Facebook

[Tony]

Facebook isn't just about your personal profile like Myspace is. You can create a group centered around your inn that prospective guests can join and get more information from. It doesn't take the place of your website but it is another means of advertising and allows you to target a vast pool of people.
There are also such things as groups and networks for your area or topics of interest that you can join. After joining those groups, you simply post your group for your inn to it either through the post section or the message board.
I'm not sure why people think this is time-consuming and exhaustive work. Doing all this will take an hour at the most and require very little to no upkeep..

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.

 

[YellowSocks]

I'm now on Facebook and already have 13 friends (but then, I know a lot of people... apparently many former students are online tonight).
As I figure out how to use it for marketing, I'll let you know.
At least now I can see pictures of the wedding I missed last June.
=)
Kk.

 

[muirford]

Facebook isn't just about your personal profile like Myspace is. You can create a group centered around your inn that prospective guests can join and get more information from. It doesn't take the place of your website but it is another means of advertising and allows you to target a vast pool of people.
There are also such things as groups and networks for your area or topics of interest that you can join. After joining those groups, you simply post your group for your inn to it either through the post section or the message board.
I'm not sure why people think this is time-consuming and exhaustive work. Doing all this will take an hour at the most and require very little to no upkeep..

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.
.

How about some examples of how it could be an effective marketing tool? I am a registered user of FB although I have only one use for it so far. I did a little experiment this morning. I searched on FB for both 'bed and breakfast' and 'inn' and got over 500 results for each search. Well, that's something. One of the inns I knew as it's run by someone I have worked with. So I did a FB search for 'that town inn' and got 5 completely unrelated hits. Not very useful, IMO.
So be specific, TLE - how does it get you a marketing advantage? I am skeptical that you can take one hour to set up your inn on FB and it will bring guests to you. That seems to me to be the complete opposite of a social networking site - where you would spend time 'connecting' with potential guests. Not just an hour setup. Tell us how you think it would be done.
Many of us come from technology backgrounds - I have worked in technology off and on since I graduated college more than 20 years ago. Catlady designs website and is no slouch in that arena herself. Some technology just isn't that useful for me - that doesn't mean I'm some luddite who doesn't know the difference between an iphone application and a google search. Not every tool serves my purpose as an innkeeper.

 

[EmptyNest]

Facebook isn't just about your personal profile like Myspace is. You can create a group centered around your inn that prospective guests can join and get more information from. It doesn't take the place of your website but it is another means of advertising and allows you to target a vast pool of people.
There are also such things as groups and networks for your area or topics of interest that you can join. After joining those groups, you simply post your group for your inn to it either through the post section or the message board.
I'm not sure why people think this is time-consuming and exhaustive work. Doing all this will take an hour at the most and require very little to no upkeep..

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.
.

What do you think I am doing here???
THis is my forum for social networking
I am a free lance web designer, taught web design at a big ten university and did computer support for 8 years... I understand the digital age
I just don't care to be involved in FB. Anyone I want to have contact with, I do ....whether it be here, via cards, letters, emails, phone calls,and...imagine this...sitting at a dinner table with them CONVERSING or maybe an evening of cards.

So...are you an innkeeper? You didn't answer my question.

 

[Morticia]

Facebook isn't just about your personal profile like Myspace is. You can create a group centered around your inn that prospective guests can join and get more information from. It doesn't take the place of your website but it is another means of advertising and allows you to target a vast pool of people.
There are also such things as groups and networks for your area or topics of interest that you can join. After joining those groups, you simply post your group for your inn to it either through the post section or the message board.
I'm not sure why people think this is time-consuming and exhaustive work. Doing all this will take an hour at the most and require very little to no upkeep..

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.

Is that one hour per day/week/month? What I find hard to believe is that it's just an hour.

