179: There is more to video than YouTube
We all know that YouTube is the best place to publish video not only for brand exposure, but if you contain your website in the description, it is great for backlinks to. But YouTube is not the only one. If you create regular video, also publish these to Vimeo and Dailymotion. Whatever platform you use, please make sure you don’t simply link to your home page. You should link to specific pro...
1m Feb 25, 2018
1m
178: Target Upcoming Birthdays On Facebook
Did you know you can set up ads to target upcoming birthdays? Let’s say you run tours or provide accommodation of New York. You can create a Facebook ad to target those within your area who have an upcoming birthday. Your offer could be a discount code with a free bottle of bubbly or a 2 for 1 meal offer to celebrate. With Facebook custom audience option, you can even target your past custom...
1m Feb 24, 2018
1m
177: Stop With Your Hit And Run Email Campaigns
Email Marketing is often used as a ‘Hit and Run’ medium. This approach reduces your click through rates and increases your unsubscribes. Build a relationship with your readers. Be subtle with your sales call to actions, weaving these in a story, written in a style as if you are having a conversation with them face to face. This will lead to higher response rates and increases your sales poten...
1m Feb 23, 2018
1m
176: The Proof is in the Pudding
When you make claims on your website like ‘We are the number 1’ or ‘Highest rated’, please make sure you can back up these claims. If you don’t show proof of your claims most customers will think you are not being entirely truthful. Testimonials that use a first and last name, video testimonials and third party reviews all help build your credibility. Show customers what you claim is the tru...
1m Feb 22, 2018
1m
175: Reduce your Google Adwords Cost Per Click
Did you know that your Google Ad has a quality score? You would be surprised at how many people don’t know this. When you create a Google PPC ad, Google looks at several factors. The keywords you use in the ad, past click though rate of that keyword and the quality and relevance of your landing page. By creating a well-constructed ad and landing page that is relevant to the ad content, Google...
1m Feb 21, 2018
1m
174: Make the Most Of Your Unsubscribes
No matter how hard you try, some people are going to unsubscribe from your mailing list. If they do, be ready to ask them for feedback. Ask them a few short questions about why they are no longer interested in your emails. Did they feel they received too many emails or they received a bad service? As we all know, people will always feel the urge to leave a complaint rather than a compliment ...
1m Feb 20, 2018
1m
173: Have A Plan For Social Marketing
When it comes to managing social media, have a plan set out ahead of time. Concentrate on one platform rather than five all at one time. Choose the platform where your target audience most frequents. And don’t worry about content being perfect. If it encourages user interaction, keep doing what you are doing. Be consistent. Post content at the same time each day or week you post. Add an hour...
1m Feb 19, 2018
1m
172: Get More Bang For Your Buck With Earned Content
Travel brands who bank on visual storytelling will get more bang for their buck than those who do not. By harnessing user-generated content, your customers will perceive these as the most authentic and compelling type of content. Tour providers, hotels and other travel brands can dramatically increase their chances of a booking from positive experiential and emotional customer generated conte...
1m Feb 18, 2018
1m
171: Find New Ways to Market Your Hotel
Hotels have more incentive than ever before to find new, compelling ways to drive visitors to their sites and keep them there to book. Studies have shown that the cost of acquiring hotel customers through marketing and distribution channels, in the age of OTAs and sites like Google and TripAdvisor, is rising at twice the rate of hotel revenue growth. This is obviously not sustainable so you n...
1m Feb 17, 2018
1m
170: Don’t Ignore comments
If people make the effort to leave a comment on a social post, take the time to reply back and spark up a conversation. Customers like to know you are paying attention and care about what they have to say. They are less likely to return if they feel their comments are falling on deaf ears. Plus, when you comment that user is notified and brings them back to your social platform where they may...
1m Feb 16, 2018
1m
169: Don’t Be The Ass in Assume
Never assume your customers know who you are, what you do or what you offer when they arrive on your website. Your website content must be clear, concise and written in a style as if talking to someone, in plain English, for the first time. Always use the AIDA method when writing your content. Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. It must be persuasive and compelling enough to encourage th...
1m Feb 15, 2018
1m
168: Always Test and Measure Your Marketing
Marketing that you can’t measure is pointless. You may spend money on a Facebook campaign, and you may even see an uptick in sales around the same time you ran these ads, but are you sure these ads brought in those sales? Maybe there is a seasonal reason for the uptake in sales. If you’re going to commit time and money in a marketing campaign, make sure you can measure the results. Track co...
