Creating content that your readers will share

Below are some tips on how you can create content that your readers will share with their network on social media.

1. Give helpful information.
Provide useful tips and information that people can pass on to their networks. For example, tips for management stress when on holiday, top tips for packing or best places to visit that no one knows about.

2. Connect with your network.
Post content, links or photos that will get your network connecting with you on a personal level. For example, if you are passionate about a particular charitable cause, let your fans know about it. Post news, photos, links and your supporters who will also promote your cause at the same time.

3. Entertain.
Have you ever read or watched something funny and shared this with your friends and family? No one wants to share boring content.

4. Get people talking.
Ask your fans questions and get them to post a reply. The aim of using social media is to interact and engage with your fans or followers and vice versa.

5. Give an incentive.
If you have any special offers or promotions, don't forget to add it to your social media pages and encourage your fans and followers to forward it to their friends and family.

6. Ask your fans to share.
It's as simple as just simply asking your fans to 'share'. Eg a message, photo or video. Ask them a question and ask them to share or like it if they agree.

If you would like more information on social media marketing or need assistance with TA Fastrack managing your social media pages, please call us on +61 7 3040 3588.

Developing a social media strategy that works

Social media is a long term strategy that is used to build brand awareness over time.

Below are some tips on what you need to know if you want to get started with social media marketing:

Where are your customers?
There are so many social networks out there, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Digg etc. If you want to get on social media, make sure you only use the networks that your target audience are using. Do some research. If your customers are using Facebook, but not LinkedIn, there is no point in setting up a LinkedIn account.

Be Active
Social media works if you dedicate some time to it. Merely setting up an account and having an “if I build it, they will come” mentality won’t get you far. Once you set up your account, make sure you go on the site every morning, or every couple of days to post comments and photos, answer customer questions etc.

Have a Conversation with your customers
Social media is about interacting and engaging with your customers. Your customers want to know you're listening to them.

Share relevant content
Include links in your posts to drive traffic to your website, add links to videos or photos or news articles that your fans will find interesting. Include call to actions and links to your special offers.

Encourage your fans to share
The more people that see your content, the better and if they find the content interesting, they will share it with their network of friends. This will help increase your visibility and reach far beyond your fan base.

For assistance with social media marketing, speak to one of our marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 1300 659 289 or visit www.tafastrack.com.

How to monitor your presence on social media

Below are some tips on what you should be tracking on social media.

Facebook
Facebook is a great way for you to jump right in and start interacting with past and potential customers. Your business page wall allows you and your fans to interact directly with your business. Fans can post comments, feedback, questions etc.

On Facebook, you should be monitoring:

1. The wall post - fans who post on your wall, provide feedback, reviews or who like your page.
2. Comments - fans who interact with you, answer your questions, polls, fun games etc
3. Likes - anyone who 'likes' your post, photos etc means they like the content of that post.

Twitter
Twitter lets you and your followers post short and sharp tweets, comments or links quickly. Because the tweets are limited to 140 characters, it may become overwhelming as the tweets will come through quickly, but the tweets and information you should be monitoring for on Twitter include:

1. Questions - be ready to respond quickly to anyone's questions about your business or products and services. Be helpful by answering anyone's questions about your industry too. It's a great way to build credibility and will showcase you as the expert in your field
2. Support - it's important to respond quickly to anyone asking for help. If you respond quickly to a person's question or request for help, it will show that you're listening and you care.
3. Feedback - be sure to acknowledge any complaints or negative feedback and resolve any issues as soon as possible. Acknowledge any positive feedback with a thank you or even retweet it to show your other followers what people think about your business!
4. Monitor any other conversations or 'mentions' about your competitors. Keep up-to-date with what they are doing, so you can keep ahead of the game.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a great social media platform for networking, recruiting, promote relevant content written by you and for showcasing you as a thought leader in your industry.

