable for the
company since all the actions and major decisions of the company will be based on the
analytics derived from this digital marketing tool.

2. Pay-Per-Click (PPC): Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a way of marketing and

increasing visibility on search engines like Google and Bing. This advertising approach is
one of the most effective internet marketing tactics, with PPC visitors 50 percent more
likely to make a purchase than organic visitors. Airbnb already gets a lot of traffic due to
its well established brand name, but we think that by implementing tactics likePay-Per-
Click, Airbnb can double its potential and increase the traffic. Hence, we have allocated
Rs 5,90,000 to this and we are positive that using PPC will be beneficial for Airbnb.

3. Social media marketing: Airbnb's social media marketing plays a crucial role since it
serves multiple purposes. The company uses it for user acquisition strategy, brand
awareness and for its target audience, which are, those who want to rent a property and
those who are looking for a property. Airbnb's social media posts are appealing to the eye
and attract customers. The engagement on all social media platforms including
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube is high and keeps growing each day as people become
more and more aware. Social media platforms in today's date are used by the majority of
people hence, our plan suggests investing Rs 5,85,000 in social media marketing

4. Social Media Campaigns- Social media campaigns enable a company to reach many
people. Airbnb invests a heavy amount in its campaigns and in the previous years, it has
successfully launched campaigns which have been interactive and have had an impact on
people. It has a major contribution to airbnb's marketing strategies and that’s why we
have allocated an amount of Rs. 5,60,000 to social media campaigns.
5. Website design and maintenance: Airbnb has constructed a website that not only
supports the company's growth but also its unexpected trajectory. Airbnb's website has a
lovely, modern look. It's straightforward but appealing, and it won't leave users
perplexed. All the bookings are done from the Airbnb website and the marketing efforts
are aimed at driving the traffic to the website and then eventually converting prospects
into leads. Designing such a website demands a good amount of money. The website is
updated regularly to improve security, boost site traffic and optimize the user’s
experience. The website witnesses a huge traffic per second, hence, it is all the way more
important to maintain the website so that it operates properly. Keeping this mind, we have
allocated Rs 5,50,000 to website design and its maintenance.

6. Consulting and strategy development: Since we are outsourcing our entire digital
marketing plan to an agency, we would require their strategy consultancy on various
aspects. They usually begin by conducting a deep analysis of their client's business goals
and objectives. Investment in this is to see if Airbnb’s current practises are in line with
their desired outcomes. They will provide strategic recommendations for the company to
implement based on their analysis in order to achieve better results. Strategy consultants
would provide expertise on market research and the competitive landscape in addition to
business analysis, allowing us to make well-informed decisions that are in the best
interests of our company's health.

7. Performance review & KPI reports: Identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
are an important part of executing any digital marketing plan. They are measurable goals
that help you track and measure your progress. It's more critical than ever to plan your
short- and long-term KPIs in a changing marketing landscape, such as today's era of
digital disruption. We can utilise KPIs to set objectives and demonstrate that their efforts
are having a beneficial impact. Outsiders may believe that measuring the success of
digital marketing activities is tough, but this is not the case. In reality, tracking the
progress of a digital campaign is usually easier than tracking the development of an
offlineeffort.

8. Conversion rate optimisation: Airbnb is required to invest in CRO in order to adapt to

the constantly changing environment and increase customer focus.
Changes that have a real impact on both day-to-day use and consumer satisfaction:
● Testimonials, reviews, or social proof from influencers who endorse yourbrand.
● Insightful content, particularly in the form of video lessons.
● Change the style and location of your CTAs to encourage faster replies (by advertising
limited-period or exclusiveoffers).
● Forms in downloads that will collect useful lead info.
● More product images, in detail and from various perspectives.
● A chatbot to answer briefquestions.

9. Email Marketing: Aside from the obvious goals of increasing reservations and
prompting customers to book their next travel adventure, one of Airbnb's goals with this
pillar of their email marketing strategy is to position themselves as a one-stop-shop for
organising a memorable vacation, so that users become familiar with not only booking
their accommodation through Airbnb, but also activities while they're there. Aside from
that, Airbnb aims to make it easier for its customers to ‘live it' rather than just ‘see it,'
supporting one of their major marketing themes. For this there is a need for continuous
investment in email marketing and hence we have allocated the given amount of
Rs.3,00,00 to the same.

