Social media setup

Social media setup (for owners who want fewer surprises) – or accounts update

If guests are asking questions in DMs, your phone rings at the worst times, and your profiles look “kind of ok” but not reliable, you need a setup. This is for boutique hotels and rentals that want social media to support trust and enquiries without turning into a second job. It is not for businesses that want viral content, daily posting, or someone to “run our Instagram” and magically fill rooms. If this feels uncomfortable, we are not for you.

Most owners come to us after they’ve already wasted time. They posted for a season, got likes, maybe a few enquiries, and still ended up with empty weekdays and messy communication. The real problem is not content. The problem is that the profiles don’t behave like part of a booking path, and guests don’t feel safe enough to take the next step.

Social is proof. It’s not a booking system, and it doesn’t replace one. When setup is done correctly, social reduces doubt, tightens your identity across platforms, and stops small mistakes from costing you enquiries. When it’s done badly, it creates extra work, more messages, and more chances to look disorganised.

What this solves in real operations

You see it in small moments. A guest finds you on Instagram, clicks the link, lands on a dead page or a generic Linktree, then disappears. Another guest finds you on Facebook, sees a different phone number, and calls the wrong person. A third guest tries to message you, gets no reply for 18 hours, and books the next place because it felt safer.

These are not “marketing problems”. They are operational leaks. Social media is often the first place guests check to confirm you exist, you’re active, and the place matches the photos on booking platforms. If your profiles are inconsistent, the guest assumes the worst. Not because they’re mean, but because they’ve been burned too.

We’ve seen this fail many times after a “quick setup” by someone who doesn’t run a hospitality business. The owner ends up with three different names across platforms, random links, and highlights that tell a story nobody follows. Then they blame social for not working, when the truth is the system was never finished.

What changes after it’s set up properly

The first change is that guests stop getting confused. Your name, address, and phone are the same everywhere, and the links take them somewhere sensible. Your profiles start to look like a business that will answer, not a hobby page that may or may not be open.

The second change is internal. Your team stops improvising. Instead of “post something when you can”, there’s a small plan they can actually follow, plus message templates so replies don’t depend on mood or who is on shift. You don’t need to become a content creator, and you don’t need to be online all day.

The third change is measurable in a boring way. Fewer dead-end clicks. Fewer repetitive DMs. More enquiries that already include dates and guest count because the profile guided them. It doesn’t mean every enquiry becomes a booking. It means fewer good guests fall through because you looked messy.

If you want a reference for why consistency matters, this is basic local identity hygiene, not a creative idea. Google calls it NAP consistency, and while social platforms are not Google Business Profile, guests behave the same way: they cross-check. You can see the concept explained in plain terms on Wikipedia’s page about Name, address, phone number: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name,_address,_phone_number

What “setup” means (and what it doesn’t)

Setup is not “we’ll post for you”. Setup is putting the foundations in place so your social presence supports trust and enquiries without creating extra work. It’s the difference between a profile that looks active and a profile that behaves like part of your sales system.

We focus on the pieces that usually break first season. Wrong categories, missing location signals, links that go nowhere, and highlight chaos. Then message handling, because that’s where owners lose money quietly. A guest who messages is already warmer than most website visitors, and ignoring them is expensive.

• Clean profiles on Instagram and Facebook: correct business category, clear description, correct location signals, and consistent identity
• Consistent name, address, and phone across your website and social profiles, so guests don’t second-guess who they’re contacting
• Sane links: one clear path for booking or enquiry, and no link clutter that makes guests think you’re disorganised
• Highlight structure that matches how guests decide: rooms, location, parking, breakfast, beach access, policies, and real recent proof
• Message templates for the questions you already get: availability, prices, parking, check-in, pets, kids, and “how far is it from…”
• A simple posting plan your team can follow without turning it into a second job, plus guidance on who posts what and when
• Basic training for whoever will handle posting and replies after setup, so it doesn’t collapse the first busy weekend

This is also where we set boundaries. We do not do daily posting. We do not run social ad campaigns. We do not turn your account into a meme factory. If you want performance advertising, that’s a different decision and it requires a booking path that can handle paid traffic. You can read about how paid social differs from search intent in Meta’s own business help resources: https://www.facebook.com/business/help

Social supports trust. It doesn’t replace a booking system.