Given I can spend 2 hours on here and not realize the time has gone by!
It took me 6 hours to write an effective (I hope) first email blast (including trying to build the right email list). I'm hoping a following email will take substantially less time. (And that doesn't include the 1 1/2 hour class I just went to.) But it certainly must be longer than one hour to build the CORRECT type of FB page. This is my business, I'm not sending it out into the world in it's jammies.
As muirford points out, she found 500 B&B entries by doing a search. Certainly trying to figure out which of those groups are ones you want to join will take more and more time as more and more join. Obviously, it's working for you by bringing you potential guests to your website. I guess I'd need more of an impetus to do the setup and the networking. How many new guests? How many qualified new guests? That sort of thing.
What sort of numbers are we talking? Did you see a big increase in guest bookings after getting into the FB network? (Sorry, I'm a numbers person, this stuff helps me determine how much time gets spent on any endeavor. Like my new email marketing plan. I'll report back here when I've sent the first one with details of how that went for me.)

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

I am not liking this thread. It is frustrating.
I actually want to find useful information about FB, not argue who is a techie or not here. No one needs to spoon feed anyone. All input is desired on this subject.

 

[Lisa]

I am not liking this thread. It is frustrating.
I actually want to find useful information about FB, not argue who is a techie or not here. No one needs to spoon feed anyone. All input is desired on this subject..

It's frustrating because thinks like Facebook are frustrating because they're not "proven" yet. I don't think anyone's arguing though...or at least that's not how I perceived it...

 

[Morticia]

I am not liking this thread. It is frustrating.
I actually want to find useful information about FB, not argue who is a techie or not here. No one needs to spoon feed anyone. All input is desired on this subject..

It's frustrating because thinks like Facebook are frustrating because they're not "proven" yet. I don't think anyone's arguing though...or at least that's not how I perceived it...
.

It's frustrating because thinks like Facebook are frustrating because they're not "proven" yet. I don't think anyone's arguing though...or at least that's not how I perceived it...

It's not so much that FB and the like are not proven, what I want to know is how those who use it measure its effectiveness. You have to have measurement goals in place before embarking on any new enterprise that is going to take your time, money and effort from something you are using now. I know I keep mentioning the email marketing like I just invented it, but I do have a system in place to measure the effectiveness of the email. I know who is getting it, whether they forwarded it on, and whther or not any of them call or email or book online. Pretty quickly I'll be able to say whether it worked or not. Or, whether I need to send a few more emails before I get buy in.
That's all I'm asking. If it works, how do you know? What's the guage? Is it more effective now than before? Is it really only an hour a day/week/ month?

 

[muirford]

Getting back to the business side of things, Facebook can offer a lot of value if you do it correctly.
The thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if YOU, use Facebook. Depending on who your clientele is, THEY'RE probably using Facebook. Which means by going in there and create a Group for your Inn or a Fan page, you give them a place to come together and talk about you. This increases word of mouth and it helps form a community around your Inn. This can be very powerful.
There are also advertising opportunities that I haven't played with too much. Because Facebook users enter in all sorts of information about themselves, ad targeting is amazing. You can have your ads shown to specific ages of people who live in a certain area and who list certain things as their interest. You basically tell them who your users are and they'll put ads in front of them.
Doesn't BnBstar.com have a Facebook application they use to attract users? That's pretty interesting stuff, I think..

Getting back to the business side of things, Facebook can offer a lot of value if you do it correctly.
The thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if YOU, use Facebook. Depending on who your clientele is, THEY'RE probably using Facebook. Which means by going in there and create a Group for your Inn or a Fan page, you give them a place to come together and talk about you. This increases word of mouth and it helps form a community around your Inn. This can be very powerful.
There are also advertising opportunities that I haven't played with too much. Because Facebook users enter in all sorts of information about themselves, ad targeting is amazing. You can have your ads shown to specific ages of people who live in a certain area and who list certain things as their interest. You basically tell them who your users are and they'll put ads in front of them.

So it sounds like you use FB quite a bit. You're suggesting something which sounds more complicated than a one-time deal, to me. Is that accurate? Not trying to be argumentative but I am trying to understand. I use FB very little but my nephew is on it every two or three hours. I get that might be good - if an 18 yo college student was my target market - but even so, he would have to express an interest in B&Bs? and then find me out of all the ones out there? It just doesn't seem like the potential to be a big draw. Most people I know on Facebook, young or old, just use it to communicate with people. They don't use it to plan a vacation because they've got other tools for that - google, tripadvisor, travelocity.
Now the ads you're talking about are not free, I imagine. Is it a PPC through FB with google ads or a separate function?
Bnbstar may have an interesting application - may. If you search for bed and breakfast (not 'B&B' and not 'inn') their application comes up and is basically their website. Does it really attract people looking for a place to stay? That's not at all clear to me.

