After our first Twitter Hour for #HolsDirect we were asked by several people how to join in and also how to get the best from the next one.
If that was you or you want some tips on how to make the best of #HolsDirect Twitter Hour please read on ...
What's a Twitter Hour?
A Twitter hour is a virtual event run on Twitter where those taking part use a # (hashtag) to a join in with a themed conversation. Each tweet should therefore contain the relevant hashtag. It is run at a specific hour on a given day and aims to help businesses promote themselves and interact with existing and new customers.
Our Twitter Hour - #HolsDirect
Date and Time - 7pm UK time Monday 30th January 2017
Why should owners join in with #HolsDirect?
- It is a great way to promote your property(s) to a wider audience
- You can network with other owners and potential guests
- You can get more followers and find new accounts to follow
- You can promote special offers and local events
- You can drive traffic back to your website
- You increase the likelihood of getting direct bookings
How it works
Those running the hour will start with an introduction question. Then throughout the hour they will ask about 4 questions (Q1, Q2 etc) and at the end of the hour they will finish with a goodbye tweet and details of the next hour.
How you can get involved.
Before it starts, do a little Twitter housekeeping:
- Is your Twitter account all up to date?
- Does your bio make your property sound inviting?
- Does it include a link to your website - check it works!
- Have you got the best profile picture and cover photo?
- If you have a pinned post is it still relevant?
The success of #HolsDirect lies in as many people as possible knowing about it. Please promote the hour on all your own social media pages and amongst your friends and families. It is not just about owners promoting their properties, it is about linking up with potential guests. Feel free to link to this blog post - #HolsDirect Twitter Hour - 7pm Jan 30th.
You can also copy and use the images in this post to promote #HolsDirect on your own social media channels.
Taking part:
- You can do as much or as little as you want so either join for 5 minutes or the whole hour.
- Answer as many questions as you can, starting with A1, A2 etc depending which one you are replying to. Don't forget to add #HolsDirect to all your tweets
- You can also add your own tweets about booking holidays direct, again using #HolsDirect each time.
- When tweeting, the key to good interaction is to concentrate more on conversation than pure publicity - add useful information about your area/local events etc and offer advice. Maybe say hello to people who are tweeting from near you or comment on things you know or like about where others live. Ask for recommendations and reply to other queries.
- As well as tweeting yourself, look for other #HolsDirect tweets and either like, comment on or Retweet (RT) that catch your eye. The more you do this the more you will find people doing the same to your tweets ... and so the further you tweets will reach. On our first Twitter hour #HolsDirect tweets reached a magnificent 41,841 accounts and had 134,192 impressions. That is A LOT of potential guests. After the first week we had feedback from owners who had secured bookings thanks to #HolsDirect and who had seen an in crease in traffic to their website during the hour. Other reported gaining new followers.
- You can also use #HolsDirect when tweeting at other times to help raise awareness to everyone about the advantages of booking direct with the holiday home owner.
A few do nots:
- Don't panic if you can't join in for the whole hour - just do as much as you can. If you really cannot join in you can always schedule some tweets and then search out #HolsDirect tweets later.
- Don't be rude to people
- Don't simply dump a couple of tweets and leave - interact with others taking part.
- Do not link to online booking agencies or other groups - #HolsDirect is run to help bring holiday home owners and potential guests together and is run by the admin of the Facebook Group Book Your Holiday Direct with the Owner. Please do not therefore link to other groups/pages.
Finally and above all:
Be genuine and ENJOY yourself!
