If you’ve been a part of the hundreds of people who’ve sent their comments in, THANK YOU. I’m so grateful to everyone who took the time to write in.

You’ve been providing me with great comments, suggestions and ideas on how I can help you and your business have more success with social media marketing.

I also want you to know that I’ve been listening…

Tell me if this sounds familiar

You really DO want to use social media to promote your business but…

• You can’t find the time to sit down and create that profile you’ve been wanting.
• You’re not sure where to start or what to do.
• You have no clue what to do once the profile is up. How do you use it in the “right way”?

The good news is that you’re not alone! These are some of the top concerns I hear from people over and over again. The better news is that we can take care of them and help you shine in the process.

I’m thrilled to announce new workshops + a new Facebook FAM trip format

If you need help + accountability to get started

I’ll be holding “3 hour kick-start” workshops to help you get started on Pinterest and Facebook. These are highly interactive online workshops that you can join from the comfort of your home or office. I’ll be online to teach you what you need to know to get started, answer your questions and help you actually build your page or profile.

By the end of each workshop, you’ll be walking away with a fully functional Pinterest profile or Facebook page that you can start using right away to market your business.

Registration opens TODAY and is limited to 15 participants.

Click here to sign up or get more details.

If you want to get serious about bringing in new leads through Facebook marketing

If you’re past the setup stage, but need help figuring out what your next step should be, my Take Flight with Facebook program offers you a step-by-step guide to creating your ideal strategy without wasting time or money on things that don’t work.

We’ve had close to 100 participants go through the program already and they’ve had great things to say about what they learned!

We did get requests for more interactive time for me and that’s why I’ve decided to launch a 6-week Live Coaching version of this program.

As of next Wednesday, you’ll have three options to get your Facebook learning on:

1. A self-study option that gives you instant access to all the course materials plus some of the bonuses so that you can learn at your own pace and do your own thing.
2. A guided 6-week group coaching option that will give you access to live calls with me where you can get your questions answered and special guest interviews to help you dive deeper into what you’re learning.
3. A luxury 6-week group program option that includes the Q&A calls, the guest interviews PLUS opportunities for one-on-one time with me to make sure you keep on track and put your plan in action.

Regardless of the option you choose, you’ll walk away with a personalized action plan of what you need to do next to marketing yourself more effectively on Facebook. 

Registration opens on Wednesday, March 14th and will be limited for the group options. The self-study option with updated course materials and the 6-weeks group program are scheduled to launch on April 4th. Click here to get the details.

Ready to get your social media mojo back?

I hope so! I’m working on these programs because I want to see you succeed. Let’s get to it and help you shine!

1. They know what they’re after

It may not require a 50-page playbook, but successful social businesses know what they want out of their social media marketing efforts. They’ve set goals for themselves, and every decision they make serves to move them closer to achieving them.

2. They focus

Knowing one’s target audience and keeping an eye on goals is also key.  It affects where you play, how you talk and what you talk about. It’ll also save time by directing all efforts to those with a high ROI.  If there’s one thing that social businesses have learned it’s that, sometimes, less is more. You won’t develop an engaged community by being everywhere and not keeping up.

3. They integrate with other online tactics

Rather than treating social media as a destination, they treat it as a vehicle to generate interest in their brand, engagement and traffic to their website or email list.

4. They create community

The number of fans or followers they get comes second to how connected they are to the people who connect with them. They focus on having authentic conversations that make them worthwhile to their audience. In other words, delighting their audience and turning them into raving fans serves them better than having a whole community who says nothing about them.

 5. They have fun

I happen to be a strong believer in having fun while I work. Luckily, social media leaves all kinds of room for that. Among other things, people log in to social networks for entertainment. The businesses who add fun to their posts and learn to talk beyond the shop build trust quickly and see their communities grow. (Luckily, the travel industry is full of fun things to share!)

 6. They practice social devotion

As with any other relationship-building activity, paying attention, showing up and being interested in people is crucial. Successful social businesses do all those things: they ask questions, they respond in a timely manner and they don’t shy away from criticism if it shows up. Showing that you care will make your audience care back.

 7. They actively listen

Conversations are never pointless. Successful social businesses listen and remember the details. They tune in to what their audience says they like or don’t like, and they use it to provide products that resonate. Additionally, they build trust by remembering small details at just the right times.

8. They provide value

Fans or followers want to feel like their time is being well spent. They want to know what’s in it for them and no one else.  How can brands make that happen? How can YOU make that happen?

