When I was younger, I was a competitive figure skater. Between skates, blades, and costumes, I was always at Paul Tosone’s skate shop. Paul was a former pairs skater-turned coach who then decided to start his own business. He became a skating blade sharpener, sold boots, repaired equipment—you name it. The man was like a machine. I used to watch him sharpen a pair of skates while wearing his own skates, jump on the ice and teach a lesson, then come back in and fit someone into boots. He ran seven days a week, nearly 365 days a year at this pace. One day, while I was watching him sharpen my skates, Paul looked up at me and said, "Owning your own business is a bitch. Don't start one."
Remember when e-mail marketing started, they said, direct mail is going to be a thing of the past. But even now, catalogs, donation requests, credit card offers, and local business promotions still show up in the mailbox. Direct mail is not dead.
Using online versions of the traditional press release can increase your search engine optimization (SEO), and drive traffic to your websites. SEO press releases are published internally by the business itself are delivered to every major search engine as well as media outlets. According to PRWeb, the releases are "optimized for search and hugely shareable via social media, online news releases help you boost rankings, increase traffic and bring in better leads." Use online news releases for these reasons:
Pinterest is the new social media kid on the block, but with its 10 million active monthly users, it isn't something suppliers should wait to use to grow sales. Many destinations and suppliers are already using Pinterest to drive traffic to their websites or raise awareness of company offerings. The image-sharing site is worth a thousand words, or a thousand plus page views when used correctly.
Jump on the bandwagon of the latest and greatest social media breakthrough using these marketing strategies.
Getting picked up on social media channels can have a snowball effect of web chatter. First you're company is mentioned in an article which leads to a Tweet which leads to a reTweet which is then posted to Facebook and shared by a follower, before long your Facebook Insights are showing exponential growth. Social networking is the way of the marketing future, but just how can you keep your company on the bandwagon?
Ten short years ago, direct mail was the primary way we marketed to tour operators. However, technology has created opportunities for lower cost marketing initiatives through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Is the pendulum swinging back toward old-fashioned direct mail? You be the judge.
The social media market is ever changing, which is a good thing because it offers new ways to engage your fans and increase your "likes." As a group travel supplier, you can increase your tourism sales by increasing your number of Facebook fans.
A landing page is a welcome page, the first thing people see when they click on your link or go to your site. People are 67 percent more likely to "like" your page if you have a customized landing page. You can design and build the page yourself, or employ a web designer.
Make your landing page affective by setting goals, then follow these steps to meet them:
Use these tips to increase your Facebook "likes" and consequently increase your business. (To let us know how these tips worked for you, "like" our Group Travel Supplier Facebook page)
Source: Catherine Heeg
Social networking has a light and a dark side. If ever your fan page crosses over to the dark side, be prepared in how to best handle your crisis situation. One way to do so is to choose your battles when responding to social networking posts during a crisis. Examples that constitute a crisis situation may include negative comments, a local emergency, or highly opinionated posts. Although it may not be possible to respond in every crisis situation, there are ways to determine which will receive a reply. Follow this formula:
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