 

[Lisa]

Getting back to the business side of things, Facebook can offer a lot of value if you do it correctly.
The thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if YOU, use Facebook. Depending on who your clientele is, THEY'RE probably using Facebook. Which means by going in there and create a Group for your Inn or a Fan page, you give them a place to come together and talk about you. This increases word of mouth and it helps form a community around your Inn. This can be very powerful.
There are also advertising opportunities that I haven't played with too much. Because Facebook users enter in all sorts of information about themselves, ad targeting is amazing. You can have your ads shown to specific ages of people who live in a certain area and who list certain things as their interest. You basically tell them who your users are and they'll put ads in front of them.
Doesn't BnBstar.com have a Facebook application they use to attract users? That's pretty interesting stuff, I think..

Getting back to the business side of things, Facebook can offer a lot of value if you do it correctly.
The thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if YOU, use Facebook. Depending on who your clientele is, THEY'RE probably using Facebook. Which means by going in there and create a Group for your Inn or a Fan page, you give them a place to come together and talk about you. This increases word of mouth and it helps form a community around your Inn. This can be very powerful.
There are also advertising opportunities that I haven't played with too much. Because Facebook users enter in all sorts of information about themselves, ad targeting is amazing. You can have your ads shown to specific ages of people who live in a certain area and who list certain things as their interest. You basically tell them who your users are and they'll put ads in front of them.

So it sounds like you use FB quite a bit. You're suggesting something which sounds more complicated than a one-time deal, to me. Is that accurate? Not trying to be argumentative but I am trying to understand. I use FB very little but my nephew is on it every two or three hours. I get that might be good - if an 18 yo college student was my target market - but even so, he would have to express an interest in B&Bs? and then find me out of all the ones out there? It just doesn't seem like the potential to be a big draw. Most people I know on Facebook, young or old, just use it to communicate with people. They don't use it to plan a vacation because they've got other tools for that - google, tripadvisor, travelocity.
Now the ads you're talking about are not free, I imagine. Is it a PPC through FB with google ads or a separate function?
Bnbstar may have an interesting application - may. If you search for bed and breakfast (not 'B&B' and not 'inn') their application comes up and is basically their website. Does it really attract people looking for a place to stay? That's not at all clear to me.
.

I wouldn't say I use Facebook, a lot, but it's something I've been watching. I'm not an expert, but I'll try to answer your questions the best I can.
I don't think setting up your ads and monitoring them will take more than an hour a day. The only thing that really attracts me to the Facebook ads are how targeted they are.
You pick the location. You can pick the region/state. The age group. What keywords you want to show up for. They're education level. If they're single/engaged/married (think lovers getaway during prime months), etc. Once you put in all your interests, it will tell you how many people fit that description (so you know if you should broaden your factors).
The ads are like PPC ads on Google. You set your daily budget, your max bid, and when you want it to run. It's like dayparting with Google.
If there are people interested in B&Bs on Facebook and they specifically list that as an interest and what area they live in...then it seems like that would convert fairly well.
I really don't know.

 

[muirford]

Getting back to the business side of things, Facebook can offer a lot of value if you do it correctly.
The thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if YOU, use Facebook. Depending on who your clientele is, THEY'RE probably using Facebook. Which means by going in there and create a Group for your Inn or a Fan page, you give them a place to come together and talk about you. This increases word of mouth and it helps form a community around your Inn. This can be very powerful.
There are also advertising opportunities that I haven't played with too much. Because Facebook users enter in all sorts of information about themselves, ad targeting is amazing. You can have your ads shown to specific ages of people who live in a certain area and who list certain things as their interest. You basically tell them who your users are and they'll put ads in front of them.
Doesn't BnBstar.com have a Facebook application they use to attract users? That's pretty interesting stuff, I think..

