Digital Marketing & Optimisation

THE CONSUMER JOURNEY

The consumer journey encompasses three main phases: pre, during and post service. It’s important to consider how the role of digital marketing can support conversion rate from researching right through to word-of-mouth recommendations.

Here's a few things to consider:

Pre Experience 
- How are people finding out about your business? 
- Have you completed your Google My Business listing?
- Are you on social media?
- Are you engaging in any paid media ads? Such as Google search ads?
- Are you online bookable so consumers can book with you 24/7?
- Is it your website consumer friendly? Meaning guests can easily what they need when they need it (like the booking button)?

During Experience
- Are there opportunities for people to stop, relax and take in the whole experience?
- Are there opportunities to take photos during the experience, maybe even a hero image that you become known for?

Post Experience
- Are you reconnecting with those customers post experience?
- Are you encouraging them to leave a review online or post to social media to inspire others?

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO)

Improving Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) will increase the likelihood of consumers looking for you or businesses like you, on search engines such as Google, organically (not via paid means).

Remember, SEO is  an ongoing process. It's simply understanding what visitors want, creating and sharing the content they're searching for, and being willing to change tactics when necessary. 

This guide is an introduction, covering the basic principles of SEO for tourism operators and comes with a checklist to support you through this process.

Our Getting Started with SEO guide and checklist, in conjunction with understanding why SEO is important for tourism brands, will help you make the right decisions when it comes to SEO for your tourism business. 

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

If there's another free tool that you should be using to promote your tourism business, it's Google My Business - Particularly when you consider almost 75% of consumers lose trust in a business with inaccurate details on their listing.

Having a Google My Business (GMB) account, allows your business to be promoted on Google Search, Google Maps and Google Trips - Helping to reach and connect with wider audiences through an up-to-date profile, posting updates, imagery, events and products, and receiving (and responding to) reviews. 

You also receive monthly insights into how audiences are engaging and interacting with your profile, helping contribute to business planning and resourcing decisions. 

You can read more on the extensive benefits in the downloadable Google My Business Fact Pack.

More information is available on how to create a Google My Business profile and leverage the available functionality to support your tourism business. 

HAVING YOUR PRODUCTS BOOKABLE ONLINE

As part of the consumer journey, we recommend considering how your business might benefit from a channel management system and how your products can be bookable online so when consumers are ready to book, no matter the time or day, they can.

GOOGLE SKILL SHOP

FACEBOOK BLUEPRINT

HUBSPOT ACADEMY

If you're looking to strengthen your skills in marketing, sales and customer service, the HubSpot Academy is a great place to learn, apply, and grow - for free!

From comprehensive certifications through to singular topic courses and bite-sized lessons, HubSpot Academy is great for new-comers through to seasoned professionals looking to grow their career and business. 

MARKETING PODCASTS

When it comes to learning in the modern day, we now have the ability to turn to high-quality and relevant, podcasts. 

We asked our team to curate a list of their favourite marketing podcasts and have listed these below to help tourism business such as yourselves! 

- Ahead of the Game by the Digital Marketing Institute: Supercharge your marketing skills and sharpen your mindset with incisive insights to get a taste of the real-life digital marketing game. 

- Rethink by Think Google: Dive into the world of marketing on an investigative journey to Rethink marketing challenges - with a little help from the most interesting and innovative minds and Google of course!

- Digital Marketing Podcast by Target Internet: A real mix of everything digital marketing brought to you in a weekly ad-free forum covering everything from interviews to latest tools, strategies and techniques to give you the edge you need. 

- Everyone Hates Marketers by Louis Grenier: The only podcast for people sick of all marketing jargon. It's reached 1M+ downloads with no ads. Great guests and content.

- The CMO Podcast with Jim Stengel: Former CMO of the largest marketer in the world (Procter & Gamble), sits down for intimate conversations with the most dynamic CMOs from all over the industry. This is not your typical marketing podcast, this is a unique look at the thought process and motivation of the CMO. 

- Call to Action by Unbounce: For those that wish to take a deep dive into digital. Covers the fundamentals of digital marketing: hear from experts on tips and tricks about conversion rate optimization, pay-per-click marketing, A/B testing, social media marketing, content marketing and more.

- Social Media Marketing with Michael Stelzner: CEO of Social Media Examiner will help you improve your social media marketing strategy: listen to success stories and current industry trends that will optimise your content.