How to Build a MARKETING FUNNEL That Drives Direct Bookings (NO MORE Relying on OTAs)

Summary

The Boostly Podcast: Episode Summary Title: How to Build a MARKETING FUNNEL That Drives Direct Bookings (NO MORE Relying on OTAs)
Host: Mark Simpson
Guest: Dustin Baker, Founder of Hidden Gem Media
Release Date: May 12, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Boostly Podcast, host Liam Carolan welcomes Dustin Baker, founder of Hidden Gem Media, to discuss effective strategies for short-term rental hosts aiming to transition from reliance on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com to securing direct bookings. The conversation delves into the intricacies of building a robust marketing funnel that drives direct engagement and bookings, ensuring hosts gain more control and stability in their business operations.

Guest Background and Expertise

Dustin Baker shares his journey into the marketing world, highlighting his decade-long experience in sophisticated industries such as e-commerce and app development. Frustrated by the limited innovation opportunities in these sectors, Dustin pivoted to the burgeoning vacation rental industry three years ago. He founded Hidden Gem Media to apply advanced marketing strategies tailored specifically for vacation rental hosts, helping over 35 clients enhance their brands and increase direct bookings.

[01:51] Dustin Baker: "I set my sights on the vacation rental industry because it was up and coming, it was growing incredibly fast. These marketing strategies would crush it so well with something that was so visually appealing, emotionally resonating, and mass appeal."

Challenges in Moving Away from OTAs

The discussion begins with the primary challenge hosts face when shifting from OTAs: building trust. OTAs have invested heavily in their brand reputation, making customers feel secure when booking through these platforms. Transitioning to direct bookings requires hosts to establish this trust independently through multiple touchpoints and maintaining a high level of professional, high-quality design.

[03:25] Dustin Baker: "Direct bookings require a lot of trust. Airbnb put a lot of effort into growing their brand and building that trust so that people can book vacation rentals, which is a pretty expensive purchase."

Understanding the Marketing Funnel

Dustin introduces the concept of a marketing funnel, breaking it down into three stages: awareness, consideration, and conversion. He emphasizes that building a marketing funnel involves integrating various strategies like social media, email marketing, and paid ads to guide potential guests from the initial discovery of a property to making a booking.

[07:04] Dustin Baker: "It is like a bit of a trickle-down effect. You're going to have the biggest reach at the top of the funnel and then it’s going to get smaller and then of course, the people actually book a stay and will be the smallest."

Effective Strategies for Direct Bookings

1. Social Media Awareness: Dustin highlights the importance of high-quality visual content on social media to capture the attention of potential guests. Partnering with content creators or influencers to produce stunning video footage can significantly enhance a property's visibility.

   [11:25] Dustin Baker: "You need video footage that captures the experience of your stay, but incredibly well, and to the tune of standing out, capturing people's attention on social media."

2. Email Marketing: Transitioning from social media to email marketing is crucial for building and nurturing relationships. Offering incentives such as discounts for signing up can increase email list subscriptions. Once subscribed, automated email sequences can help build trust and keep the property top-of-mind for potential guests.

   [13:13] Dustin Baker: "If you give them an incentive like get $50 off your first day or $100 off your first day or even 10% off your first day, that is going to drastically increase the amount of people who go from discovering you on social media to signing up for your email list."

3. Landing Pages and CRM Integration: Creating dedicated landing pages to capture email addresses and integrating Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools like Go High Level ensures that hosts can effectively manage and nurture their leads.

   [17:20] Dustin Baker: "For the email marketing in general and having a pipeline that you can track people going through, this is commonly used with a CRM."

Common Misconceptions and Mistakes to Avoid

Dustin addresses the misconception that linking Airbnb listings directly in social media bios will drive direct bookings. He explains that this approach often results in low engagement and high bounce rates. Instead, he recommends creating a dedicated landing page to bridge the gap between social media discovery and booking.

[09:48] Dustin Baker: "A lot of people haven’t realized that you need a lot more than just people seeing one or two reels to book directly with you."

Additionally, Dustin cautions against relying heavily on influencer marketing, especially with large accounts that may not yield a high return on investment. He advocates for targeted Facebook ads as a more reliable method to reach the desired audience with clear calls to action.

