Fakebook or Realbook - if you want real bookings don't be fake on Facebook

Seriously don't waste your time trying to talk up your holiday rental. Take a few hours, half a morning even, to sit down and think about what experience you are offering to prospective holiday rental guests. It's not about your state-of-the-art branding or professional photography. That might help to sell your product but what will you do when your guests arrive and are less than impressed with what is really on offer as opposed to the illusion you are building with creative writing and fancy fonts.A friend of ours refers to Facebook as Fakebook and sometimes I do have to question the content I post on my own profile. It may be appealing to me but is it really what my friends want to see or care about. They want to know I'm ok, the kids are ok, that we're happy and healthy. Share a few funnies. Do they really want to know how exceedingly happy I was when I purchased my new shoes - I'd say probably not for the large majority in my network.Look we're all guilty of it in our personal lives but if you really want to grab the attention of your prospective holiday rental guest then think about what your property offers and what they're searching for.Keep content as real as possible. Is it really peaceful listening to the ocean while enjoying an outdoor bath on the balcony? Yes - then tell the story with an image. It doesn't have to be an image that is captured through trial and error with a 100 snaps to choose from. Just pick a time of day with good light, a great subject and make sure the image is clear, quite well composed and real!Once you have that image place a watermark of your logo (if you have a brand for your holiday rental) over the top discretely in a corner and add a real comment like would you like to unwind in the outdoor tub while soaking up the sound and view of the ocean? You might want to add a hashtag. If so choose one or two consistent tags. Don't list 20. It screams marketing not relaxing holiday experience. Make sure you hyperlink your image to your online property profile.By asking a question you are inviting your audience to engage with your post.Spend a small amount to boost this post. It's original and real content and the picture will be engaging. All you need is a couple of likes and a few comments and you will be surprised with the organic reach.Be very careful with push sales unless you are offering your community of followers a great deal. They will find useful information on local events and attractions more appealing. Give them something for nothing when managing your holiday rental Facebook page.If you have enjoyed this article maybe you'd like to subscribe (free) to the Welcome In e-news. I try to publish these every few months to a community of holiday rental managers in Australia. I encourage you to make contact with me if you have any queries about any aspect of your holiday rental management journey. If I cannot assist you I can certainly point you in the right direction. I am well connected with niche industry holiday rental stakeholders in Australia.