10. Search engine optimization (SEO): Airbnb relies heavily on brand awareness to drive
organic traffic and could perform much better when ranking for accommodation-related
keywords. They have a large site, so it won't be simple, but there are a few on-site
optimizations they'll need to do if they want to compete with booking.com or Wotif.
However, this will not be sufficient; they will want a thorough backlink strategy in order
to seem authoritative and rank for the essential keywords.Fortunately, they have a large
content library that they can utilise to drive these backlinks, but they need to be more
aggressive in advertising it and maybe produce new resources that are more "backlink-
friendly" to truly thrive in organic search. Investing in a good SEO strategy is needed as
the brand as compared to its competitors lacks the visibility on search engine searches
unless specific words like Airbnb are mentioned and this requires rigorous improvement
in order to be more accessible to customers.
 OnlineAdvertisements

INTRODUCTION
Let's take a closer look at what online advertising is before we go any further. Simply put, online
advertising is marketing that takes place via the internet. Isn't it simple enough?

Well, there is a lot that goes into internet advertising. Advertisements that appear on websites and
in search engine results pages are referred to as online advertising. Not only that, but it also
applies to advertisements on social media, emails, and other forms of communication. There
arealso a plethora of other options to advertise on the internet.

Don't be intimidated; we'll go through each of these in detail in the coming articles. One of the
best aspects of online advertising is that it is continuously changing. Nowadays, online
advertisements are widely used.

IMPORTANCE
Why is Online Advertising Important?

Online advertising is critical for the achievement of an online business. Research shows that
individuals are progressively utilizing the Internet to look for data about items and their costs
prior to settling on ultimate choices. This implies you can't actually stand to disregard online
advertising as the greater part of your customers are researching online.

Each business visionary and advertiser should utilize this cutting-edge age advertising
instrument. It upgrades their customer base, drives ages, showcasing reach and eventually helps
increase their benefits.

The main importance of online advertisement are: -

Global Reach

Through Internet advertising, you can feature your business past your local area and your interest
group around the world. You don't need to head out anyplace to grow your business; you can
without much of a stretch associate with your crowd with the assistance of the Internet. Your
company will be accessible to a big number of customers as a result of this. Possibilities may
later transform into your clients and assist you with acquiring benefits. As your business
augments its span on the Internet, it will have more possibilities and leads in future and
guarantee more benefits.
Cost Effective

Probably the best advantage of online advertising is its expense adequacy. Unlike other
customary techniques you don't need to burn through a large number of dollars to advance your
product and services. Advertisers can advance their business on the internet in a modest and fair
manner.

Target Audience

Online advertising helps you with tracking down the right crowd. It focuses on the people who
are most likely to be interested in what you're selling. Online advertising devices, for example,
online presentation promotions, web-based media advertisements like Facebook and Twitter Ads,
video advertisements make it simpler to arrive at your kind of interest group. This will
additionally help you in creating more leads and making your missions more compelling and
productive.

Engage Your Customers

The Internet is the best stage to keep your ideal interest group locked in. Do intensive
exploration on your ideal interest group and discover what sort of items and administrations they
are searching for and their opinion on your items. Plan your advertisement crusadesappropriately.

Access to Data

With the assistance of an online examination tool, you can interpret which systems are working
for yourself and which are not. You can dissect client information like catchphrase information
and can additionally roll out the necessary improvements. You can track and measure the
viability of your mission without much difficulty. This information assists you with recognizing
regions for development in your ads and advertising strategy as well.

