Customized Management Solutions Blog

Archive for March, 2011

Want more fans? 3 Essential Tips

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

Do you go to sleep at night thinking about how to engage and grow your Facebook Fan base?  Or does it cause you sleepless nights?  I hope neither is the case!  However, here are 3 essential tips to help you gather more loyal fans.

I’ve been speaking to a group of NACTA travel consultants aboard the Voyager of the Seas and these pros are seriously committed to growing their business using the tools available on Facebook.

Here are a couple of tips to get you thinking creatively.

1.       Add hyperlinks from your blog posts back to related information on your Facebook page.

  • When you repurpose your blog to other sites like ezinearticles your new group of eyeballs will be drawn to your Facebook page and ultimately your business.  Be certain that once they arrive at your Facebook page there’s relevant information to raise their curiosity.  When you provide some value-added material they’ll love you and reach out as your newest fan.  This value-add can be something as simple as a packing list, a tip sheet for the destination you’ve covered in your blog or your list of insider tips for the cruise you’ve just taken.

2.       Use e-mail superbly!

  • Compose an email that includes the 2 most important words for your clients….YOU and BECAUSE!  You’ll want to engage those on your mailing list and entice them to visit your fan page because these people already know you and may be looking for more information for an upcoming trip.
  • Be certain to include your blog and Facebook links into your e-mail signature.

3.       Join conversations on other blogs where your clients may already be doing their research.

  • Remember 19% of travellers read a blog when planning a trip.
  • Have you considered joining conversations on the blogs of your favorite CVB’s and DMO’s?  When you join these conversations, potential travellers to that destination will notice your posts, respect your expertise and connect with you for their booking.

Advanced  bonus tips:

  • Create a landing page also known as a Welcome page.  People are 67% more likely to ‘like’ a Facebook page that has a welcome page.  (my web designer is a pro at this—Troy Jaggard).  Check out my Facebook page and find more industry resources there when you ‘like’ it.
  • Run a contest.  Check out the Wildfire application for details and costing.  (don’t worry, it’s very reasonable.)
  • Develop an ad targeted to your audience demographic.  (remember you can set your budget)
  • Add polls and surveys into your blog posts.  Please answer this survey so that I can continue to provide you with relevant information.  Check out how it works!
  • Check off your progress on this checklist that I’ve put together for travel pros.

These are tips that supplement your relevant content.  In combination with understanding your audience, you’ll have a winning strategy!  Please become a fan of the Customized Management Solutions Facebook page for more tips and techniques to grow your business.

What exciting techniques have you used to grow your fan base?  When we share our ideas our industry only becomes stronger and more relevant to consumers.  Look forward to hearing from you.

Keep the conversation relevant.  Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Posted in blogging, Branding, Facebook Marketing, NACTA, National Tour Association, Networking, Niche Marketing, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry, Uncategorized | No Comments »

4 Practical Ways to Market your Next Group Tour.

Friday, March 18th, 2011

How to integrate social and traditional media

Do you want to fill your next group tour more quickly?  Are you looking to jump start your marketing plan with social media, but not let go of your traditional marketing techniques?

As a follow up tool to an article in NTA’s Courier Magazine on marketing your event using social media here are some practical ways to multiply your effectiveness in marketing your next group tour.

Provide links in your e-mail blasts

Imagine news of your next group departure being spread quickly (and easily) on social media.   Many people are using the events section in LinkedIn to create an event for an upcoming group tour.  This useful social media tool provides you with a simple template which shows on your LinkedIn profile.  Think about using this to market your next consumer event instantly.  A bonus is that business professionals as well as tourism pros will see your event and sell into it or pass it along to their connections.  In addition, you can invite people from your list of contacts as well.

Facebook also provides an event tab that is easy to complete and update.  With the new features of the business page, you can set up an event, invite friends from your personal profile and talk about it on your business fan page.  Once you begin inviting people to your newly created event, they can also invite their friends.  Isn’t this a great way to get your clients to help you market your next tour or event?