[23:41] Dustin Baker: "Unless you really know how to approach it well, influencer marketing can be a bit more miss than hit."

Tools and Resources for Hosts

To implement an effective marketing funnel, Dustin recommends using CRM tools like Go High Level, which allow hosts to capture and manage email addresses, send automated email sequences, and run targeted ad campaigns. These tools provide a comprehensive solution for tracking and nurturing leads throughout the funnel.

[17:20] Dustin Baker: "These CRMs are incredibly valuable. The one we use is Go High Level."

Services Offered by Hidden Gem Media

Hidden Gem Media focuses on helping vacation rental hosts build and solidify their brands, set up comprehensive marketing funnels, and manage ongoing marketing efforts. Their services include:

• Brand Development: Creating a cohesive brand kit, including logos and branding materials.
• CRM Setup: Integrating tools like Go High Level with the host’s website and PMS.
• Content Optimization: Enhancing social media profiles and creating email templates.
• Ongoing Management: Running social media campaigns, email marketing, and paid ads to drive direct bookings.

[19:56] Dustin Baker: "Our whole goal is most of the hosts that come to us have a lot of different Airbnb listings, but they have the foundation or the beginnings of a brand that they want to grow."

Actionable Tips for Hosts

1. Invest in High-Quality Content: Collaborate with content creators to produce visually appealing videos and photos that showcase the unique experiences your property offers.
2. Build and Nurture an Email List: Use incentives to encourage guests to subscribe to your email list and implement automated email sequences to build trust.
3. Leverage CRM Tools: Utilize CRM software to manage leads effectively and run targeted marketing campaigns.
4. Optimize Your Marketing Funnel: Ensure each stage of the funnel—from awareness to conversion—is strategically planned and executed.

Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Dustin concludes by encouraging hosts to enhance their property’s appeal through additional amenities and unique design elements, which can further amplify marketing efforts. He also invites listeners to access a free masterclass video on his website for a more in-depth understanding of building a marketing funnel.

[25:12] Dustin Baker: "If you have a great property that is very Instagrammable and videos well and has a great experience, you'll see incredible results with this marketing."

Liam reiterates the importance of taking actionable steps towards direct bookings and leveraging the expertise of services like Hidden Gem Media to accelerate this transition.

Conclusion

This episode of The Boostly Podcast provides invaluable insights for short-term rental hosts seeking to move away from OTAs and build a sustainable direct booking strategy. Through expert advice on constructing a marketing funnel, leveraging social media and email marketing, and avoiding common pitfalls, Dustin Baker equips hosts with the tools and confidence needed to gain greater control over their bookings and business growth.

For more information, listeners are encouraged to visit Hidden Gem Media and explore the free masterclass offered by Dustin Baker.

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Notable Quotes

• Dustin Baker [01:51]: "I set my sights on the vacation rental industry because it was up and coming, it was growing incredibly fast."
• Dustin Baker [03:25]: "Direct bookings require a lot of trust."
• Dustin Baker [07:04]: "It is like a bit of a trickle-down effect."
• Dustin Baker [09:48]: "A lot of people haven’t realized that you need a lot more than just people seeing one or two reels to book directly with you."
• Dustin Baker [17:20]: "These CRMs are incredibly valuable."
• Dustin Baker [23:41]: "Influencer marketing can be a bit more miss than hit."
• Dustin Baker [25:12]: "If you have a great property that is very Instagrammable... you'll see incredible results with this marketing."

Transcript

[Liam Carolan]

Welcome back to the Boostly podcast. This is the podcast that gives you the tools, the tactics, the training, most of all, the confidence to go out there and get direct bookings. Today I'm joined by Dustin Baker. He's the founder of Hidden Gem Media. He's a marketing expert who helps short term rental hosts. People like you who's listening to this take control of their bookings and break free from the OTAs. And it's something that we're a big fan of at Boostly is, is breaking free from those. So I could go into more background about Dustin. He's a previous guest, he's been on this podcast before and he brings lots of gems. So strap in, enjoy this podcast and we'll get started. Welcome along, Dustin. Thank you for joining me today.