Getting back to the business side of things, Facebook can offer a lot of value if you do it correctly.
The thing to remember is that it doesn't matter if YOU, use Facebook. Depending on who your clientele is, THEY'RE probably using Facebook. Which means by going in there and create a Group for your Inn or a Fan page, you give them a place to come together and talk about you. This increases word of mouth and it helps form a community around your Inn. This can be very powerful.
There are also advertising opportunities that I haven't played with too much. Because Facebook users enter in all sorts of information about themselves, ad targeting is amazing. You can have your ads shown to specific ages of people who live in a certain area and who list certain things as their interest. You basically tell them who your users are and they'll put ads in front of them.

So it sounds like you use FB quite a bit. You're suggesting something which sounds more complicated than a one-time deal, to me. Is that accurate? Not trying to be argumentative but I am trying to understand. I use FB very little but my nephew is on it every two or three hours. I get that might be good - if an 18 yo college student was my target market - but even so, he would have to express an interest in B&Bs? and then find me out of all the ones out there? It just doesn't seem like the potential to be a big draw. Most people I know on Facebook, young or old, just use it to communicate with people. They don't use it to plan a vacation because they've got other tools for that - google, tripadvisor, travelocity.
Now the ads you're talking about are not free, I imagine. Is it a PPC through FB with google ads or a separate function?
Bnbstar may have an interesting application - may. If you search for bed and breakfast (not 'B&B' and not 'inn') their application comes up and is basically their website. Does it really attract people looking for a place to stay? That's not at all clear to me.
.

I wouldn't say I use Facebook, a lot, but it's something I've been watching. I'm not an expert, but I'll try to answer your questions the best I can.
I don't think setting up your ads and monitoring them will take more than an hour a day. The only thing that really attracts me to the Facebook ads are how targeted they are.
You pick the location. You can pick the region/state. The age group. What keywords you want to show up for. They're education level. If they're single/engaged/married (think lovers getaway during prime months), etc. Once you put in all your interests, it will tell you how many people fit that description (so you know if you should broaden your factors).
The ads are like PPC ads on Google. You set your daily budget, your max bid, and when you want it to run. It's like dayparting with Google.
If there are people interested in B&Bs on Facebook and they specifically list that as an interest and what area they live in...then it seems like that would convert fairly well.
I really don't know.
.

Thanks, that's actually useful information. I don't think it's a good fit for me until it's a more proven conversion tool but it might be for some others. And using it like JBJ is - searching out like-interested FBers may lead to some interest as a guest.

 

[Lisa]

I am not liking this thread. It is frustrating.
I actually want to find useful information about FB, not argue who is a techie or not here. No one needs to spoon feed anyone. All input is desired on this subject..

It's frustrating because thinks like Facebook are frustrating because they're not "proven" yet. I don't think anyone's arguing though...or at least that's not how I perceived it...
.

It's frustrating because thinks like Facebook are frustrating because they're not "proven" yet. I don't think anyone's arguing though...or at least that's not how I perceived it...

It's not so much that FB and the like are not proven, what I want to know is how those who use it measure its effectiveness. You have to have measurement goals in place before embarking on any new enterprise that is going to take your time, money and effort from something you are using now. I know I keep mentioning the email marketing like I just invented it, but I do have a system in place to measure the effectiveness of the email. I know who is getting it, whether they forwarded it on, and whther or not any of them call or email or book online. Pretty quickly I'll be able to say whether it worked or not. Or, whether I need to send a few more emails before I get buy in.
That's all I'm asking. If it works, how do you know? What's the guage? Is it more effective now than before? Is it really only an hour a day/week/ month?
.

