What Is A QR Code And Why Do You Need One?

What Is A QR Code And Why Do You Need One?

6 Best Practices for Modern SEO

An interesting article on the 6 Best Practices for Modern SEO

Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]

Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]

Have you discovered infographics?

Wikipedia defines infographic: Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge. These graphics present complex information quickly and clearly,^[1] such as in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing, and education. With an information graphic, computer scientists, mathematicians, and statisticians develop and communicate concepts using a single symbol to process information.

Okay, an image that helps us find our way - like a subway map when we are visiting a city for the first time, or in my case every time. So what's our take away from this Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing infographic? Just like following that subway map you need to where you are, where you want to end up, and how much you are willing to do to get there. Or, too many transfers or stations you don't want to visit on our imaginary subway ride? Maybe you're better off taking a taxi, hiring a guide, or visiting a few less places.

Successful Inbound Marketing is strategic. It is affordable in $$$. It is expensive in time. So we need to know our budgets for both, and whether we are willing to to use some of our $$$ to buy some time (think assigning tasks to employees, or hiring someone like me).

Key things to know about your commitment (strategy) to Inbound Marketing:

"Communication is interactive and two way", who will be holding up your end of the conversation and how much time or how many $$$ can you commit to communication?

"Customers have come to you: via search engines, referrals, social media", where are you now in terms of an optimized and content rich web site? Where are your referrals coming from? How active are your conversations on Facebook, TripAdvisor, Twitter, etc. (see Communication item above).

"Marketers provide value", we are all familiar with 'value-added', it has long been our preference over 'discount'. But what in your Inbound Marketing structure is of value to your current and prospective clients?

"Marketers seek to entertain and/or educate", yeah - we're in the hospitality business, we are a bundle of entertainment and education. --Side Note-- if your Outbound Marketing efforts have not been entertaining and educational they need a major overhaul. If you haven't identified your primary niche, stop everything and do it now. After all we're taking about marketing that entertains and/or educates so we have to know what we are focusing on...and measuring.

Increase Your Holiday Business

Have you noticed the holidays creeping into to television you watch, the magazines you read, the web sites your frequent?  We are all being nudged to loosen up the purse strings and get on with our holiday spending.  And the incentives are there, too: shop early and get discounts, lay-away now, free delivery when you buy on line.


So what's the holiday sales plan for your hotel?  If you have one that's great, hopefully you are already rolling it out.  If you don't have a plan, start building one now.  A few steps today can help you create some buzz and give you a foundation to build on for future holiday business.
Write blog posts.  Tell your unique holiday story, why you and your guests enjoy spending the holidays together, your property's holiday traditions, and make a compelling offer.  Your offer can be an early booking bonus, an easy holiday 'lay-away' plan, even gift cards, or value added extras.  And make it actionable - give the reader a way to make their reservation now, a way to read reviews or testimonials and make their reservation now, a way to call or write to you and get an immediate response so that they may make their reservation now.
Use your Specials page on your web site, or create one.  You want a landing page so that any promotion you do can link directly to a place where questions can be answered and reservations made.  Make sure to include details on what is included, and what is required to take advantage of your offers.
Target your e-mail list.  And target your e-mails, customize your message so that your news is what your reader wants.  This is easy to accomplish if you have segmented your list so that you can target your message to past guests, or the prospective guests you met at the last fishing trade show, or the readers of the scuba diving magazine asking for your information.
Look at your social media sites.  Do you have a fun holiday event you can add to your Facebook page?  How about making sure that your blog posts are shared?  Tweak your Twitter searches to keywords that merge what you are selling to the holiday - and - join the conversation with appropriate links to your special offers. "All I want for Christmas is a week on a tropical island!"  Add holiday images and/or video to your presence on the web.

Now sit back and think about your holiday menus and parties.  And you'll have something more to blog about :)

Happy Holidays - Elizabeth

Photo Book

Photos are a great way to tell your story.  These books from Shutterfly are a great way to share special events with your guests.

Click here to view this photo book larger

You'll love Shutterflys award-winning photo books. Try it today.

Content and SEO

Are you thinking content?  Here is an article from Brafton on content and search engine optimization.

We can keep you going in the right direction

We all need a little help to keep our goats on track. This is especially true for the owners and managers of small inns and hotels who have so many varied operational duties. Often there is little time left to keep pulse on the market, review promotional opportunities, keep tabs on social media, or develop a plan for a new niche market.

The purpose of this blog is to share bite sized nuggets of information for my friends and associates working in and for hotels throughout the Out Islands of The Bahamas. Just hit the subscribe button, and stop in when a post piques your interest.

Sunny regards - Eliz

Social Network Wars: How The Five Major Platforms Stack Up [INFOGRAPHIC]

Social Network Wars: How The Five Major Platforms Stack Up [INFOGRAPHIC]

Google Reportedly Set to Launch New Travel Search Engine

Google Reportedly Set to Launch New Travel Search Engine

BruceClay - SEO Newsletter - BACK TO BASICS: Creating Quality Content for the Web

BruceClay - SEO Newsletter - BACK TO BASICS: Creating Quality Content for the Web