How to spend less than 30 minutes per day on social media [INFORGRAPHIC]

A crush course to social media

Whether we want it or not but social media takes more presence in our personal and business lives. How to get it under control and use more effectively?

Our friends at Pardot put together an awesome infographic to help you determine which tasks are most important, and how much time you should ideally be dedicating to each of your social channels. Your strategy will likely differ (and should!) slightly from the infographic below, but the import thing is to identify your key channels, plan for a set number of tasks, and allot yourself a set period of time and stick to it!

Let’s have a look:

Embedded from the Pardot Blog

What is your strategy in social media? What social channel works better for your business?

Why Social Media Marketing for Vacation Rentals is Important

Social media has become an enormous part of today’s society. It’s nearly impossible to have a conversation without there being mention of a story that happened on a major site like Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. This is because of these astonishing statistics found by online travel studies done by The Social Skinny as well as Google:

• 62% of adults are now active on some social media websites.
• Not only are they active, but these websites account for over 22% of the time that they spend online.
• More specifically, 85% of travelers rely on the internet to get travel information.
• About 40% of those users were influenced to actually book their trip because of online sources, making the internet the leading source followed by word of mouth.
• 50% of travelers who came across some travel ad, article or video started dreaming of a vacation.
• Of those, about 70% ended up actually choosing a destination and making the trip.

Utilizing these communities that travelers are scouring everyday makes sense. Let’s be real here, who isn’t browsing the web in search of everything they want and dreaming of getaways they hope to have? That makes every one of these users a potential traveler. Everyone is captivated by the beautiful, high quality images being posted all over Pinterest, Facebook etc. Of course you can list all your great amenities on your rental page, but these visuals are what really make your property stand out against the rest. Having a properly managed social presence can act as both a marketing billboard for your vacation rental, as well as a customer service center where you can connect with travelers.

This all sounds great but you don’t have time, right? Don’t worry, no need to hire an intern! There is a reason these websites are so popular, and that is because of how simple they are to use. After setting up your pages, which should take no more than 10 minutes, posting and sharing content can be done anytime, anywhere (if you have a smartphone) and within a matter of minutes. Simple posts and photos with the proper tagging/hashtags can bring you the traffic you need to fill your rental calendar.

Follow our social marketing series to find out more on how you can promote your vacation rental through each major social network. Also get involved in our Pinterest contest where you can win a spa package or professional photo sessions for your property just for getting started with social media marketing!

Your Property Heading…Means More or Less Clicks.

A luxurious getaway in Colorado

I do not want to take total credit for all of the following information.  I have combined a couple of suggestions from other property owners along with my own opinions about the true importance of your property heading.

Property headlines are the most valuable real estate you have on any listing site.  If your listing’s heading is not compelling enough to draw someone in to click on it, your headline is your weakest link.  It won’t matter if you have great photos, copy and fantastic rates if no one clicks through.

Do not use the headline for the property name because those characters could be used for something far more important to the traveler.  You need to think like potential guests–they want features and benefits that match their needs/wants.  If you put “TreeHouse Hideaway” in my headline/title, you have used up 18 characters that could have said something much more valuable to the traveler:  “WiFi – Hot Tub – Jacuz…” would fit in the same space.

I feel that you should not need to put number of beds/baths in your headline, unless you have 3 bedrooms and all have a king bed.  I would definitely say “3 King BRs” in title.  Three couples traveling together would be thrilled to know that they don’t have to flip a coin to see who gets the 1 King BR and the others get the Queen BRs, or even the room like mine that is bunk beds.

The most visually distinct part of your headline is the last few words.  When you scan down the listings, it’s the tail end of each listing that sticks out because there’s white space (negative space) at the end.  So the last thing in your headline should actually be one of the most important aspects of your listing.  It could be “April $135/night” or “Pets OK” or “WiFi”, mine, (http://rentini.com/en/properties/luxury-log-cabin-on-golf-course),  starts with the word “Luxury”, and ends with the words  “On The Golf Course.”   Whatever you choose to put at the end gets extra visibility by virtue of its location, so think twice about what might be most interesting to potential guests.

Finally, if you can and have the space…put a call to action or urgency in your headline. Phrases like “Booking Fast” or “New Photos!” or “July 7-17 Now Open” may encourage a click thru.

Good luck and remember to review your headline/listing title every month to make sure it’s not out of date and look for opportunities to freshen it up when needed (new season, announce improvements, specials, cancellations, etc.)  Make your headline work for you!