The micro-blogging medium is rarely out of the news nowadays, from Stephen Fry to disillusioned footballers to super-injunctions and anti-newspaper hacking campaigns.
Twitter allows everyone to have their say without the need for online ‘tech’ knowledge. But what does this mean for a holiday home owner? Is it worth ‘tweeting’ and will it help generate bookings? How do I ‘tweet’? Here we have a basic guide to Twitter with some tips on how to use it.
What is Twitter
Twitter allows you to register and create a free mini website on twitter.com where you can post short messages of no more than 140 characters. The messages will be read by ‘followers’; these are the individuals who have chosen to ‘follow’ you and view your messages.
So Twitter is a way of distributing messages to people. As an account owner you can also follow other people or businesses on Twitter, and therefore be kept informed of useful information and news.
How do I set up an account?
Before you set up an account, consider the commitment it will require. A Twitter account which has not been posted to suggests the account is dormant and the property is not available for let anymore – it sends out the wrong message. Posting at least 2 or 3 times per week is a minimum requirement.
Simply go to twitter.com/ and fill in your name, email address and a password. On the next page, you will see a username field. This is used to represent you or your holiday let so choose something representative. For example, if the holiday let is called Beach Cottage, choose a username such as ‘beach_cottage’. The username can be no longer than 15 characters with no spaces. The Twitter page will then be created with the address http://www.twitter.com/#!/<username>. For example our Twitter account is http://twitter.com/#!/HolidayHomeInfo.
Then you can start posting messages. The control panel also allows you to customise the colours and appearance of the account, and add a background image.
Encourage people to follow you
Now the account is live, there are number of ways to recruit followers.
- Include a ‘follow us’ button on your website.
- Include a prominent ‘follow us’ button or link in your e-mail signature.
- Encourage past guests to follow via print and e-mail communications.
- Offer an incentive for people to follow you, such as a monthly draw or small gift in the property for Twitter followers who book a stay.
Who to follow
While encouraging potential and existing guests to follow you, Twitter can also be used to network with other businesses or individuals with a vested interest in visitors to your area, such as:
- Restaurants.
- Visitor Attractions.
- Local and Regional Tourism Bodies.
- Event Organisers and Local Entertainment.
- Experience and Activity Organisers.
By following these, you can build good relationships and help guests make the most of their stay at your property. For example, if a local attraction posts a tweet about their special events taking place at Easter, you can re-post that tweet on your Twitter account, redistributing it to your followers. In this way your Twitter feed can be an amalgamation of relevant, interesting news which will help attract bookings and help guests find out more about the area. In effect you are creating a mini news feed by pulling these posts into your own feed.
What to post
Above we have seen how re-posting or re-tweeting posts can create a useful and compelling body of content to help generate bookings. There are a number of other tips:
Adding Value – think about which messages will be of interest and value to guests.
The Sales Message – soft sell is the key here, rather than bombarding followers with Book Now! tweets. Remember booking a holiday is usually an annual event, so receiving continuous sales messages will cause people to ‘unfollow’ you.
Formal or Friendly – what is the right tone for tweets? Twitter is a social media tool so be that, friendly and chatty which in turn builds a relationship with past guests and portrays your property as a friendly welcoming holiday home.
Tips for getting the most from Twitter
In summary:
- Encourage potential guests and existing guests to follow you where possible.
- Think about posts which will be of interest to followers, not just relentless sales messages.
- Follow other local and regional Twitter feeds to build relationships and re-tweet their news.
- Post at least 2 or 3 times a week to ensure the account does not look dormant.
Examples of Twitter accounts:
http://twitter.com/#!/cottagesinlakes
http://twitter.com/#!/lymebaycottage