1m Feb 14, 2018
1m
167: Define the purpose of your web page
What should be an obvious is often overlooked. When you create a web page on your site did you really think about its main purpose? Too many don’t truly consider this and a page can become a dumping ground for lots of differing content. A web page should have one focus and one focus only. Is it to inform? To sign up to a Newsletter? Or to close sale? Try not to add too many call to actions ...
1m Feb 13, 2018
1m
166: Do Not Offer Advertising On Your Site
We have all come across them. Tourism based websites that feature an abundance of ads from other companies. I understand some smaller businesses may feel this might generate lots of ad revenue but in truth it does not. It also distracts your customers and makes them feel you are not putting their needs first or that you are not confident in your own product offering. Why have a customer land...
1m Feb 12, 2018
1m
165: Customers Are Not Interested In You
When it comes to your website, it must be completely customer focused. Your text, navigation, images and videos must be about your customers and the experiences they will share. It must answer “What is in it for me”. Sorry to say, customers are not in the least bit interested in your company history or mission statement. They want to see good products and good reviews as well as knowing they...
1m Feb 11, 2018
1m
164: A Blog Is A Must For Your Tourism Business
If you don’t have a blog on your website then you are losing out massively on potential customers. If you have a blog that is updated on a regular basis you typically see 55% more website traffic and 70% more leads than those who don’t. It is one of the best ways to communicate with your customers but also a good way to help improve your rankings. If you don’t have time, or feel you are not ...
1m Feb 10, 2018
1m
163: Changes to Googles Search Results
You may have noticed that when you search on Google you now see more of a description than you did before. Google have increased the meta description from 160 - 230 characters. This gives you more opportunity to add in content that entices that click. Will it have more of an impact on SEO? Time will tell, but I suspect it will so change these now before your competitors do.
1m Feb 09, 2018
1m
162: Create a Meaningful Unique Selling Point
A USP is a way of communicating how your product is marketed. Saying ‘You provide the best service’ or ‘offer the best price’ will not set your business apart from the countless others who say the same thing. You need to be more specific. But you might be thinking, “what is my USP” or you can’t think of one. To create a USP you need to offer something that your competition does not. Somethin...
1m Feb 08, 2018
1m
161: Follow the 3 Step Marketing Approach
When it comes to marketing the main mistake businesses make is to follow a one-step marketing approach in which they try and ask for the sale. This may work for some customers but if you follow the 3 step approach you may find you close more sales in the long run.  Step 1 is to offer something for free in return for their contact details. Step 2 is building the relationship through regular, ...
1m Feb 07, 2018
1m
160: The One Thing You Must Build
Whatever form of marketing you do, one aspect all businesses must build is a referral programme. Customers who are referred to your business are easier to close, making the purchase decision much faster. There is also no real cost in marketing and enquiring these customers and because they were referred to you, they tend to spend more and are more loyal. They tend to give you more repeat bus...
1m Feb 06, 2018
1m
159: Become a Customer for your Competitors
If you want to gain insight into how your competition operates (https://tourismmarketing.agency/tourism-marketing-services/competitor-analysis) , to determine how good or bad they are at customer service, become a customer yourself. See how do they handle the customer journey from start to finish. Do they try to upsell to hard? Do they offer anything you wish you offered your customers? Do the...
1m Feb 05, 2018
1m
158: Handling Disgruntled Customers
When you are on the receiving end of a disgruntled customer online, first establish a common ground. You must consider their point of view and find something you can both agree with. If you must correct any factual information, please do so tactfully and pleasantly. Don’t try to score points as it will make you look bad to your other customers. Appreciate their feedback as it may highlight a...
1m Feb 04, 2018
1m
157: Wrong to Tax Tourists?
In Scotland, we have a huge debate on whether a tourist tax should be introduced. Taxing travellers who visit your destination, I feel, sends the wrong message. Yes, I understand that we need to pay and maintain for the facilities and infrastructure that they use but to me this is the wrong approach. Our customers are being penalised for the cuts made to our local governments public spending,...
1m Feb 03, 2018
1m
156: The New Ranking Factors You need to know
When it comes to ranking high on Google you will be told it is your meta descriptions, content and backlinks that are the main factors. Well, a recent study from SEM Rush shows that while most of these are still important, they are far down the list. Their studies of over 600,000 keywords show that Google now put emphasis on website visits, time on site, pages per session and bounce rates. T...
1m Feb 02, 2018
1m
155: The Power of Curiosity In Tourism
Every time you receive a new sales enquiry, they have one thing in common… curiosity. Each potential customer is curious and wants to find out more about your business which gives you the opportunity to turn that enquiry to a sale. When it comes to marketing, most businesses try to answer as many questions as possible through product content, FAQ’s, lists etc etc. All this is doing is reduci...
