How to Improve Your Tourism Business’s Social Media

How to Improve Your Tourism Business’s Social Media

Social media can play a crucial role in your tourism business’s marketing strategy. This is seen through the many ways a person can research a hotel, activity, or restaurant before going on a trip. In recent years, we’ve seen social media become an integral part in digital marketing, forever transforming the way people decide and consume.

In the tourism industry especially, social media can account for a considerable portion of your business’s marketing strategy. With that being said, it is crucial to leverage your social media presence and to begin utilizing your platforms to convert leads. If your business is still not on Instagram or Facebook, it is time to level up and start creating.

Here is a list of the most effective social media strategies to improve your tourism business’s online presence:

1. Create engaging content.

Your goal when creating a piece of content should not just be to rank highly on search engines. Instead, you should aim to connect with your target audience. Creating content that your ideal customer can relate to may be the most important thing you can do to attract more buyers.

Try to invest in your visuals. Tourism is undoubtedly a visual experience. Posting high-quality photos that spread a fun and enjoyable message is a sure way to capture the hearts of potential customers.

Lastly, focus on sharing user-generated content . This will help to establish your company’s legitimacy and to build a better relationship with your audience.

2. Increase your visibility.

Increasing your visibility also increases your authority. It is important to stay active on all your social media platforms. Engage with your customers by answering questions, responding to comments, and addressing negative reviews.

Also, be aware of your company’s peak seasons. The tourism industry is oftentimes seasonal, so try to figure out the best times of the year to increase your visibility and when to be more active on your social channels.

3. Organize contests and promotions.

Giveaways are not new, but they are still just as relevant and as effective today as when they debuted. Organizing giveaways, contests, and promotions is an excellent strategy to engage with users and to attract more customers. This is a fun way to entertain your visitors while increasing your reach and gaining more exposure. Contests and giveaways are also a great way to promote your business during peak seasons.

4. Incorporate videos into your content.

In the tourism industry, the power of a visual experience is limitless. It is highly beneficial to incorporate videos and footage from real customers into your content. These videos are not only entertaining, but they can help make your business seem more reliable and trustworthy.

Additionally, recent surveys have revealed that users who watched videos from a business were more likely to purchase something from what they watched, thus increasing purchasing intent and decreasing buyer anxiety.

5. Use effective hashtags.

Hashtags have been useful since the birth of social media, but only relevant hashtags will help your business increase its visibility and guarantee a real return on investment. Take the time to learn how to properly conduct hashtag research, and then create a list of the most effective hashtags for your niche. Be wise and use relevant hashtags wherever appropriate.

Leverage Your Online Presence With Our Help

Social media has transformed how we market our businesses, removing the need for traditional methods such as billboards and other paper materials. If you’d like to take your social media to the next level and begin leveraging your online presence, reach out to us for a consultation. Here at AAMP Agency , we’ve got the team, knowledge, and experience to cover all your digital marketing needs. Reach out to us today for more info!

Why (and How) Your Attraction Should Be Using Pinterest

Why (and How) Your Attraction Should Be Using Pinterest

Pinterest

When you hear “social media marketing” do you automatically jump to Facebook and Twitter? While these platforms are beasts when it comes to marketing, don’t forget about Pinterest! Yes, it is full of DIY projects people never actually finish and gross zucchini noodle recipes, but it is also a perfect platform for businesses that are in the tourism industry. According to a study conducted by Ahalogy, 67% of Pinterest users are under the age of 40 and 35% of users have a household income over 100k, meaning these households most likely have disposable income. Also, nearly 25% of pins are travel and trip planning related! If those numbers alone don’t convince you to get on Pinterest, let’s dive a little deeper into why and how you should be pinning.

Why Your Attraction Should Be On Pinterest

Longer Shelf Life and Shared Content

Your content on Pinterest will have found the fountain of eternal youth and will live on forever! Ok, maybe it's not exactly like that. However, produce high-quality, evergreen content and it will have a longer shelf life than it would on other social platforms. With the search and discovery powers of Pinterest, ideally, your pins will be shared continuously.

Referral Traffic

According to Shareaholic, around 5% of referral traffic to websites comes from Pinterest. Meaning businesses with great content on Pinterest have the ability to drive conversions and visits to their websites. To accomplish this, we highly suggest ensuring all of your pins and your website is optimized.

Planned Trips

As stated earlier, nearly 25% of pins are travel related. The days of using a travel agency are over, and Pinterest has stepped in to be everyone's personal travel agent. Pinterest has grown to be a site that is most used for trip planning, so it only makes sense that your tourism business is posting your content to the site.

How To Get Pinning

Step One – Create Your Account

Make sure all of your information is filled out correctly, and that your profile picture accurately depicts your business or is your company's logo.

Step Two – Get On Board!