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, thanks for having me, Liam. Always a pleasure to come on and chat.

[Liam Carolan]

So what do you want people to take away from this podcast?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, I would say yeah, if you have an experiential property, so. So a property that is really good at delivering on a particular experience or has any sort of unique design that would cause it to stand out in videos on social media, you can really tap into a whole audience of people that aren't necessarily just searching on Airbnb and at the stage where they're ready to compare you against a whole bunch of other similar options, you can capture their attention on social media, nurture those relationships through email marketing, and then drive more direct bookings back through to your website, which, as we know, is really good for the business.

[Liam Carolan]

It sounds marvelous and I'm excited to dig into this. But before we dig into it, although obviously we know each other and you've been a previous guest, for those of our listeners who don't know who you are, can you give a bit of background what led you to start Hidden Gem Media and your expertise in general?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, yeah. So I've been doing marketing for about 10 years now. Started in some other industries that are really sophisticated, like e commerce and the app industry. And I was blown away by the techniques that were available, the strategies for being data driven, leveraging consumer psychology to market your business, which is such an important part to help you succeed over the competition. And so after kind of tapping out on what could be done in those industries because there's not that much room for more innovation, I set my sights on the vacation rental industry because it was up and coming, it was growing incredibly fast. It's evolving really fast. And I knew these marketing strategies would crush it so well with something that was so visually Appealing, emotionally resonating and mass appeal. And so three years ago I started doing marketing for vacation rentals, social media, email, paid ads, like the whole works. And yeah, it evolved into starting a company called Hidden Gem Media. And now we're helping, I think, over 35 hosts grow their brands and the direct bookings and get more bookings directly for all the properties.

[Liam Carolan]

That's very cool and something which, like I say, we're big fans of here and I know when hosts come to us, they have a lot of different worries and a lot of different fears. But in your opinion, what is the biggest challenge faced by hosts when it comes down to moving away from, from Airbnb, VRBO and booking.com, what's the biggest challenge to move away from OTAs in general?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, so it's definitely important to note that direct bookings require a lot of trust. Airbnb put a lot of effort into growing their brand and building that trust so that people can book vacation rental getaways, which is a pretty expensive purchase. It takes a lot of planning, a lot of trust to take your family and friends to an unknown destination. And so when you go to book direct, you don't have that same trust right away. So you need to build trust through multiple touch points with the people who are going to book. And you also have to display a really high level of professional, high quality design so that people have the confidence to book directly with you. So, so the trust element, there is one important element. And then also, of course, you need a really good marketing strategy that can reliably get high quality traffic from your ideal target audience to your website to book 100.

[Liam Carolan]

And when we talk about trust, I mean even it's sometimes what they call it, subconscious when you actually see these adverts on telly. And even I sit there and there was one great one over Christmas time that I was watching, I was like, oh my God, this, this is awesome. This is how I want to feel when I go away. And then it says Airbnb and I'm ah, it's annoying. Do you know what I mean? Like, I'm annoyed they're so good at this, but ultimately they are really good at it. And we do need to look at the way that they build trust. Now I don't have millions of pounds to be able to build trust. Guess that brings us on to really what we have to do. I guess we have to make it part of our, our funnel. But what does your marketing strategy and, and, and from the experience you've got from marketing. How does that go into hidden gem media? What. What is the kind of tips and tricks around that?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, yeah. Luckily, even a small host with a couple of properties can, you know, build trust with an audience who's going to book directly with them without needing millions of dollars in, you know, budget advertising like Airbnb has. And what we've done to help this is really recognize that first, like, social media is an incredible place to drive awareness. So to increase discovery from your ideal target audience and get them to discover, yeah, your property, your experience, what you have to offer, but then also realizing that's not enough to get people to book direct. You know, trust usually comes with touch points. Like, it's not even so much that the Airbnb has amazing advertisements. It's just they show up so often. And there's even been studies that show, like, you need 10 or more touch points before a customer is willing to buy with you. And so after we raise discovery on social media, we then make sure that all the people who are taking even more time showing more intent towards booking a stay at your property, we want to try and capture their email addresses and give them the ability to make, like, a micro step past, you know, just liking your reel so that we can nurture that relationship. Give them emails that give more reasons to book, tell them more about your brand and your business, your destination. And every single one of those are touch points that you can almost guarantee after they discover you on social media and really ensure that you're building the trust necessary for them to book direct.