Below are some items you should be monitoring on LinkedIn:

1. Use LinkedIn Answers - showcase your expertise and build your credibility as an expert in your field.
2. Group discussions - answer questions or link to other relevant resources.

Blogs
Blogs are a great way to create content that's relevant to your business and can be used to drive traffic to your website. Providing relevant and quality blog articles can also position you as a thought leader in your industry.

With blogs, you can track:

1. Comments - view what people are saying about your articles, your competitors or the industry. Provide your comments or feedback if relevant
2. Links - are there other websites or blogs linking back to your blog articles?

Monitor what is being said about your business - some simple tools include:

1. Check into Twitter and view any twitter mentions about your business. You can use the search function in Twitter to check for industry tweets or terms, mentions or @replies or hashtags
2. LinkedIn has a RSS function for question categories, which provides a feed to you when someone asks a question in that category.
3. Set up Google News or Google Blogs which are great tools for collecting and searching for articles that are important to your business
4. Set up Google Alerts, which tracks any relevant articles on a particular keyword (eg your business name or industry term etc). You can set it up to receive alerts in real-time or for it to send you an email once a day/week.
5. Log into your Facebook page and scan your wall for comments.

For assistance with social media monitoring, or if you would like more information about social media marketing, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 1300 659 289 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Responding to online negative reviews

Here are some stats for you to consider on why it's important to respond to negative reviews online:

• According to PhoCusWright, 87% of travellers found guest reviews from people they didn’t know influential in their travel decision
• Online reviews are second only to personal advice from a friend as the driver of purchase decisions
• 86% of Australians trust consumer recommendations, while only 14% of people trust advertisements
• 74% agree (including 14% who strongly agree) that they choose companies and brands based on what others say online about their customer service experiences
• 92% of travellers are more likely to book accommodations that post a detailed property description and photos. Travellers want to see the value they are getting for their money

Below are some of our tips on how you can respond to negative reviews and preserve your good online reputation.

DO

1. Get senior management involved in the process and get them to reply directly to the reviewer.
2. Try to respond within 24 hours of the review. This shows that you are listening and you care.
3. Thank the reviewer for their feedback to show that you are listening and you are taking this seriously.
4. Apologize that the stay did not go as planned.
5. Be transparent.
6. Point out to the reviewer that this is a rarity when compared with your regular customer service.
7. Explain what you will be doing based on their feedback. For example, your personal email or phone number so they can contact you directly, you have spoken to the department responsible, you are fixing the leaking sink etc.
8. Highlight any positive aspects that the reviewer left.
9. Offer a direct line of communication (your email, phone number).
10. Fix the problem if there is one.
11. Let the guest know you will share his/her feedback with the relevant staff/department to show you are doing something about it and you care about their feedback.
12. Show some personality. You can be more informal and to the point in your replies, but still always professional.

You can also

• Write an article on your blog to let everyone know how proactive you are being
• Write a press release about any significant changes made to your hotel/rooms due to feedback from customers, eg installation of double-glazed windows because of the noise etc.

DON’T

1. Ignore negative reviews and think they will go away. If you don’t respond in a timely manner, other people will think you don’t care, or the reviews are true, which will impact directly on your profit.
2. Write a response back to the reviewer when you’re angry.
3. Write a robot-like response or standard reply
4. Question the reviewer’s legitimacy.
5. Reply with a discount. This will only encourage other negative reviews.
6. Respond insincerely or sarcastically.
7. Try to remove negative reviews (most websites do not allow this anyway).
8. Forget to respond to positive reviews (only responding to negative ones can make you look defensive).
9. Write fake reviews (you will be found out).
10. Offer compensation as it might only encourage more complaints.
11. Avoid humour and especially sarcasm and never be defensive, petty or condescending.

