Setting up a business presence on Facebook and Instagram is a fantastic way to showcase your property and attract potential renters. Facebook boasts over 3 billion monthly active users globally (81% of U.S. adults), while Instagram has over 2 billion users worldwide (47% of U.S. adults). Additionally, TikTok has 1.58 billion monthly users globally (33% of U.S. adults), YouTube leads with 2.7 billion global users (74% of U.S. adults), and X (formerly Twitter) has approximately 332 million (29%) of U.S. adults as of January 2025.
Social media is here to stay. To remain relevant and take advantage of the exposure it offers, we’ll guide you through setting up Facebook and Instagram accounts for your property.
While we already share homes in our program on our social media pages, it can be helpful to have your own accounts for your home for extra exposure. It's also great to be able to engage with your guests, share experiences, and build a community around your Outer Banks home.
This post will cover how to create both Facebook and Instagram accounts. These will be business accounts, not personal accounts. But to create either, you will first need a personal account on each platform that the business page will be tied to. Many make the mistake of creating personal accounts and trying to use them as their business accounts, which can lead to missed opportunities.
Personal accounts are limited in features and insights. For example, personal accounts lack tools like analytics, which show how your posts are performing, and scheduling tools, which help you plan posts in advance. They also do not appear as professional or trustworthy to potential guests. Business accounts, on the other hand, allow you to:
- Access audience insights to understand who is interacting with your content.
- Promote posts to reach a wider audience.
- Add business-specific contact options, like email or call buttons, making it easier for guests to connect with you.
- Appear in searches as a legitimate business, increasing your visibility and credibility.
- Guests can check in to your page as an establishment. This is not an option, logically, with personal pages.
Switching to or creating a business account ensures your property gets the attention and professionalism it deserves. If you’ve already mistakenly set up a personal account, you can often convert it to a business account by adjusting your settings. But to save time, starting with a business account from the beginning is best. Plus, managing two separate personal accounts is not an easy task!
Further down you can read more about how to gain a following, posting best practices, understanding the metrics, and a few good examples of Vacation Rental Social Media accounts. Please note that all of these tips are helpful but not required.
How to Create a Facebook Business Page
- Log into Facebook: Use your personal account to create the page (don’t worry, your personal details won’t be visible).
- Go to Facebook Pages: Click the menu (the grid icon at the top-right), then select Pages > Create New Page.
- Fill Out Page Information:
- Page Name: Use your property’s name, like "Oceanview Escape" or "Sunset Retreat," incorporating "OBX" to distinguish your property from other potential businesses with the same name across the globe.
Example: "OceanviewOBX Escape" or "OBXSunsetRetreat" or "SunsetRetreatOBX." You get the idea! - Category: Select "Vacation Home Rental."
- Description: Write a short, engaging description (e.g., "Charming oceanfront home with a private pool, perfect for family getaways!").
- Page Name: Use your property’s name, like "Oceanview Escape" or "Sunset Retreat," incorporating "OBX" to distinguish your property from other potential businesses with the same name across the globe.
- Add Photos:
- Profile Picture: Use a high-quality image of your property’s exterior or a standout feature. You can easily right-click any photos from your listing on our site, save them to your device, and upload them.
- Cover Photo: Showcase a stunning view or inviting interior shot. The ideal dimensions for a Facebook cover photo are 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall on desktop and 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall on mobile.
To ensure your photo looks great across all devices, aim for an image size of 820 x 360 pixels. Make sure to keep important details in the center of the image so they remain visible on both desktop and mobile views.
If you have a video of your home, you can set that as the cover section as well. Make sure it's high quality!
- Complete Your Page Setup:
- Add your contact details, website, and location. You can elect not to display it if you don't want to.
- Enable messaging so potential guests can quickly contact you if desired.
Now, you can start posting! Invite your friends to like the page, and if friends or family have stayed in your home, ask them to leave reviews. Most importantly, make sure to include the link to your property on our website!
How to Create an Instagram Business Account
- Download Instagram: If you don’t already have the app, download it from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android). Instagram is best set up and managed on a mobile device.
- Sign Up or Switch to a Business Account:
- If you don’t have an Instagram account, sign up using an email address associated with your rental.
- If you already have an account, go to Settings > Account > Switch to Professional Account, then select Business.
- Optimize Your Profile:
- Profile Photo: Use the same image as your Facebook profile picture for consistency.
