August 2012 Newsletter

Accidental Bavarians in Leavenworth August 10-14

We'll be in Leavenworth August 10-14 if you'd like to get together and talk about what you'd like to see on Accidental Bavarian, or if you would like to talk about how we can help you with your website or Facebook page. We'll also be looking for businesses we can deem "Leavenworthy". Email us if you'd like to get together, or call us at 509/998-0991. Or look for the car with the Accidental Bavarian signs on the side.

You May Not Really Control Your Own Facebook Page

As we've been "liking" various Facebook pages in Leavenworth, I've found something disturbing and important that businesses need to check.

Many of the businesses, when they decided to create a Facebook page, made the happy discovery that Facebook had already done part of the work for them and created a "Places" page for them. So they made themselves the administrator of the page and began using it as their own.

At that point, however, you may be the administrator, but you need to identify yourself to Facebook as a legitimate owner so you can lock things down and others cannot make changes. Until you do that, people can go in and make changes to your contact info. Right now, I'm looking at one of many pages we've found in Leavenworth where I can "Suggest an Edit" to the page, and I'm taken into a screen where I can change the phone number, times they are open and any number of other things in there.

You need to claim the page with Facebook before someone changes your info or claims it in your stead!

Facebook makes is fairly easy to claim the page, you just need to identify yourself as the rightful owner. They will phone you to confirm information and the page will be locked to you.

To do this, go to the sprocket next to the "Message" button on your Facebook page and select "Is this your business?" and follow the directions they give.

Building Your Website

We also provide website development via Front Street Webs. Please contact us (509/998-0991) if you need to update your website or if you want us to create a new website for you. You can see the great work we've done with Accidental Bavarian; we'd like to do the same great job for you. We don't do cookie-cutter websites. We help you determine what you need and we make it easier for customers to find you… and the price is right.

Who Are the Accidental Bavarians and Why Are They Stalking Leavenworth?

We still get a lot of questions about who we are and what we do. Especially when folks see our website or when we ask for information to include on the site or we take pictures of their business. We recently wrote a blog that tells you who we ARE and who we are NOT.

 

What Do You Want From Us?

One of the things we want to do with Accidental Bavarian is to make an area that is for the community. You can see some of the things we've done under the "Live" menu at our site.

One of the things we've added is a Job Bank page. You are welcome to post any job openings you have available at no charge. This shouldn't be a replacement for other job postings you make, but can be a good supplement for them. See our Vendors page for directions.

What else would be helpful to you as a community?

One of our thoughts are a Last Minute Lodging page where you can post last minute openings you have.

Would you like to have us profile local businesses so you can get to know your neighbors better?

Or what about a database with amenities of all lodging options, so that tourists can search for lodging that has a hot tub, or breakfast included, or a mini-fridge?

Please let us know what would be helpful to you.

We're Looking for a Few Good Advertisers

We are looking for advertisers at Accidental Bavarian. Some of our pages have sponsors, and they have been so pleased they have all extended their contracts for another 6 months to a year. Pick a page you'd like to sponsor and contact us on our Vendors page.

Please Update Your Information

We maintain links from our website to every business or organization in Leavenworth we've been able to find. Believe it or not, we have over 1000 businesses in Leavenworth and the surrounding area we've identified. We want to make sure the information we have for you is as complete as possible and provides value for potential and returning tourists who come to our site and for you as well. For that we need your help.

Please come to Accidental Bavarian and check your information, and our link to your site. If we have any incorrect information, or if you feel we have categorized your business incorrectly, please go to our "Are You a Local Business?" link at the bottom of each page and send us an EMail. Your business can be listed under more than one category. For example, if your Bed and Breakfast also hosts weddings then let us know that.

We also have a Pet-Friendly Leavenworth page. If you have a pet-friendly business, and don't find your business listed, then give us a shout and let us know. We'd be delighted to add you.

And if you have suggestions for future additions to the website, please let us know that as well.

Please Link to Us

We love Leavenworth and do our best to encourage people to visit. We created Accidental Bavarian to look at Leavenworth from a tourist's perspective. We promote tourism in Leavenworth by providing travelers information they need to plan a fun-filled, happy experience in the Northwest's Little Bavaria. We currently do this as a hobby and are not backed by any group of businesses in Leavenworth. We offer independent reviews and provide our own opinions.

Please link your website to ours. Click here for sample code you can include on your website to provide a link.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter

Become our friend on Facebook. It's a great place to connect with people who live in Leavenworth and those who live elsewhere but want to stay connected with the village. Find us on Facebook here.

Our Twitter feed is Leavenworthy. Twitter allows you to follow people or send out short text messages (140 characters or less) about what's happening in Leavenworth Some tweet specials for their business or they might share a snapshot of what's going on right now in the village.

You can check out our Leavenworthiest Twitter list for links to Leavenworth-area Twitter accounts. If you know of others we'd like to hear about them.

Pass It On

While we've now identified over 1000 businesses in our database, we've only found Email addresses for about half of them. Please pass this Email on to anyone you know who has not received it and encourage them to Email us with updated information about their business.

So Fritzi and Mitzi, the Accidental Bavarians, say "Herzlich Willkommen, Leavenworth!"

 

Contact Information

The Accidental Bavarian
  3508 N Calispel St
  Spokane, WA 99205
  509/998-0991

EMail
  info@accidentalbavarian.com

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