The Traveling Kidd – Kicking Facebook into high gear | Travel Research Online

I started my Traveling Kidd Facebook page last year.   Aside from a few posts, I was less than motivated to really put any energy into it.   I found my reluctance ironic primarily because I spend a huge portion of my day on Facebook.  In fact, I spend so much time on it that I am easily distracted from doing important things (like writing Agent diary articles).  Recently during my trip to Las Vegas I made a decision to commit myself to putting forth an all-out effort to get my page in order. 

My social media inspiration is my sister, a social media dynamo.  Both her website and Facebook page is a web chronicle highlighting urban living in Philadelphia.  I am amazed at how effortlessly she intertwines all of her social media (Facebook, Twitter, blog etc.) to stay relevant.  With her Facebook page she decided that she would build her audience organically and after launching her page less than a year ago, with relatively little effort in terms of promotion, is quickly building an audience.  Her belief is if she continues to post material that her targeted demographic finds interesting, eventually the audience will come.  I think she is right.

So this week, I just started posting.   However, the trick is figuring out what type of things to post.  I noticed that some agencies post articles and press releases from suppliers and trade magazines.  Others post info on deals and news related to travel.  As an avid Facebooker, I find that it works best for me to treat my Traveling Kidd page the same way I treat my personal profile.  I post things that are more personal.  I post material I find interesting as a lover of travel; pictures and videos from my travels and some of my “interesting” experiences. I hope to be selling “me” the brand.

My goal is to engage my audience and get them talking.  One, it makes the page fun to visit and more importantly, it helps to build my audience.  When people comment on my page is shows in their newsfeed for their friends to see.  In the past few days I have gained almost 10 more “Likes” organically through interaction with friends who had already “liked” my page and commented on posts.

My goal is simple and achievable, 100 “likes” by the end of the year.  Then watch out Twitter, here I come!

Do you have a Facebook page for your business?  What do you do to build your audience?

Tracy Kidd is the owner and agent of The Traveling Kidd in Central New Jersey. She specializes in planning travel for couples, friend getaways, and groups.  She is a member of NACTA and entered the industry in 2010. Yo can contact Tracy at www.travelingkidd.com  or by email at tracy@travelingkidd.com