Creating a Facebook page for your business Part 1 2012

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Speyside Steve
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Post by Speyside Steve »

Many thanks. I have liked you back!
mandyjm
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Post by mandyjm »

This is my first posting!!

I've just created a facebook page for our cottage that we started to let out in December last year. http://www.facebook.com/minerscottage.coniston

I'm totally new to this (facebook and holiday lets), so any "likes" would be very much appreciated :)
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

Hi Connie. I'm on my iPhone at the moment, but it appears you've set up a personal profile rather than a business page? FB can remove any profile that is being used for business, so the first thing I'd do is set up a business page instead! :wink:
kg1
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Post by kg1 »

OK. I have resisted doing a FB page as quite honestly I don't understand it, so it would be a huge learning curve for me and as I also work too (like many others on here I know) I am not sure I have the time to dedicate to it. Keeping up the various listing sites seems to take a lot of my time. But.......

Can any of you honestly say you have had an upturn in bookings because of it?

Was it worth the time and effort as something else would suffer I did you this.

Also do you find that the demographics of FB enquirers is different? We appeal to couples with dogs in the winter and shoulder seasons and families (quite often grandparents, parents and a child) in the summer. We are not a young persons get away destination. Therefore I have up 'till now been of the mind that our core customers probably wouldn't use FB anyway.

However I am now wondering if I should do this, any thoughts please?
mandyjm
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Post by mandyjm »

Thanks so much, and for the advice too. I've used all my IT skill creating the page (!) but I'll dig a bit deeper to try and convert my account.

Once again, many thanks :)
mandyjm
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Post by mandyjm »

To Kyreniagirl, I've only created an FB page because I'm told it will help increase the Search Engine Optimisation. I'm totally rubbish at it as others will be able to see. We're too new to know if this is true, but I'll keep you posted. Cheers.
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

Connie wrote:I've used all my IT skill creating the page (!) but I'll dig a bit deeper to try and convert my account.
Apparently you can but I'm not sure it explains how! http://www.facebook.com/help/175644189234902/
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

kyreniagirl wrote:Also do you find that the demographics of FB enquirers is different? We appeal to couples with dogs in the winter and shoulder seasons and families (quite often grandparents, parents and a child) in the summer. We are not a young persons get away destination. Therefore I have up 'till now been of the mind that our core customers probably wouldn't use FB anyway.
You may find this interesting reading. It is US based but I suspect the figures are comparable to the UK.
http://socialmediatoday.com/kenburbary/ ... statistics

I think you'll find your page will attract the age that is appropriate to it. I currently have 55.6% of my likers are over 45 and 70% of them are women. Now a lot of those are LMH'ers but that is also true of many of my guest profiles who have joined.

I haven't yet got a booking through it, but I'm still very small compared to others. There are some members who have had bookings; I personally am using at to put out current events, promote the area with lovely photos, odd special offers etc. It's probably true that the more you put in the more you get out. "Like" other appropriate pages and then lots of stuff appears in your newsfeed that you can simply share, which doesn't take too much time.

I reckon it beats joining more listing sites anyway, and regard it as a slow burn part of my business.
marsh frog
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Post by marsh frog »

Hi kyreniangirl

I am a big fan of Facebook business pages.

I didn't know what I was doing when I started it, but ''met'' a few friendly holiday home owners on Twitter who talked me through it and it has gone from strength to strength.

It most certainly didn't happen overnight - it was a few months before we got our first Facebook booking and then another 2 or 3 months before we got the second. That was last spring. Since then the Facebook bookings have gradually been increasing, bit by bit, slowly but surely.

Obviously most of us find an increase in bookings in January and with Facebook it has been no different. We advertise via HL & a couple of small dog friendly sites. In the last few days alone we have had 6 confirmed bookings and 5 of these are from Facebook - 1 from HL. I think that speaks for itself - and it's free!

I admit I have occasionally used their 'pay to promote' function, but I reckon the occasional £4 to promote a key post [for example, if you have a really outstanding Trip Advisor review] -is money well spent. If you have great guest comments or reviews - let everyone know about them. If you occasionally pay to promote key posts then it is also the friends of the people who 'like' your page that will see that post.

Make regular posts - I post pretty much every day, several posts a day. These can be scheduled to go live by clicking on the little clock icon before you post. You can therefore spend half an hour making several posts but schedule them to be posted throughout the day, or over several days.