Owners often hope social will “bring bookings” because it feels visible. The problem is that social platforms are built to keep people scrolling, not to help them commit to a reservation. Even when a guest wants to book, they still need a clear path: availability, rules, total cost, and a way to confirm without back-and-forth.

If your only booking path is “send us a message”, you’ll attract time-wasters and create stress for your team. Some bookings will happen, sure, but it won’t scale. And when you’re busy, replies get slower, and the best guests go elsewhere. It’s not a moral failure. It’s physics.

A proper setup makes social a strong middle step. It helps the guest feel safe enough to click to your website, call you, or submit an enquiry that contains the right info. It can also support repeat guests who want to “check you’re still the same place” before they come back.

If you want a neutral explanation of why social platforms are not designed as conversion tools first, look at how Instagram describes itself: a content and discovery platform. That’s not a complaint, it’s what it is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram

When social setup is a bad fit

Some businesses should not spend energy here yet. Not because social is bad, but because the conditions are wrong and you’ll end up resenting it. The most common failure is when the owner wants the benefits of an active presence without anyone actually owning the job.

If there is no person responsible for posting and replying, setup becomes decoration. The profile will slowly drift, messages will pile up, and guests will get silence. Then your rating and reputation take a small hit, the kind you don’t notice until the season is half gone.

It’s also a bad fit if your booking path is broken. If the website is outdated, the phone number is wrong, or the enquiry form doesn’t reach you, social will only amplify the chaos. You’ll get more attention, but attention is not the same as revenue. Sometimes it’s just noise with extra work attached.

Another bad fit is when multiple agencies or “a cousin who helps” have access and change things randomly. We don’t do optimisation if other agencies have access, because we can’t keep stability. The first time someone edits the bio, removes the booking link, or changes the category, the system breaks and nobody admits it. Then you pay twice to fix the same issue.

When social setup helps (and why)

It helps when you already have something real to show and a reason to stay consistent. Boutique hospitality wins on proof, not promises. Guests want to see that the place is cared for, that the photos are recent, and that you operate like a professional business, even if you’re small.

Social setup is especially useful when you have repeat guests, seasonal events, or a location story that matters. If you’re near a beach, a winery, a conference venue, or a wedding location, social becomes a living confirmation that you’re active and reachable. It also helps when you want to reduce reliance on one booking platform, because guests can find you and confirm you are legitimate before they book direct.

It helps when your brand needs to look consistent across touchpoints. A guest might see you on Google, then Instagram, then your website, then WhatsApp, then Booking. If each step feels like a different business, they hesitate. And hesitation is where you lose the booking.

If you want a practical read on why consistency and clear paths matter in digital marketing generally, Semrush has a solid overview of conversion paths and friction. It’s not hospitality-specific, but the logic is the same. https://www.semrush.com/blog/conversion-rate-optimization/

What we do not do in this service

This is where a lot of misunderstandings happen, so we keep it clean. We do not become your social media department. We don’t promise “growth”, and we don’t chase vanity metrics that don’t pay salaries.

We also don’t produce a content calendar full of clever ideas that nobody will execute. Owners have tried that. It sits in a folder while the season eats them alive. What we set up has to survive a busy weekend in August, with staff changes and limited time.

We don’t run social media campaigns, and we don’t manage ad spend here. If you need paid acquisition, it must be connected to a reliable booking path and clear measurement. Otherwise you’re just paying to create more DMs you can’t answer.

And we don’t fix reputation problems caused by bad operations. If guests are angry because check-in is chaos or the rooms don’t match photos, social setup won’t save that. It can even make it worse by bringing more eyes to the gap between promise and reality.

How to think about this decision in business terms

A good setup reduces friction. It makes it easier for the right guest to recognise you, trust you, and take the next step without asking ten questions. It also reduces internal cost because your team stops answering the same basic questions from scratch every time.

A bad setup creates invisible costs. More time in messages. More misunderstandings about location, parking, and policies. More guests who arrive with the wrong expectation because highlights were vague or outdated. That turns into refunds, arguments, or bad reviews, and those are expensive even when you “win” the argument.