1m Feb 01, 2018
1m
154: There Are No Secrets in Marketing
When it comes to your marketing strategies, I know it is easy to try new ‘secret formulas’ and ‘shortcuts’ that claim to drive more sales to your business.  There will always be both, good and terrible new things to try in a marketing strategy but successful campaigns come down to trying, and sticking to, proven methods. There is no quick fix. There are no secret formulas. It takes planning, ...
1m Jan 31, 2018
1m
153: The Importance of Brand Guidelines
Having had the pleasure or working with so many tourism businesses it provides me some great insights and helps to highlight one aspect that most don’t consider, and that is brand guidelines. Brand guidelines are more than just information on how you use a logo or fonts. This should be the bible of how your whole business operates. Your tone of voice, the company ethos, internal communications...
1m Jan 30, 2018
1m
152: How to Market to Dissatisfied Customers
When it comes to marketing, most businesses tend to forget to market to dissatisfied customers. And I don’t mean your own. I mean your competitors dissatisfied customers. Using social tools like HootSuite you can set up alerts to notify you when someone leaves a negative comment about a competitor on social. If you have the time, go through TripAdvisor too If I was you, I would contact these ...
1m Jan 29, 2018
1m
151: Does Direct Mail Work?
Direct mail has declined over the years with more businesses opting for online methods as it is easier to track conversions. However, direct mail still works if you change how you used it in the past. Producing simple flyers for example can be very hit and miss, but if you produce something that is useful to the potential customer, then you will have a winner on your hands. Produce a guide o...
1m Jan 28, 2018
1m
150: Build Relationships, Not Sales
Building a sales channel is, obviously, a vital part of any business, but so many businesses stop thinking about the customer after the sale is made. It is actually less expensive to maintain and keep a customer than it is to market to a new one. It is vital that you build a strong relationship with your customers as this generates more sales through repeat business and word of mouth referrals...
1m Jan 27, 2018
1m
149: Never Buy A Mailing List
This should go without saying but I have come across far too many businesses who are proud to have a mailing list of thousands but they are worth nothing as they paid an agency for those lists. Let me be blunt, never ever purchase a list, or build a list for that matter, of potential ‘customers’ who have never opted in or never even heard of your brand. You are wasting your time and money try...
1m Jan 26, 2018
1m
148: Avoid Information Overload
When it comes to product information on tourism sites, one of the main downfalls is information overload. From experience, there is far too much text and unnecessary information of the main buying page. Content heavy landing pages are sure fire way to stop the buying process dead in its tracks. Provide brief descriptions and a simple but detailed itinerary. If you have to write a novel to ex...
1m Jan 25, 2018
1m
147: Use Instagram for instasales
Instagram is used by over 600 million users on a near daily basis so to ignore this social juggernaut is a massive mistake for your business. With Instagram’s engagement rate performing 58 times better than its big brother Facebook and a quarter of its users taking home more than £55,000 per year, you can have a captive audience who are willing to spend on your experiences. Instagram is made ...
1m Jan 24, 2018
1m
146: Give Stuff Away For Free
Giving stuff away for free. I bet that sent a shiver up your spine. I understand you have spent time and money creating your products and you loathe to give them away for free, but trust me, you will gain more in the long run. You don’t need to give away your core product but something that is valuable to the customer. And you are not really giving it to them for free as you are receiving the...
1m Jan 23, 2018
1m
145: The Power of Facebook Groups in Tourism
When it comes to customer engagement, creating a Facebook group can be a strong tool to build relationships with your customers.  But don’t confuse a Facebook business page with a group. A business Facebook page allows you to promote your products, offer insights and interact with followers and future customers. For tourism businesses, a Facebook group should be reserved for customers only. ...
1m Jan 22, 2018
1m
144: 5 Quick Twitter Tips For Tourism
Twitter is a great tool for customer service and providing soundbites from your business and offering advice. Here are some quick tips on how to use it… 1. You don’t need to follow back everyone who follows you. Carefully select who you follow as this will keep your own twitter feed clean and engaging. 2. Ask questions to entice your followers to engage with your brand. 3. Make sure your Twi...
1m Jan 21, 2018
1m
143: Top 10 Video Marketing Ideas For Tourism, Part 2
Here is part 2 of my top 10 ideas that you can implement in your business... 6. Ask customers for feedback and film their testimonial at the end of their experience. 7. Produce videos of suppliers and businesses you have a connection with or who benefit from your tours and products 8. Ask users to submit their videos through a competition. This can produce great content for your site. 9. Fi...
1m Jan 20, 2018
1m
142: Top 10 Video Marketing Ideas For Tourism, Part 1
Video is vital in and should be part of any marketing strategy. Here is the first part of my top 10 ideas that you can implement in your business… 1. Have the face of the business tell the story of the company and make it mean something to your customers. 2. Use an expert within the business to create an destination advice video. 3. Follow a tour guide or employee during their working day to...
