Archive for the ‘tourism industry’ Category
Thursday, May 23rd, 2013
Is seeing reallybelieving?
Photo tips for Travel & Tourism pros
Ever find yourself in a spot you just know your clients would love to see themselves?
Using photos online is an awesome way to strike up engagement with your clients and draw attention to the great experiences you have to offer them. And the good news? You can take these pictures yourself!
#1 Photograph Lighting
No matter what the subject of your picture is, the lighting can make or break the quality of your photograph. Always make sure that the main focus of your photo is easily visible, and when possible, try to make the subject the brightest part of the picture.
Hotels: to showcase your rooms, utilize both natural and artificial light. Watch for glare from reflections on windows and mirrors.
Destinations: take advantage of the hours of sunrise and sunset in order to give your destination an out of this world appearance. If you are taking a photo of a landmark when the sun is behind it, consider using the flash feature to fill in any unwanted shadows. You may have to use manual flash for this – many cameras on Auto will not flash during daylight.
Travel Pros: use natural light to make a landscape or landmark pop during sunrise when few people are around to interfere with your shot! Be sure the sun is not creating distracting shadows within your frame.
(image with glare from lighting)
(image free from glare)
#2 Photograph Framing
Lead all eyes right to the target of your photos by framing your subject properly. One way to frame your subject is to use the Rule of Thirds: dividing the photo into nine equal squares and placing the object of focus on or near an area where the lines intersect.
Image by John R. Daily, Source
Hotels: include multiple features of a room in one photo by placing them on opposite sides/corners of a photo. If you wish to only highlight one feature, place it in the center of the photograph to maximize attention.
Destinations: when photographing landscapes, keep the land/water level just below the center of the photo. Use lines in the landscape as “leading lines” to draw attention to a certain subject/area!
Travel Pros: use the “Grid” option on your camera to more easily follow the Rule of Thirds with your shots. Use distance to your advantage by allowing an object or line to travel diagonally across the shot, such as a stream or pathway!
These two tips will help you get some sensational snaps of your own to show off to your clients online!
Next in the Photos in Social Media photo tips series: How to Use Photos on Different Platforms. Stay tuned!
Thanks to Ruby Murphy for her research and input.
Other posts you may enjoy:
2 Photo Tools for Travel Pros
5 Powerful Pinterest Tools
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By Catherine Heeg
About the author, Catherine J. Heeg
Catherine Heeg is a travel, hospitality and tourism industry thought leader. As President of Customized Management Solutions and an international speaker and trainer she delivers customized interactive social media, marketing and communication workshops and webinars. Customized social marketing strategy design and coaching keep her driving results for the tourism, travel and hospitality industry.
Tags: marketing, marketingplan, Photo Tips, Photography, sales, salestips, Selling, social engagement, tourism industry, tourismbusiness, tourismsalestips, touroperator, tourwholesaler, travelagent, travelindustry
Posted in Branding, hospitality, hotel industry, ITMI, marketing, NACTA, National Tour Association, NTA, OASIS, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry | No Comments »
Friday, April 19th, 2013
Fact or Fib: 19% of travelers visit a blog site when planning their trip. 
Fact or Fib: 65% of daily internet users read a blog.
Are you making the most of your fam trip knowledge? Does your destination reap the rewards of guest bloggers? Is the expertise you glean from webinars working overtime for you?
Blogging is a proven way to set yourself apart from the crowd and enthrall your fans with your experiences.
Blog Best Practices
#1: Clear specific topic ideas
Travel Consultants—strategically plan your blog schedule around what’s hot in your marketplace at the time the blog will go live. For example, during Wave Season write consistently about cruising.
Tour Operators – How about rotating your blog posts based on your top selling destinations. Make sure to use tags and categories so that readers can easily find information specific to the destination they’d like to see.
Destinations – Consider rotating your posts based on activities that appeal to a variety of demographics. Foodies, adventure seekers, wine lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, art lovers, etc. Look outside your organization for guest bloggers who specialize in a niche market and have a base of raving enthusiasts.
#2: Work from an outline
Your outline will ensure you stay within the magical word count of 200-500 words. Tip: Add photos … you know what they say. “A photo is worth 1000 words”
#3: Market your blog socially
Travel Consultants –your blog is the perfect vehicle to boost your credibility. Gain new eyeballs and potential new clients by marketing your blog on your social sites as well as on blog directories. Check out Technorati, AllTop, Bloggeries, Blog Catalog, Trail of Ants.
Tour Operators – Blog posts can be repurposed from your brochure and itinerary content. Then recycle thw great content you’ve written as a newsletter or e-blast.