In summary,

• Respond to the review as quickly as possible (within 24 hours)
• Thank the reviewer for their feedback
• Apologize for any legitimate negative experience
• Address the positive points first, then the negatives
• Maintain a conversational and professional tone - it's ok to be informal. You don't need to write a corporate/robot-like reply
• Explain the steps you’ll take or you have taken to prevent the incident from happening again
• Allow the guest to contact you offline if a follow-up discussion is needed
• Avoid angry, abusive responses – or any type of personal attack
• Try to win over the reviewer and reassure other travellers, eg encourage the reviewer to come back again
• Avoid only replying with a discount or coupon as this may indirectly encourage more complaints
• Avoid corporate speak that contains no meaningful information

Speak to TA Fastrack today if you need assistance with optimising your Tripadvisor listing by calling 1300 659 289 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Why should you use social media?

Here are some reasons why you need to get started with social media marketing today for your business.

• It's free! Yes, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs etc are all free to set up.
• It's popular. There are about 750 million active users on Facebook, with about 50% of them going online every day. In Australia and New Zealand, there are over 13 million users altogether. Research shows that nearly 2 in 5 Australians online are now interacting with companies via social networking sites.
• It's not just for the kids. Most facebook users are female and are aged between 18-24 (25%) and 25-35 (23%) years of age. The 25 years + segment accounts for approximately 30% of all online users and is according to Nielsen Online, the fastest growing segment.
• Social media allows you to be personal. It makes it feel like a customer is interacting with a real human and not a corporation.
• Social media lets you stay in front of your customers and remain top of mind with them.
• It's a two-way communication tool. Twitter and Facebook lets you interact and engage with your fans. You can answer their questions and respond personally to their feedback almost immediately.
• Facebook pages are now being searched and indexed by search engines - great for rankings
• You can use social media to cross-promote with other marketing channels and extend your reach far beyond what was possible previously. You can now reach friends of your online fans at little to no cost, where it was almost impossible to do so previously.
• Social media is everywhere. People can check their facebook page wherever they are with the help of their mobile phones

For help getting started on social media, speak to one of the social media marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Start using Twitter for your business

What is Twitter?
Twitter is a useful communication tool that allows people to interact with other people from around the world. It is usually referred to as a 'micro-blogging' service, which means you can post short updates which are limited to 140 characters or fewer. This makes it very compatible with mobile devices and text messaging as it allows the user to keep the updates short. It also allows the end user to receive rapid-fire and concise information immediately.

How can you user Twitter?
Twitter can be used to:

• Develop and promote your business and brand
• Interact with your online fans
• Track what people are saying about your business, brand, products and services
• Create buzz around an event
• Promote other content you've created, such as blog posts, website articles, tips, specials etc
• Develop relationships with your fans
• Generate sales leads
• Drive traffic back to your website

Signing up for a Twitter Account

• Your username is very important as it is what people will refer to you on Twitter and how people will find you.
• You can user your full name, a variation of your name, your company name or a combination of your name and industry to use as your twitter username.
• We don't recommend that you use a random username. No one will know it's you and you will have lost a branding opportunity for you and your business. We also don't recommend using numbers in your username, as it may not seem professional.
• Make sure you personalise your profile page with a photo - for example, your logo
• Don't forget to fill out the bio information, such as the description, website URL and specialisations
• Customise your twitter background with your brand.

Start Tweeting now!

• You can tweet about what you're doing now, what events you're attending, share a link to an interesting news article, add a link to your company blog or latest special

Follow other people

• Use Twitter's 'who to follow' feature and start following other companies, brands, or interesting people relevant to your business and industry
• See if any of your favourite thought leaders or bloggers are on Twitter and follow them
• Don't follow hundreds of people at once and remove all who don't follow you back. It is artificial network building and not a best practice

How to get people to follow you on Twitter

• Add a twitter icon and the link to your profile page on your email signature and on the website
• Include a twitter feed on your facebook page
• If your tweets are relevant and useful, you will find that other people will follow you
• Avoid using Twitter only as a promotional tool. Mix it up with interesting links to news articles, industry updates, events in the area etc

If you would like more information on how you can get started on Twitter or for advice on social media marketing, speak to TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Tripadvisor has launched new Management Dashboard

Tripadvisor has launched a new Management Dashboard which provides hotels with information on how they are engaging with their customers online, tips on areas where they can improve on, the countries where the most traffic is coming from and they can even get a list of their competitors who are most viewed by the same customers who viewed their page.

