Organically building your social media following with Candice from Boho A-Frame
On this episode, we have Candice from Boho A-frame. She’s a short-term rental host with a unique a-frame along the California coast. She walks through how she’s grown her social media following and why, even though she has 95% occupancy before direct bookings, she still invests heavily in marketing her own bookings. Podcast Summary In our conversation with Candice, we delved into the intricacies of working with influencers, cultivating a robust social media presence, and fostering direct bookings. A crucial point emphasized was the importance of thorough vetting when selecting influencers. Beyond just follower count, it’s imperative to scrutinize factors like engagement rates, follower demographics, and their track record in driving bookings for other hosts. Furthermore, we explored the diverse array of platforms available for property marketing, spanning Instagram, Pinterest, and even Facebook groups. The key lies in understanding the guest’s journey and strategically positioning oneself where they are most likely to discover the property. Leveraging opportunities such as getting reposted by travel accounts, networking locally, and investing in high-quality visuals emerged as effective strategies for organic audience growth. Direct bookings emerged as a cornerstone of sustainable hosting, offering independence from OTA reliance. Establishing a personalized website and booking engine is essential for this endeavor. However, beyond the transactional aspect, our discussion underscored the significance of delivering exceptional guest experiences. From thoughtful amenities to curated local recommendations, going the extra mile is pivotal in fostering guest loyalty. Finally, the conversation highlighted the value of experimentation and continual learning, urging hosts to remain open-minded and receptive to evolving marketing tactics within the dynamic landscape of hospitality. Essential Highlights Here are a few key takeaways from the podcast episode with Candice about working with influencers, growing a social media following, and pursuing direct bookings: The main takeaway is to take a multi-pronged approach to marketing, carefully vet influencer partnerships for ROI, and prioritize direct bookings while delivering an exceptional guest experience. An open, learning mindset is key. Follow Candice on instagram @boho_aframe Transcription Another thing I do to vet influencers is I always go to their page and I look at the posts they’ve shared and I see who they’ve worked with and I go to that person’s social media page or it’s a hotel. I’ll find who the email, whatever. I’ll be like, hi, I’m looking at working with this person. Would you mind letting me know what your experience was working with them? Did it bring you bookings? I specifically asked, did it bring you because so often the answer is. Um, not really bookings. We did get more views and we did, um, get a lot of followers from it, but we didn’t really get very many bookings. And so for me, if I’m paying an influencer trading, whatever you guys have come to an agreement on, if I’m paying them, say, I don’t know, a thousand dollars to work with them and I don’t get a single booking from that, what did I gain? You know? So it’s like, cool. Okay. I got followers, but that doesn’t make me money. At the end of the day, followers don’t make me money. Bookings make me money. Back to direct booking simplified. We break down the tactics and strategies to win in direct bookings. On today’s show, we have Candice from Boho A Frame. She has an A Frame cabin in Big Sur, California, not a place that you’ll typically find an A Frame, but she has done extremely well. She’s built up a social following and has locked in really high occupancy rates. On today’s show, she’ll break down how she’s built her social media following using different platforms, how she works with influencers and why direct booking is so important to her. So let’s bring her in. Hey, Candice. Hello. Welcome. Welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. Yeah, it was good. It was good to meet you. I think I found you because I think Either I followed you or you followed me, uh, and I started to see all the content that you were producing. I was like, I need to have this person on the show. Nice. Before we get too deep into it. Do you mind giving folks a idea of kind of who you are? Yeah. I’m Candice. I run a short term rental on the central coast of California. Um, I have a background in science. I got my bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and I worked in emergency medicine for quite a while and got injured in that realm and it like diverted me and I got to start hosting, which was like my passion. I loved traveling to a bunch of, Vacation rentals. My husband and I would try and do like three countries a year back then. We don’t anymore with kids, but, uh, but yeah, so it was like, I didn’t like choose this path, but I ended up here and I really like it. And it, it was a cool transition to something that I was passionate about in my personal life. And now I get to facilitate guest having experiences like the ones that I used to enjoy when I traveled. So that’s been fun. Nice. And you have one of the, my favorite structures in of all, which is like the a frame, um, my wife and I, we, we want to, we go to Tahoe every so often, every so, every so often, maybe like every one out of 20 houses, it’s an a frame with. It’s not very common over there. I have to send you a few Tahoe rentals that I love that are, yep. Oh my God. I would love to stay. I would love to stay at more a frames. Um, um, actually what, like, what is it like? To own a short term rental in California. Yeah, I mean, it’s got its pros and cons. I’m sure like any place, uh, the area I’m located is definitely,