making the most out of facebook for vacation rental managers
DESCRIPTION
As a vacation rental manager, how can you leverage Facebook, the most powerful social network, to connect to your potential guests and clients searching for your product? Making the Most out of Facebook for Vacation Rental Managers is a webinar presented by ResortQuest and Blizzard Internet Marketing. Learn: • How to set up a fabulous profile for your brand • How to successfully show off your properties • How to find lifelong guests and company advocates • Realistic results to expect from Facebook • Top mistakes companies make and how to avoid them • How to effectively manage your account in just minutes a day To watch the webinar on-demand, go to http://newsletter.blizzardinternet.com/webinars/facebook-for-vrms/ Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc 50629 Hwy 6 Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 www.BlizzardInternet.com http://Newsletter.BlizzardInternet.comTRANSCRIPT
Making the Most out of Facebook
Successful Social Media Marketing for Vacation Rental Managers
About John & Carrie
• John Ellis– Senior Online Marketing Manager– ResortQuest
• Carrie Hill– Director of Search Strategies at Blizzard– Twitter.com/CarrieHill– Facebook.com/carrie.hill1– SearchEngineWatch.com/smb-search-marketing
Social Media in the News
Dedicated to Delivering High ROI Online Marketing to
Vacation Rental Managers in the US, Canada, Mexico & the Caribbean
How Can Blizzard Solve your SEM Problems?
• Linkbuilding, Social Media and SEO Plans starting at $499 per month
• Partnering with you to create a comprehensive online marketing strategy
• Finding tens of thousands of lost bookings by improving their booking process.
Why?
• Social Networks have the ability to reach thousands with one click of a button.
How Much Facebook is Dominating the Space!
Graphic Courtesy SearchEngineGuide.com
How to Set up a Fabulous Profile!
• Use a Fan PAGE not a personal profile• There are tutorials available to help you –
http://www.searchengineguide.com/jennifer-laycock/the-super-simple-guide-to-setting-up-you.php
Fabulous Fan Pages
• Brand It– Use your logo and taglines – Create an experience similar to your website – Mirror vocabulary, colors and images
Fabulous Fan Pages
• Include Colorful Photos– Pictures tell a lot about a rental and a VRM, use
yours advantageously – and remember the thumbnail that shows up needs to be appealing, don’t shrink down a huge busy image and feature it as a thumbnail on your fan page
Fabulous Fan Pages
• Be sure to include URL & Geographic Info in your Profile– Profiles on Facebook rank well for branded search
and will take over slots a competitor or negative review could occupy!
– Be sure you’re using your brand, location, and URL in your profile
Show off your Properties
• Feature a new Property Every Day or Week– Include Photos, Specifications & Location Info– Highlight Attractions & Areas of Interest nearby– Don’t forget your photos & virtual tours– Consider unit-specific specials to create interest
and buzz
Show off your Properties
• Feature Reviews of Individual Properties– Comments from past guests for your individual
properties are powerful sales tools, post a guest comment in Facebook with a link to that property
• Upload Videos & Photos – Especially Virtual Tours– Facebook lets you upload photos to albums as
well as videos that play right in your Facebook Fan Page. Make good use of this capability!
Show off your Properties
• Like your Website – consider the Experience you’re selling on Facebook– Anything you can do to brand your Facebook fan
page to resemble your homepage will help!
Lifelong Guests & Brand Advocates
• Be Enthusiastic– Happiness and positive attitude are infections – be excited
about your units & specials and your fans will be, too!• Reach Out– Send a follow up email to guests asking them to friend you
on Facebook– Place Facebook icons on your website– Answer questions & wall posts– Use your Thank-You page after a booking to invite
followers to Fan your page
Lifelong Guests & Brand Advocates
• Add “how to follow” info to your website– Create a social media page w/ links to your various
profiles, link to that page from all pages on your site to entice visitors to follow!
– DON’T link directly to Facebook from every page – this invites visitors to leave w/o booking!
– Be engaged with your Fans, answer questions and invite feedback
Lifelong Guests & Brand Advocates
• Respond to every guest post, even complaints• Offer incentives to Fans – Contests– Discounts– Sneak Peeks
Realistic Expectations
• The Return is Dependent upon the Effort• Track Clicks from your Facebook Page using a
URL Shortener kl.am is our favorite• Don’t expect every interaction to result in a
sale, but the more interaction you have, the more sales can be INFLUENCED by your fan page.
Top Mistakes to Avoid!
• Don’t post a link in every update• Don’t divert the booking message on your
website• This is not a Set it & Forget it Medium, if
you’re going to do it, do it right!• Bring them to your website with realistic and
honest messages, don’t cram sales messages in every post.
Facebook in 5 Minutes a Day!
• Read your recent wall posts & add responses• Post something new and exciting• Follow back your Fans and reach out to your
neighbors & area business owners to build a support network
Contact Blizzard Internet
• Blizzard Internet Marketing• [email protected]• Newsletter.blizzardinternet.com• BlizzardInternet.com• Facebook.com/BlizzardInternet• Twitter.com/BlizzInternet
John [email protected]/ResortQuestTwitter.com/JohnWEllis