The new Management Dashboard is available for free to all registered business representatives and can be accessed via the Tripadvisor management centre. A more comprehensive version of the Tripadvisor Management Dashboard will be made available in the next few weeks exclusively to accommodations that have a paid business listing with Tripadvisor. The comprehensive version offers additional metrics and information, including graphics which depicts a property's Business Listings performance over time and how they compare to their competitors in the same geographical region.

At a glance, the features of the Management Dashboard include:

Free version

• View your status at a glance: View total reviews, current popularity ranking and TripAdvisor rating
• Reviews and comments summary: View latest review activity and top comments from reviews
• Photos metrics: Total number of traveller and business-submitted photos, photos in the last 30 days and the number of visitors viewing photos
• Most viewed competitors: A list of your competitors most viewed by the same people who view your business' page
• Top visitor locations: View a breakdown of the countries generating the most number of traffic to your page

Features of the paid Business Listings Management Dashboard

• The paid version includes all of the features of the free version
• Trend Graphs: Dynamic graphs showing page-view trends over a period of time
• Performance metrics: How your property's Business Listing compares to other properties
• Top Special Offers by click-through: Special Offer recommendations based on the offers that are receiving the most clicks (this tool is shown when a property is not taking advantage of their Special Offers feature)

The free Management Dashboard is available immediately.

For more information about how you can take advantage of the new features in Tripadvisor, or if you would like to optimise your Tripadvisor listing, speak to TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588

Tips to encourage fan engagement with your Facebook business page

Below are some of our tips to boost fan interaction on your facebook business page.

• Encourage your fans to post their questions or feedback on your Facebook page. Answer their questions, thank them for their reviews and feedback. Let them know that you're listening
• Share photos and videos of your property on your page. Encourage fans to post their holiday snaps and videos on your wall.
• Ask for their feedback. For example, get your fans feedback on their thoughts on a new colour scheme for your hotel renovations, or their thoughts on a menu change for the season etc.
• Celebrate company milestones, achievements or awards. For example, the company's birthday, the 1000th guest who stayed at your hotel, staff birthdays or the total number of years employed at your company, industry awards etc
• Participate in seasonal celebrations/holidays. For example, post photos of the Christmas decorations in your office, or a Valentine's Day special etc. Add a post on your wall wishing all Mothers a Happy Mother's Day and so on
• Have fun! Ask your fans questions, use polls etc or get fans to finish the sentence or fill in the blank. For example, When I'm travelling, my favourite song on my playlist is....... 
• Play a game or post a puzzle on Facebook and get fans to respond with their answers. Eg guess where this photo was taken. 
• Runs contests, competitions, promotions 
• Share interesting content with your fans. It doesn't need to be just specials. Offer other content of interest or relevance to your fans, such as tips, whitepaper downloads, links to interesting news articles etc. 
• Offer content based on current news. Eg Did anyone watch Dancing with the stars last night? Who do you think will go? 
• Leverage events and create buzz around upcoming events. Post photos or videos after the event
• Champion a good cause. Let everyone know the charity your business supports. Post photos of your staff participating in a charity event, eg Movember
• Talk about other things besides your product. Mix it up with other content to interact with your fans and get them to talk to you.

To get started on Facebook, or if you would like more information about facebook marketing and social media management, speak to TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

How to respond to an online review in real-time

When customers take to social media to voice their grievances, how you respond to that review is important. Below are some tips on how you can acknowledge and address the issue at hand.