1m Jan 19, 2018
1m
141: Helpful Content Wins Every Time
The role of content marketing is to be as helpful to your audience as possible. Very much like what I am doing now with this advice show. Content that tries to sell is not helpful. Even if you believe your product is the best product available, content that tries to sell will turn off most people. Instead, create content that makes your potential customers lives easier. I know it can be hard...
1m Jan 18, 2018
1m
140: The Art Of Storytelling In Tourism
Cutting through the marketing clutter is more vital than ever before and one of the best ways to do this is through storytelling. The human brain is built to connect with compelling stories and a good story activates parts of the brain that allows the listener to turn your story in to their own ideas and experiences. Therefore, content that is story driven is best when promoting a tour, exper...
1m Jan 17, 2018
1m
139: Competing With The Big Players In Tourism
We all know it can be hard to compete within the tourism space when you have so much competition. But how can you compete with the big players? An instant advantage that a smaller business has is you can add more of a personal touch. You can be more focused on customer service and your whole process can be monitored more easily. So, while the big players often focus on keeping prices low, yo...
1m Jan 16, 2018
1m
138: You Need To Educate And Inform Not Interrupt And Sell
You Need To Educate And Inform Not Interrupt And Sell - DigiTourShow Daily #138 The best way to sell something is to not sell anything. You need to build brand awareness and trust in your customer’s eyes. Someone in your business will, or should, be an expert. Use this knowledge and share your best tips and advice with others. Only once you have captured the interest of those who might buy, ...
1m Jan 15, 2018
1m
137: The Experience Economy
The market has undergone some major shifts over the past couple of years and businesses can no longer differentiate themselves by service. There is a distinct difference between a service and an experience. A service is done to you and an experience is done with you. An experience worries about how the customer feels. For example, when I travel and stay at a hotel, for the most part, it cater...
1m Jan 14, 2018
1m
136: Your Voice Matters
Your tone of voice is everything, yet most organisations vastly undervalue it. A voice that is consistant across all channels is one of the factors to business success. You may have spent a lot of time and money of the look on your brand but from experience it is the tone of voice that gets missed. It should convey your core beliefs and how you with so be perceived. Be brave. Be bold but abov...
1m Jan 13, 2018
1m
135: Common Mistake You Might Be Making
You may have the best website or strongest social presence in the world but when it comes to measuring success, most business owners struggle to measure which tactics are yielding results. Not having a clear goal is a common mistake as businesses get caught up in the day to day. You need to have a clear strategy and goals in place so you know which path you wish your business to grow. Not onl...
1m Jan 12, 2018
1m
134: Open Your Doors To Tourists
One of the best marketing strategies ever created was when Iceland launched their ‘Honorary Islander’ campaign. Iceland asked its residents to open up their doors to visitors to Iceland and experience Iceland like a local. This included helping locals round up sheep, historical walks, eating dinner with other families, to the President of Iceland inviting you to their home. This strategy inc...
1m Jan 11, 2018
1m
133: Which is best? HTML or Plain Email Newsletters
When it comes to sending out your customers an email newsletter what should you send them? A highly-designed HTML newsletter or a simple plain text one? Studies show that you increase open and click though rates by sending a plain text newsletter instead. A HTML newsletter can lower the open rate by as much as 25%. When using plain text emailers, make them tell a story and not an obvious prom...
1m Jan 10, 2018
1m
132: When to Choose a Mobile App or Responsive Website
Quite often I get asked if a business should develop an app to sell its products or go down the responsive website route. When it comes to people buying your tours and activities or hotel products then I would always advise a responsive site is the way to go. By making someone find your app and then downloading it, you are putting up a barrier within their buying process. Apps are great when ...
1m Jan 09, 2018
1m
131: How to use Facebook’s shop to increase sales
Tourism businesses can utilise Facebook’s shop functionality within business pages to help generate more enquires. This can be used for activities, room enquires, vouchers and pretty much anything in between.  Facebook gives you two options when setting up a shop. Enquiry based or a link to your website.  I advise to set it up enquiry based as this keeps the user within Facebook and the enqui...
1m Jan 08, 2018
1m
130: How To Persuade People To Read Your Content
Creating great content is only one half of the battle you face. All you need to do now is get it in front of the right people. By using Google’s Keyword Planner Tool, you can discover terms that your customers are searching for and add this to your blog titles and content. Organic SEO can take time so use PPC to link to your content using the same phrases so you appear near the top of search ...
1m Jan 07, 2018
1m