Join the Army of “BandBers”
There is lots of content on theBandBer.com that is entertaining, informative and well written. But if all you’re doing is reading, you’re not really getting the best out of it. TheBandBer.com is not just an online magazine, it’s also a place for accommodation owners to come together and find strength in numbers.We aim to create an army of “BandBers.” The best way to do that is through social media.
In order to fully benefit from theBandBer.com – right now! – you need to:
Having done this, you’ll get frequent updates from us: you’ll be able to see every time we tweet about something interesting and every time another “B&Ber” tweets about what we’ve said; you’ll also be alerted about any competitions we run on Facebook.
So if you’re not yet on Twitter or Facebook, don’t delay in signing up. Quite apart from anything else, search engines like Google love social media and the more you tweet and post on Facebook, the more searchable you’ll become to customers.
If your guests are on Facebook already, you can encourage them to “like” your business page. Once they do, any update you put on it about special offers etc. will be pushed onto their newsfeed. If they’re on Twitter, you can encourage them to “follow” you at the booking stage in order to then maintain an on-going relationship with them.
So, don’t delay… start getting sociable today.
Further tips
No independent accommodation provider can afford to ignore social media any longer. Half a billion people are now on Facebook (if it were a country, it would be the third largest in the world, after China and India.) In the US, weekly Facebook traffic exceeds that of Google (the same will soon be true of the UK). Overall, people are moving away from adverts – in print, on TV, online – towards personal recommendations through social networks. What we’re seeing is the unstoppable rise of word of mouth. It’s no longer local and it no longer takes time to filter through. Instead it has become global and instant… read more
6 Reasons Why Facebook Is Your PR Guy
The best way to think of your web presence is in terms of sales vs PR. If your website is an unambiguous advertising space, then your Facebook business page is your public relations representative – attracting people to your property without giving them the hard sell. Having said that, it can be hard to judge how to increase awareness in a ‘generalised’ way without becoming vague or unfocused. Here are some tips on how to maximise the business potential of Facebook… read more
6 Ways To Get The Best Out Of Twitter
It’s impossible to ignore Twitter these days. Some might even say that it’s impossible to ignore it no matter how much you try! If you’re not yet using it, everyone is probably telling you that you should be. Questions and statements that would have sounded insane just a few years ago – “Do you tweet?” “Oh, I must re-tweet that.” – are common currency. Twitter now has 100 million active users worldwide and those users collectively produce 250 million tweets per day.[1] So you’re no doubt thinking, “I must get on Twitter.”
I only began tweeting myself just a few months ago. So I thought I’d share some tips and insights on getting started while the memory of finding the whole thing awfully daunting is still fresh in my mind. Here goes…read more
We’ve already talked in general terms about how Twitter and Facebook can be of huge help to owners of B&Bs/Guesthouses/Inns, levelling the playing field somewhat between them and chain hotels. However, social media is also developing at an amazing pace, so it’s worth focusing for a moment on some strategies – and even specific pieces of software – that can help you attract more guests… read more
Social Media in travel: what’s it for?
Most people would probably agree that the “social web” is the biggest thing to happen to the Internet since the advent of e-commerce. But, as with many world-changing innovations, it can take a while – and quite a bit of head-scratching – to figure out what the heck it actually represents… read more
You can find many more news updates about social media for B&Bs HERE
Oh! I wish I was’nt such a carrot cruncher, I have a face book page and a twitter page, but as for “working it baby” I feel like I’ve got lead boots on and am rolling around in slodge. Love this site, don’t know where you’ve been all my life and would really like to participate more. I also have a huge current issue at the moment which is about sustainability concerning a Visit England Hotel Inspector who thinks we should up grade all our En-suites with higher quality fixtures and fittings. We only had a major build done to the property just over 4 years ago and run a strict replace/repair/redecorate regime every year. When I tried to take it further with Visit Britain, I was stonewalled and feel as a small establishment they were not bothered about my concerns or issues, especially as our En-suites have never been an issue with the AA. Where is the continutity, sustainablility and consideration in that?
Sorry winge over…….. looking forward to participating in your community and mixing it up with mine.
We had this problem with VB, to be honest when we took over our property 2 years ago I felt it was over stared (ie had 4 stars felt really should have been 3) we then went on to spend a fortune on renovations – but they were still happy with what we had had in previously! We pulled out of rating schemes as felt what advice we and our neighbours had been advised to do was a nonsense with no real understanding of the business or the economy. ie my neighbour spend £15,000 on her electrics which was necessary for health and safety – VB inspector told her it was a shame she had spent all that money as she should have put illuminated mirrors in all her bathrooms! ie put the public at risk to have nice mirrors!!!! Someone online said “it is good to be assessed by professionals” and if that was so I would agree with it, but they arn’t and now that group 4 (remember the olympics and prison saga) has the contract renewed I double I will see an improvement. Where I am more and more people are pulling out of VB and AA and spending the money on what the public actually wants – ie facilities, quality and online booking.