After you have added your profile photo and account information, it’s time for you to start creating your Pinterest boards. We suggest creating at least three boards, and these boards will depend on your company and what you offer. Some ideas for your boards could be your tours, products or places your company loves, and blogs. One of our favorite accounts to look at for inspiration is Expedia.

Expedia's Pinterest Profile

Step Three – Put a Pin In It

When adding a “pin” make sure to use a high-quality image that has a text overlay. There are multiple dimensions that work on Pinterest, but the most suggested one is 736 x 1102 pixels. Once you load your image, make sure your post is optimized by adding a title, description, and link. Ensure there is a keyword or two in the pin, and get to posting! Remember when pinning to ensure you are using high-quality photos, and studies show that users respond more to photos without any faces in them. Also, take some time to engage with other users by commenting on highly shared pins, responding to messages, and re-pinning other users and influences.

An example of a "Pin" from Expedia

Pinterest is still a relatively new platform when it comes to digital marketing, and now is a great time to get your tourism business on it. It's perfect for spreading brand awareness, interacting with influencers, and sharing your content. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at AAMP Agency!

Top 74 Holidays in 2020 for Social Media Content

Top 74 Holidays in 2020 for Social Media Content

2020 Sparklers
Photographer: Jude Beck | Source: Unsplash

Sometimes, it can be incredibly difficult to think of new and engaging content that your followers will love. It's ok, it happens to the best of us! To break through this kind of rut, we suggest spicing things up on occasion with fun and relevant holidays! There is more than just the big ones such as Labor Day and Christmas! We're talking National Smile Day, Employee Appreciation Day, and even National Cheeseburger Day! Here are our Top 74 Holidays in 2020 for social media content.