• Be open and honest - you will of course be upset by the comments, but make sure that you address the negative review in a genuine manner. Be upfront and honest with your customers. 
• Respond in a timely manner - be prepared to act fast, preferably within 48 hours. Even if it is to respond and update your customers that you are working on rectifying the situation, your customers will appreciate that you are listening, you care and you are trying to do something about it
• Apologize - take ownership of what happened. Your customers will appreciate this
• Turn a negative into a positive - don't just stop at an apology - take this situation as an opportunity to show everyone that you are listening and you're doing something about it. Take advantage of the situation to engage with customers, build and establish a relationship with them and impress potential customers
• Be professional - don't write your reply angry. Draft your reply, come back to it and relook at it and if need be, send it to someone to view.

How have you responded to a negative review online? What other tips can you add to this list?

How to improve Facebook fan engagement

Give your fans the opportunity to engage and comment
Enable the comments functionality on your wall so that fans can post content on your wall.

Ask questions
Ask your fans advice on a certain topic, get them to share their favourite tips, photos, videos, ask open ended questions, use polls and surveys and get them interacting with you!

Request feedback
Ask your fans to share their thoughts on a new product or service you are offering or about to launch. Listen to what they have to say and thank them for their feedback. Make them feel like a valued member of your community.

Start a discussion online
Use Facebook's discussions feature to get feedback on what your fans want, like or think, either about your business, a certain hot topic or industry issue. You might learn something new about your fan base, which you could use to bring your hotel to another level.

It's all about participation!
Don't just sit back and watch - get involved! You should be an active member on your page too! Join their conversations, thank them for their comments, feedback, ask questions etc.

Let us know if you have any other tips you would like to share or if there is something you tried and worked!

How to generate positive reviews online

1. Start by paying attention to the reviews you already have - make sure you resolve any complaints or issues. Following up on existing negative reviews show potential customers that you care and you're listening and you are doing something about it
2. Ask for reviews - Don't be pushy, but at the end of the transaction, ask customers to review you online or to fill out a survey
3. Always respond to negative reviews straight away - thank the customer for the review and apologize for the bad experience. Often, the customer just wants acknowledgement that the hotel understands there is a problem is wants to fix it. If the bad review is unwarranted, it's especially important to resist the urge to get defensive. 
4. Reach out to negative reviewers directly - take it offline and provide your contact details. Alternatively, try to contact the reviewers directly and try to resolve the issue.

For help with social media reputation management, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today.

How to handle negative feedback online

1. Your first priority is to quickly respond. The longer you leave a negative comment go unanswered, the more credibility it will gain with other viewers. If you respond immediately, it will show that you are listening and you care and are willing to do something about the problem.

2. Apologise. Even if it is to acknowledge the problem. Don't go into who is right and who is wrong as this will accomplish little. And most people will see petty complaints for what they are.


3. Move ongoing/difficult conversations offline. Provide an initial response in public and provide contact details for further follow-up. Move on-going discussions with difficult customers to private channels.

4. Thank the customer for their feedback. Treat any negative comments as though it were constructive criticism. Apologise to the customer for their unsatisfactory experience and let them know that their feedback is appreciated and that you will take their comments into consideration for further improvement. Make sure you follow up with your promise.

Top 5 ways of how to manage tripadvisor comments

• During check-out, ask your guests to review your property on social network sites and booking sites, including Tripadvisor, Expedia, Booking.com, facebook etc)
• Send your guests a “Thank you for your stay” email and ask them to review you on Tripadvisor.
• Show your guests that you are listening and you care - monitor the reviews and make sure you answer all negative comments. Use the manager’s response field to reply. Be apologetic, explain what happened and offer an incentive to come back. You don't need to reply to all the positive reviews, but it's a good idea to acknowledge some of them to show you are monitoring the site.
• Make it easy for your guests to find your tripadvisor page on your website. Display a tripadvisor badge on the homepage or on a testimonials page. Include the Tripadvsior badge at the bottom of your email signature.
• Use guests quotes to your advantage. Display the links to your latest tripadvisor reviews prominently on your website or on Facebook. Lift positive experiences and use them as content on different pages on your website.

