@bandbclub
Facebook
10 Do's and 10 Don'ts of Social Networking For B&Bs to Attract Business
I understand that not all B&Bs use the networks for business and lots use Twitter and Facebook to talk to friends and network with other B&Bs, as well as attracting business. I believe though that you should try to separate business from pleasure and perhaps think about having a personal account as well to talk to friends with. Concentrate day time efforts on attracting business and evenings/weekends for personal. This sounds like it might be a pain but it isn't really.
DO take all your guests' Twitter and Facebook details and follow them. Make sure you take this information and over a period of time you will have a large network of former and future guests.
DON'T send personal messages to former guests or any followers with 'offers'. People hate messages in their inbox and will block you.
DO tweet and Facebook offers along with news of local events/activities. 'Come and stay for the ***** festival for half price'. Post offers once a week but NOT all the time.
DON'T forget about your audience with everything you write. Audience. Audience. Audience.
DO think about what your audience wants to know about? Take them to your paradise, what do guests love about your place. Talk about your experience.
DON'T talk about things that are too mundane. Do potential guests care that you have just read a magazine and are now cleaning toilets?
DO talk about local events in your area. If people fancy an event you've told them about in your area, they will stay with you. Retweet local tourist board and information sources. Write blogs, post pics. Become the knowledgeable voice for your area.
DON'T just link Facebook and Twitter together to make things easier, unless you use Selective tweets. When you put a picture on facebook it tells Twitter like this: 'I've just posted a picture on Facebook' with a link. That won't make people want to look because they don't know what the picture is. Never post links without full descriptions.
DO (and this is a big do, that many people don't do and should) put lots of pictures on Facebook. What's the point of having access to the world and not showing every nook and cranny of your beautiful place.
DON'T make huge attempts at gaining followers that aren't potential guests. I know first hand that begging for more followers is a waste of time. Quality not quantity is the key. Networking with thousands of people who will never go near your establishment and bring nothing to the table is pointless.
DO find the right people to network with. Post on Facebook sites where your potential guests will be. Perhaps fans of a festival or local venue, a local hiking group. Think about where your guests will network and find them. Spend a lot of time doing this. Network with the right people or social media will become a wasted exercise.
DON'T Tweet too much. Only tweet when you have something worth saying. Noisy people get deleted by others who only have small networks. Imagine if your guest only has 30 friends - if you are tweeting all day you will be the only person they see.
DO make some fun films and post them on Facebook. Don't be deluded into thinking that you have to produce professional promotional videos. If I saw a video of someone catching a big fish in your local lake I might think, 'I want to go fishing there, I'll ask them about rates'. Sell the sizzle not the steak. You provide an experience, show it.
DON'T forget to ENGAGE people in your network. There's no point in having followers if you aren't interacting with them. Build relationships, find common ground. It's hard work but if you don't network socially on social networks there's no point. This is why you shouldn't have 1000s of pointless fans, or it becomes pointless. Retweet your followers if they have something worth saying.
DO Run competitions/create promotions to give you something to talk about. Speak to local businesses and run a joint competition. 'Win a free day out at local theme park and a free stay in our B&B.'
DON'T play the stupid games on Facebook. The easiest way to loose followers is to beg for bits of wood to build your Farmville farm.
DO be human, be funny, be entertaining, sell your self as a humourous, light-hearted and fun establishment. No one likes a square and a fun social networker gets more attention than a dry one.
DON'T lose sight of your goals. It's easy to become distracted but your aim through social networking is to build traffic to your site by producing content and ultimately gain more visitors.
DO have Twitter and Facebook links on your blog/website. If a potential guest looks at your page and sees this they may have a look at your presence on Facebook. If you've followed all the above, they'll see you as a great host and book. The very fact that you are on FB and TW will make some people think you are a forward thinking business and want to stay with you.
DO write down lists of all the content you would like to produce and what your ultimate objectives are. Lists make life so much easier.
DON'T forget to write a comment, retweet or 'like' this blog if you found it useful. Follow us on Twitter too: @bandbclub