Use all the other helpful business pages on Facebook to promote your place. Use pages like Hike Those Holidays to promote your place. Find other holiday homes on that page and 'like' theirs.If you leave a message tagging your page [by putting @ in front of the name of your page] they will hopefully visit your page and like your page in return. The more likes, the better the chance of getting bookings. You can always promote on other pages such as Hike Those Likes which helps promote all sorts of different pages. Several of my Facebook bookings have come from people who have a business page themselves. If you look on Hike Those Likes they are very good at explaining how it all works. The more likes=more bookings.

It won't happen overnight and it does take a lot of effort, but I have not only met some lovely like minded holiday home owners through their Facebook pages, but had a good number of bookings by making our place seen. What I love is people see your page when they are not even looking for a holiday & end up booking a break for themselves!

I would say go for it - choose the name of your page carefully as after you have a certain number of likes you are unable to change the name of the page.Post photos,link to places in your area - I am always ''sharing'' posts from restaurants, inns,tourist attractions etc. too. Make people really want to visit your area [which is lovely - we love Lymington ourselves] push your place but promote the area too so that people think ''wow, I really want to go there''

You have nothing to lose by giving it a go, but to get it off the ground you need to get lots of 'likes' so try using the pages I suggested above to start with. Once you have more than 30 likes you start to get stats as well.

Good luck if you decide to do it

:wink:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/marshviewcottage
If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air....
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

Thanks marsh frog for that helpful info! I had wondered about getting the tag for your name, so I will try the @ and see if it works for me!

I have used the scheduling post facility for quite a while, but I share a lot of posts, which then doesn't have that facility does it? So if I am posting my own link that's easy to schedule, but with shares I can't. I get a lot of my facebook info from other pages on FB, whereas I guess you create most of your own. Pop over to my page and perhaps you can see what I mean. If I'm wrong about the scheduling then do tell me!

How many likes did you have when you started using the promote your post? I can see how it could be advantageous, but seems like a waste of money if you don't have quite a few likers already. I have crawled up to 126 at present. I have been quite active lately, trying to self promote on other appropriate pages, so that has helped.
marsh frog
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Post by marsh frog »

Hi Nemo

The increase in likers I can attribute mostly to Hike Those Holidays and Hike Those Likes [a variety of Facebook business pages promoting themselves via HTL page] not so much from the paying to promote.

If I share a local business page, then no, it can't be scheduled unfortunately

The @ to tag your name - don't put a space after the @

Also, if any of you write a blog this can be posted to your page [I post some of mine with a few weeks in between, as that way you have by then hopefully got a whole load of new likers] which makes it a good post, but took no time at all because it was pre[written already. If I am short of time and new text material I just post some of our better photos and they always get a response.It needn't take a lot of time, especially with the scheduling tool.

If you are also on Twitter, set your Facebook page so that any posts to your Facebook pages goes straight onto Twitter. Pinterest can also be posted to Twitter. I haven't had any Twitter bookings myself but I know of several holiday home owners who have.

It is surprising what comes of it. Through my Facebook page I have been asked to write articles for another Facebook page which promotes businesses on the coast. I often use these articles on my own page, but in return they have linked my property on theirs. So it can lead to other things too - I consider myself still learning! :wink: :wink:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/marshviewcottage
If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air....
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Nemo
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Post by Nemo »

Strange. I posted on Hike my holidays yesterday I think, and I can see my post. I've just posted twice on Hike the likes, but as soon as I refresh the page it disappears. I have commented on a post and that is there, so why might my post have disappeared? Any idea?
marsh frog
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Post by marsh frog »

Yes, that happens - it will be there in the smaller message box on the right hand side - which is where most folk will look for new posts. It doesn't stay on the main part of the page - a bit like if someone posts to our own business pages, it gets sent to the messages on the right of the page, but everyone can still see them and will be able to see your post there - might just be worth you checking it is there though 8) They get a lot of posts so it can move down quite quickly on HTL
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/marshviewcottage
If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air....
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

I am SO behind on setting up a facebook page for our property, and I despair at ever being able to catch up!
I started setting one up in December, but there is hardly anything on there, and I don't know where to start, what to do.
Also I am busy with January enquiries at the moment so not much spare time.

Marsh Frog - yours looks amazing! Do you add to it every day? Do you live close by? I can't see how I could get people to "talk about" my site, nor how I could keep it up to date, seeing as I don't even live in the same country! :cry:
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

Marsh Frog - Apologies, I've just seen your post higher up the page, which answers some of my questions :oops:

The trouble is, this thread is so long, that it is so difficult to know where to start and how to keep going. Some of the suggestions in the earlier posts may have been superceded(sp?) as time goes by, and I tend to lose the plot, feel like I am facing a mountain, then give up :cry:

Although, this is where I am: http://www.facebook.com/normandygite
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