Fast and Easy

Web-based advertising, unlike traditional marketing and advertising tactics, is rapid and easy to
implement. The traditional advertising system is overly long and wastes a lot of time. In any
event, when it comes to internet marketing, the moment you start your campaign, you start
obtaining quality leads. This enables you to meet your objectives rapidly.
PREVIOUS ADVERTISEMENT CAMPAIGNS
The idea of Airbnb was a very new one so it needed to be advertised to make it known all over
the world. There are several ads that were shown by Airbnb on different platforms of social
media so as to achieve a global presence. The ads they posted on different platforms were-

Google Ads

The first ad that was posted about Airbnb was on Google Display Network(GDN) and
was also through Target Google Search ads. Airbnb chose GDN because of the search of
global reach for Airbnb, which only Google could provide, in its infancy. They were able
to reach customers all throughout the world very easily and made its mark as the budget
travel agency. The listings of Airbnb’s website increased from 1 to 80000 from all over
the world.

Facebook Ads

The ads on Facebook tell you the main benefits of hosting and staying at an Airbnb rather
than just telling the main features of it to make it attractive. Using Facebook ads has
helped Airbnb increase their branding and also showed what can be the earnings of ahost.
Many people are influenced to go on a trip through social media so finding a place for a
getaway or a vacation and finding an ad is very convenient. This helped the aim of
Airbnb to reach millions of people all across the world.

Instagram

Instagram is the main social media platform right now and 42% of all photos in
Instagram is about travel and so encourages other people to go on a trip as well. This is
well utilised by Airbnb as it gives some well known personalities of a geography like
India, a trip to some unexplored place with their family and in turn the personalities write
great reviews about it and stimulate other people to go as well either to that place or
somewhere else through Airbnb only. This creates a huge audience for Airbnb as many
people follow the personalities they like and take a trip.

TV Ads

Airbnb spent a considerable amount of $9 millions on TV ads in the US alone for just a
week and are considering playing TV ads in other main countries as well where
lockdown restrictions are not so tight like Canada, UK, France and Australia. Airbnb
blew all the other online travel rivals by a big margin with its share being 78.8% in the
US.AlltheadsthatareplayingonTV areof thebrand campaigns ofAirbnb whichhave
played a significant role in increasing the number of people going on vacations and also
increasing the number of hosts.

Youtube

This is the social media platform which is used the most with over 2.3 billion people
using it. All the ads and campaigns of Airbnb are put up on Youtubeso that people from
all over the world can see it and the company can make its mark. Many YouTube videos
of Airbnb include the real life experiences of random people to make it authentic to the
viewers by showing short teaser videos and also the full experience videos. These videos
help Airbnb reiterate the “Airbnb Adventures” which helps increase the visit to their
siteby about 50% every time a new video is released.
TARGET AUDIENCE

Type of Segmentati Airbnb target customer segment

segmentatio on criteria
n

Accommodation Experiences &

Adventures

More than 191 countriesand More than 30000

Geographic
regions and about 100000 experiences worldwide
Regio cities
n

Density Urban/rural Urban

Age 18-45 18-60

Demographic

Gender 54% Females &46%Males Males&Females

Occupation Students,employees, Students, employees,

professionals, professionals, senior
manager, executives

Behavioral Degree of ‘Hard core loyals’

loyalty ‘Hard core loyals’
‘Soft core loyals’
‘Soft core loyals’
‘Switchers’
‘Switchers’

Benefits Costadvantage,variety Uniqueness,variety

sought

Personality Easygoing,determined, Easygoing,ambitious

Userstatus non-users, potentialusers, non-users, potential users,

first-time users, regular first-time users, regular
users, users,

Psychographic Socialclass Lower class, workingclass,

Working class, middle class,
middle class, upper class
upper class

Lifestyle Resigned, Struggler,Aspirer, Ex

 plorer, Reformer Mainstreamer, Aspirer,
Succeeder, Explorer,
Reformer

Airbnb caters to both travellers and hosts. Because they are at the heart of Airbnb's
profitability, these two target segments are critical to the company's business structure.

The Tourists: This market group consists primarily of people who like travelling but do not
want to spend all of their money on a hotel stay. They would prefer to spend their time
travelling to tourist attractions than staying in hotels because they will not be spending
much time there. Some travellers would prefer to stay somewhere where they may unwind
and spend most of their days without emptying their pockets.