[Liam Carolan]

I see. So it's about those little steps bit by bit, and I think we should cover. Some people will go, yeah, I know what a marketing funnel is. Some will just go, well, what is a market funnel? Can you just talk us through what do we mean when we say market and funnel?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, it almost sounds like a buzzword, but what it really means is we are recognizing that there's almost like three stages of moving somebod from discovery to purchase because it's an expensive purchase. It's not like you're going to see an ad for a water bottle and just, you know, spontaneously buy it on the spot. With this industry, we need to not just raise awareness, which would be your top of funnel, which is, you know, social media is the best at doing that. But you have to integrate those touch points with, you know, email marketing to build that trust with all the people who are willing to go further than just viewing that first reel. So you want to, you know, maximize quality awareness in the Top of the funnel, capture and nurture all the people who are showing the most interest out of those top of the funnel people and build that relationship with them. And then you want to convert them in the bottom of the funnel. And so it is like a bit of a trickle down effect. You're going to have the biggest, you know, reach at the top of the funnel and then of that it's going to get smaller and then of course, the people actually book a stay and will be the smallest. But yeah, so that funnel process has allowed us to take, you know, a whole bunch of separate things like social media, email marketing, paid ads, and put them together into a strategy that, you know, actually drives results from the marketing.

[Liam Carolan]

That's very cool. And it's one of those things where when you first get into a funnel in general, or when you first create a funnel, you've almost got to have gone through a marketing funnel to know what they are. I mean, there's this great big training company in the UK for property training and I even there was a chance to win something basically. So I put in for it and they announced the winner and they said, hey, a few lucky people will be contacted to get a ticket to this. And I got a call from them a day late. I was like, oh, I'm one of the lucky people. And that only occurred to me as I jumped off the phone. I went, oh my God, that's just a funnel. What they've done is they've had the advert, you know, on social, had the emails which go out, which obviously I signed up for, and now they've got me going to an event and you just go, oh, hang on, I'm in a funnel. But it's only because as a marketer, you know, like you recognize funnels and it's really important for everybody listening to this is that we don't want to be salesy as hosts. You know, nobody wants to feel salesy, but actually it's just, I think, like you say, giving them little tiny steps towards the next kind of thing that they want and that's what you're helping with. So I guess let's turn that around. What is one of the things, probably a common misconception which holds hosts back from doing direct bookings and from getting more success.

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah. Well, I think one of the biggest things I've seen is there's a lot of hosts who have realize that social media is an incredible place to raise awareness and to, to reach new people outside of just Airbnb. But what they, well, What a lot of people haven't realized is that you need a lot more than just people seeing, like, you know, one or two reels to book directly with you. So one of the common mistakes I see is they'll link their Airbnb listing in their Instagram bio, assuming that people are going to go from browsing on social media to booking a stay. And that's. Yeah, the. If you look at, like, you know, website traffic, Google Analytics, the session length on that is going to be so small, the bounce rate is going to be so high, they're really not in the frame of mind that they can just go straight through to making a booking. So, yeah, making a landing page as, as a bit of a bridge to the website. It allows you to capture the email addresses, send them a sequence of emails. That is meant to build trust and give you the ability to also retarget them with Facebook ads and then bridge that whole gap between awareness and booking.

[Liam Carolan]

I like the idea of that. What would you say is one thing? Because there will be people listening to this, just going, this sounds amazing, but I've, I've tried posting and like you say, nothing's come of it. What is one thing that somebody could do who's listening to this to really generate an impact and move the needle forward to start this process?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah. So generally speaking, it all starts with driving more awareness through social media, especially if you're committing to this marketing funnel. And to do that, you have to start with really high quality footage. You need video footage that captures the experience of your stay, but incredibly well, and to the tune of standing out, capturing people's attention on social media, stop them from scrolling, get them to want to, like, comment, share with their, their friends. This is kind of where it all starts. And the best place to do that is, you know, partner up with a content creator or influencer who can create that incredible footage, collaborate with them, get them to send you, you know, those video clips, and then you can use those, those videos to now post on your. And that's essentially how you'd start the top of the funnel.

