Technology is constantly evolving. Every day new technology is developed to make our lives more manageable/efficient. Over the past several years I have been working on improving work flow efficiency amongst businesses in the vacation rental industry. I have found that a majority of companies are slightly behind the technology curve. It's not that they aren't capable, for property managers there's just never enough time in the day.
Staying on top of social media, reservations, owner statements, maintenance and house keeping is an extremely daunting task. I had the chance to call around and speak with several vacation rental managers around the industry. I wanted to find managers that were mostly happy with their software providers. More importantly, I wanted to find those companies that provided more than online booking. The ones that took more of a "partner" approach in helping their clients success. Whether it be in the back office or with their online presence.
I included a few links to the software providers that I feel have the best grasp in understanding it takes more than software to make a business successful.(See Right 'Top Vacation Rental Providers')
My experience so far has taught me that the vacation rental industry is very much based on relationships and allowing people to get to know you. If you don't feel like your technology provider has your best interest in mind, it might be time to reconsider.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Mixing up a little SEO & Social Media Marketing
So much of our online marketing efforts overlap with one another. With the right coordination, the line between search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing begins to blur. Marketing tactics that started out solely as a means for improving social media visibility are now transitioning into viable SEO strategies. One of my favorite examples of this is link building through social media monitoring.
Social media monitoring is basically the process of monitoring conversations about your brand and/or product(s) across social communities. This can range from tweets to blog posts to mentions in news articles. The point is, if someone is talking about you or your products – you want to know about it.
But what if someone mentions a keyword you are targeting for SEO? Doesn’t that stand out to you as a new link opportunity? In addition to tracking brand and product mentions, you can use your favorite social media monitoring tool as an automated link researching tool. It’s like having that intern you keep trying to get your boss to let you hire, except this one will work 24/7 for you and you don’t have to teach it anything.
So what all should you be monitoring? Here are three ways you can take advantage of social media monitoring for SEO.
1. Keywords your targeting. I mentioned this one at the beginning of the article. The idea is if someone writes a blog post about a keyword you’re trying to rank for, it could be a great opportunity for you to reach out to them and convince them to insert a link to your site in the post or to allow you to guest post for them. It’s also a great way to discover popular communities in your industry (e.g. forums) that you should be participating in daily – and including links in your posts where relevant. The opportunities are endless, especially considering how many keywords you’re probably interested in ranking for.
2. Keeping an eye on your competitors. Where are your competitors building links and participating? This is a great opportunity for you see see where they are focusing their link building efforts so you can also engage in those areas. It’s also a great way to keep tabs on what anchor text they are focusing on so you know what keywords they are targeting. You just mind find a few that you hadn’t though of targeting in the first place.
3. Identifying industry authorities. Finding the key influencers in your industry and getting them to write about and discuss your company, products and services can be a dream come true for your SEO. With just a few simple reviews on their blog or even just through their Twitter stream, you’ll start to see more organic reviews showing up that didn’t require any effort on your part.
What ways are you using social media monitoring for SEO?
Social media monitoring is basically the process of monitoring conversations about your brand and/or product(s) across social communities. This can range from tweets to blog posts to mentions in news articles. The point is, if someone is talking about you or your products – you want to know about it.
But what if someone mentions a keyword you are targeting for SEO? Doesn’t that stand out to you as a new link opportunity? In addition to tracking brand and product mentions, you can use your favorite social media monitoring tool as an automated link researching tool. It’s like having that intern you keep trying to get your boss to let you hire, except this one will work 24/7 for you and you don’t have to teach it anything.
So what all should you be monitoring? Here are three ways you can take advantage of social media monitoring for SEO.
1. Keywords your targeting. I mentioned this one at the beginning of the article. The idea is if someone writes a blog post about a keyword you’re trying to rank for, it could be a great opportunity for you to reach out to them and convince them to insert a link to your site in the post or to allow you to guest post for them. It’s also a great way to discover popular communities in your industry (e.g. forums) that you should be participating in daily – and including links in your posts where relevant. The opportunities are endless, especially considering how many keywords you’re probably interested in ranking for.