The Hosts: They are property owners or tenants who are willing to rent out their properties.
The causes behind this differ as well. They may wish to generate money from an empty
area, or they may simply want to meet interesting people. Whatever the reason, all hosts
want to post their present location on Airbnb so that they can get to know who will be
staying in their house.

Many businesses find it difficult to focus on more than one target group at the same time,
yet Airbnb is able to do so. The company's approach is structured in such a way that both
marketing divisions compliment one another.

Majority of Airbnb users are millennials aged between 25 to 40 years. Also, Airbnb has
over 400,000 senior hosts, with senior women rated as the platform’s best hosts. Hence,
our advertisement for Airbnb aims at targeting this population.
ONLINE ADVERTISEMENTS FOR AIRBNB
There's a lot more to web advertising than just throwing up an ad and praying for the best.
The most successful advertising campaigns incorporate a number of interconnected parts,
each of which serves a distinct purpose in maximising the campaign's potential. Although
not every online advertising campaign will have all of the elements, the following elements
of a digital marketing venture will be included in many.

Using the following elements we would curate our advertisements for promotion:

● Analytics: From impression share and click-through rate to cost-per-conversion and

trends over time, analytics tools like those available in WordStreamAdvisor provide
a lot of information about an advertising campaign. Analytics tools are also useful
for attribution modelling, which is the process of discovering how customers find
and engage with your website.
● Texts and visual ads: Advertisers can choose between text-based ads and more
graphic advertisements like banners in Google AdWords and Bing Ads. Text-based
advertising is typically known as PPC ads, whereas banners and other similar ad
formats are known as display ads. Furthermore, social media networks like
Facebook offer extremely visual advertising styles with some ad copy, which may
be viewed as a hybrid of the two. Today's advertisers have access to hundreds of
advertising formats, allowing you to select the format and advertising network
thatbest meets your campaign's demands.
● Sponsored content: Sponsored content is a popular choice among online advertisers.
From advertorial-style journalistic content posted on websites (often referred to as
native advertising) to sponsored updates on social media platforms, sponsored
content can take various forms. Advertisers can use this tool on both Facebook and
Twitter, which both have a variety of sponsored update choices, such as Promoted
Posts on Facebook and Sponsored Tweets onTwitter.
● Landing pages: When a visitor clicks on an ad, they are directed to a landing page,
which is a specific, optimised web page. Landing pages can include prompts for
viewers to provide the advertiser with extra information, such as web forms, or they
can highlight specific products advertised in the commercials itself. Landing pages
can be used to persuade prospects to do a specific action, such as completing a
purchase, or as a stage in a longer "funnel," such as seeking more information or
downloading content for lead generation.
PLATFORMS TO BE PROMOTED ON
A successful firm relies heavily on advertising and promotion. Branding, expansion within
your target market group, the identification of new secondary markets, the development of
client loyalty, and competitive defence are all effects.

The platforms on which we plan to run the ads are:

1. Social media platforms: Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram,

YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest can be used to put up the ads. A study reveals that 83%
of millennials use social media and since the target market for the company closely
focuses on this segment, it would be beneficial for the company to run the ads on
these platforms. Engagement on these platforms is high, hence, any type of display
ad or video ad is more effective for such platforms as compared to text ads, since
the average time spent by a user on an ad is less so we, as marketers, have to make
the full use of that time and grab the attention of the target audience. Sponsored ads
also do well on such platforms targeting a specific demographic as a larger group of
people can be tapped.

2. Google Search Engine Result Page (SERP) : In addition to having a high ranking in
Google SERPs, advertisements need to be visually appealing in order to have a high
click-through rate. Airbnb should invest more in Google displayadvertising,
creating banner ad campaigns that feature photographs from actual Airbnb listings.
Airbnb, in the past, has been doing this and was able to attract foreign traffic and
significantly boost their listings as a result of this.

3. Relevant websites: Relevant websites can be used to show pop-up ads especially in
the cities of countries where people are booking places using Airbnb butthe
conversion rate is low when compared to other countries like the United States,
France, Spain or UK , which have seen the greatest economic impact from Airbnb.