Are you a successful social business?

I want to hear about it! Leave a comment below and tell me what you think your company does best on social media OR tell me what you want to improve on in the coming year.

Want to start improving now?

If Facebook is one of your focuses, my Take Flight with Facebook program can help you get your strategy straight. The self-study option is always available and you can sign up any time.

I’ll also be opening up registration for a special group coaching edition in a few weeks. Make sure you’re signed up for my email updates to be the first to know when it happens!

In case you missed the February #SM4TA chat, here’s the recap

In this month’s edition, we talked about the potential for a working relationship between travel bloggers and travel agents with a special blogger guest.

Some people thought it was a great type of partnership and others weren’t so convinced. One thing’s for sure though. There were some great points and observations made from both sides.

Click here to check out the chat’s summary.

And tell me below. Is a partnership with a travel blogger something you’d ever consider?

Wanna join us next time?

If you’d like to join us next month on Twitter, tune in at 2 pm Eastern/11am Pacific on Wednesday, March 13!

When it comes to determining whether consumers will choose your page as one of their 10 or not, it’s all about first impressions and affinity. In short, unless a consumer has done business with you, they will judge your page on how it looks and what it can offer them.

So, pay attention. Here are the five areas on your page that you need to put some thought into:

1. Profile Image

This little square image inset in your page’s new header is your face across Facebook.  Choose an image that represents you well and identifies you quickly! Agency logos or professional headshots are a good choice for this spot.

2. Cover Photo

This is now the centerpiece of the new Facebook page template and a golden opportunity for you to set the mood for who you are and what you do.  Use photos that inspire people to travel, images that feature your fans, or photos of the team clients can expect to work with.

Also, know that Facebook does not allow the following on cover photos:

• Price or purchase information
• Any type of contact information – website url, email, telephone number, etc.
• Mentions of Facebook features such as “Like”, “Share” or “Comment”
• Calls to action

3. About Section

This section is important for two reasons: it is the only Facebook- provided spot with information about your business that remains permanently and it’s one of the first pages search engines look at. Make sure you develop descriptions that are more than 2 or 3 lines. Include keywords that tell people (and robots) what you do and how you can help. This will help you get found by the right audience.

4. Timeline

The new Facebook pages are designed to act as a timeline for your business, with the opportunity to highlight important milestones. The goal is the visually tell your story and tell people a bit more about how you became what you are today.

In the status update box (the box where it says “write something”), you can click on “Events, Milestones +” for access to the Milestone feature. Use it to highlight your achievements or awards, major travel milestones or other important dates. You have the option of including photos or videos with your posts – use it!

Hint: It’s also a great feature to use whenever a client sends you praise or photos that you can share. Simply create  a milestone and attach their photos and/or praise to it.

5. Apps/Views

You may have noticed the boxes next to your “about area”. These are known as apps or views and are designed to help you customize your page’s experience.

You can use them by connecting third-party services to your page to do things like collect email addresses for your newsletter, build a featured travel offer page, hold contests and more. My favorite app is one called Shortstack, but there are thousands of others to pick from. Some of your favourite providers probably offer Facebook apps too. Ask them about it!

Have you thought these areas through?

If not, here’s your chance! I challenge you to go (or go back) and look at your page with these 5 key areas in mind. Take an objective look and ask yourself if they are the best that they can be. Don’t settle for “good enough” if you want to stand out and make an impact. This is your chance to shine!

Tell us what you’ll be changing

Leave a comment below and tell us what you were will be improving on your page. Share a link to your page if you’d like us to check it out too!

NOTE: This article was originally published on The Travel Institute’s “Friday Five” email series for members back in May, 2012. I’m now sharing it with you because the information is important to your business. 

It’s really hard for me to find a good book on social media marketing that I don’t find a bit outdated by the time it hits the market. Channels are changing so quickly, that it’s hard to keep up.

That’s why I was cautiously optimistic when Beth Hayden offered me a copy of her book, Pinfluence: The Complete Guide to Marketing Your Business with Pinterest, to review.

First, a full disclosure

I did get a free copy of the book for review purposes. However, I promise that all of the opinions I share below are my own without prejudice to the fact that I did not pay for my copy.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way…

Let me tell you why I enjoyed this book so much:

1.    There’s information for all user levels

Whether you are a Pinterest newcomer or a more seasoned user, Beth has laid out relevant information for you.

