Social Media Management / Digital Marketing - Query & Discussion

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

Hello everyone,

I need a help. A new lodge (rooms for stay) is opening near my home, and the manager and office assistant are not very tech-savvy. I have known them for some time, and recently, they asked me to help with social media management for the lodge.

They don’t need anything too technical—just a Facebook page and an Instagram page for now. They also want the lodge to be listed on Google Maps so that people can find it easily. SEO and other advanced features are not required at this stage. They have given me full access to their email ID to create the profiles. I have already used their email to set up a Facebook and Instagram profile and have also added their location on Google Maps, though verification is still pending. I uploaded a video for verification on Google My Business and am waiting for approval.

My main questions are: What else should I do on Facebook and Instagram? Apart from posting photos, updating the lodge’s contact details, and location, are there any other essential steps? Also, what precautions should I take to avoid any future issues, especially since I am managing this on their behalf? In the future, they may want to introduce online booking through MMT, Booking.com, etc., but that will come later.

I am not an expert in social media management or digital marketing, but I do have a basic to slightly advanced understanding of creating and managing profiles. However, I don’t know much about SEO and other advanced strategies. They have also offered to pay me for this work. Should I continue handling it myself, or would it be better to tell them to hire a digital marketing team for long-term growth? I would appreciate any advice on the best approach.

 

[soccer]

"SEO and other advanced features are not required at this stage...." seems to indicate they don't have a website currently?

If not, I'd definitely recommend a basic website, because some onsite SEO on the site will definitely help you rank for your keywords in GMB (assuming the kw's aren't too competitive)

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

"SEO and other advanced features are not required at this stage...." seems to indicate they don't have a website currently?

If not, I'd definitely recommend a basic website, because some onsite SEO on the site will definitely help you rank for your keywords in GMB (assuming the kw's aren't too competitive)

Thanks, they have hired another person/(small firm) to create a website. But that is still under works. Not ready yet.
I don't know much about website development.
But I have told them to add the FB and Insta links and Google Reviews plugin to their website. But website creation has still not happened yet.

Also this is my thought - SEO and other advanced features are not required at this stage.
Not what they told me. They just want an online presence as of now.

 

[soccer]

Thanks, they have hired another person/(small firm) to create a website. But that is still under works. Not ready yet.
I don't know much about website development.
But I have told them to add the FB and Insta links and Google Reviews plugin to their website. But website creation has still not happened yet.

Also this is my thought - SEO and other advanced features are not required at this stage.
Not what they told me. They just want an online presence as of now.

Ah, there's a third party involved for the website creation too.

Sometimes, this can cause issues if roles aren't demarcated well, because most website creators also try to double up as SEO folks (albeit not very good ones), charging a bomb for basic (and outdated) stuff like directory submission, and will be secretive with admin details.

It would obviously help if you had some functional knowledge of whatever CMS/technology they're using for the website (to edit for basic seo like title tags)

If it's WordPress (as it oft tends to be the case), that's pretty easy; for other CMS', there might be a small learning curve.

Whether they need a full fledged digital team or not simply depends on what they expect from the lodge.

Are they happy with the odd booking coming in when folks search for their name on G, or are they expecting a certain number of leads, and are willing to put in that effort to get them?

Is the area very competitive (many lodges?), and if so, what sort of sales strategy are those lodges using? (dependent on SEO/paid ads or not). Competitor analysis is a powerful tool- if the competitors are good, analysing them will save you a fair bit of research.

 

[hender]

Hello everyone,

I need a help. A new lodge (rooms for stay) is opening near my home, and the manager and office assistant are not very tech-savvy. I have known them for some time, and recently, they asked me to help with social media management for the lodge.

They don’t need anything too technical—just a Facebook page and an Instagram page for now. They also want the lodge to be listed on Google Maps so that people can find it easily. SEO and other advanced features are not required at this stage. They have given me full access to their email ID to create the profiles. I have already used their email to set up a Facebook and Instagram profile and have also added their location on Google Maps, though verification is still pending. I uploaded a video for verification on Google My Business and am waiting for approval.

My main questions are: What else should I do on Facebook and Instagram? Apart from posting photos, updating the lodge’s contact details, and location, are there any other essential steps? Also, what precautions should I take to avoid any future issues, especially since I am managing this on their behalf? In the future, they may want to introduce online booking through MMT, Booking.com, etc., but that will come later.

I am not an expert in social media management or digital marketing, but I do have a basic to slightly advanced understanding of creating and managing profiles. However, I don’t know much about SEO and other advanced strategies. They have also offered to pay me for this work. Should I continue handling it myself, or would it be better to tell them to hire a digital marketing team for long-term growth? I would appreciate any advice on the best approach.

How many rooms they have ?

Minimum acceptable Tariff , both in season and off season?

if you can help them, please, do so .

It's easy to hire someone, but the way you take things up, It will help them much, in longer run.

You have real power than anyone else, content wise no one can beat you easily.

TF live 50k and lakhs of visitors too are important in the Journey.

Just 1 thing to add, ask them to keep in good response both over on calls 📞 mails 📬, or social media - customer queries and issue.

👍🎉

 

[cardio_guycardio_guy is verified member.]

@soccer @hender Thanks for the replies. It is a small room stay facility with around 20-25 rooms. There is no fierce competition as such from other hotels or rooms nearby, it is a small tier-4 town in Kerala. They are happy with the normal walk-ins and local enquiries. But having a digital presence will help them gain visibility and credibility in the long run.

Earlier these people also had an auditorium nearby for many years (again without much online presence), and now they have realized that other poor auditoriums in the town have better Google maps reviews and rating than theirs. That made them think to make a better online presence for the rooms.

They have asked me if I can write and give content for their website so that the website creating team can add it. That is another thing. So slowly in bit and pieces many small things are coming to me. I haven't learnt website management etc though I am an engineering graduate. I feel bad about myself for that.

I see this opportunity also as a learning platform for me to step into social media management, content creation, online marketing and the likes.
I am learning things from chatGPT about the basics and that's when I thought this is the best forum to get some clarifications and solution on this matter.

 

[hender]

@soccer @hender Thanks for the replies. It is a small room stay facility with around 20-25 rooms. There is no fierce competition as such from other hotels or rooms nearby, it is a small tier-4 town in Kerala. They are happy with the normal walk-ins and local enquiries. But having a digital presence will help them gain visibility and credibility in the long run.

Earlier these people also had an auditorium nearby for many years (again without much online presence), and now they have realized that other poor auditoriums in the town have better Google maps reviews and rating than theirs. That made them think to make a better online presence for the rooms.

They have asked me if I can write and give content for their website so that the website creating team can add it. That is another thing. So slowly in bit and pieces many small things are coming to me. I haven't learnt website management etc though I am an engineering graduate. I feel bad about myself for that.

I see this opportunity also as a learning platform for me to step into social media management, content creation, online marketing and the likes.
I am learning things from chatGPT about the basics and that's when I thought this is the best forum to get some clarifications and solution on this matter.

Nothing else is required, you are giving them best, Just start taking - {Now opened " TF Guest House" 🏠 } bookings and advance...