[Liam Carolan]

That's good. So get some assets in place first. And like you say, I mean, the thought of me going to stay in one of the places and taking, you know, good footage or running the bath and setting a glass of wine, that's just not. That's just not me. Do you know what I mean? But having somebody come in who is, that's what they do. They're creating content. And so you're saying, make sure there's an agreement beforehand that you get the assets, you get the photos and stuff like that. And then like you can then use that as many times as you want, which is a really cool idea. So definitely one I'm going to pop down on my list and hopefully people listening to this will, will do so too. So how important is email marketing? This is something which we talk a lot about app boostly, but at what stage do they move from kind of the, the social media to the email and how easy is it to get their details to start doing this?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, no, that again. Yeah, that was one of the biggest changes that drove such a massive difference in results from just posting on social media to posting on social media. But making the core next step that you point everybody to is to sign up for the email list. So we actually incentivize it pretty heavily with a core offer and we set this up for every one of the businesses where you incentivize them past just signing up for your email list. No one wants to subscribe to a newsletter. It essentially doesn't happen anymore. So your opt in rate would be so low. But if you give them an incentive like get $50 off your first day or $100 off your first day or even 10% off your first day, that is going to drastically increase the amount of people who go from discovering you on social media to signing up for your email list and then from there. We typically do email marketing in two different ways. One is a set and forget automated sequence. So the second somebody signs up your email list, they're going to automatically get around eight to ten emails over the next few weeks that are just based on like a timed interval. And these emails are just designed to build trust. So they're, they're warming your audience, they're getting touch points, they're not too salesy, they're just, you know, foundation in your brand, giving them a reason of like, you know, what makes you different and unique. You know, hear from some of your best guest reviews, faq, things like that. And that's like the, the nurture sequence that builds trust, warms them up. And then we do email campaigns after that, which would be every single week looking at your calendar and deciding which properties have the, you know, best opportunity to run, you know, like a promotion or a campaign on, you know, based on the booking lead time in your price labs dashboard. And then we will take that information, create an email campaign that calls out, you know, maybe like, you know, spring 10% off book now and you know, and really incentivizes them to take action. So that would be like a bottom.

[Liam Carolan]

Of the funnel step, that, that email side of things. I think that so many hosts just think that when they send an email, they're just going to send special offers. Hey, I've got last minute availability here. I got last minute availability. But what you're saying there is to build up a, a trust and a nurture kind of funnel. And it just makes so much sense, right? I mean, I don't. Nobody goes home on the first date, you know, I mean, like, so it is. You might need a few of those emails to be able to get that person to then trust you and then you can start to present more salesy stuff. And again, it's just getting that balance, isn't it? I know from email lists that I subscribe to, from other hosts and I subscribe to a lot because I'm interested to see what they're doing. And actually some of the time is some of the funny stuff that they do. And sometimes they're just like, hey, if you ever stay here, here's the local lingo. And I read it just because it is interesting. And then afterwards they'll be like, and if you do want to book a stay, you can come along. And it's just like, oh, that's. I've learned something. I've got some value from this, you know, and it's interesting, you know, and stories sell as well, don't they? Just by telling the story of how you got started or story of a great day out that you've had in your local area. One of the people we talked about events just before we started recording and Bill Faith his email list. If you're not on it, it's worth going on his email list because he often tells stories and that's exactly that kind of building trust. You're getting something from it as you read. And then there's always a sale, there's always a call to action in there.

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah.

[Liam Carolan]

So just briefly on, on that same point, what tools do you need in place as a host? If I'm sitting there just going, well, I've got my basics, I'm on Airbnb, I might have my pms, but where do I put somebody's email and do I need a tool to get started or can I start collecting emails like today?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, no, for sure. For the email marketing in general and having a pipeline that you can track people going through, this is commonly used with a CRM. So customer relationship management tool. And it's a software that allows you to capture put your forms up on your landing pages, your website that get people's email address, store those contacts, tag them based on where they came in and what they were interested in and then send out email marketing campaigns, whether it's an automation or a one off campaign to you know, a section of your audience. Yeah, so these, these CRMs are incredibly valuable. The one we use is Go High Level. So also similar to Bill Faith's and I think you guys, you know, push that as well. It's an amazing tool that is so robust and has so many different features. And yes, we'll use that for, for email marketing, but also like a unified inbox creating automations attribution, so many things.

