Sometimes words and pictures just aren’t enough to communicate to potential guests exactly what’s on offer when staying at your holiday rental. Owning and maintaining your own website is essential, but it’s worth considering other online marketing tools which are available to help you get your message across. If you have your own holiday rental website you should definitely consider using video as well as photos to show of your accommodation to its full potential.
Video marketing works best when there is a visual element involved and not all businesses are able to make good use of it, but it’s perfectly suited to holiday rentals. Why not give potential guest a taste of what’s on offer with a short video tour? Furthermore you could create videos of local attractions, the beautiful scenery and other places of interest that your guests will be able to visit and enjoy during their stay.
If you already own a digital video camera, or you know somebody that can lend you one, you can get started straight away. If not, don’t worry, you don’t need to splash out on high end equipment to get the job done. You can purchase a digital video camera that will do the job for under £100. Perhaps you already have a digital camera that you use to take photos? Check to see whether it has video recording capability, since most of them do nowadays. You could even use a smart phone.
Use Video Editing Software for Professional Results
Rather than walking around the property with the camera rolling the whole time, you’ll want to shoot separate clips of each room and then join them together using video editing software.
Your videos can be put together using simple free software, such as Microsoft Movie Maker for Windows users, and Apple iMovie for Mac, so again, there’s no need to spend a fortune creating your visual masterpieces. It’s possible to use the software to create videos which look professional, even if you’ve never stepped behind a video camera before. Once you’ve edited your film and are happy with the finished results it’s time to share it with potential guests.
Embedding Video on Your Website and Sharing it With Others
YouTube is the perfect place to upload and share any video marketing you create and it makes it very easy to embed your videos on your own personal website. Once you’ve created an account and uploaded your videos make sure you also add them to your own website. To do this you need to hit the ‘Share’ button under the video and then select ‘Embed’. YouTube will then provide you with a little piece of code that you need to copy and paste into your website where you want your video to appear. Don’t forget you can also share videos on Facebook and Twitter, so if you have profiles on these websites, make sure you take advantage of these marketing channels too.
Maximising YouTube Potential
When you create your account on YouTube it’s worth taking the time to fill in your profile carefully and include as much detail as possible. Add links to your website and blog. Include a description of your holiday rental and how you can be contacted, if the viewers would like to make an enquiry or a booking after seeing your videos.
In addition you also have the choice to make your profile stand out from the crowd by personalising your page. Uploading an image of your rental property is a great idea. Choose a different picture for the background and your profile image, to give your viewers plenty of opportunity to see your holiday rental at its best. You could choose to do an interior shot and an exterior shot, or show different angles looking on to the property. If you have more than one property create a custom background that lets the viewer’s know you have plenty of choice available.
Key Benefits to Remember
Once you have your video uploaded you can use YouTube to:
- Embed videos directly onto your website with ease, to show off your holiday rental to potential guests.
- Increase your websites search engine visibility – search engines like websites with rich media content.
- Share your videos on your social networking sites to encourage more views and start conversations.
- Entice viewers to click through to your website to find out more about your property and make further enquiries (also increasing site traffic)
- Connect with others in the same business or in the local area
- Give maximum exposure by allowing viewers to visually explore your holiday rental.
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