There are few segments of the real estate market that have been hit harder by the effects of COVID-19 than private rentals, particularly Airbnbs. For many, it has meant the loss of income. For others, it has impeded the ability to travel completely between cost considerations and the availability of accommodations through large hotel and motel chains.
With this in mind, now is the time to start using your blog to convey information about safety when choosing and staying at an Airbnb property. Your first stop should be to the Airbnb site itself, particularly this page about COVID safety guidelines. Being familiar with how the host company is managing things is an important first step in developing your blog.
The next part is coming up with engaging content around a very touchy subject. As we are all very aware, COVID-19 safety is, at its foundation, a very individual thing. We are all expected to do our part to keep each other safe, but reminding readers of this can create friction. So how should you be framing your blog content to keep readers engaged without heaping on guilt? I have some good advice that I think will keep your readers coming back for more. Keep reading.
Curate Content From Good Sources
A great place to start in coming up with content ideas is to be familiar with what Airbnb hosts and other bloggers have to say. Start by reading other Airbnb blogs. Determine how hosts frame content about COVID safety. Spoiler alert: there is no shortage of this kind of content right now, and you can easily read back an entire year to gather ideas.
The best part about this is that you can directly curate content on this subject and demonstrate a few key details to your readers. Responsible content curation demonstrates that the issues and details you’re presenting are timely and relevant. It also makes the point that the things you’re discussing are being implemented by real hosts dealing with real guests every day.
If you don’t know how content curation works, you can find several articles right here on our blog, as well as other sources that outline the process. I recommend this article on content curation by Hootsuite in particular.
Include Authoritative Sources in Your Research
If your goal is to create completely unique content on the subject of Airbnb safety (and this really is the best route to take for SEO purposes), you will want to check your information against other trusted sources like the World Health Organization and the CDC. Those links go directly to their pages on the subject of hotel travel safety, and I strongly recommend checking the information you publish against what those sources say.
There is no greater responsibility than being accurate and up-to-date with information that affects people’s health and well-being. Vet all your sources thoroughly and avoid ones that seem to have a political slant. More than anything else, use your common sense. We’ve known how to stop the spread of germs for a long time. Many of us have just gotten lax over time.
Don’t Implicate Your Readers
Again, this is a touchy subject for many, and the sad truth of the matter is that very few of us treat the places we stay with the same care and respect that we treat our own space. That said, COVID safety goes both ways. Both host and guest have the responsibility to create the safest space possible.
How do you present that idea in your writing in a way that doesn’t insult or alienate readers? The best answer to this question is to focus on the why over the what. Don’t tell readers how to conduct themselves in someone else’s space. Rather, explain why certain practices and behaviors benefit everybody. Think in terms “do” over “do not.”
Tell a Good Story
Another effective way to communicate these ideas is through a narrative approach to blogging. Create content that tells a story with the final resolution being a comfortable, successful stay. Don’t ham it up; just create the ideal scenario and present it in a way that draws the reader in. At that point, the reader will discover their own points of relatability and positively engage with the content. This is one of the key goals of good writing.
You can also use the aforementioned Airbnb blogs to find good story ideas. Extra points awarded for giving credit where it’s due. You can develop narrative content around a specific post and then link to the original post to demonstrate how the concepts in your article pan out in a real-world setting. Think of it as reverse content creation. You’re using existing content to develop something unique and then providing citations that lend an added dimension of credibility.
Organizing Your Content Strategy
While a good blog is foundational to a successful marketing initiative, there’s more to good content marketing than just your blog. At BeezContent, we have the talent and tools to help you create all the content you need to launch and maintain a successful content marketing business. Need help with your blog? Need an email sequence to promote it? Contact us. We’re here to help with every facet of written content development.