Answer: Both are FACTS!
Leverage your blog to be a marketing asset to showcase your credibility and boost your revenues.
Happy Blogging! Enjoy the infographic below.
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Other posts you may want to read:
30 + 3 Proactive Promotional Tips for your Blog
5 Key Blog Marketing Tactics
By Catherine Heeg
Tags: blog, blogging, Facebook, facebookfans, Facebookmarketing, marketing, marketingplan, nichemarket, sales, salestips, Selling, social engagement, Social Media, tourism industry, tourismbusiness, tourismsalestips, touroperator, tourwholesaler, travelagent, travelindustry
Posted in blogging, Branding, Facebook Marketing, Infographics, marketing, NTA, OASIS, promotion, Social Media Marketing, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Sunday, March 31st, 2013
Choosing your words wisely will help you close more sales!
Luxury Words that Sell
Travel pros: here’s a selection of words that will attract, entice and enthrall luxury clients. Imagine being able to sell more travel by simply adjusting the words you use in your conversations, blog posts, social media posts as well as your written communication.
Social Media for Travel Pros–Luxury Words that Sell!
What are your favorite luxury words?
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By Catherine Heeg
Tags: Facebook, Facebookmarketing, marketing, sales, salestips, Selling, smallbusiness, social engagement, Social Media, Words that sell
Posted in E-mail, Facebook Marketing, Google +, hotel industry, marketing, Niche Marketing, NTA, OASIS, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, March 22nd, 2013
What are you risking in your social media presence with a misstep? Reputation? Loss of the social element? Marketing socially is changing so quickly, yet we all make mistakes as we find our voice and audience. Here are 4.7 common mistakes in our industry and ways to ward them off.
freedigitalphotos.net
Mistake #4 – Social Media is Just Business
Our industry is FUN! When you create a mini-vacation for your clients on your social sites, you’ve connected and they will love you for it. Many businesses focus their posts only on their own sales, promotions and news updates while forgetting to add the personal touch, a bit of frivolous fun and whimsy.
Key takeaway: Remember to let your personality and that of your business shine thru. Give your clients the chance to indulge in their travel dreams and they’ll reward you with their loyalty and hard earned money. A general rule of thumb is that a business page is successful when relevant information from others is shared 80% of the time. The balance can be focused on selling and marketing your travel products. This means sharing links, photos, video and content from suppliers, clients and destinations. This tactic will keep your fans interested and SOCIALizing with you.
Tip: Social media platforms are conversation starters.
Key takeaway: Variety is the spice of social media. Here are some ways to keep your fans engaged
- ** Use photos of your clients enjoying their travels
- ** Upload photos of your and your staff in your office working. People like to be able to put a face behind that great voice on the phone.
- ** Polls and questions will help you understand your unique audience
- **Use humor; photos, captions, quotes
Stat: Did you know… Emoticons can increase ‘likes’ by 57% and comments by 33%.
Emoticons can increase 'likes' by 57%
3 additional social slip-up’s will follow. Stay tuned.
What slip-up’s have you recently avoided?
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Tags: Emoticons, Facebook, facebookfans, facebookpromotion, hospitality, marketing, marketingplan, Mistakes to avoid, Photos, Polls, sales, salestips, Selling, smallbusiness, social engagement, Social Media, Social slip-ups, tourism industry, tourismbusiness, tourismsalestips, touroperator, tourwholesaler, travelagent, travelindustry, video
Posted in Branding, Facebook Marketing, Google +, marketing, Mistakes to avoid, promotion, sales, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry | No Comments »
Friday, March 1st, 2013
Are you ready to add even more pizzaz to your LinkedIn profile?
Adding video to your LinkedIn Profile
In a recent webinar I hosted for travel pros the biggest question your colleagues had was how to add video and showcase their specialties and niche market. The process is quite simple and gives you the chance to stand apart while providing a unique component to your professional profile. Talk about a great branding opportunity.
Adding video to your LinkedIn profile
(Slide show below. Please note the first slide will change automatically in 4 seconds, the rest of the slides can be changed manually by clicking the forward arrow beneath the slide. This will give you a chance to complete the information on the slide before manually moving to the next slide. I wanted to be certain you have the right amount of time to capture this valuable information.)
Marketing your LinkedIn profile
** Include your LinkedIn address on all printed materials; business card, invoices, itineraries, promotional materials and social sites
** More tips on the slides below.
Where to find video for your LinkedIn profile
** Supplier videos. Tap into the resources of your top travel industry suppliers.
** For more tips please refer to the slide show below.
What tactics have you found helpful to stand out from the crowd on LinkedIn?