2. Keeping an eye on your competitors. Where are your competitors building links and participating? This is a great opportunity for you see see where they are focusing their link building efforts so you can also engage in those areas. It’s also a great way to keep tabs on what anchor text they are focusing on so you know what keywords they are targeting. You just mind find a few that you hadn’t though of targeting in the first place.
3. Identifying industry authorities. Finding the key influencers in your industry and getting them to write about and discuss your company, products and services can be a dream come true for your SEO. With just a few simple reviews on their blog or even just through their Twitter stream, you’ll start to see more organic reviews showing up that didn’t require any effort on your part.
What ways are you using social media monitoring for SEO?
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Social Media Marketing . . . is it worth it?
The Social Media Marketing craze continues to spread through businesses across the world. It is imperative to stay informed about the latest SMM trends and networking strategies. Click here to continue reading Social Media Marketing...
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association to launch new website.
Press Release: July 28th, 2010
The Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association(CFVRMA) has released information regarding the launch of a brand new website. The website is set to provide a new look and feel to an organization that has grown significantly since 2007. Vacation Rental Management Associations nationwide have grown in numbers over the past 5 years. They have assisted in bringing a wealth of knowledge and growth to the vacation rental industry. Innovation and new ideas start with networking amongst industry professionals and the VRMA's have proven to be a breeding ground for just that.
The Central Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association(CFVRMA) has released information regarding the launch of a brand new website. The website is set to provide a new look and feel to an organization that has grown significantly since 2007. Vacation Rental Management Associations nationwide have grown in numbers over the past 5 years. They have assisted in bringing a wealth of knowledge and growth to the vacation rental industry. Innovation and new ideas start with networking amongst industry professionals and the VRMA's have proven to be a breeding ground for just that.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Vacation Rental Industry on the Rise?
What makes the vacation rental market unique? It's consumers! The average vacation rental travel shopper is monetarily stable, well educated, and they take an average of 3-4 leisure trips annually. The vacation rental market represents a 24 billion dollar value. That's 1/5 of hotel room revenue, but only ends up being 8% of the total U.S travel market. So what does the vacation rental industry need to capture more than 8%? Standardization.
Standardization in the sense of streamlining the booking process. The current industry needs to adapt to new technology and welcome what it brings to their business. Did you know a majority of vacation rental companies still process bookings the old fashioned way? Integrated availability in vacation rental websites is essential in order to make the search process more efficient for the travel shopper. Think about when you book a hotel. Everything is based on making it easy for the consumer to access information and aiding the booking process.
I am looking forward to meeting the next generation of technology innovators in the vacation rental industry. Share your thoughts with me.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Vacation Rental Software Review
What does a vacation rental company or lodging manager look for when hunting for the perfect vacation rental software that suits their needs? There are several different software providers out there today, offering an array of services from online booking to trust based accounting. When many offer a majority of the same features, how do you define a clear difference? Lets take a look at what vacation rental managers are facing today and see if we can come up with a solution.
The first and foremost feature that separates the competition in most vacation rental markets today is online booking. Understanding that this doesn't apply to everyone (i.e luxury rental markets where updated availability is not kept in real time, possibly due to homeowners), the majority of travel destinations world wide embrace this technology and the success it has brought them. Given that fact, the online booking capability can work in a couple different ways. First, your website offers a Book Online option that directs the guest to a booking page separate from your website. See an example on this website. Even though the online booking capability is present, research has shown this process to have a lower ratio of online booking conversions (almost 2 to1), than websites offering integrated booking systems. This brings us to our second capability, integrated online booking. Think about it like this, do you like pop ups? Well that sentiment is unanimous. Websites that have reservation screens that “pop up” or use iFrames are literally nullifying their online business. The search and booking process must be completely seamless in order to guarantee a smooth and efficient transition through the online booking stages. Help them make their own decision by providing a visually easy as 1,2,3 process when proceeding to book. That being said, you just successfully eliminated a vast majority of vacation rental software options. So what's next? Click here to continue reading Vacation Rental Software Review...
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