The Lodging Resource Newsletter: Issue 5, September 2011

Issue #5, September 2011

Hello again Lovely Innkeepers!

I hope everyone who has endured the storm that was Hurricane Irene is ok, I know of quite a few innkeepers along the East Coast who had to evacuate their inns, along with their guests, and I hope they are all right, and their inns have weathered the storm.

I’ve also heard a few stories that will make some great fodder for future blog posts, such as dealing with emergency issues and making sure inns are prepared in case of natural disasters such as this one.

I know that personally this past storm has been somewhat of a challenge: without power for 3 days and while getting to local WIFI was fairly easy, finding a place to plug in to recharge a laptop battery was somewhat of a challenge, with people waiting on line to use outlets at local businesses that retained power.

On the bright side, this gave me a chance to finally get rid of all of those mystery condiments that had been in the fridge for awhile, i.e. that homemade pickled asparagus that a neighbor gave us (that had always looked a little dubious anyway) and the 1/2 gallon of teriyaki glaze I had made up awhile back for chicken wings. Apparently I forgot I was only cooking for 2 and had a major flashback to my kitchen days.

Cheers everyone and hope you all are well and safe!

Reminder to past and new readers: Please try to address the action items (a note will be next to items  in this newsletter marked in red) because they are IMPORTANT! saying (action item) Recommended at least to skim.

Recent Blog Posts From our Blog that may be of interest to innkeepers:

Inns, Two great ideas to get your locals on board with your advertising plus a bonus 

http://chefforfeng.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/inns-two-great-ideas-to-get-your-locals-on-board-with-your-advertising-plus-a-bonus/

Leveraging Bre.ad to make some more Bread/$ for Lodging 

http://chefforfeng.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/leveraging-bre-ad-to-make-some-more-bread-for-lodging/

Inn Your Facebook, Bed and Breakfasts on Facebook  http://chefforfeng.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/inn-your-facebook-bed-and-breakfasts-on-facebook/

Helpful Free Applications

More free online photo editors

• http://pixlr.com/editor/
• http://splashup.com/
• http://www.citrify.com/

Fastsone Photo Resizer http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm A great FREE application for mass resizing photos, works quicker then photoshop and you can also custom watermark them as well as add borders.

Spring Pad http://springpadit.com/home/ Save anything you want to remember on your phone or computer

Forfeng’s Favorite Posts of the Past Month

Ten Myths About Social Networking For Business  http://www.forbes.com/sites/nealrodriguez/2011/08/10/ten-myths-about-social-networking-for-business/

I have a new blogger I’m following and quite frankly she just blows me away!

Social Media is as Easy as Your ABCs

http://www.margieclayman.com/social-media-is-as-easy-as-your-abcs

7 great ways to drive people nuts

http://www.margieclayman.com/7-great-ways-to-drive-people-nuts

15 Social Media Insights from Around Hollywood

http://www.margieclayman.com/15-social-media-insights-from-around-hollywood

Misc Business and Social Media

TripAdvisor introduces new resources for lodging owners (action item)

http://www.tnooz.com/2011/08/09/news/tripadvisor-introduces-new-resources-for-lodging-owners/

Setting Your Business Up On FourSquare

http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/08/setting-your-business-up-on-foursquare.html

5 Steps to a Successful QR Code Marketing Campaign http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/5-steps-to-a-successful-qr-code-marketing-campaign/

Protect your social media channels from a hack attack (action item)

http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2011/08/03/protect-your-social-media-channels-from-a-hack-attack/

Promote your press release in AH

http://www.smartbrief.com/press/Select.action

The cost for distribution for a press release is only $200.00, considering the audience targeting that this gives you to specific industries you might want to reach. Highly recommend as a good buy.

How to Handle Social Media Trolls  (action item)

http://www.sitepronews.com/2011/08/25/how-to-handle-social-media-trolls-a-spn-exclusive-article/

Facebook

Converting a personal page to a Fan Page (action item if you have started a business page as a personal profile)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php?migrate

At this time only your profile photo and friends will be moved to your new Page.  No other content will be moved.  You will still be able to log in from your original email address and password.

Please refer to http://chefforfeng.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/the-facebook-conundrum-fan-pages-or-personal-pages-for-inns/ if you have questions about Facebook Fan page vs Personal Profile for business.

64 Awesome Facebook Marketing Techniques

http://www.allfacebook.com/64-awesome-facebook-marketing-techniques-2011-08

 

The Definitive List of Facebook Video Apps for Facebook Pages http://www.reelseo.com/facebook-video-apps/

Twitter

Twitter account sending spam messages? (i.e your account got comprimised because you clicked on a link that someone else DMed (Direct Messaged) you? Here’s how to stop it:

http://www.rosemcgrory.co.uk/2011/07/11/twitter-account-sending-spam-messages-heres-how-to-stop-it/

Here’s Why You Should Be Careful About Twitter User Photo Galleries

http://www.smallbusinesssem.com/heres-why-you-should-be-careful-about-twitter-user-photo-galleries/4766/

Fifteen Ways to Use Twitter to Build an Army of Adoring Journalists

http://www.spinsucks.com/social-media/fifteen-ways-to-use-twitter-to-build-an-army-of-adoring-journalists

Google+

Start Google Plus Combines Google+ with Facebook and Twitter

http://lifehacker.com/5826962/start-google-plus-combines-google%252B-with-facebook-and-twitter

Make Google Plus profile picture and banner using only one photo (no photoshop)

http://gpluspic.com/avatarbanner

You can use this for the Facebook fan page photo strip as well

And finally for those late night insomniacs that

want some great extra reading

The New Rules of Getting Press for Your Start-up

http://www.inc.com/guides/201108/public-relations-for-start-ups.html

Your Survey (a very good point when running surveys, the next time you run one, revamp it and see if you get a better response rate)

http://www.conorkenny.com/blog/2011/08/your-survey/

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