The Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers kindly invited me to speak about the use of social media for our holiday cottages. Focus on Twitter, as it has had the biggest impact on direct bookings. Two Twitter accounts: Http://twitter.com/2edinburgh and http://twitter.com/2crail. Presentation shares 5 tips for practical use of Twitter.

1. Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers
Annual Conference 2012
Practical Social Media
Susan McNaughton
Sandcastle Holidays (Scotland) Ltd

2. Sandcastle Holidays
• @2edinburgh • @2crail

3. Why Twitter?

4. Five top Twitter Tips
• Get the basics right
• Be yourself
• Continue the conversations in real life
• Join themed Twitter chats
• Be an ambassador for your area

5. Tip #1 Get the basics right

6. Tip #2 Be Yourself

7. Tip #3 Continue the Conversation
• Listen! Don’t just talk
• Respond to people
• Encourage others
• Get to know people better
• Work out how to work together
• Meet up in real life

8. Tip #4 Join Themed Chats
• Find like-minded people and
join Twitter chats
– #ScotlandHour
– #FriFotos
– #TTOT

9. Tip #5 Be an Ambassador for your Area
• Answer questions about your area
• Share information about what’s on in your area
• Take lots of photographs and share, share, share
• Be helpful – even if people are not staying with
you, they’ll remember you

10. Keep Sharing!
• Say hello to @2edinburgh
• Say hello to @2crail
• Say hello to @SusanMcNaughton