Friday, November 23, 2012

New Hawaii Video - Footage you have never seen

Dear Best Hawaii Vacation visitors,

It's amazing how social media networking like Google Plus widens our horizon with special circles, just as I mentioned on 'Follow us on Google Plus'. We've come across on Google+ the most unique photos and exciting videos related to travel and vacation around the globe, which we would otherwise have never seen.

Of course, with our target audience being Hawaii vacation, anything new on the Hawaii video market gets our special attention. When friends from the island of Oahu told us about this totally unique video about Hawaii, we had to share it with our Google+ followers. Today we are going to share it with our blog visitors

You will see footage from the Hawaiian Islands which most of you have never seen before. Enjoy Hawaii from a different view. Aloha, Pua Kohala Coast Vacation

What do you think about the Hawaii video produced by German TV station ZDF?

Saturday, November 17, 2012

PBS HAWAII campaign for new home in Honolulu

Presss Release by PBS Hawaii

New Home campaign program November 18 at 6:30 PM

'Best Hawaii Vacation blog' shares another time one of PBS Hawaii's press releases with its visitors. By doing so, we hope that more of our visitors watch this program by Hawaii Public Broadcasting on November 18 to generate enough money for a new home of PBS Hawaii in Honolulu. We all take advantage of the quality programs by our Hawaii PBS station. Now let's give something back.

A star-studded cast of Hawaii residents will appear on PBS Hawaii Sunday, November 18 at 6:30 pm HST to help the statewide public television station engage public support for its campaign to build a new home. The 90-minute live broadcast of the NEW HOME Campaign is available online via livestreaming on PBS Hawaii

The program will be rebroadcast and also available online on Thursday, November 22 at 8:00 pm HST. Broadway performer Loretta Ables Sayre will host the program, featuring slack key guitar master Keola Beamer; singer Marlene Sai; YouTube sensation Ryan Higa; singer/composer Paula Fuga; jazz singer and PBS Hawaii Board member Jimmy Borges; singer/musician and PBS Hawaii Board member Kawika Kahiapo; entertainer Danny Kaleikini; slam poet Kealoha; voice coach Neva Rego; ukulele impresario Roy Sakuma; storyteller and Enterprise Honolulu President and CEO Pono Shim; Searider Productions educator Candy Suiso; Hawaii and San Francisco public broadcasting executive Mary Bitterman; and iconic artist Pegge Hopper. Singers will be accompanied by Dan Del Negro on the piano and John Kolivas on bass.

The program is intended to raise public awareness and financial support for a $30 million capital campaign to develop a site that the station purchased at 315 Sand Island Access Road at Nimitz Highway. PBS Hawaii must vacate the University of Hawaii Manoa building it has occupied for 40 years because the university needs the space for expansion.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Follow us on Google Plus


What a nice rhyme 'Follow us on Google Plus' and a great new tool! 

Like everybody else in the vacation & travel business we came recently across more and more Google+ badges and +1 buttons when visiting Hawaii twitter friend sites or generally surfing the web. Then naturally the question came up what is all the hype about Google+? Admittedly, we were a bit skeptical and hesitant when Google first showed up as new player among the social media scene of Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. It seemed kind of late but obviously not too late when considering the ever rising numbers of members of Google+ pages, exclusively designed for business owners.
 
As owners of KohalaCoastWeb and HawaiiAffordableVacationRentals as well as our Best Hawaii Vacation blog we had to ask ourselves: "Can we really afford NOT to join Google+? Here is the result of our brainstorming after more detailed studies of Google+ business pages. We think that the structure of Google+ gives us business owners a powerful platform to promote our websites with its unique features Facebook and Twitter don't offer. Consequently we joined Google+ about three weeks ago.
 
Why we think Google+ is right for us:
 
1. Open a Google+ business page
 
After I had opened my individual personal Google+ account, Google allowed me to open a Google+ business page with profile, description of business target, link to company and of course with the possibility to post new, fresh interesting and exciting posts there. 

FYI Google Plus offers to link your blog with your Google+ business page. When you do that, each blog post will automatically show up in your posts at Google+. I decided NOT to link my blogger blogspot account with Google+, yet. I don't think I want that, at least not at this moment. OK I have a different 'audience' in Google+ but in the end it would be just a repeat of my blog post. There is so much more to posting fresh content on Google Plus! 
 
2. Start circles in Google+
 
As I said above I am still a newcomer to Google+ but I immediately started creating customized 'Circles' in my business page for Hawaii, Big Island, Vacation, Travel, Hawaii Activities etc. which seems to be the perfect way to unite same or similar target businesses in one circle. I really like the circles.
 
3. Google+ badges and +1 buttons
 
Third step I did was to get from Google Developers the Google badge and the +1 button to my site KohalaCoastWeb which invites site visitors to follow my Google+ page (see top of pages) and to +1 a page (individual page placement) whose content they like.
 
4. Google+ improving Search engine results
 
Since we've started Google+ just recently and it's still new territory for us, we don't expect a miracle in Google SERPs of our sites and blog. However, our belief is that the potential is there and should be big considering that Google accumulated the biggest amount of data as the biggest player in the search engine business. The majority of us still 'googles' instead of 'bings'. Naturally we can expect that Google will integrate their social media network with search business in the future.

Mahalo for following us on Google Plus.
 
So if you are owning a Hawaii or vacation or travel related business and I convinced you to start your own Google+ page, please, let us know when you did so. Happy to find kindred spirits on Google+. A hui hou. Aloha, Pua & Keoki
p.s.
First positive result to report from joining Googe Plus, is the ever climbing number of Twitter followers, business owners of quality sites & blogs in the travel and vacation business! 

BTW We noticed one of the best unexpected 'side effect' of being closely connected to Hawaii and Travel sites around the world are...the most amazing photos from unique places in Hawaii and around the world. Most of those travel photo posts are available for 'sharing'.