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By Catherine Heeg
Tags: branding, LinkedIn, marketing, marketingplan, sales, salestips, Social Media, tourism industry, tourismbusiness, tourismsalestips, touroperator, travelindustry, video
Posted in Branding, Facebook Marketing, Google +, LinkedIn, marketing, promotion, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry, Video | No Comments »
Friday, February 22nd, 2013
Travel pros are always searching for new ways to reach untapped markets.
Leverage your LinkedIn Presence
LinkedIn is the opportunity to reach new potential clients in a different channel and meet them thru a business networking situation. That’s great news for both leisure and corporate travel consultants, hoteliers that focus on both markets, as well as tour operators and receptive operators.
LinkedIn has been called the ‘red-headed step-child’ of social media. As a red-head growing up with dark haired parents, I always thought that maybe I was the step-child. When LinkedIn came along I had to check out this new ‘Red Head’. So I jumped on the band wagon and have found great connections and new ways to communicate with colleagues.
Marketing tactics
Travel consultants
Think of the possibilities of marketing yourself to distinct groups of professionals by giving them the gift of time and relaxation in their next vacation. Consider reaching small business owners and providing them expertise for their corporate travel planning.
Hoteliers
Consider LinkedIn as a way to reach out to conference planners and corporate-stay decision makers.
Tour Operators
Have you thought about maximizing your connections with industry leaders and keeping up with your suppliers.
I love the Infographic below as it brings focus to 10 ways to make the most of your social networking.
Positive Positioning Statements
My favorite tip is #2: Optimize your positioning statement. This is a critical piece of your LinkedIn success when members are searching for a skill set or expertise.
Travel pros may want to list their title as “Cruise Expert” or “Vacation Pro” to aid in search results both within LinkedIn as well as in organic internet searches.
Tour operators may find success listing their key destinations in their title. It may look like this; “New York and Washington DC inbound receptive expert”.
What successes have you found on LinkedIn?
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When you ‘like’ my Facebook page you’ll have access to Free Resources just for travel pros!
Here are other marketing articles for travel & tourism pros:
5 Creative Ways to Market your Social Presence
3 + 30 Proactive Promotional Tips for your Blog + Infographic
5 Key Blog Marketing Tactics+ Infograhic
By Catherine Heeg
Tags: hospitality, hotelsales, LinkedIn, marketingplan, Networking, sales, salestips, Selling, smallbusiness, social engagement, Social Media, tourism industry, tourismbusiness, tourismsalestips, touroperator, tourwholesaler, travelagent, travelindustry
Posted in Branding, hospitality, hotel industry, Infographics, LinkedIn, marketing, Networking, promotion, sales, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry | No Comments »
Friday, February 8th, 2013
Google +. Is it worth paying attention?
With 400 million registered users and more than 100 million active users visiting the service every month it’s hard to ignore the impact on the tourism, hospitality and travel industry.
With the introduction of Brand pages, Google+ leverages another marketing channel to connect, inspire and compel brand advocacy…plus maximize revenues and relationships.
Here are some clear reasons to get involved today!
- Hangouts. Free video conferencing is available for up to 10 other Google+ members. Tap into social interaction that can be recorded and viewed by others on demand. Imagine group planning sessions, media interaction, guest relations and internal communication all via video chats.
- Hotels consider using a Hangout with staff members from around the country.
- Attractions can use a Hangout to let sales people and tour operators know of new developments.
- Tour Operators can Hangout with key clients or group leaders.
- Circles. Similar to lists on Twitter and groups on Facebook, Circles takes you one step deeper into your marketing efforts. A business can now easily market directly to segmented audiences by sharing content only with selected Circles. Business pages can Circle other businesses, but not people…at this point in time.
- Hotels can pass along rate information only to tour operators, not their entire list of followers on Google+
- Attractions can target the drive market with promotions to geo-based Circles.
- Tour Operators can create a Circle of potential group leaders (who have a business profile on Google+) and learn what is needed to build the perfect package.
- Note: When people add you to their Circles they will always see your brand’s posts.
- SEO Ranking. Google is proven to give preference in search rankings to content shared in Google+. This means that your business is more likely to rank higher in Google searches and that ranking increases for people who have added your business into one of their Circles.
- Search. When your company is searched using “+your company name” it stands out immediately as the company logo is shown and the real estate is larger for Google+Businesses. See this example for Tauck Tours:
Searching Tauck on Google+
What do you like about Google+ brand pages?