[Liam Carolan]

That's very cool. And yeah, I'm a big fan of Go High Level. I didn't even know that or didn't know it existed two years ago and now I'm like, it's a tool which I was in about an hour before we started recording this. You know, like it's something which you suddenly use all the time and when as hosts obviously we don't get a huge amount of time to learn new tools, but this is definitely one to just spend one hour researching, looking into and just seeing how it can help your business. Because since having this tool it allows me to track opportunities much better. Email, social media, all that kind of stuff. And I always liken the Go High Level because there will be some people you just go and search Go High Level. But the thing that makes Go High Level so cool is you can have customizable. It's like buying a chassis of a car and then putting your own engine into it. You can really make it your own. Which is why if you're listening to this thinking I want to check out GoHighLevel beforehand, you know, definitely go and check out Hidden Gem Media. And, and because this is the tools that we've personalized and boostly have got their own personal one, Bill's got his. You know, ultimately it's how you personalize it, isn't it? Which, which makes it makes it amazing. So I think we should come on to Hidden gem media in, in general now and just talk more broadly. What are some of the services that, that you offer and how does it solve the pain points for the, the people who are listening.

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah. So our whole goal is most of the hosts that come to us, they have a lot of different Airbnb listings, but they have, you know, essentially the, the foundation or the, the beginnings of a brand that they want to grow so maybe they've named their property properties, they've created a bit of a logo, and then they want to start growing like the, the direct booking side of the business. There's a lot of things when we talk about this marketing funnel that you have to set up in the very beginning to even be able to do it effectively, just like the CRM, for example, and then having that set up in a way where it's truly going to be effective. So the first thing we typically do with, you know, vacation rental businesses is, you know, solidify the brand, create like an entire brand kit. Make sure it's exactly, you know, behind, like what they want to grow and envision for their future of their company. And then on top of that, we set up the CRM and everything that would go into that. Connecting the Facebook pixel, setting up attribution with their PMS and, you know, so many different things that are going to make it like, really helpful. And then we optimize their Instagram page with the branding, create email templates and flows essentially. Yeah, set up all the things that would go into setting up this marketing funnel. And then from there you have that in your business now for, you know, that could stick with you. And then you can manage your marketing on an ongoing basis. So you can post high quality content on social media, send out email campaigns, run Facebook ads, and drive people back to the direct booking website.

[Liam Carolan]

Yeah, it's very cool. It sounds like it gets you really into the place where you need to be to really focus on your business, producing some content and getting some attention on your, on your brand. And this is where so many people. I was speaking to a host earlier on today and he was like, ah, you know, I just don't know how to get started with direct bookings. And it's just like, well, you've, you know, first of all, you've come to the right place, listen to the podcast, dive into the community. He's asked lots of questions. The fact he's even thinking about direct bookings puts him ahead of others and people listening to this. The fact that you're, you're thinking about direct bookings will push your business ahead. But this is where having that fast track, like you say, of where you can go to a service and to have this done actually gets you so much further ahead. So what I think would be cool now then, Dustin, is if, if you share how we can come and find out more about hidden gem media. And then I'm going to pack in a couple of gems, of course, questions for the End. So people stick away to the end, stick around to the end.

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, sure, yeah. So anyone interested? It's important to know, like right now we're mostly working with clients in the North America. And yeah, if you have like an experiential business that, you know, offers an experience past just a place to stay, then, yeah, you can go to our website, Hidden Gem Media, like Hidden Gem Media, and, and apply to have a call with me. So it's just a short couple of questions that let us know about your business and then get on a call and essentially just explain exactly what we do to get you from being reliant on Airbnb to growing your own brand and direct bookings.