Well, yeah, you have to set what your success metrics are. That goes for anything.
How do you track it?
You enter conversations people are having about Bed and Breakfasts and see if people start talking about you more outside of Facebook (set up Google Alerts to track this).
You create a Fan page in Facebook and set up a separate phone number or one that forwards, and see if people call you using that number. Or use a special discount code that only have available through Facebook.
Stuff like Facebook drives traffic, but it's not a magic solution. I'd use it once you get the other stuff taken care of it and you think you're in a position to spread your reach.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Maybe we need to wait for BandB.com to take it into their grand scheme? NOT.
I think if some of us can get on board we might actually TURN it into something useful (think playdough). Or utilize it in a way not thought of before for our industry. This is why I am interested. I am not interested in chatting with people on facebook and reading personal stuff about anyone. I can chat here or in person with people. It is another tool that we need to not immediately say "it's just a bunch of young punks" as it is not just a bunch of young punks.
Just like eBay. I was discussing this with another innkeeper recently who still believes eBay to be bargain shopping. Every time my husband needs any sort of part for anything he goes straight to eBay. He is not an "eBay" person, at all, he does not browse, he goes, gets the part (for county gvmt I might add) and buys it (in the hundreds and thousands dollar range). His same vendors sell on eBay.
All these applications are coming to life on the internet and we need to be ready to see how they can help or affect our business.

 

[Morticia]

I am not liking this thread. It is frustrating.
I actually want to find useful information about FB, not argue who is a techie or not here. No one needs to spoon feed anyone. All input is desired on this subject..

It's frustrating because thinks like Facebook are frustrating because they're not "proven" yet. I don't think anyone's arguing though...or at least that's not how I perceived it...
.

It's frustrating because thinks like Facebook are frustrating because they're not "proven" yet. I don't think anyone's arguing though...or at least that's not how I perceived it...

It's not so much that FB and the like are not proven, what I want to know is how those who use it measure its effectiveness. You have to have measurement goals in place before embarking on any new enterprise that is going to take your time, money and effort from something you are using now. I know I keep mentioning the email marketing like I just invented it, but I do have a system in place to measure the effectiveness of the email. I know who is getting it, whether they forwarded it on, and whther or not any of them call or email or book online. Pretty quickly I'll be able to say whether it worked or not. Or, whether I need to send a few more emails before I get buy in.
That's all I'm asking. If it works, how do you know? What's the guage? Is it more effective now than before? Is it really only an hour a day/week/ month?
.

Well, yeah, you have to set what your success metrics are. That goes for anything.
How do you track it?
You enter conversations people are having about Bed and Breakfasts and see if people start talking about you more outside of Facebook (set up Google Alerts to track this).
You create a Fan page in Facebook and set up a separate phone number or one that forwards, and see if people call you using that number. Or use a special discount code that only have available through Facebook.
Stuff like Facebook drives traffic, but it's not a magic solution. I'd use it once you get the other stuff taken care of it and you think you're in a position to spread your reach.
.

Well, yeah, you have to set what your success metrics are. That goes for anything.
How do you track it?
You enter conversations people are having about Bed and Breakfasts and see if people start talking about you more outside of Facebook (set up Google Alerts to track this).
You create a Fan page in Facebook and set up a separate phone number or one that forwards, and see if people call you using that number. Or use a special discount code that only have available through Facebook.
Stuff like Facebook drives traffic, but it's not a magic solution. I'd use it once you get the other stuff taken care of it and you think you're in a position to spread your reach.

This is where, I think, an excessive amount of time comes into play. If I need to converse with hundreds of prospective B&B goers one at a time, I will not be able to do anything else. (This is the purpose of my website.) As it is, I have limited time to converse with guests who have found me thru my old channels who want to email me, call me and talk to me while they are here.
Again, I'm not hearing anyone step up and say specific metrics they found with FB. It's a lot of 'it could, it might, you get out of it what you put into it' sort of stuff.
Anyone trying to 'sell' me on better photos for my website has stats to back that up. All I'm hearing with FB is that it's the wave of the future but nothing else saying how it has already been effective for anyone to drive business.
And it's not, I guess, what FB'ers want. They don't want to be sold, they're on there to socialize.

 

[swirt]

Facebook isn't just about your personal profile like Myspace is. You can create a group centered around your inn that prospective guests can join and get more information from. It doesn't take the place of your website but it is another means of advertising and allows you to target a vast pool of people.
There are also such things as groups and networks for your area or topics of interest that you can join. After joining those groups, you simply post your group for your inn to it either through the post section or the message board.
I'm not sure why people think this is time-consuming and exhaustive work. Doing all this will take an hour at the most and require very little to no upkeep..

