{"id":3954,"date":"2016-05-27T11:09:15","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T11:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pmpazure.co.uk\/blog\/?p=3954"},"modified":"2016-05-27T11:09:15","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T11:09:15","slug":"4-ways-build-trust-online-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.promotemyplace.com\/blog\/4-ways-build-trust-online-marketing","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways to Build Trust Through Online Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Building trust online is hugely important to the success of your holiday rental business.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

Because the world has become a much smaller place and consumers have become a lot savvier when it comes to parting with their hard-earned cash.<\/p>\n

Competition is rife.<\/p>\n

Look around your local area \u2013 how many holiday rentals are on offer?<\/p>\n

They\u2019re all your<\/em> competition.<\/p>\n

So standing out in a way that they\u2019re not, is vital.<\/p>\n

This could be through the amenities your holiday let offers. The welcome pack you leave. Your price-point, etc.<\/p>\n

All of which are great, but they\u2019re not enough.<\/p>\n

You also need to stand out by developing relationships and building trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard about people getting scammed when booking a holiday rental.<\/p>\n

You know the story \u2026 potential guest finds accommodation online, checks dates with the owner, agrees the rate and hands over the money only to discover on arrival, the property doesn\u2019t exist or<\/em> the real<\/em> owners have rented it legitimately themselves.<\/p>\n

Leaving them without a place to stay and<\/em> no way to get their money back –\u00a0it’s understandable that this has made holiday makers wary.<\/p>\n

They’ll now investigate more thoroughly before<\/em> making any booking. They search around to find out about you<\/em>, as well as your property and the local area.<\/p>\n

So having a complete<\/em> online presence is a must to help secure bookings.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are four ways to build trust through online marketing:<\/p>\n

1. Website<\/strong><\/p>\n

No online marketing strategy is complete without your own website.<\/p>\n

This is the first place potential guests will go to find out more about you and the property, planting that initial seed of trust.<\/p>\n

Assuming you\u2019ve created your website wisely, including plenty of valuable information about the property, local area and things to do, it will project professionalism<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve talked before about including an About Page<\/a> to help build trust. Providing a little background about you – the owners – could be the catalyst that sparks a booking decision.<\/p>\n

2. Blog<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only do search engines love<\/em> the fresh new content that blogs provide, it\u2019s a great way to provide valuable information to would-be guests, which in turn develops that all-important trust factor.<\/p>\n

Blogging regularly shows you\u2019re in it for the long-haul. It\u2019s a business you have invested in and you\u2019re working hard to attract new guests.<\/p>\n

Not sure where to start? Read Getting started with your holiday let blog<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Social media<\/strong><\/p>\n

Social media may seem like a waste of time, but in reality it offers you another fantastic opportunity to connect with your target market.<\/p>\n

As mentioned earlier, when a potential guest is searching for their next holiday accommodation online, they don\u2019t want to be scammed.<\/p>\n

In other words, they want to make sure the property exists<\/em>.<\/p>\n

To do this, they\u2019ll not only check out your website and blog, they\u2019ll also look to see what social media sites you\u2019re active on.<\/p>\n

And whilst social media may not be where you receive direct enquiries \u2013 it could be the indirect<\/em> result of your online marketing efforts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. Testimonials<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another important way to gain trust is displaying testimonials from past guests.<\/p>\n

Of course you\u2019re going to be complimentary about your own holiday rental, but when other people are doing that for you … well that\u2019s the perfect way to achieve trust.<\/p>\n

And with 77% of people taking time to read customer reviews before making a purchase, your testimonials page could be the deciding factor in their next booking.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re struggling to get guests to leave a review, check out – 6 Tips for Getting Guest Testimonials and Reviews<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So in summary, building trust with your target market is key to running a successful holiday rental business. And all it takes is:<\/p>\n