Archive for August, 2011
Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Promote Your Blog
Is your blog working overtime for you? Blogging is a powerful medium to entice, engage and educate yet some travel pros let theirs languish in oblivion. Here are some tips and techniques to ensure your blog gets seen by as many eyeballs as possible.
Hyperlinks
Here are 2 simple ways to use hyperlinks to market your blog.
- Add a hyperlink to your blog into your automatic e-mail signature
- Insert this hyperlink in all your itineraries, invoices and away messages
Email Blasts
- Create an e-mail blast announcing your newest blog post . Make sure to include a call to action sales message.
- Check out these services; Constant Contact and Vertical Response
- I love Vertical response as there is a ‘pay as you go’ option
Blog Directories
These essential services will expose your blog to a multitude of new eyeballs. Check out Technorati and AllTop to see if their audience is similar to yours.
Consumer blogs
Have you considered posting on the sites of your preferred suppliers? Consider the exposure to potential clients you’ll receive. Have you just returned from a fam trip or site inspection? Imagine the chance to reach out and thank your suppliers via a link to your blog post on their Facebook page. Your enthusiasm will inspire consumers to connect with you.
Guest post
How about teaming up with colleagues to form a ‘blog squad’. Imagine the opportunity to post on your colleagues’ blog pages and share knowledge with each other’s clients.
This is merely the tip of the promotional iceberg. Which one will you use today?
For more ideas, please check out my article in the next NACTA e-zine or check my blog.
Let’s continue the conversation! Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Tags: blog, blogging, hospitality, hotelsales, marketing, marketingplan, Networking, sales, salestips, Social Media, tourism industry, tourismbusiness, tourismsalestips, touroperator, travelagent, travelindustry
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Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
Podcast
Do you know what to do with your recordings? Have you decided on where you’re going to store the podcasts and videos so your audience can easily access them?
There are so many imaginative possibilities for using this technology. For example, I’ve used it as an audio invitation to a workshop, as a way for clients to ‘meet me’ in advance, and as a warm-up to material I’m going to cover in a seminar.
If you’re putting together theater tours to New York, think how exciting it would be for potential clients to see you at the top of the Empire State Building talking about the history and scanning the view. That’s credibility! Theater buffs would relish the chance to see what a theater on Broadway really looks like and hear from you about the play you recently saw. How about interviewing an actor?
To market your podcast you can easily e-mail it to potential clients, embed it into your blog or post it on your Facebook or Twitter. Create a contest and some buzz by asking people to guess where you’re filming from.
To re-cap here are the 6 uses for your creativity:
- Audio invitation
- Marketing your upcoming tour
- Embed into a blog post
- Post on Facebook
- Tweet about it and include a link to your podcast
- Create a Contest around your podcast.
All this for a small investment in time and money! Think about the remarkable impact you’ll make!
For getting started, please see Podcasting for Profit – The First Step to Success ! For tips and best practices, please see 2 Tips and 4 Best Practices for Podcasting!
Podcasting can be a very effective tool to reach your audience. With the ease of set-up, the simplicity of recording and the endless possibilities of reaching target groups; Why not invest in Podcasting? Remember the best part of a podcast is that you can tailor your message to specific clients. It can be informative, fun and a creative way to reach your clients in an exciting new medium!
Keep the conversation relevant! Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
Tags: blog, blogging, Facebook, Facebookmarketing, facebookpromotion, hospitality, LinkedIn, Listening, marketing, Networking, Podcasting, Podcasts, sales, Social Media, tourism industry, tourismsalestips, travelagent, travelindustry, Twitter
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Friday, August 19th, 2011
Podcasting for Profit
In Podcasting for Profit – The first step to Success, we talked about what you need to engage your potential clients and audience through podcasts. Now that you know what equipment to use, you can get started on the audio or video recordings!
Excited? Here are 2 things to keep in mind.
First, determine the needs of your audience.
Do they need to see you and what you’re offering? How much detail do they need to make a decision? What is their level of knowledge of your offering? This will help you choose the best medium, audio or video.
Second, write your script and record it.
For an audio recording you may want to check out this simple and free downloadable program. You can play around with it a bit if you’d like to add special sound effects or mix in different types of media such as music or other pre-recorded sounds.
Once you record your podcast on audacity.com you’ll need a spot to house it. You can store the .mp3file on your computer or sign-up for a free service where you can house all of your podcasts. A service like podomatic allows you to store all of your podcasts in 1 place. This will allow your listeners to access your whole library of self-created podcasts. You can also create your own channel on iTunes or house your recordings on your website.
When you’re putting this new technology to use here are a couple of best practices to consider:
- Keep it short and concise. 5-10 minutes is perfect.
- Speak clearly and look directly into the camera or microphone. Practice a few times so that you are happy with the results your clients will see.
- Be aware of background noise and the view. I’ve seen many people who record in their office and the space behind them is cluttered or distracting. Even an audio recording can sound muffled if you’re too far from the microphone or it the dog is barking or traffic is flying by.
- Have some fun and get creative.
You’ve got the equipment, you know how and what you want to record but where is this all leading? Check out the audio podcast 2 Ways to Podcast for Profit for tips and techniques you can add to your recordings!
Keep the Conversation going! Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Tags: Facebook, hospitality, LinkedIn, Listening, marketing, Networking, Podcasting, Podcasts, sales, salestips, Social Media, tourism industry, tourismbusiness, travelagent, travelindustry, Twitter
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Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
Podcast for Profit
Podcasting! Is it audio or video? Either and both!
That’s right! Podcasting is a term that refers to both audio and video recordings that can be easily made right in your office or on the road.
What an opportunity to stand out from the crowd and engage your audience.
Imagine sending an audio recording to your potential clients inviting them to join your upcoming tour. Imagine sending a customized video site inspection to a potential group leader showing the areas of your hotel or facility that will appeal directly to them and their clients…with you narrating and guiding them thru the facility. Talk about building rapport.
The benefits are that you’ll capture the attention of your clients and potential clients as well as build your brand excellence.
The only equipment you’ll need for an audio recording is a microphone. Check out an office supply store for one in the $30-50 range or a specialty music store for higher quality in the $100 range.
For a video recording, an HD video recorder is your best choice. I chose the Mino HD Flip recorder because it’s barely bigger than a standard cell phone and has about 2 hours of recording time available. All the software you need to record and download is built right into the Flip. From your computer you can upload it to You-Tube and then embed it into your blog or send the file to your clients. (Remember, if you want to upload to You-Tube the video must be shorter than 10 minutes)
Being prepared is the first step in getting ready to engage your audience and get your message across. Choosing the right equipment is just the beginning of reaching your audience and potential clients. In another post we’ll cover the next steps of 2 Tips and 4 Best Practices for Podcasting! In the meantime, here’s some extra tips for you on audio and video podcasting
Keep the conversation going! Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Tags: blog, blogging, Facebook, hospitality, LinkedIn, Listening, marketing, Networking, Podcasting, Podcasts, sales, salestips, Social Media, tourism industry, tourismbusiness, tourismsalestips, touroperator, tourwholesaler, travelagent, travelindustry, Twitter, youtube
Posted in blogging, Branding, Facebook Marketing, hospitality, hotel industry, marketing, Networking, promotion, sales, Social Media Marketing, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Twitter | 2 Comments »