- Bio: Write a concise bio that highlights your property’s unique features (e.g., "Relaxing beachfront escape in Nags Head. Book your stay today!").
- Website Link: Add your property’s beachrealtync.com listing URL.
Connect Your Accounts
- Link Instagram to Facebook:
- Go to Settings in your Instagram app, then select Linked Accounts > Facebook and log in.
- Choose your Facebook business page to link to your Instagram account.
- Post Seamlessly:
- With the accounts linked, you can post content to both platforms simultaneously, saving time.
Start Posting
- Create Engaging Content:
- Share high-quality photos and videos of your property’s interior, exterior, and surrounding attractions.
- Post updates about availability, special deals, or renovations.
- Use Hashtags: Add relevant hashtags like #OuterBanksVacations, #BeachRental, or #OBXGetaway to increase visibility.
- Engage with Followers: Respond to comments and messages promptly to build trust and encourage bookings.
Monitor and Adjust
- Use the built-in Insights tools on Facebook and Instagram to track engagement and see what types of posts perform best.
- Experiment with different content formats like stories, reels, and posts to see what resonates with your audience.
How to Gain a Following
After you create your social media accounts, email us at marketing@beachrealtync.com, we can link to the accounts on your property page giving site visitors the opportunity to easily find you on social media. You could also post something in the home with your social media handles so that guests can go like and follow your pages. A great example of this would be a piece of paper on the fridge or a note in the guest book in the home if applicable. We will be happy to also add these links to the guest mobile app!
Other than reaching your guests, you also want new people to find your home as well. For this, we suggest sharing the page to your personal account so your friends can go like your page. After that, it is all about consistency. Start out posting once a week, then try a few times a week. You don't always have to share photos of your home, you could share someone else's post about the Outer Banks, one of our blog posts or beach videos, a beautiful sunset picture, updates your making to the home etc. Make sure you update your followers when you are offering a promotion on your home such as free pool heat or a discount. The more share-worthy a post is, the greater the chance you are to gain more followers. You will be doing all of this from your business accounts.
Posting Best Practices
This section is really just suggestions for those who want to get deeper into their social media strategy. The best thing you can do is to just be consistent! Try to post once and week instead of posting three times a day, burning yourself out, and then go months without posting. Also, try to respond to comments and messages in a timely manner.
Geotagging and Hashtags
Something good to get in the habit of doing is tagging your location, ex. Nags Head, North Carolina or Wright Brother's Memorial. Then when people search for that location they can see all of the posts associated with it. Hashtags are keywords preceded by the pound sign (#). They are more prominently used on Instagram but can be used on Facebook as well. We like to use hashtags like #obx #outerbanks #visitnc #travel, etc. On Instagram, you can look up hashtags and follow them. When these posts appear in your feed, you can like the photo and follow the account if it aligns with your target audience.
Posting at the Best Time
Once you get used to posting and you have a feel for what your followers like, then you can hone in on your strategy. Facebook has a great insights section that shows you what time of day your followers are online, their demographics, etc. Posting around that time increases the chance that your followers are going to see your post because it's going to be at the top of their news feed.
Use Meta Business Suite to Manage Your Accounts
Meta Business Suite is a free tool provided by Meta (formerly Facebook) that allows you to manage both your Facebook and Instagram business accounts from one place. Here's how it helps:
- Access Meta Business Suite:
- Log in to your Facebook account and navigate to Meta Business Suite.
- Make sure your Facebook and Instagram accounts are linked.
- Streamline Your Tasks:
- Schedule posts for both platforms in advance, saving time.
- Respond to messages from both Facebook and Instagram in one inbox.
- Monitor engagement and analytics to see how your posts are performing.
- Run Ads Easily:
- Use the suite to create and manage ad campaigns for both platforms.
- Target specific audiences based on location, interests, and more.
- Centralized Insights:
- View detailed metrics for both platforms in one dashboard.
- Adjust your strategy based on what content performs best.
By using Meta Business Suite, you can simplify your social media management and ensure a consistent presence across both platforms.
Understanding The Metrics
On a business page, you get to see more analytics than you do for a personal account. At first, they might seem confusing, but they are pretty easy to understand. Reach is the number of news feeds the post was in, an engagement is a comment, like, reaction, share, or click. Post clicks differ from link clicks. Someone may have clicked on the post to see the photo, but not have clicked the link to be taken to the website. Facebook gives you an in-depth look into analytics on the 'Insights' tab if you are interested in diving into the numbers.