Successful Online Travel Marketing Campaigns

There are a variety of different ways you can reach your target audience online, especially when you use social networks. These networks can allow marketers to create fun, interesting content that can gain a lot of attention to a large audience. By keeping up with the trendiest networks, you can build successful marketing materials.

Pinterest
If you don't know what Pinterest is, basically it's a website that allows users to organize images that inspire them. Each image links to a website so users can get more information on the image. Sharing images of your attraction on a site like Pinterest is a great way to increase interest in your business. Many users collect images of places they want to visit. If your images link to your website, it can help drive traffic as well.

YouTube
If your business has videos, you should consider creating a YouTube channel. By using this website, you can keep track of how many views you have on your video and see comments from viewers. Creating videos can help show travelers all of the features and amenities your business offers. You can share these videos on your other social media networks and your website as well.

Facebook
These days, most businesses have a Facebook account. The real question is, are you using it effectively? There are so many different things you can do on this website to promote your business and engage with your fans such as uploading interesting content to offering deals and investing in advertising. Tracking your engagement with the Facebook analytic tools can give you an idea of how you are doing. What types of content do your fans interact with the most and how do you gain new likes?

Twitter
Twitter is another popular social media network you may already have. Twitter can be tricky because of the limited amount of characters you can include in your tweets. It can be easy to only post about your business on your Twitter account, however posting other relevant travel content can interest your followers and increase engagement.

What is your favorite social media networks for your business? Let me know in the comments below!

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Pricing in the Travel Industry

The prices you set for you travel business play a role in consumers decisions.  People who plan trips for their families begin saving months in advance so they can afford to do everything they want. The prices you set should reflect the industry standards but changes in price may need to be made depending on your attraction's competition. One way to motivate customers is by offering specials to help lower the costs. Listed below are three ways different ways to setup your travel discounts.

Travel Deals and Specials

By offering discounts and specials, consumers will feel that they are getting a good deal. There are a few different ways you can offer deals, especially online. You could offer deals on your website for when people go to book their trip. You could also work with local and national deal websites that offer time limited specials such as Groupon. Deals can be shared on social media networks or e-newsletters you send out. You can put a deadline on sales to influence consumers to buy now before it's too late.

Partnering with Other Attractions

When people visit a particular area, they most likely will visit multiple attractions. If possible, you can team up with other local attractions to offer deals if travelers visit both locations. Both business will help promote each other as they promote the special offers. This can benefit both your business, other attractions in the community, and the customer will appreciate the special deals. 

Reward Cards
Offering rewards to repeat customers is one way to influence these consumers to come back to your business. These can be very beneficial to businesses that have chains or multiple locations, or businesses that have a strong local travel market. Customers can earn points or get special perks for visiting your attraction a certain amount of times. There's a variety of ways you can set this up.

If you can think of other ways to incorporate deals to encourage consumers, let me know in the comments!

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Mobile Marketing in the Travel Industry

With technology always changing, mobile marketing is becoming increasingly popular. The amount of people with smartphones continues to grow which means more consumers browsing the web on the go. So how can this type of marketing benefit businesses in the travel industry? There's a variety of different ways to reach consumers through their phones along with different ways consumers can use their phones to obtain information about your business.

Search Engines
Search engines like Google are just a click away on consumers' mobile devices. They can quickly find information about travel options. By having search engine optimization in place, your business can make it's way to the top of the search results.

Email Marketing
Email is another tool that is readily available to busy consumers. If you are running an email marketing campaign, you should consider how the campaign will appear on mobile devices such as image sizes and functionality.

Mobile Website Capability
Having a website that can access on mobile devices is very important. You can create a new look and feel to your website when it's accessed on mobile devices if your website is large and hard to navigate on a phone. You can highlight the important links and simplify the pages to make the consumers experience better.

Mobile Advertising
If you plan to run advertising on mobile devices, you should be careful about the size of the ads. There are certain guidelines in place to make advertising creation successful. These guidelines can be viewed here. Interactive advertising

Social Media
Having a strong social media presence can help you gain brand awareness for mobile users who like to get on their social media networks throughout the day. By updating your networks regularly or by advertising on these sites, you can help keep your brand at the top of consumers minds.

Travel Apps and Games
Everyday new mobile applications, games, and tools are being created. From travel rating apps to travel guides and games, there are many opportunities for your business to reach consumers. If possible, you can even create your own application or game to help promote your brand. Interactive content on mobile devices can be engaging and fun for the users.

Conversion
Turning mobile users into customers can be possible with new mobile tools that allow customers to book trips on their phone or buy travel deals. By having a mobile marketing plan you can generate more leads and customers.

Mobile marketing will continue to become more advanced and popular so it's important that you business keeps up with technology so you can stay connected with your target audience. By keeping up with the latest trends, you can reach your marketing goals.

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Things To Do in the Midwest

The Midwest has some great options when it comes to traveling and there are plenty of things to do.  If you are a travel business, you have a lot of competition when it comes to convincing your customers to come to your attraction instead of somewhere else. Listed below are common things people like to do in the Midwest while traveling. When it comes to your marketing plan, you have to know how to identify the strengths and weaknesses you have over these other types of attractions. From price to family friendliness, there are many different factors that can affect consumers decisions. 

• Casinos

• Amusement parks

• Museums

• Parks/Gardens

• Swimming Pools

• Musicals/Play

• Movie Theaters

• Concerts

• Sporting Games

• Shopping Malls

• Historical Sites

• Charity Events

Where does your business fall on the list? Can you think of advantages your business has over these other types of destinations? I'd love to hear your input in the comment section below!

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