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Tags: Google + Brand pages, Google Plus, Google+, hospitality, hotelsales, marketing, marketingplan, Networking, sales, salestips, Selling, social engagement, Social Media, tourwholesaler, travelagent, travelindustry
Posted in Branding, Google +, hospitality, hotel industry, marketing, Mobile marketing, Networking, promotion, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2013
Google+ is becoming an essential tool for the travel & tourism industry. Early adopters have shown us a path to success. Let’s explore some current best practices to maximize your presence.
Google + Best Practices
Share content about your business as well as other industry information. Research has shown that out of 9 or 10 posts 1 or 2 can be about your own business.
- Destinations can share information from hotels, restaurants and attractions to broaden their circle of influence.
- Hotels and attractions can share not only their in-house specials but local events, updates on local promotions and even video.
Comment other businesses to increase your own brands’ awareness.
- Tour Operators & Attractions can comment on a Destination update to draw attention to their own itineraries and new developments.
Photos in every post increase engagement and awareness. The space allocated to photos and videos in a post is large and clear. Focus on your Cover Photo and change it by season to highlight new events and group departures.
Profiles include clickable links and a variety of relevant sections to showcase your business. Key areas of impact are your blog, website, social sites, newsletter and on-line booking engine. Maximize the power of your key words by weaving them into all sections of your profile.
Customize the names of the Circles as well as your cover photo and logo. Stimulate reader attention to your blog, website and other social sites by creating links to each.
Icons! Add the +1 icon to your website so that people can more easily share your information.
Early adoption of new ways to socially reach more clients has been proven to uncover new business. When you harness the excitement you’ll join these companies who are already reaping the reward of early adoption. (Please note this is a brief list and I apologize if I missed your company.)
- Tour Operators: Tauck Tours, Globus Family of Brands, Explorica
- Hotels: Four Seasons, Hilton, RIU, Hyatt
- Cruiselines: Celebrity, Princess, Viking River Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruising, Carnival
- Attractions: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Callaway Gardens
- DMO’s: Visit Palm Springs, Destinations in Florida, Glacier Country Montana
What other best practices have you found helpful?
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Tags: blogging, Google+, marketing, marketingplan, Mobile marketing, Networking, sales, salestips, Selling, smallbusiness, social engagement, Social Media, tourism industry, tourismbusiness, tourismsalestips, touroperator, tourwholesaler, travelagent, travelindustry
Posted in airline industry, blogging, Branding, Facebook Marketing, Google +, marketing, Mobile marketing, promotion, sales, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry | No Comments »
Friday, January 25th, 2013
Fact or Fib? 80% of U.S. social network users prefer to connect to brands through Facebook.
Fact or Fib? Social media and blogs reach 80% of all U.S. Internet users.
Are you reaching your potential clients with your social media marketing?
Here are 5 powerful ways to reach a wider audience while drawing more fans, readers and followers to your social channels. By creatively funneling people from one channel to another you will leverage their involvement and help them become more engaged. They’ll get to know you better!
You know the saying; people buy from people they know and like. Here are some tips to develop that relationship.
#1 Blog Sharing 
Sexy Bookmarks is a great tool to encourage people to share your blog. It’s reactive and cool! When you hover over an icon it pops up! Plus you can customize which icons appear in your blog. Here’s what it looks like.
An RSS feed is a way to capture their attention with each new blog post.
Bonus tip: Once people see your blog, remind them to connect with you on your other social sites by including an invitation to connect via hyperlinks to each of your other social and web sites. See below for an example.
#2 Facebook | Blog 
Networked Blogs is an easy to set up app/tool that will automatically roll your latest blog post right to your Facebook page. Here’s what it looks like on your Facebook page.
#3 Pinterest |Facebook 
WooBox is the go-to tool ensuring that your Facebook fans have direct access to your Pinterest page. Simple to install it puts a Pinterest app front and center on your Facebook business page.
Bonus tip: Pinterest has just added Business pages. You can now change your personal Pinterest site into a business page and add your website verification that makes it easier for people to find you. When you complete this step by adding some code provided by Pinterest to your website .
Here’s what your Pinterest bio will look like.
#4 Twitter Engagement 
Have you uploaded your new Header image? Twitter has recently given us more real-estate to brand and show who we are and what we do. Here’s your chance to put a picture or graphic of your specialty, niche or latest fam destination. Remember to include links to your other social sites in your Twitter profile. Here are some great examples from our industry.