In addition, there are two important don’ts:

• Don’t ignore tripadvisor. Just because you ignore it, doesn't mean it's not there and it will go away. You may not be managing it, but your competitors are. So, guess who’s getting all the better guests?
• Not answering all comments. Answering all comments makes you look like you have someone whose job is just to use “canned answers” for tripadvisor. This will hurt your credibility when answering negative comments.

Finally, ensure that you use social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr to promote your property and to communicate your special offers. Invite your guests to join your networks. This will improve brand loyalty and ensure that you keep a close relationship with your guests, particularly those that write positive reviews about your hotel. They are your best reference and your best bet, as an independent hotel, to get new business from their social network. 

Half of Australian businesses do not use social media

Australians are among the highest users of social media in the world (over 10 million users), yet Australian businesses have not kept pace with others around the globe and are missing out on the opportunity to connect with consumers.

According to a recent analysis by KPMG Australia among business managers, only 42% report using social media, with 50% reporting their business did not use social media, and the remainder not knowing whether their business used social media at all.

"Organizations cannot afford not to be listening to what is being said about them, and at some point, interacting with customers in the space where they are spending their time - and increasingly, their money too," said Malcolm Alder, National Managing Partner for KPMG's Digital Economy Practice.

"Our analysis demonstrated that we can look at the experiences of both early business adopters and our overseas counterparts, to learn from them. If businesses do not get on board quickly, they may very well be left behind." Earlier this year comScore reported that the largest chunk of time spent online by Australians is dedicated to social networking. Their analysis of activity in December, 2010, found approximately one in every five minutes, 22%, was spent with various social networks.

Increase repeat visits to your hotel website with hotel internet marketing

Hotel Internet marketing should result in the four ‘R’s - a high Retention rate, Repeat business, increased Referrals and improved ROI. Below are some marketing strategies to help your hotel can increase repeat visits to your website, increase hotel bookings and rely less on OTAs.

Know your target market

Who is your target market? Any marketing strategies or activities you implement must focus on your core target market and address their needs. For example, if the majority of your client base is corporate, then promote the business features of your hotel (internet access, business centre etc). If you rely mainly on families, then showcase the family-friendly facilities at your hotel, and it’s close proximity to sightseeing attractions.

Use Social Media wisely

Web 2.0 applications, such as blogs, forums and social media networks (facebook, twitter, foursquare) can all help build brand loyalty. Make sure all hotel Internet marketing tools work in cohesion. For example, add social media icons on your website, so guests know you’re on Facebook and Twitter, encourage people to follow you or become a fan of your business pages. Add social media icons at the bottom of your email signature etc.

Member only special offers

Offer member only promotions via social media networks, email marketing campaigns or other your hotel marketing strategies that you employ. For example, offering promotions or a ‘sneak peek’ which are not offered to the general public will help to increase your fan base, subscriptions or registration rate. Guests will then find more value in what you’re offering and sign up for your e-newsletters or ‘like’ your business page as these special offers aren’t available on your website.

Regularly update your content

Updating your website with blog articles, customer reviews, seasonal promotions and special offers or information about local attractions and upcoming events is a great way to get people to return to your website. If potential guests can’t find the information they want about your hotel and local attractions on your website, they will go somewhere else that will provide them all the information they need to make a booking decision.

Quality of the website design

It’s important that your website design reflects the quality of your hotel and showcases your rooms, facilities and other selling points of the hotel, for example, the views, or proximity to the beach or quiet retreat in the mountains. Your website must also be easy to navigate, show up-to-date information, a easy to use online booking engine, and straightforward enquiry forms. If you’re website doesn’t look good, it won’t entice a customer to book with you. So maybe it’s time to think about getting a new website!

