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toddburme

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I am working on getting our web presence down. So I did facebook, google maps, yelp and still need to do myspace, youtube and twitter(yuck). I am really not sure of the value of lots of this for a local business.
So locally, I added chamber of commerce, local paper website has a business listing area, still need to find a few sites dealing with the local bike trail, regional site and maybe a county interest site. These might actually provide customers.
 
How about a blog? You can connect the blog to FB and FB to Twitter and save some time. BUT, better than lining all of these up is to have a plan for how you are going to use them.
 
Yep, did the blog. The blog has a purpose. So does facebook. Twitter, is ok for a web product and maybe i am being goofy as twitter has a local presence to it so maybe it will provide some value. Google maps had us listed as closed so that was a must. Yelp was a just because. I don't use it but some people might. I did some wifi hotspots just for the backlinks mostly. Youtube was more of we should show up in search and it is a backlink. Might add an imbedded video to the site in the future. Myspace would be another "just because", they are huge and you want to be found just in case.
Overall purpose is to boost the website and provide bookings. The site was up but the B&B was closed for several years so we have a nice empty booking calendar. Anything to sort of get the word out a bit.
 
Yep, did the blog. The blog has a purpose. So does facebook. Twitter, is ok for a web product and maybe i am being goofy as twitter has a local presence to it so maybe it will provide some value. Google maps had us listed as closed so that was a must. Yelp was a just because. I don't use it but some people might. I did some wifi hotspots just for the backlinks mostly. Youtube was more of we should show up in search and it is a backlink. Might add an imbedded video to the site in the future. Myspace would be another "just because", they are huge and you want to be found just in case.
Overall purpose is to boost the website and provide bookings. The site was up but the B&B was closed for several years so we have a nice empty booking calendar. Anything to sort of get the word out a bit..
Did you join any paid stuff? If just for the first year. If you can get your place in AAA, that listing is free and pretty wide-spread. You have to be reviewed to get in there and there are minimum limits on number of rooms. Start writing press releases. Get some local coverage. Make sure there is a link from the news article to your website.
Yes, getting Google to recognize you as 'open' is a biggie. It's not funny, but I've given up on Yahoo ranking my place better than places that have been closed for 7 or more years.
Get other bloggers to link to your blog, that will give the blog better street cred, too.
 
Did bbo nline and Bed and bre akfast. AAA sounds good and yes we got a local article and just emailed the bigger market paper. I wanted to use the local article and see if I could release it wider but it is not out yet. Or I should write my own press release and do it that way.
Paid up for the Yahoo directory as that is so huge for getting just a ton of links. It was hard to submit the site around etc when we were not taking bookings as it was then still "closed" so feeling like i am getting a late start on it. :)
 
Did bbo nline and Bed and bre akfast. AAA sounds good and yes we got a local article and just emailed the bigger market paper. I wanted to use the local article and see if I could release it wider but it is not out yet. Or I should write my own press release and do it that way.
Paid up for the Yahoo directory as that is so huge for getting just a ton of links. It was hard to submit the site around etc when we were not taking bookings as it was then still "closed" so feeling like i am getting a late start on it. :).
Write your own PR AND get the local article circulated, too. If you can contact the bigger paper with the info from the local paper, that always helps. No one wants to take a chance and having an article written pretty much guarantees someone else will take you seriously.
 
Do an online press release. I've used PRweb. Depending on how much you spend, you can generally get linked to a lot of different sources that way. Make sure you have a "hook" though. Not just XYZ in opens in ABC town. Be clever and you'd be surprised who will pick up your online press release.
Are you listed in TA? If you are, try to get some reviews from any of the folks that have stayed with you so far. If you have any negative reviews from previously, you can let them know you are the new owner and they will get rid of the old reviews.
 
On TA and one of our first guests gave a great review. Will do the PR thing tomorrow then. I have some free time this week so it is web 2.0 all week hahaha.
 
I wouldn't bother with MySpace. Facebook has out-paced it by a mile! Blog? Well, that's fine if you have something interesting to ponder. However, I have hundreds more that follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook than the blog.
 
AAA we already did. It is nice to have a partner who is doing stuff. Myspace looked like a waste of time. The blog is interesting to me so I will do it. It is my first wordpress blog. I did a pretty big twitter and probably burned out on it. I had 30k followers and no doubt it made me some money but it was a time consuming and seemed to have a lot less feedback then say a facebook. I will do it as I have some ideas there.
 
Put an ad in the vacation rentals section of Craigslist, and maybe a classified ad listing on ebay. Sounds stupid, but if you put your web address in them, the traffic to your website is tremendous...no paid directory can even touch them for exposure and traffic.
 
You can only say SO MUCH on twitter, so you better have something to say and something to link to. I love twitter, love it.
I hate facbooke, hate it with a passion. Went it to update something and my biz page was gone and a new one was there with nothing on it but our address. Always SUCKS the time out of my day going into FB so I don't go in.
Love blogging, always find cool stuff to blog about, always, it is a hunting and gathering mission for me, it allows me to get out of this place, to use my camera and have some fun! AND you can link the blog to ALL SAID SOCIAL MEDIA you have mentioned.
My perspective, my likes and dislikes, everyone is different.
 
I had thought of doing craigslist and it is nice to see the idea has legs. I was also thinking of VRBO and some stuff like that.
Yep the blog seems like a great place to mention all that I am doing with links etc and see it all get nice and looked at by the powers that be. Facebook is more like a big group of my friends. It is not a place where I would feel too comfortable throwing out lots of promotions etc as they are people I know and like. Maybe I need two facebooks.
 
Put an ad in the vacation rentals section of Craigslist, and maybe a classified ad listing on ebay. Sounds stupid, but if you put your web address in them, the traffic to your website is tremendous...no paid directory can even touch them for exposure and traffic..
Thanks! getting some traffic already on this and I put it in late last night. Great idea. Thanks again.
 
Todd's "social media cocktail"
"Two-faced innkeepers" those who have a personal and a business page on Facebook. (I just invented that term). tee hee
 
Todd's "social media cocktail"
"Two-faced innkeepers" those who have a personal and a business page on Facebook. (I just invented that term). tee hee.
I have to say the way facebook does the page for the business is a little odd. I am not sure I like it at all and it is hard to find the link to it etc.
 
Todd's "social media cocktail"
"Two-faced innkeepers" those who have a personal and a business page on Facebook. (I just invented that term). tee hee.
I have to say the way facebook does the page for the business is a little odd. I am not sure I like it at all and it is hard to find the link to it etc.
.
Looking at some old posts and reviewing our web stuff. You guys are really helpful. Thanks.
 
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