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.

Is that one hour per day/week/month? What I find hard to believe is that it's just an hour.

Given I can spend 2 hours on here and not realize the time has gone by!
It took me 6 hours to write an effective (I hope) first email blast (including trying to build the right email list). I'm hoping a following email will take substantially less time. (And that doesn't include the 1 1/2 hour class I just went to.) But it certainly must be longer than one hour to build the CORRECT type of FB page. This is my business, I'm not sending it out into the world in it's jammies.
As muirford points out, she found 500 B&B entries by doing a search. Certainly trying to figure out which of those groups are ones you want to join will take more and more time as more and more join. Obviously, it's working for you by bringing you potential guests to your website. I guess I'd need more of an impetus to do the setup and the networking. How many new guests? How many qualified new guests? That sort of thing.
What sort of numbers are we talking? Did you see a big increase in guest bookings after getting into the FB network? (Sorry, I'm a numbers person, this stuff helps me determine how much time gets spent on any endeavor. Like my new email marketing plan. I'll report back here when I've sent the first one with details of how that went for me.)
.

As muirford points out, she found 500 B&B entries by doing a search. Certainly trying to figure out which of those groups are ones you want to join will take more and more time as more and more join.

I think this is an indication of targeting the wrong end of the tail. Just as a google search for B&B is not likely to bring many conversions, a FB party for B&B is not as likely to be something people are looking for, and if they are, it is not likely to be leading to you.
A regional FB approach would be a more powerful use of the time and effort. Thiink your location, not your business. Think more about what you have to offer ... local knowledge.. local wisdom, rather than what you have to sell (beds and breakfasts)

 

[muirford]

Facebook isn't just about your personal profile like Myspace is. You can create a group centered around your inn that prospective guests can join and get more information from. It doesn't take the place of your website but it is another means of advertising and allows you to target a vast pool of people.
There are also such things as groups and networks for your area or topics of interest that you can join. After joining those groups, you simply post your group for your inn to it either through the post section or the message board.
I'm not sure why people think this is time-consuming and exhaustive work. Doing all this will take an hour at the most and require very little to no upkeep..

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.

Is that one hour per day/week/month? What I find hard to believe is that it's just an hour.

Given I can spend 2 hours on here and not realize the time has gone by!
It took me 6 hours to write an effective (I hope) first email blast (including trying to build the right email list). I'm hoping a following email will take substantially less time. (And that doesn't include the 1 1/2 hour class I just went to.) But it certainly must be longer than one hour to build the CORRECT type of FB page. This is my business, I'm not sending it out into the world in it's jammies.
As muirford points out, she found 500 B&B entries by doing a search. Certainly trying to figure out which of those groups are ones you want to join will take more and more time as more and more join. Obviously, it's working for you by bringing you potential guests to your website. I guess I'd need more of an impetus to do the setup and the networking. How many new guests? How many qualified new guests? That sort of thing.
What sort of numbers are we talking? Did you see a big increase in guest bookings after getting into the FB network? (Sorry, I'm a numbers person, this stuff helps me determine how much time gets spent on any endeavor. Like my new email marketing plan. I'll report back here when I've sent the first one with details of how that went for me.)
.

As muirford points out, she found 500 B&B entries by doing a search. Certainly trying to figure out which of those groups are ones you want to join will take more and more time as more and more join.

I think this is an indication of targeting the wrong end of the tail. Just as a google search for B&B is not likely to bring many conversions, a FB party for B&B is not as likely to be something people are looking for, and if they are, it is not likely to be leading to you.
A regional FB approach would be a more powerful use of the time and effort. Thiink your location, not your business. Think more about what you have to offer ... local knowledge.. local wisdom, rather than what you have to sell (beds and breakfasts)
.

Do you truly think this is worth an hour per day of an innkeeper's time? I would say if you want to enjoy the social networking aspects of FB and do something for your location/business at the same time, fine. I can't see how this makes sense as an additional marketing cost (time=money) otherwise.
My search for B&Bs on FB was just to see how many are there. It doesn't seem to me that FB works for a targeted B&B search, and as you say, I can't see many people using it for that purpose. It would be a lot of duplicative effort for me to put out regional information that's already on my website or blog just to get in front of FB users.