January Holidays for Social Media

1. Wednesday, January 1st – New Year's Day

2. Thursday, January 16th – Get to Know Your Customers Day

3. Monday, January 20th – Martin Luther King Jr. Day

4. Friday, January 24th – National Compliment Day

5. Saturday, January 25th – Chinese New Year

February Holidays for Social Media

6. Sunday, February 2nd – Groundhog Day

7. Sunday, February 2nd – Super Bowl LIV

8. Sunday, February 9th – National Pizza Day

9. Friday, February 14th – Valentine's Day

10. Monday, February 17th – President's Day

11. Thursday, February 20th – Love Your Pet Day

March 2020 Holidays for Social Media

12 Friday, March 6th – National Employee Appreciation Day

13. Saturday, March 7th – National Be Heard Day

14. Sunday, March 8th – International Women's Day

15. Tuesday, March 17th – St. Patrick's Day

16. Thursday, March 19th -First Day of Spring

April 2020 Holidays for Social Media

17. Wednesday, April 1st – April Fools Day

18. Friday, April 10th – National Siblings Day

19. Saturday, April 11th – National Pet Day

20. Sunday, April 12th – Easter

21. Thursday, April 16 – National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day

22. Thursday, April 16th – Get to Know Your Customers Day

23. Wednesday, April 22nd – Earth Day

24. Tuesday, April 28th – Pay It Forward Day

May 2020 Holidays for Social Media

25. Friday, May 1st – May Day

26. Monday, May 4th – Star Wars Day

27. Tuesday, May 5th – Cinco de Mayo

28. Wednesday, May 6th – National Nurses Day

29. Sunday, May 10th – Mother's Day

30. Monday, May 25th – Memorial Day

June 2020 Holidays for Social Media

31. Monday, June 1st – National Say Something Nice Day

32. Friday, June 5th – National Donut Day

33. Monday, June 8th – National Best Friends Day

34. Saturday, June 20th – First Day of Summer

35. Sunday, June 21st – Father's Day

36. Sunday, June 21st – National Selfie Day

37. Tuesday, June 30th – Social Media Day

July 2020 Holidays for Social Media

38. Saturday, July 4th – Independence Day

39. Tuesday, July 7th – World Chocolate Day

40. Wednesday, July 15th – Give Something Away Day

41. Friday, July 17th – World Emoji Day

42. Friday, July 31st – National Mutt Day

August 2020 Holidays for Social Media

43. Sunday, August 2nd – International Day of Friendship

44. Saturday, August 8th – International Cat Day

45. Sunday, August 9th – National Book Lovers Day

46. Monday, August 10th – National Lazy Day

47. Saturday, August 15th – National Relaxation Day

48. Sunday, August 16th – National Tell A Joke Day

49. Wednesday, August 19th – World Photo Day

50. Wednesday, August 26th – National Dog Day

September 2020 Holidays for Social Media

51. Monday, September 7th – Labor Day

52. Friday, September 11th – National Day of Service & Remembrance

53. Sunday, September 13th – National Grandparents Day

54. Monday, September 21st – International Day of Peace

55. Tuesday, September 22nd – First Day of Fall

56. Tuesday, September 29th – National Coffee Day

October 2020 Holidays for Social Media

57. Friday, October 2nd – World Smile Day

58. Sunday, October 4th – National Taco Day

59. Wednesday, October 14th – National Dessert Day

60. Friday, October 16th – Bosses Day

61. Saturday, October 31st – Halloween

November 2020 Holidays for Social Media

62. Wednesday, November 11th – Veterans Day

63. Thursday, November 19th – National Entrepreneurs Day

64. Thursday, November 26th – Thanksgiving Day

65. Friday, November 27th – Black Friday

66. Saturday, November 28th – Small Business Saturday

67. Monday, November 30th – Cyber Monday

December 2020 Holidays for Social Media

68. Tuesday, December 1st – Giving Tuesday

69. Friday, December 4th – National Cookie Day

70. Thursday, December 19th – Hanukkah Begins

71. Monday, December 21st – Winter Begins

72. Thursday, December 24th – Christmas Eve

73. Friday, December 25th – Christmas Day

74. Thursday, December 31sr – New Year's Eve

Facebook Updates Your Tourism Business Needs To Know About

Facebook Updates Your Tourism Business Needs To Know About

Photographer: Alex Haney | Source: Unsplash

Right now Facebook is known for its constantly changing updates & algorithms, as well as their new shift towards transparency and user privacy. These changes affect how your tourism business’s ads run, as well as your organic reach and the way your business uses Facebook. Keep reading to find out about the Facebook updates your tourism business needs to know about!

New Business Tools in Messenger

Recently, Facebook has announced some new business tools in Messenger, which will most likely start rolling out later this year. So here is what might be available soon!

Lead Generation Tools

This tool has been in beta-testing for a while, and its an option in Messenger’s template that allows businesses to set up automated, chatbot-like experiences to quickly generate leads. Businesses will also be able to integrate CRM tools to track the leads.

Appointment Booking

Also announced earlier this year, this feature will let businesses integrated their appointment calendar through booking software with Facebook. Your business will then be able to accept appointment bookings through messenger, and its goal is to help businesses convert conversations into purchases/bookings.

Improved Event Reporting

Facebook has mentioned that this feature is on its way and will make it easier for a business using the Messenger platform to report and track conversions. This might include analytics tracking clicks, bookings, and interaction with chatbots. While we don’t have all the details yet, we’ll make sure to update you as soon as we do!

Collaborative & Monetization Features for Instagram & Facebook

Facebook will be releasing new collaborative features for their Stories platform! Which will include the following…

New Collaborative Feature

These will allow multiple accounts that are pre-selected to their own image or video to your story.

Engagement-oriented Reply Feature

This update will allow brands to create a call to action that asks users to submit their own photos and videos!

Monetization & Selling Features

This feature will allow select creators to tag products on Facebook (like on Instagram) and then sell directly.

New Video Publishing Tools

Facebook Live Rehearsals

For those that incorporate Facebook Live, at some point, Facebook will be introducing Live Rehearsals. This feature will let you broadcast your Live feed to page admins and editors only, so you can do a test run and receive feedback. There will also be a “trimming” feature, allowing Live users to cut out the beginning and end of their live replays.

As far as updates, it’s been a little slow so we’re looking forward to these new features! Check back to our blog regularly to keep up with the latest update news, as well as get destination marketing tips. If you have any questions, contact us at AAMP Agency | Adventure & Activity Marketing Pros, we’re always happy to help!

8 Tips to Make your Tourism Business Instagram-worthy

8 Tips to Make your Tourism Business Instagram-worthy

Instagram is unique from other platforms because it is highly visual, making it a great platform for tourism business or attractions. There are certain things that your business can do to make it more Instagram-worthy, and you will see more engagement! Read on to find out more!

Why Does Instagram Matter?

Instagram has over 700 million monthly users, 80% of those who follow a business on their account, meaning it’s time for your business to be on there. Instagram is also the perfect opportunity for your business to reach your audience on a more personal and transparent level!

Steps to Make your Business Insta-Worthy

Create a Business Profile

First things first – create a business profile instead of a personal account. Make sure to include your business’s name (duh), a category, and create a brief description using your keywords! Don’t forget your website and location.

Put Your Brand Personality In It

An Insta-worthy business is one that gets engagement (comments, likes, tagged in posts, etc). To do that, your business is going to need a personality! Think of it like speed dating – they stop by your profile, and if you don’t come off as interesting they never call back. So, before posting, ask yourself – what is our brand personality? Is it funny, snarky, relaxing? Whatever it is, make sure it is consistent across all of your platforms and that it’s noticeable! If you need an example of a feed with a clear brand personality look at Intrepid Travel! Their brand voice is about being adventurous, and their feed & captions reflect that.