#5 Measure & Monitor 
Some of my favorite tools to learn more about when to post, fan demographics and HOT news are:
- SocialMention-track what’s being said about your top destinations, suppliers and your company
- Crowdbooster—measure and optimize your social marketing, plus tips to help you improve
- GoogleAlerts—set up a notification system to be alerted to top news on your key words
- TweetWhen – track your Twitter stats
- Facebook Page Insights—check your fan demographics and success of your posts
- Reachli—learn more about your Pinterest audience with analytics
- More of my favorites.
Fact or Fib? Both are FACTS! Gripping reasons to leverage your involvement and up your game!
For more stats please go to: http://bit.ly/W3mWet and http://bit.ly/U3QKGa
What success stories have you had marketing your social sites?
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Join me socially: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest
When you ‘like’ my Facebook page you’ll have access to Free Resources just for travel pros!
Tags: blog, blogging, Facebook, facebookfans, Facebookmarketing, facebookpromotion, hospitality, hotelsales, marketing, marketingplan, Networking, Pinterest, salestips, Selling, social engagement, Social Media, tourismbusiness, training, travelagent, travelindustry, Twitter
Posted in blogging, Facebook Marketing, hospitality, hotel industry, marketing, NACTA, National Tour Association, Networking, NTA, OASIS, Pinterest, promotion, sales, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry, Twitter | 2 Comments »
Monday, December 31st, 2012
Is anyone reading this?
Here are 3 creative ways to gain more exposure and make your blog work harder for YOU!
After you’ve spent your time writing, editing and publishing now you get to market your blog. These 3 key promotional tips will immerse you in other channels to bring a wider audience to your blog posts.
Audio podcasts are perfect for commuters and travelers to have a new way to connect with you and learn from your expertise. Using audio podcasts to promote your blog will give listeners a chance to sample your style and compel them to subscribe to your written blog.
Travel pros can easily create a short audio podcast of tips you’ve gained from you last fam trip or destination presentation. Tempt, tease and titillate listeners to subscribe to your blog.
Destinations can create a story about their city for people to listen to on their commute. At the end of the audio podcast remember to direct people to your written blog for related posts.
To record an audio podcast check out Garage Band for MAC users and Audacity for PC users. You’ll record your blog and tips as an .mp3 and then upload it to your social sites and e-newsletter.
Tip: make sure to have a call to action in the audio recording inviting people to your blog site and provide them the link.
For more information on creating audio podcasts, please see my blog post filled with how-to information and listen to my podcasts here
#2 – Video Podcasts
Video is quickly becoming the way of the world. You-Tube is now the 2nd largest search engine garnering over 800 million unique users each month. Leverage this success and market your blog in a video giving people a preview of your latest or most popular blog posts. Then make sure to turn your next blog post into a video podcast.
Travel Consultants & Tour Operators; how about taking video of yourself in your top destination? This gives you the perfect venue to showcase your expertise and show (not just tell) people why they want to travel and why they want to book with you!
To spice up your blog marketing video you can interview others while in a destination. How about interviewing the ship’s captain, your favorite waiter, your contact at the CVB or other supplier.
Have you considered doing a brief interview with your DSM after a destination presentation or training session?
This interview can be embedded into your next blog post or stand alone as a video on your You-Tube channel. When recording the video don’t forget to provide the link to your blog site so that people can engage with you on one more channel.
Tip: When recording with your phone or digital recorder you may want to consider placing your camera on a tri-pod or stable surface and editing where necessary.
#3 – E-book
Get more bang for your blog by turning a series of blog posts into an e-book. This e-book will then become a give-away at trade and consumer shows as well as an on-line giveaway to your fans and potential clients. Some people have added e-books to their selection of items for sale in their on-line travel store.
Imagine an e-book featuring each destination, ship or city you’ve visited. Think of the marketing possibilities. What better way to capture more subscribers for your written blog.
Tip: When creating your e-book make sure readers know how to find your blog so they can engage with you on a regular basis.
Below are 30 more ways to promote your blog. Check out the cool infographic!
What else are you doing to gain more eyeballs for your hard work and research?
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Source: http://marketingland.com/infographic-how-to-promote-your-blog-posts-24579
Tags: audio podcasting, blog, blogging, Facebook, Facebookmarketing, facebookpromotion, marketing, marketingplan, Mobile marketing, Podcasting, Podcasts, sales, salestips, Selling, social engagement, tourism industry, tourismbusiness, tourismsalestips, touroperator, tourwholesaler, travelagent, travelindustry
Posted in blogging, Branding, hotel industry, marketing, National Tour Association, NTA, OASIS, promotion, Social Media Marketing, strategy, tourism industry, Tourism Sales Tips, Travel Consultant, travel industry, Video | No Comments »
