July 21

3 Steps to Building a Better Digital Tourism Marketing Strategy

Travel planning is entirely different today than say even 10 years ago. Today’s travelers are invisible prospects to you and your marketing team, often until after they’ve made their vacation destination selection. Combine that with a consumer whose needs are more complex, stresses more numerous and media choices that have literally exploded over the last few years and you have a perfect tourism marketing storm.

Lose Your Edifice Complex

A building is a building is a building, even if it’s the Parthenon.

Well that’s not exactly true… but unless your buildings have historical significance on par with the Parthenon, think twice before featuring them in your marketing. And for those of you that have lakes, beaches and bar areas — I’d argue the same.

Challenge yourself to go beyond the obvious, the “first ad” as my old advertising professor used to call it. Instead, push to ask yourself, what can you show that will cause your prospective visitor to dream about your destination… to long to see it for real?

Go beyond the obvious. The obvious motivation is usually a category level motivation, which means not only do you offer it but likely most of your competition does too. So push harder during your planning.

Still having a hard time truly defining what core human motivation drives your audience(s)? Bring in an outside point-of-view for a ThinkAbout.

Get Picky About Your Target Audience

The beautiful thing about your digital marketing strategy is that it doesn’t have to focus on one or even a handful of audiences. With today’s modern targeting abilities, niche media platforms, even niche social media influencers… you have the freedom to craft increasingly nuanced campaigns against ever smaller, and far more tightly defined audiences.

Invest in social reconnaissance and craft highly detailed audience definitions based on real-time, real world analysis versus third-party or even primary survey research.

Stop Planning Everything

Amazing things are happening every day in your destination. In fact, years ago when my firm was doing some Guerrilla Insight Research into why people come to New Orleans, we stumbled across an incredible insight. People came here because they felt like there was always something “around the corner” worth seeing or experiencing. They actually used THAT EXACT PHRASE totally unprompted by us. It was an incredible insight that we only found by embracing the unknown vs trying to use research to confirm our own hunch.

They didn’t talk about the French Quarter, the Cathedral, etc., they talked about those incredible random discoveries we’ve all had on vacation. The little corner market with incredible coffee. The cute little shop that had adorable handmade clothing… or the quaint little bar that served the most incredible Old Fashioned.

These are the things travelers embrace. These are the stories they tell. And these are the stories your social agents will share on social media and those posts will entice future travelers.

So how do you encourage and create these moments?

Simple… stop trying to plan and control everything… put away your dang content calendar for a bit and instead, embrace a certain amount of random in your marketing strategy.

Embrace it, prod it, push it and encourage your visitors to do the same. It’s really very easy… here’s an excellent example to get you started.

[fve]https://youtu.be/yu__yMO6-v8[/fve]

Be Fearless

Don’t be afraid to fail. As I alway say, build small, inexpensive “proof of concept” campaigns designed to confirm your hunch. Launch them. Track them. And if they work, double down. If they fail, kill them and move on to the next test. Never stop testing and I promise you, your destination will flourish.

Need some help being fearless? Give me a call… my firm, Converse Digital is dedicated to the fearless exploration of what’s possible in marketing. 

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About the author

Tom is 30 year veteran of the sales & marketing industry with a penchant for stiff drinks, good debates and showing others how to combine the power of digital platforms and technology with the science of persuasion to turn conversations into customers.

He is the founder of Converse Digital, a former contributing writer for Advertising Age, and author of The Invisible Sale regarded by readers as a "must-read for any marketing and sales team."

The Invisible Sale has been described as: showing the reader how to rip down the communication barrier between sales and marketing teams in an easy-to-digest look at how both teams can work together to attract, measure, and close prospects in today's online landscape.

In the book, Tom breaks down his entire business development process, honed over a decade of practice, to create the ultimate field guide for anyone tasked with creating an effective business development program for themselves, their agency, or company.

And for those seeking to learn more about the art and science of persuasion, modern digitally oriented prospecting, effective lead nurturing without becoming a nuisance and closing more business deals, Tom has authored hundreds of articles available via his Painless Prospecting Newsletter Archives.

He is also a highly sought after sales & marketing keynote speaker who has graced stages in 52 cities, 27 states, and 7 countries spread across 4 continents.

He primarily speaking on topics of sales, business development, social selling, social media and the power of consumer experiences shared via social media as the ultimate form of advertising.

Tom's probably best known for his incredibly successful, groundbreaking social media campaign to rebrand Mardi Gras from "girls gone wild" to "family friendly fun" using nothing other than social media. That work led him to create his signature tourism marketing keynote -- The Soundtrack of our Life: Leveraging Visitor Experiences To Drive Visitation.

Too learn more about Tom's most requested talks, or check his availability, visit his professional speaker page.

You can also follow him on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.


Tags

advertising, content marketing, content marketing strategy, digital strategy, marketing, Marketing Strategies, Sales Marketing, social media, social media marketing, Social Media Marketing Strategies, social selling agency, social selling keynote, social selling keynote speaker, Tom Martin, Tourism, tourism marketing


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