I particularly enjoyed how the book starts by assuming that you know nothing about Pinterest and progressively steps you through more complicated concepts and strategies. Combined with simple language, it made the information less intimidating and very digestible.

For example, the book’s first section focuses on getting you on Pinterest and understanding what the heck you are doing there. It gives you the how-to as well as the why, when and what. By the end of the chapter, you will have a much better idea of what you want to do with your account.

2.    You can easily practice what is preached

Every chapter ends with action items that you can put in practice right away.

When taken in chunks, these items actually don’t take much time, but can have a big impact on your pinning strategy.

Case in point: I often get asked what a person should be posting to their Facebook page, Twitter stream or other channels. So, after reading about creating boards that help my audience be better at what they do, I started a pinboard where you, as a travel professional, can find cool things to share on your social media channels.

Within a few days and with less than an hour invested in creating my board and pinning things, I had increased my Pinterest following by more than 50 people. And that number continues to grow as I continue to add things to my board!

(Click here if you’d like to see what my board looks like or follow the content I post to it. I add to it any time I find new cool things to share.)

3.    Even if the mechanics change, it’s still great advice

As with any book on social media, part of this book focuses on the technical “how-to” aspect of things, but much of it is focused on the actual strategy behind what you need to do.

This means that, even though the mechanics may change, much of the ideas and concepts Beth presents will be applicable for a long time.

To me, this makes it the perfect desk reference for anyone getting serious about Pinterest.

So, what did I think overall?

All in all, I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone looking to get his or her feet wet without a giant learning curve.

The extra bonus for me was the numerous travel-related examples used to illustrate key concepts.

It made it that much more relevant and applicable to the work I do with my clients.

The trick is to develop a system and schedule that can easily fit into your day and doesn’t take up too much time.

How do you set up a good social media marketing schedule?

If you’re not sure where to start to be effective and organized, the checklist below is a really great guide.

(Need a printable copy? Click here to access the free download page) 

How to make this guide work for your travel business

Here is my advice :

• While being on all the channels is great, don’t feel like you need to be. Pick the ones that you are most comfortable with and that have been working for your business.
• Take the suggested tasks for each channel and schedule them now into your calendar. If it’s not scheduled, it’s less likely to happen!
• Be diligent and consistent with these practices. This is the only way they will get you results.
• Whenever possible, use scheduling tools to help you plan ahead. Don’t automate everything though! You need to be present if you expect results. (People really don’t enjoy talking to robots)
• Adapt these guidelines to your abilities and schedule. Doing more is always welcome! Doing less may still work, but success will be slower to come.

What does your current social media marketing schedule look like?

Do you do what is suggested in this checklist? Are there any other things you do that work really well. Tell us in the comments below! 

On social media, the content you post is critical to engaging your audience and creating a solid fan base. Yet, many travel professionals struggle with knowing what to post. Whether you are wondering what to say on Twitter, Facebook, blogs or any other channel, here are some travel content ideas to help get the creative juices flowing:

1. Photos

I’ve said it many MANY times : travel is an experiential product and the best way to get people thinking about travel is to show them fun places to go and fun things they can do while they are there. If you can, share personal or client photos of destinations you want to sell. They don’t need to be professional shots and often work even better if you’re in the photo doing something silly! I’ve had many travel agents report that they sell at least one or two packages they wouldn’t have otherwise every time they post photos of a trip they took.

If you don’t have photos of your own, Flickr is a great spot to find amazing shots of every type of destination around the world. Do a quick search and link (don’t steal!) to particularly amazing photography that you think your audience would enjoy.

2. Videos

Videos are also a great way to inspire customers to travel and usually works even better than photos because of their interactive nature. Once again, you don’t always need a professionally shot video to attract attention. A home video of a particularly memorable moment, useful information (like the view of a new cruise ship cabin), fun activities or footage of a new resort will do the trick. Got a knack for humor or publicly humiliating yourself without worry? Great! Use it to your advantage when you create your videos. The funnier the better!

For those who are a little camera shy, don’t despair! YouTube is a great resource for videos of all kinds.  With a little imagination you can search and find some pretty amazing clips.

3. Useful links

The latest traveler alerts, a list of recommended items to pack, articles about the hottest trends in travel – think about what would be useful for your readership to know and you’ve got some sharable content. This is your chance to show off your expertise as a travel professional and provide your potential customers with information that they may not find otherwise.

