6 Reasons Why You Should NOT Put All Your Eggs In The Facebook Basket

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One of his main points is:
  • [COLOR= #000000]You should not send your traffic to your Facebook Page[/COLOR]
That has been much in discussion here in the last week.
 
Very Interesting and thought provoking. I know lots of people who have forgone web sites and just use Facebook. I have said to them over and over. It is not a good idea. Hasn't helped. I have sent them this article. ;-) Thanks
 
Excellent article and I think it's right on. I have received a few reservations from FB, but it's pretty minor compared to other sources. I look at FB as a way to directly communicate with folks that have already stayed with us. It gives them a bit of connection to a pleasant experience they've had and keeps us in their thoughts. I find that it's mostly the same 20-30 people that respond to comments. That's certainly helps for repeat guests. I find it kind of fun to interact with them and can be humerous and sometimes silly which I don't do on a blog post.
I had a call last week from boooooootiquuuuuueeee which we've discuss here before. They wanted me to do the free reservation app on my FB page. I turned him down and he couldn't believe it. My gut feeling is that I don't want FB to be an integral part of my booking process. Too risky and I don't want to give other companies possible access to my guests or my reservation system. Why in the heck are they offering that free app? There MUST be something in it for them, I just don't know what yet.
Nope, I'll keep FB an interesting, fun aspect of my online presence, but as the article says, they can and do change whatever and whenever they want.
 
I completely agree with the 3 points the author is making:
  • [COLOR= #000000]You should not build the core of your online business on Facebook[/COLOR]
  • [COLOR= #000000]You should not use it as a hub for your online presence[/COLOR]
  • [COLOR= #000000]You should not send your traffic to your Facebook Page[/COLOR]
Your website should be your main online presence and where the bulk of all information on your property is. That being said don't underestimate social media. It's becoming especially important in search engine rankings (and will only continue to get more important). And we all know you need to rank high for your website to have a significant impact.
Google and Bing have both publicly stated in the past year that they use social media in rankings. How many likes and followers you have, how many times people tweet/share/like links to your website, and how many friends/followers the people who are sharing those links have (their influence factor) are all significant to search engine rankings.
This is also why blogging is important, and why your blog should be on your own domain (not hosted separately by a blogging platform). A blog provides more content for people to share. Even if only 1 person (you) share a blog post, most likely as a b&b that's more than your competition. The more social engagement your website has over your competition the higher you'll rank.
 
Excellent article and I think it's right on. I have received a few reservations from FB, but it's pretty minor compared to other sources. I look at FB as a way to directly communicate with folks that have already stayed with us. It gives them a bit of connection to a pleasant experience they've had and keeps us in their thoughts. I find that it's mostly the same 20-30 people that respond to comments. That's certainly helps for repeat guests. I find it kind of fun to interact with them and can be humerous and sometimes silly which I don't do on a blog post.
I had a call last week from boooooootiquuuuuueeee which we've discuss here before. They wanted me to do the free reservation app on my FB page. I turned him down and he couldn't believe it. My gut feeling is that I don't want FB to be an integral part of my booking process. Too risky and I don't want to give other companies possible access to my guests or my reservation system. Why in the heck are they offering that free app? There MUST be something in it for them, I just don't know what yet.
Nope, I'll keep FB an interesting, fun aspect of my online presence, but as the article says, they can and do change whatever and whenever they want..
Breakfast Diva said:
Excellent article and I think it's right on. I have received a few reservations from FB, but it's pretty minor compared to other sources. I look at FB as a way to directly communicate with folks that have already stayed with us. It gives them a bit of connection to a pleasant experience they've had and keeps us in their thoughts. I find that it's mostly the same 20-30 people that respond to comments. That's certainly helps for repeat guests. I find it kind of fun to interact with them and can be humerous and sometimes silly which I don't do on a blog post.
This is a perfect way to use facebook.
 
I agree with much of this. I had a very interesting conversation with the Buuutteeeeqqq guy - actually two. One right before...and one right after the latest across the board change to the feed. Truthfully - I use FB like mad as a social user (we've moved far too much, my friends are all over). As a user, I found the latest incarnation incredibly annoying. And that evening I noticed...the FB ads were "missing." Oh, they were there...but I had to scroll down to see find them, because they'd been displaced below my monitor's viewing by the ticker & the "People You May Know" widget. WHY would I ever pay for an ad that isn't immediately in front of the target viewer's eyeballs? Next morning...the ad placement was corrected. But, by then, I'd figured out how to create a "list" that made my news feed look like it used to (i.e., it contained posts from my actual friends, in order), and guess what happens when I view it (which is all the time): The ads disappear completely. The Buu teeq guy wasn't terribly pleased when I pointed all this out to him. He said FB isn't stupid, they'll fix this stuff. Yes, I agree...and then they'll turn around and do it all again in three months.
Right now, I'm keeping my eye on Goo gle+ . It has some things in common with FB, some not. I don't see and ads...but they must be coming. And certainly, Goo gle must be gleaning all the data, posts, who you follow, interests, circles, etc to target ads. Not buying any right now...just watchin'
 
Excellent article and I think it's right on. I have received a few reservations from FB, but it's pretty minor compared to other sources. I look at FB as a way to directly communicate with folks that have already stayed with us. It gives them a bit of connection to a pleasant experience they've had and keeps us in their thoughts. I find that it's mostly the same 20-30 people that respond to comments. That's certainly helps for repeat guests. I find it kind of fun to interact with them and can be humerous and sometimes silly which I don't do on a blog post.
I had a call last week from boooooootiquuuuuueeee which we've discuss here before. They wanted me to do the free reservation app on my FB page. I turned him down and he couldn't believe it. My gut feeling is that I don't want FB to be an integral part of my booking process. Too risky and I don't want to give other companies possible access to my guests or my reservation system. Why in the heck are they offering that free app? There MUST be something in it for them, I just don't know what yet.
Nope, I'll keep FB an interesting, fun aspect of my online presence, but as the article says, they can and do change whatever and whenever they want..
My gut feeling is that I don't want FB to be an integral part of my booking process. Too risky and I don't want to give other companies possible access to my guests or my reservation system. Why in the heck are they offering that free app? There MUST be something in it for them, I just don't know what yet.
That was one of the biggest problems many have with bandb - the button that takes their guests away from booking with their own web site.
 
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