Develop an Aesthetic

Developing an aesthetic means setting a visual standard for things you post, and it should reflect your brand personality. To develop an aesthetic, come up with a color palette that al of your posts will follow. You can also use photo planning apps such as Planoly to arrange your photos and see what looks good before posting onto Instagram.

Hashtags and Locations

Using hashtags and geo-tagging locations will allow your business to have a wider audience reach. Use hashtags and location tags in every post! This will help your Instagram page become more discoverable by users, and help you connect with relevant followers in new areas. To take it one step further, come up with your hashtag and encourage customers and followers to use it! This is also a strategy in encouraging user-generated content (Read more about UGC here & here), which will, in turn, get your business free content!

High-Quality Visuals

Instagram is a visual platform, meaning your posts need to be high-quality! To get high-quality photos and videos, think about lighting, clarity, backgrounds, etc. Check out our blog on how to take good photos to learn more. One way your tourism business or attraction can ensure quality photos is to create a photo booth, that way you can ensure good lighting and a nice background. Customers coming to your attraction will also be more inclined to take a photo and tag your account!

Diversify Content

Keep your content interesting! Don’t keep posting photos of a happy customer in front of your business/attraction, your followers will get bored and you will have a hard time getting engagement. Here are some ideas of content to add to your mix:

• Videos

• Behind the Scenes

• Employee/Tour Guide Features

• Candid photos

• Tutorials

• Tip of the Day

Engage with Customers

Your followers will be more likely to engage with you if you also engage with them! Engaging with customers can be as simple as commenting on a post they’ve tagged your business in or re-posting them. Also, if you are going to re-post a customer, make sure to tag them in your post to increase engagement!

Promote Your Business

You didn’t make a business Instagram profile just to scroll and have fun with it! Make sure that at the end of the day, you are promoting your business or attraction. However, make sure you don’t come off as too “salesy”, look for creative approaches such as giveaways, contests, discount codes and more. Also remember to include a call to action such as “Learn more”, “tap the link in our bio”, “book now” etc.

Instagram is an amazing platform for promoting your tourism business or attraction! Follow our 8 tips to make your business Insta-worthy, and you will see an increase in engagement. If you need assistance, don’t worry because that is what the AAMP Agency | Adventure & Activity Marketing Pros destination marketing experts are here for. Contact us today with your questions, and we’ll get back to you!

10 Social Media Post Ideas for Your Tourism Business or Attraction

10 Social Media Post Ideas for Your Tourism Business or Attraction

So your business is all set on social media, you’ve got your information filled out and a photo so now what? Here are 10 social media post ideas for your tourism business or attraction!

1. Customer Reviews

By posting reviews and testimonials, it’s free content but also helps build credibility and authenticity for your brand.

2. Any Awards or Press

If your business has received an award or is featured in any press articles (local magazine, buzzed listicle, etc), brag a little about it! Share this great news with your audience!

3. Local Articles or Blogs

Local news articles or blogs are more free content! Not only that, but it’s a good way to build a relationship with other businesses and your local community.

4. Exclusive Deals & Discounts

We don’t suggest that you post about your deals and discounts every day, but every other week or so is good to keep it in front of your audience’s mind.

5. Your Company’s Mission & History

Consumers like knowing about a company they support, and by talking about your mission & history you are helping build your brand and authenticity.

6. Get Engagement with Games

Post a photo and ask your audience to guess where it is, put up a Tuesday Trivia questions, and anything creative to get engagement from your social media audience. Throw in a giveaway and you will see an increase in engagement!

7. Share Your Blogs & Website

Occasionally share a blog your business wrote or links to your website. While you’re pushing out fun content, sharing a link to your website or blog helps remind your audience of what it is that you’re trying to accomplish.

8. Company News or Celebrations

Company picnic? Tour Guide of The Month? Throw it up on your feed! Your audience will notice the transparency in your business!

9. Customer Photos

User-generated content is your best friend in the tourism business. Your customers want to share their experience on social media, so ask them to tag your business to get featured. Re-post their photos and engage with their posts. This will also help build your brand and again… free content!

10. Live Feeds

Share a live feed of a portion of your tour, if your business is at a tradeshow, whatever it may be as long as you keep it interesting! Don’t just set the live feed pointed towards a crowd and let it sit there for 2 hours. If you’re doing a live feed, don’t be scared to play news anchor and hop in front of the camera to talk about what you’re currently doing, your business, etc.

The world of good content is endless, and it can be extremely difficult to keep up with. One thing we have noticed is that a majority of tourism businesses and attractions get stuck in a rut of uploading photos after photos. At AAMP Agency | Adventure & Activity Marketing Pros, we eat, live, and breath destination marketing and creating content is our game. Contact us today for any questions you may have, or if you’re ready to start growing your business!