Not sure where to find this information? Blogs, news sites, and trade press have articles that can fit the bill. You can also use Google Alerts to monitor the web for articles on just about any topic.

4. Blog posts

This one should go without saying, but too many people don’t think about it. If you publish regular blog posts, PLEASE remember to post links to them on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc if you have accounts there. Most blog platforms will allow you to connect your blog to other social channels automatically if you have trouble remembering to post.

5. Destination fun facts

Everyone loves a good bit of trivia or little known facts! It’s entertaining, informative and can again help position you as an expert in your field. Many tourist boards and hotel properties have fun facts available through their marketing department. Just ask to see if they can help you out.  Otherwise, the web is always a good alternative!

6. Polls

Engage your audience by asking them questions about things like their favourite vacation spot, what type of perks they like to get from their agent, what makes their holiday a perfect one, etc. Get them talking to you AND use the opportunity to do a little behind-the-scenes market research to find out what you can do to win and keep their business.

7. Event announcements

Are you attending your local travel show or hosting a consumer evening? Let the world know where you will be and when! Invite your fan base to come see you.  You might be surprised by how many of them show up…and bring a friend!

8. Top 10 lists

Quick, useful and always a good way of giving quick recommendations on destinations to see, things to pack, attractions to visit and more. You can either compile your own top 10 or link to someone else’s. Bonus points if you create your own with photos or video!

9. Community work updates

People like to know that you care about your community.  If you or your team partake in community service or charitable work, share information like updates about your latest donation, photos of your team volunteering, or news about your favourite charity.

10. Contest announcements & updates

Contests are ALWAYS a popular thing. If you choose to run one, you can build anticipation and buzz by posting regular updates. Whether you talk about the prizes, highlight funny entries, countdown the days until the winner is announced or something else, you’re sure to get attention (and probably new followers/fans/readers) really quickly.

11. Travel updates

Here’s another great opportunity to showcase your expertise as a travel expert. Share updates about your favourite suppliers (new bathtubs in every cabin? Service upgrades at a resort? New designer bag with every purchase? Ok…maybe not the last one, but you get the point) or important travel updates about specific destinations (everything from new passport requirements to travel warnings).

12. Ship inspection information

If you are a cruise expert and visit ships while they are in port, by all means, share pictures and reviews with your fans.  They WANT to hear your expert advice to know which ships are worth sailing.

13. Fam trip reports

I know too many agencies who require these reports from staff and then stuff them in a folder where they will never be seen again. You are experiencing travel while on these Fam trips and NEED to share those experiences with your fan base. This can be in the shape of photos, videos or blog updates. It doesn’t really matter. Either way, tell them what you liked, didn’t like, recommend and find amazing. If you do a good job, you may get a booking or two out of the experience.

14. Client stories

Ever get an email from a client who tells you how GREAT their trip was or wants to let you know about something funny that happened? If so, ask for their permission to share it with everyone. It acts as a testimonial for you and can be entertaining all at once.

15. Answers to common questions

If there are travel questions you get regularly, use the opportunity to share the answer with a wider audience. It may even prompt your fan base to ask you more questions and start engaging. Again…show everyone that you know your stuff and the bookings will follow!

16. Opinions

If something is happening in the travel community and you have an opinion to share, you can use your social channel to do so.  However, I would caution you to think twice about being excessively controversial or political as it may turn some people away. Some controversy is ok, but too much can be hard to handle for some people.

17. Travel tips

These can be quick tips or longer blog posts about your recommendations. Just like the fun facts, top 10 lists, and other ideas listed here, they help position you are the expert that your are while being useful.

18. Behind-the-scenes updates

If your teams is planning an event or preparing something big, there is always interest in seeing you have fun behind-the-scenes.  Be creative here with photos, videos, stories and staff comments.

19. Favourite quotes

Inspiring travel quotes are fairly easy to find (Google to the rescue!) and quick to post. If you are out of inspiration for the day, a quick quote can keep the engagement going with minimal effort.

20. Staff picks

Get your whole team involved in recommending hotels, resorts, cruises, activities or whatever else you can think of. This can be really fun for everyone and helps showcase your agency as a whole.

21. Interviews

Think written or video interviews with people on your team, a destination representative, hotel partner, etc.

22. Funny Stories

Whether it’s a cartoon, a funny video, an anecdote or the joke of the week, humor always goes a long way!