[Liam Carolan]

Very cool. And the links will be somewhere around this piece of media. If it's on the YouTube or on the podcast, click as soon as it's safe to do so on that link and go and check out the website there. So, last couple of questions for you, Dustin, is what is one mistake that people listening to this can avoid right now with their marketing? What should they stop doing?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, one thing I would caution away from, unless you really know how to approach it well, is influencer marketing. Especially like, to, you know, to the tune of like, reaching out to these 300,000 follower accounts where they propose, you know, three to $4,000 on a single post that's supposedly going to get you this massive return and huge virality and influx. We've had very limited success when it comes to influencer marketing. There's a couple really talented influencers who have a quality audience and they can drive a lot of awareness, but for the most part, it tends to be a bit more miss than hit. What we found is if you want to reach more people, which is essentially what an influencer helps you do, I would rather pay a fraction of that and tell Facebook exactly who my audience is and just run ads to reach those people directly and know that I'm going to reach those people with a clear call to action, to book now. And then you can track every step of the process and ensure that you're actually getting a high ROI as opposed to kind of crossing your fingers on a. On a collaboration.

[Liam Carolan]

Very cool. Very cool indeed. And we've mentioned obviously, ads and Facebook pickles. I know there's so much more we could dive into, but what is one marketing trend right now as we record this? We're in spring of 2025. What's one thing that everyone should go and do straight after this podcast?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah. Yeah. If you're a host like the cool thing about really tapping into marketing and branding is it allows you to get such a larger why on just the design and amenities of your property. So we've seen this with, with some of our clients where, you know, if you have a great property that is very Instagrammable and videos well and has a great experience, you'll see incredible results with this marketing. But then if you go further and you add, you know, string lights to your backyard and then a barrel sauna, and any feature that's going to further showcase that experience that you're offering even better and add to it, it only amplifies the marketing, you know, that much more. And so looking at the accounts that they're doing really well on Instagram, seeing the design that they have, the amenities, the experience that they're offering, and then looking at your own properties and thinking of, like, how you can add this as well and kind of pull some of that inspiration is, yeah, a great way to level up your design and your offer, which is only going to get better results from the marketing.

[Liam Carolan]

That's very cool. Well, Dustin, thank you so much. I know there's so much more we can cover. We try and keep these episodes a rough time of car journey or something like that. But in a moment, I'm just going to ask if there's anything else you want to leave our listeners with. But just before we do that, I'm just going to mention that if you want to come and carry on this conversation that you've learned about in this podcast, you can go and join the Facebook group, which is free to join. It's called the Hospitality community. And you can come and talk about this episode or any other hospitality things you like. Mic and we'll definitely continue the chat in there. Dustin, I believe is in there as well. You can tag me in there. Liam Carolan. And we're happy to answer your questions about this podcast. We'll share that link again around the media. But, Dustin, what would you like to leave our listeners with? Any kind of last thoughts or anything we missed along the way?

[Dustin Baker]

Yeah, yeah. One thing I'll say is if you go to either the website or even my own Instagram page, you know, we mentioned the marketing funnel a lot. There's a lot to it and it can be confusing. But I did record a masterclass video. It's like 20 minutes long, really condensed, and it really helps explain these things in greater detail. So anyone kind of curious and this is like piquing their interest, but they didn't quite fully grasp what we were talking about. I think that video would really help give the clarity on exactly how this works.

[Liam Carolan]

Very cool. So go and check out that free video and the other things I got from this is don't go and use influencers, especially the ones that message us. And they can, you know, they can do X and Y for your business often on. On Instagram. Do go out there and find somebody who can record some really good content in your properties and ultimately just get started. At the end of the day, if you've got a place which is Instagrammable and cool, reach out to Hidden Gem Media, reach out to Dustin and go and get this done with it. The power is in our hands, isn't it? So thank you so much, Dustin, for joining us on the Boostly podcast. We hope you've got some value from listening to this and we'll see you on the next one. Bye for now. Having a blast. Gonna get it on the Bruce Lee podcast. Bruce Lee like Bruce Lee. Cause it's so hard on the T.

[Dustin Baker]

Is loose leaf making up those rhymes.

[Liam Carolan]

Don't write it, just do it loosely.