Issue #2, June 2011 Hi Lovely Innkeepers! Welcome to the second edition of the Lodging Resource newsletter. Thank you for all the great feedback on Twitter for ideas and recommendations about the first one, I'll be trying to incorporate as many suggestions as I can! This month has been as always an interesting month in new developments, new innovations and YES! new things that innkeepers should be keeping up with (insert collective innkeepers groan here). I had quite a few comments from the first newsletter that information was great, but it was a bit too much of a information overload, or as one innkeeper said, "my brain went in meltdown mode". LOL so I'll try to keep in down in terms of the noise level :) A Follow Up from the last newsletter about the Bing Business Portal http://www.bing.com/businessportal/ An innkeeper from over seas emailed me wondering if it was going to also be available in the UK. I emailed Bing Support and this was their response:  "Bing Business Portal is not yet available in that region or market.  For the moment, interested parties are referred to www.marketlocation.com. Market Location is our provider for Business Listings in that area. Once they published the business, Bing Business Listings will automatically reflect what is on their database." Forfeng's Favorite Posts of the Past Month Five Things You Won’t See or Hear at a Bed and Breakfast http://blog.wbbg.com/five-things-you-wont-see-or-hear-at-a-bed-and-breakfast/ You’re Not Too Old For Social Media, You’re Just Lazy http://outspokenmedia.com/social-media/too-old-for-social-media/ A Quiz on Effective Hospitality Marketing in 2011: Understanding and Using Complementary Tools http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4051357.html How Hotels Can Spark Engagement on LinkedIn http://aremorch.com/2011/05/12/how-hotels-can-spark-engagement-on-linkedin/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+hoteladvisor+(Are+Morch+-+Hotel+Advisor+and+Social+Media+Strategist This is very applicable to B&Bs as well, there are several lodging related groups on Linkedin, including a quite active one at Bed and Breakfast BLOGGERS http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Bed-Breakfast-BLOGGERS-1786380 (which seems to be covering any topic thats B&B, not just blogging) Three times more people view TripAdvisor reviews on sites other than TripAdvisor http://www.tnooz.com/2011/06/01/news/three-times-more-people-view-tripadvisor-reviews-on-sites-other-than tripadvisor/?utm_source=Tnooz+Mailing+List&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eaa1419770-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN The Most Complete Twitter Application List Available - 2011 Edition http://socialmediatoday.com/eric-goldstein/295232/most-complete-twitter-application-list-available-2011-edition I think the title says it all 79 Link Building Resources 2011 Edition http://blog.kissmetrics.com/79-link-building-resources/ A great collection of information about SEO (Search Engine Optimizations) resources Online Mind Mapping and Brainstorming-MindMeister http://blog.kissmetrics.com/79-link-building-resources/ Some people view things better with visuals, this site has a great selection of graphical maps, most with links that are clickable. The Twitter Tools Directory for example is a great example of one stop shopping for twitter related useful links, as well as Social Media Framework gives a great selection of social media tools and how they integrate together for advertising. http://www.mindmeister.com/88482291/twitter-tools-directory  and http://www.mindmeister.com/11704653/social-media-framework Getting Found in Local Search http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2064780/Getting-Found-in-Local-Search Some great tips in here for what you can do with your site as well as other areas online. Recent Blog Posts From Our Blog that may be of interest to innkeepers: Foodily, a New Recipe Site that Bed and Breakfasts should get their blogs listed on http://chefforfeng.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/foodily-a-new-recipe-site-that-bed-and-breakfasts-should-get-their-blogs-listed-on/ Yes B&Bs, your guests are Yelping about you! http://chefforfeng.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/yes-bbs-your-guests-are-yelping-about-you/ Some examples of Yelps about B&Bs http://addictomatic.com/topic/%22bed+and+breakfast%22+yelp and http://storify.com/forfeng/lodging-yelps 15 QR code ideas for Bed and Breakfasts http://chefforfeng.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/15-qr-code-ideas-for-bed-and-breakfasts/ A good related post about QR codes Twelve Steps to A Strong QR Code Campaign http://www.spinsucks.com/social-media/twelve-steps-to-a-strong-qr-code-campaign/ And from Scott at Brewster House QR Codes: How to Get Started http://www.abouttheinn.com/2011/05/qr-codes-how-to-get-started/
**If you have been forwarded this newsletter by a friend or have gotten here by other means and you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please visit http://www.forfengdesigns.com/newsletters/ (the newsletter is a double opt in, so please make sure you confirm your subscription when you get a follow up email about it) or email me at forfengdesigns@gmail.com with the email address you would like to use. Forfeng Designs Heather Turner ~ Chief Log Roller Hospitality Consulting and Design Graphic Design, Logos, Commercial Photography Social Media Setups, design, customization, marketing plans and tutoring. http://www.forfengdesigns.com 860-326-0721 P.O. Box 222, Rocky Hill, CT 06067 heather@forfengdesigns.com  or forfengdesigns@gmail.com