 

[Morticia]

Facebook isn't just about your personal profile like Myspace is. You can create a group centered around your inn that prospective guests can join and get more information from. It doesn't take the place of your website but it is another means of advertising and allows you to target a vast pool of people.
There are also such things as groups and networks for your area or topics of interest that you can join. After joining those groups, you simply post your group for your inn to it either through the post section or the message board.
I'm not sure why people think this is time-consuming and exhaustive work. Doing all this will take an hour at the most and require very little to no upkeep..

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.

Is that one hour per day/week/month? What I find hard to believe is that it's just an hour.

Given I can spend 2 hours on here and not realize the time has gone by!
It took me 6 hours to write an effective (I hope) first email blast (including trying to build the right email list). I'm hoping a following email will take substantially less time. (And that doesn't include the 1 1/2 hour class I just went to.) But it certainly must be longer than one hour to build the CORRECT type of FB page. This is my business, I'm not sending it out into the world in it's jammies.
As muirford points out, she found 500 B&B entries by doing a search. Certainly trying to figure out which of those groups are ones you want to join will take more and more time as more and more join. Obviously, it's working for you by bringing you potential guests to your website. I guess I'd need more of an impetus to do the setup and the networking. How many new guests? How many qualified new guests? That sort of thing.
What sort of numbers are we talking? Did you see a big increase in guest bookings after getting into the FB network? (Sorry, I'm a numbers person, this stuff helps me determine how much time gets spent on any endeavor. Like my new email marketing plan. I'll report back here when I've sent the first one with details of how that went for me.)
.

As muirford points out, she found 500 B&B entries by doing a search. Certainly trying to figure out which of those groups are ones you want to join will take more and more time as more and more join.

I think this is an indication of targeting the wrong end of the tail. Just as a google search for B&B is not likely to bring many conversions, a FB party for B&B is not as likely to be something people are looking for, and if they are, it is not likely to be leading to you.
A regional FB approach would be a more powerful use of the time and effort. Thiink your location, not your business. Think more about what you have to offer ... local knowledge.. local wisdom, rather than what you have to sell (beds and breakfasts)
.

As muirford points out, she found 500 B&B entries by doing a search. Certainly trying to figure out which of those groups are ones you want to join will take more and more time as more and more join.

I think this is an indication of targeting the wrong end of the tail. Just as a google search for B&B is not likely to bring many conversions, a FB party for B&B is not as likely to be something people are looking for, and if they are, it is not likely to be leading to you.
A regional FB approach would be a more powerful use of the time and effort. Thiink your location, not your business. Think more about what you have to offer ... local knowledge.. local wisdom, rather than what you have to sell (beds and breakfasts)

In a way like haunting the travel sites and answering the local knowledge questions that travelers ask. See, THIS makes sense.

 

[swirt]

Facebook isn't just about your personal profile like Myspace is. You can create a group centered around your inn that prospective guests can join and get more information from. It doesn't take the place of your website but it is another means of advertising and allows you to target a vast pool of people.
There are also such things as groups and networks for your area or topics of interest that you can join. After joining those groups, you simply post your group for your inn to it either through the post section or the message board.
I'm not sure why people think this is time-consuming and exhaustive work. Doing all this will take an hour at the most and require very little to no upkeep..

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.
.

Are you an innkeeper??? If there is not payback, then even an hour creating the page is an hour that could be used elsewhere. Someone mentioned BNBStar.com having a facebook page. Well, I went to it and couldn't do a thing. I had to sign up for Facebook I assume before I can access it. Not worth it for me.
I would love to hear from an innkeeper who really uses it and can show how it has helped their innkeeping business. That is what we here are interested in.

Unbelievable.
Busy as I am, finding one hour to dedicate to this task is not difficult.
It's not worth it for YOU because you're not an existing user of FB. Therefore, you had to create a new profile to access the FB page. Everything I said applies to existing FB users, which there are millions of around the world. Just because you don't utilize FB doesn't mean current innkeepers shouldn't take advantage of this free tool to potentially market their inn. Welcome to the digital age.