This is not about being trendy. It’s about being consistent and reachable. In tourism, trust is a sales asset. Social media is one of the places guests go to check if that asset is real.

The parts that usually break (so you can avoid the usual regret)

The first break is access and ownership. Passwords are lost, two-factor authentication is tied to a staff phone, and when someone leaves, you’re locked out. Then the page gets cloned or “helped” by someone who makes it worse. This is boring, but it’s where the pain starts.

The second break is inconsistent identity. The Instagram name is one thing, the Facebook page name is another, the website footer has a third, and the phone number is old. Guests don’t complain. They just don’t book. You’ll blame the market, but it was a simple mismatch.

The third break is highlights and pinned content that get stale. A highlight about “2023 offers” sitting in 2026 makes you look asleep. Even if your rooms are perfect, the signal is wrong. Owners hate hearing this, but guests judge signals, not intentions.

The fourth break is messaging. The owner answers politely but slowly, staff answer quickly but inconsistently, and nobody knows what to do when the guest asks for a discount or special terms. Without templates, you get random pricing discussions in DMs and you lose control of your positioning. Then you attract more bargain-hunters, and the cycle gets worse.

If you want to see how platforms themselves push businesses toward faster replies and clearer info, Meta’s documentation around messaging and response expectations is blunt. They reward pages that respond. https://www.facebook.com/business/m/one-sheeters/instagram-messaging-for-business

What you need on your side for this to work

You need one person who owns the routine. Not “everyone can post”. One person who knows what’s allowed, what’s not, and what to do when a guest asks a question. If that person changes, you need the handover to be real, not “here’s the password”.

You also need a booking or enquiry path you’re willing to stand behind. That can be direct booking, a proper enquiry form, or a phone process that works. But it must be clear, and it must not change every week. Social can send people to your door, but you still need a door.

And you need consistency over creativity. Most boutique places don’t need more ideas. They need fewer, done properly, again and again. The guest does not care if your post is brilliant. They care that you look real, current, and easy to deal with.

Two common decision cases (so you can self-qualify)

Case 1: Social is a waste right now

This is you if nobody will actually handle posting and replies, and you already struggle to answer messages in season. It is also you if your website is not a reliable place to send guests, or you don’t have a clear way to confirm a booking without long back-and-forth. In that situation, social will mostly generate more interruptions.

It’s also a waste if you want the account to “grow” but you don’t want to show real proof. No recent photos, no stories, no staff willing to capture small moments. Then you end up reposting the same three sunsets and it looks fake. Guests feel it, even if they can’t explain it.

If this is your situation, the smarter move is to fix the booking path and internal response handling first. Then setup becomes leverage, not burden. Otherwise you’ll pay for a system you won’t use, and you’ll feel cheated, even if the work was done correctly.

Case 2: Social helps and pays for itself in sanity

This is you if you already have branding and you want it to feel consistent across touchpoints. You care about being seen as reliable, not cheap. You have repeat guests, or you depend on events, weddings, conferences, and you need proof that you’re active and reachable.

It’s also you if you want to reduce low-quality enquiries. With the right highlight structure and message templates, you stop having the same pricing discussion 20 times a week. Guests self-select. The ones who don’t like your policies leave early, and that’s good.

And it helps if you have a small team member who can post two or three times a week and handle messages with a clear script. Not robotic. Just consistent. That alone removes a lot of daily stress from the owner.

How to contact us (and what to send so we don’t waste your time)

If you’re considering this, treat it like a systems decision, not a creative project. The question is whether social will reduce friction and support enquiries for your specific operation. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it’s not yet.

Send us the links and we’ll tell you if a setup makes sense, and what would need to be stable on your side for it to hold through the season. Keep it simple. No long explanations needed, just the essentials.

Not sure where to start? Contact our local team for friendly, personalised advice and to arrange a meeting in person.

When you contact us, include:

• Your Instagram link and Facebook Page link (even if they’re messy)
• Your website link (or where you currently send guests to book or enquire)
• Who will handle posting and replies after setup (owner, receptionist, family member, or staff)

No shortcuts. No noise. Data analysis. Use only what works.