Digital Influence: The Story of Airbnb and Its Global Influencer Strategy

Joel Backaler
Sep 5, 2018 · 3 min read

The following is an excerpt from the introduction to Digital Influence: Unleash the Power of Influencer Marketing to Accelerate Your Global Business (Palgrave Macmillan, September 2018).


Introduction

Starting in 2011, with aggressive overseas acquisitions and offices opening around the world, Airbnb kicked off its international expansion. Fast-forward to 2018, and the company now operates in 15 countries and has enlisted more than 4 million people to host strangers in their homes.

So many American companies have previously failed to translate their success overseas. There’s a variety of reason why brands fail to expand successfully, whether its failure to compete with local companies, an inability to tailor products for a new audience, or simply not doing the necessary upfront market research.

How did Airbnb do it? The right balance of global strategy and local implementation. Critical to success was the company’s use of local influencers (individuals who can influence the actions/decisions of a loyal group of local online followers with regard to their particular area of expertise), to drive brand awareness through a series of cleverly designed campaigns.

One of the things that was a little tricky about writing Digital Influence is basic concepts like “who are influencers?” and “what is influencer marketing?” are often misunderstood. Depending on who you speak to each person will think about these terms in a very different way. So, I put together this short SlideShare to introduce some of these basic concepts from the book.

Some of Airbnb’s most memorable campaigns include:

“Local Lens Series” Paris

In early 2015, Airbnb launched an influencer content series featuring various thought leaders, creatives and experts in key cities sharing their views on must-see/must-try local experiences. For example, in Paris, Airbnb worked with local bilingual food and travel writer Clotilde Dusoulier to author a “Local Lens” blog post on “10 Perfect Food Experiences in Paris,” offering recommendations for “where to splurge on dreamy pastries” and “Paris’ best baguette.”

“Night At” South Korea

In late 2015, as part of its “Night at” campaign and to support its expansion plans into South Korea, Airbnb worked with K-Pop sensation G-Dragon, holding a contest where lucky winners could spend two nights in his recording studio in the heart of Seoul. This led to a flurry of social media and traditional media attention, as well as a spike in Korean Airbnb user registrations.

“Don’t Go There, Live There” London

In 2016, Airbnb’s London team designed an exclusive experience townhouse in London, where visitors could come and experience local food and music. The purpose was to show travelers “the real London” not found in guidebooks. It enlisted 25 local influencers to amplify the event on social media — while 1,400 guests visited the townhouse over four days, several millions learned about it online as a result of the influencer engagement.

These local influencers — both celebrities and online personalities — opened the door for Airbnb in market after market across the globe. Why should Airbnb directly tell customers how great their service is? Better to leave it to local influencers who can speak with authenticity and authority.

Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb explains, “By early 2011, we were primarily an American company. But it became very clear that international is really important. We’re a travel company. Us not being international is like your phone not having email… So it became very clear that we had to be international — we had to be a GLOBAL travel network.”

For Airbnb, local influencers made a foreign brand a local one. That’s the difference.


To learn more about my new book “Digital Influence: Unleash the Power of Influencer Marketing to Accelerate Your Global Business” check out Amazon.


Joel Backaler is the author of Digital Influence: Unleash the Power of Influencer Marketing to Accelerate Your Global Business (Palgrave Macmillan, September 2018). He is a global marketing strategist, international keynote speaker and a managing director at Frontier Strategy Group.

Find him on LinkedIn here, and on Twitter at: @JoelBackaler.

Joel Backaler

Written by

Author of Digital Influence (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) International Keynote, Best-Selling Author & Global Marketing Strategist http://joelbackaler.com/

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