Is that one hour per day/week/month? What I find hard to believe is that it's just an hour.

Given I can spend 2 hours on here and not realize the time has gone by!
It took me 6 hours to write an effective (I hope) first email blast (including trying to build the right email list). I'm hoping a following email will take substantially less time. (And that doesn't include the 1 1/2 hour class I just went to.) But it certainly must be longer than one hour to build the CORRECT type of FB page. This is my business, I'm not sending it out into the world in it's jammies.
As muirford points out, she found 500 B&B entries by doing a search. Certainly trying to figure out which of those groups are ones you want to join will take more and more time as more and more join. Obviously, it's working for you by bringing you potential guests to your website. I guess I'd need more of an impetus to do the setup and the networking. How many new guests? How many qualified new guests? That sort of thing.
What sort of numbers are we talking? Did you see a big increase in guest bookings after getting into the FB network? (Sorry, I'm a numbers person, this stuff helps me determine how much time gets spent on any endeavor. Like my new email marketing plan. I'll report back here when I've sent the first one with details of how that went for me.)
.

As muirford points out, she found 500 B&B entries by doing a search. Certainly trying to figure out which of those groups are ones you want to join will take more and more time as more and more join.

I think this is an indication of targeting the wrong end of the tail. Just as a google search for B&B is not likely to bring many conversions, a FB party for B&B is not as likely to be something people are looking for, and if they are, it is not likely to be leading to you.
A regional FB approach would be a more powerful use of the time and effort. Thiink your location, not your business. Think more about what you have to offer ... local knowledge.. local wisdom, rather than what you have to sell (beds and breakfasts)
.

Do you truly think this is worth an hour per day of an innkeeper's time? I would say if you want to enjoy the social networking aspects of FB and do something for your location/business at the same time, fine. I can't see how this makes sense as an additional marketing cost (time=money) otherwise.
My search for B&Bs on FB was just to see how many are there. It doesn't seem to me that FB works for a targeted B&B search, and as you say, I can't see many people using it for that purpose. It would be a lot of duplicative effort for me to put out regional information that's already on my website or blog just to get in front of FB users.
.

An hour a day..probably not...but as Bree said, you can burn a few hours here and hardly notice the time.
I think it would not take much to monitor the few that are fans of your area and participate a bit. Share what you can, but I wouldn't look at it like blogging or re-writing what's on your site. Think of it as Bree just described below. It is just one more channel where people might be talking about your area. You share info when questions come up and they may track back through your info. If you do even a soft sell...they will likely back away.

 

[user 26]

as i mentioned, my 'children' are on facebook. they are traveling people and like both b&b's and hotels. so if they saw a mention of a b&b recommended by a fb friend, i think they'd take notice.
on facebook, you are not supposed to set up a profile as xyz inn ... i found that out after signing on ... doh!

it is supposed to be seashanty and then i can put on stuff about my b&b or my store or my whatever
it's another tool. i won't say it has no marketing or practical value for a b&b, because probably everything has value if done the right way.
i resist intrusive technology ... like cell phone conversations and texting that are endless and are carried out while i am face to face with someone doing it ... or cell phones that seem to ring constantly, everywhere.
but if i see value in signing on for something, i'll give it a shot.
there is a learning curve for me. i get invites to be a friend on facebook from my college age stepson and some of his friends ... not meaning they want to hang out with me ... they want to share something.
over christmas, i'll be with my kids, all on facebook, and i'll ask them for guidance ... and see where it leads.

 

[YellowSocks]

Well... I can see how I'll need to be careful or FB will get addictive (a lot like this forum!)
I saw what someone else had posted on a friend's wall and now I know she's looking for an expresso machine (which I have a few laying around and can spare her one). She'd never mentioned it to me.
And I chatted this evening with a student I taught in 8th grade who's now in college... and who used the word "meh" in the course of the conversation. (And who, after I told him I wasn't an English teacher while IMing, purposely used the word "alot" because he knew I'd hate it!)
I'm limiting my time there simply because I have to... but it's neat seeing what everyone's up to, and seeing pictures of these kids all grown up, and knowing what's on my friends' minds.
=)
Kk.