Links and your newsletter

Once you’ve created this event you can use the URL link in a myriad of creative ways.  Shorten the link using a link shortening tool and consider these ideas:

  • Add the link to your brochure,
  • Include it in your flat sheet
  • Print the link on your postcard mailing
  • Include the link in your other social network postings

    QR codes

    When you create a QR code and include it on your print materials (newspaper ad, postcard mailing, flat sheet, etc) people take a photo of it with their smart phone and it directs them to the website or social page you’ve designated.  Check out these QR code builders.

    This is a totally new and creative way to bring together traditional media with new media and raise curiosity.

    All of these ideas will keep your clients on the edge of their seats by providing a level of excitement for the newest tools of engagement.

    Keep the conversation relevant.  Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

    What other ideas have you implemented to combine social media and traditional media to grow your business?

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    Posted in blogging, Branding, Facebook Marketing, hospitality, hotel industry, marketing, Mobile marketing, National Tour Association, NTA, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, travel industry | 2 Comments »

    11 Best Twitter Practices, 2 tips to avoid!

    Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

    Building and nurturing Twitter account is only part of the social media equation! Next is mastering how to best put this social media tool to use for you.

    Best Practices

    1. 20 tweets/day and 1 in 4 tweets can be about your business on average; other tweets should be conversational
    2. Ensure your tweets are relevant to your audience
    3. Retweet items of interest to your followers
    4. Continue adding more followers (connect with me for tips on how to add and engage the right followers: www.twitter.com/catherineheeg)
    5. Market to the next level of followers – market to your followers’ followers
    6. Answer questions from other Twitter feeds
    7. Use # to direct people to information on a specific topic or destination
    8. Ask followers to take action; drive them to your website, blog or business location
    9. Follow up and stay involved in the conversations
    10. Listen more to what is being said by others on Twitter
    11. Add your Twitter feed to your other social media sites

    Mistakes to Avoid

    The biggest and ‘baddest’ is not responding to direct questions or concerns with your best customer service voice.  This is imperative.

    The other common mistake people make is putting forth too corporate of a voice.  Twitter is all about making connections on a personal level and having fun.

    Go out there and have some fun!

    Keep the conversation relevant.  Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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    Posted in Branding, Customer Service, hospitality, hotel industry, marketing, Networking, Niche Marketing, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, travel industry, Twitter | No Comments »

    5 Strategies to Build and Nurture Your Twitter Account

    Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

    95 million Tweets are sent each day! Tweets are small bursts of communication using only 140 characters.   With the number of Twitter users rising each year, and the age group being of a demographic with an interest in travel, this is amazing news for the tourism and hospitality industry. If we can connect and engage followers on Twitter, business will grow.

    1. Choose your name carefully.   Choose a name that reflects your business, service or destinations that you serve.  Add your logo or photo so that followers are certain they’ve connected with the correct business.  Complete all the information in your profile in order to show people why they would like to follow you.
    2. Check what’s being said about you.  By typing in #your company name, you’ll be able to see all that has been written about you. By using #your company name, followers will then have a way to find you or a topic. You may also want to research what is being said about your competition.  (# is called a hash-tag by Twitter devotees)
    3. Who to follow? You may want to follow DMO’s, suppliers, travel writers or others you’re interested in; follow people of interest to you, your company and your followers. As you grow your followers, check out who they follow.
    4. Understand your audience. Using a combination of scheduled and live tweets keeps followers engaged and encourages conversations. By scattering and interspersing tweets throughout the day, you will reach the maximum number of clients while providing a more natural form of communication. Consider putting together a tweet plan/media plan.
    5. Marketing. After you’ve engaged a number of followers, consider putting together a Twitter contest, or offer a coupon or “Twitter Special”. Encourage people to retweet so that your Twitter offer engages a larger audience. Start a # for your company and use in promoting contests and coupons.

    This gives you the basics on Twitter.  Watch this blog for more information on using Twitter in our industry.

    Let’s keep the conversation going.  Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Branding, Customer Service, hospitality, hotel industry, marketing, Networking, Social Media Marketing, strategy, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry, Twitter | 2 Comments »

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