23. Updates from the road

This is where you bring out your inner journalist.  If you have access to an internet connection or a smartphone while on the road travelling or attending events, you can provide live updates.  This works particularly well on Twitter or Facebook where updates can be quick and short. Blog posts take some thought, but you could still provide one update per day once you have a chance to slow down a bit in the evening.

24. Milestones

Did you just get a new specialist certification? Did your agency win an important award? Maybe you got featured in the local newspaper. It’s time to let everyone know so they can share in the joy and find out how fabulous you really are!

25. Travel deals

I saved this one for last because it seems like the most obvious choice, yet it’s not always the best one. Depending on your sales goals, you may not want to attract the bargain hunters looking for the best deal. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if deals are a good choice for you.

It’s not as hard as it may seem

Many of the ideas above are already available within your agency or on the web.  A simple Google search or using Google Alerts can help you stay in the loop and find interesting content quite easily and without gobbling up your precious time.

Now it’s your turn…

Have you had success with any of the ideas above? Or perhaps I’ve missed a few good ones that you’d like to share?

With the recent rise in Facebook and Twitter account hacking schemes, I’m on a bit of a security binge. While it’s nothing to necessarily lose sleep over, let’s make sure your business accounts are as safe as they can be from intruders before anything happens.

How many apps have access to your accounts?

Have you recently used tools or applications that asked to connect to your Facebook or Twitter account? While it’s a convenient way of using one login for all access points, allowing apps to connect to your accounts also leaves a security hole in your account accessibility every time you allow new connections. The more apps you connect, the more holes there are and the more you open yourself up to unauthorized access. So, choose wisely or perform an app cleaning check once per month to remove any unecessary connections. Here’s how to do it:

On Facebook:

1. Log on to your account
2. In the top-right corner, go to Account > Privacy Settings
3. At the bottom of the privacy screen, look for “Apps & Websites” and click on “Edit your settings”
4. Look for “apps you use” and select “edit settings”
5. You will now see the list of apps that have access to your profile. Go through it and either delete or edit apps you no longer need or use

On Twitter:

1. Log on to your account
2. In the top-right corner, click on your username and select “Settings”
3. Click on the “Applications” tab
4. You will see a list of the apps that have access to your account. Go through and “revoke access” to any apps you no longer need or use

Take a moment to clean up

This process only take a few minutes and should be done every few months. Go ahead and perform your first cleanup today then set up a reminder to check it once in a while. This will gretly help improve your account security.

Now it’s your turn

How do you manage your account security? Share your tips or experiences below.

Engagement is a hot topic on social media these days.  What kind of content should you post? What makes your fans tick? How often should you be updating? I hear these a lot and did so again this week when Helen Trip from The Travel Lady Agency contacted me with a question.

The Question

How often should I be posting on our business Facebook Page facebook.com/thetravellady?

I want to be sharing fun and interesting info with our fans, but at the same time I do not want to overwhelm them. My thoughts are that it’s a matter of trying to put a decent amount of time between posts instead of doing it all at once (which is something I’m working on). But some of the staff in the office say it’s too much all together. What are your thoughts on this?

I think my content is good – I’ve been referring to your article “25 Social Media Content Ideas for Travel” which has been a huge help!

The Answer

First, thank you for your readership! I’m happy my blog posts are useful to you.

Second, the answer really depends on your fans but most small businesses find the the sweet spot for posting is between 2-3 posts spaced out during the day. What that means is that you should be aiming for a few hours between each post to give your fans time to respond, like or see other things in their news feed.

That being said, here are a two things you should pay attention to to determine if you are posting at the right frequency:

1. In your Facebook Insights, under interactions, keep track of the “unsubscribe” rate. This indicates the number of people who unlike or hide your updates from their news feed. If that number goes up, it is likely that your frequency is annoying someone and it’s time to tweak it.
2. On your updates themselves, are you getting any interaction? Take a look at what type of content is getting the biggest reaction from your fans and try offering more of that and less of things that get no response. See if that helps engagement and your unsubscribe rate.

That being said, don’t discredit what the staff are telling you either since they see the page as a customer would. If they are telling you that you are posting too much, I would start by trying to space your posts out more and see if the comments continue.

It’s a bit of a fine balancing act that takes a while to get just right. Hopefully this helps a bit.

Bonus Resource

You might want to check out “Strategies for Effective Facebook Wall Posts: A Statistical Review.” This free report summarizes a recent study by Buddy Media has some really great data (including industry-specific stats) that can help you optimize your posting practices.

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By MachoArts: The social and mobile future of Travel