Pictures say a thousand words

Put high quality images on your website of your rooms, facilities, the scenery, the surrounding area and the property. Images can make or break a hotel booking and the more visual information a customer has, the more confident and reassured they will be that booking at your hotel is the right decision. Make sure that your pictures are also high quality.

Fast loading times

The hotel industry is a ruthless, cut throat industry and you are competing with travel agencies, wholesalers and travel products companies where a customer can potentially make a hotel booking. Don’t make it any harder for the customer with a slow loading website because it’s an easy option to book at another website if they can’t find the information they need quickly.

While a large part of your hotel Internet marketing activities should be focused on attracting new customers to your website and building your customer base, there should be a continued focus on getting existing customers to re-book at your hotel and increase brand loyalty.

Speak to one of our marketing consultants at TA Fastrack on 07 3040 3588 to find out how we can help you with your hotel Internet marketing, social media marketing and client retention campaigns.

How to Get your Hotel’s Facebook Account to Stand Out

Avoid using Facebook simply to post your promotions and packages that you already have on your website. Below are five tips on how you can stand out from the rest.

1. Your posts are boring.
Get your fans involved and ensure they feel a part of your community.  Encourage your fans to post comments, pictures and videos of their holiday or stay at your hotel. Actively engage with your customers with organized, quality content and brand new, up-to-date information about what's happenin at your hotel, the area, upcoming events etc.

2. You don’t have a social media roadmap.
If you don’t have a map, chances are you won’t make it to your destination, especially if it’s in an unfamiliar area. Outline your objectives and goals so you can coordinate your marketing efforts and cross-utilize the various social media applications that will work best for each of your targeted market segments. It is essential to know what you plan to do, how you plan to do it and, most importantly, why you are doing it in the first place. 

3. Your promotions are just like everyone else’s.
According to the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, more than 75% of marketers plan on increasing their use of Facebook in 2011. But with more than 5 million active Facebook business pages, how do you get your promotions and your page to stand out from all of the others? Avoid using Facebook simply to post your packages and promotions that you already promote on your website. Give your facebook followers special perks and discounts that they can’t get anywhere else. Eg, a free upgrade for the first 10 people that redeem the coupon using a special facebook promotion code, or a facebook only sale for one day only. Th options are endless!

4. Guests have no reason to keep you in their primary news feed.
Remember Field of Dreams and the whispered message to Kevin Costner, “If you build it, they will come.” They might come once, but will they stick around or make a repeat visit? Take a long, hard look at your business facebook page. Are the posts lively, compelling and unique? There’s nothing worse than a dull Facebook page. Take photos of staff and put them on Facebook - personalise your page and let followers know more about the people behind your business. Take photos of guests during check-in or check-out or at an event you held and tag them.

Make the most of your facebook page’s tab settings by distributing special offers and coupons or holding contests and sweepstakes (be sure to follow Facebook’s full terms and conditions). The idea of winning something is a great incentive to keep fans coming back for more, not to mention it helps to attract new fans. Reward your loyal supporters and don’t forget to remind your users to like and share.

5. Commitment! 
Your Facebook page is a daily commitment, so if you're not ready, don’t go there. If you strive for one post a day, you’re on track to creating a successful page. Watch the activity on your page and post when your followers are most active, usually between mid-morning and mid-afternoon. And don't be afraid to mix it up by posting observations, tips, travel-related topics, breaking news and, without fail, open-ended questions to get followers to join in the conversation. 

If you want to be liked, you have to be likeable. Test various approaches to determine what works best with your fan base. Show your personality, be warm and inviting and have fun with your page!

For more information on how to get your property’s Facebook page to stand out from others and drive more bookings to your website, please contact one of the marketing consultants on +61 7 3040 3588. TA Fastrack can also assist with a personalised welcome page design for your facebook page. Call us now to find out more.