Website / Blog Verses Twitter

I recently read a great quote, unfortunately I've misplaced the source but here goes:

"Make your blog/website your home base and Twitter your outpost"

That strikes me as great advice for those wondering if they should twitter or not. Twitter for kids is all about the status updates, but Twitter for business is about something else... It's about engaging customers with your product, and driving traffic to your website or to your physical store.

Your website is your archive. Twitter feeds are not archived. Facebook events are archived but in a hidden sort of fashion. So if you Tweet that your tourism operation is now serving lobster chowder, if you do not also include that on your website, only the few fellow Tweeters who read that initial Tweet will know about your new product offering.

For tourism operations, archives or history of success is important. It relates stability to new buyers. People do have (rational) fears of airlines going under, hotels closing, and travel agents closing. You must show that you are going to be operating the whole season and they will not be losing their deposit.

Websites and blogs are showcases of true passion and commitment to your operation. If there is one thing I know about tourism operators is that they are passionate. You need to express that to all who visit your site. And if your passion is waning, find someone who's passion is exploding to write the blog for you. A summer student, another employee...

I know you're busy, I know you're stretched thin, and I know you think it's going to take a lot of time. Frankly sometimes it does. Sometimes I sit for a while before I know what to blog. Sometimes it comes quite easily.

If your website and blog are functioning properly then that should lead to less repetitive emails and phone calls that require your time and energy. If your website and blog are functioning properly then your increased sales will justify hiring another part time worker and again leave you with more time and energy to put forth. It's a cycle. You just need to get started.


Twitter is like social sticky notes (another great quote that I can't take credit for). It's snack size content, a nibble to wet your appetite. Your website is the full meal deal. And it should satisfy their hunger.



So first build a great website (actually first take the Tourism Technology website mentoring session to learn how to build a great website)

Then start to Twitter

And know when to draw the Twitter line

Website revamp OR Exercise in discovering your clientele

The key to a successful website redesign is research.

Especially for Tourism Operators.

A successful tourism website has the information that the visitor is looking for... and how are you going to know what information they are interested in unless you ask them ?

Why does a Tourist visit a website?

• to confirm that they want to visit there
• confirm hours and costs
• confirm directions
• to see other people enjoying the property or attraction (validate)
• to find out what unique things they can do while visiting
• perhaps to find rules or regulations

Are you providing that kind of information?

View your website through the eyes of your target market? Is everything there that I would need to know if I was coming to the area, plus some exciting pictures and tidbits that reassure me that your destination is the best choice.

The summer is the perfect time to research your clients. Are they mainly elderly? Are they families? Ask them if they looked at your website? Ask them what they thought of it?

Then take all that information and compile it over the fall and find a developer over the holidays and have your new site launched for the new year, when visitors are just starting to scope out where they are going to spend their summer.

Trust me

1. If you don't tell your developer what you need, you'll have a nice new site but it won't fulfill the needs of your customers and you'll have wasted your money
2. If you don't get a nice new fulfilling site for next season, you've missed the boat.

Commitment

Today I thought I'd share a confession of imperfection with everyone. Copied from the ISL newsletter

Monthly Commitmentby Stephanie Lummis

You may have noticed this monthly eNewsletter has not always lived up to its billing. Mea culpa. In site is a year old and ISL is not practicing what it preaches.

It was a big step to start this eNewsletter. We planned and talked for months. We knew we were capable but realized the commitment it would take. It was this very threat that held us back. I could claim it’s a case of the shoemaker’s children - we are busy with client projects and there isn’t enough time or resources to devote to our own Internet marketing efforts.

And it is, but it’s more than that. After all we are also encouraging and advising our clients: non-profits, CPG companies and government alike, to do more of this kind of Internet marketing. The fact is it’s harder to give priority to an email newsletter – or any non-direct-revenue generating activity, such as a blog, Twitter feed or corporate Facebook page.

These activities can be at odds with sales and business development resources as they are direct revenue generators. How do you convince your organization of its value? How do you justify the investment of time and effort?

The True Value is Intrinsic Relationships – People don’t like to be "sold", preferring to come to informed decisions on their own. They are more apt to engage in advice or conversation instead of a sales pitch. It establishes a level of trust and comfort that they will have the ear of those they buy from.

Reach – These types of marketing efforts create long tentacles and expand your circle of influence. These peripheral connections are more apt to produce a customer. They have more to learn and their investment will be greater.

Goodwill – For people who know you already - clients or partners - an eNewsletter can serve as a reaffirmation of your commitment to your company and the industry as a whole.

Measured Success - This eNewsletter has been a tremendous tool for ISL. Subscribers look forward to seeing it in their inbox each month (sorry we’ve kept you waiting), and some print it off to share with their bosses and colleagues. A few articles have even been reprinted in other eNewsletters for tourism and manufacturing industries.

So while you may not be able to tie these Internet marketing efforts directly to sales, you can gauge their influence in many areas: list growth, forwards, referrals, reprints, comments, and time on site. These are all valuable measurements of success that justify the investment.

It has been one year and we’ve published 10 issues. Not how we planned it, but we remain committed and thank you for reading each month. Writing this article was just the pep talk I needed.

Roger Brooks stole my material ...

If you attended the recent TIANB conference in Caraquet, and listened to Roger Brooks (international tourism guru), then you know what I'm talking about.

Several points made by Mr Brooks, I have been telling you for the past two years. If you had taken the Tourism Technology website mentoring session prior to the conference then little bells should have been going off in your head ... "Beth mentioned the very same thing during her mentoring session"

"I guess she knows what she's talking about"

That's right folks, I'm not just a pretty face.

There's more to the session then the long winded title implies.


70% of tourism shoppers are frustrated with the online experience
80% of operators are still spending more on print, then their website (backwards!)
e-newsletters are essential
user friendly domain names are essential
have seasonal content
have updated content


It's not too late to call me for a session, and at $125, I'm way underpriced.


Beth

PS If you did take the session and haven't done anything yet, dig out that manual and get on it!

Your best home page

Your home page should state clearly, who you are and what you do.

It should relate your core business aspect in a few simple lines. Yes, it can be done.



What are the properties of some of the best home pages?

It's all about knowing your audience. When you surf the web, what pages make you feel tranquil and serene? What pages make you feel adventurous? Why do they invoke these feelings- imagery, colour selection, sounds?

Be upfront and honest about who you are targeting with your website. Grab their attention with imagery and key descriptives that relate to that demographic.



The most simplistic home page could be Google. What is Google's main product? Search. And so what is their home page comprised of? A search box. They haven't changed their core home page since they started. They've added a few buttons off to the side, and they change up their logo every now and then, but the basic core aspect stays the same. And it works for them.

A person who is interested in the latest news, and flashy ads for their home page would be more inclined to choose msn.ca or canoe.ca for their home page rather then Google.

Match your online esthetics to your audience. Your website belongs to your customer not to you!!!



Be totally awesome - not mediocre

The concept of ROBO

More learnings from the Altantic Internet Marketing conference.

ROBO - Research Online, Buy Offline

Some quick ROBO stats:

89% of buyers perform ROBO

81% of Canadians plan to perform ROBO when making their next purchase

50% of local businesses do not have a website...(or an adequate web presence)

ROBO is essentially comparison shopping. In the old days we used to drive around from store to store with a notebook to comparison shop. Or maybe we used newspaper inserts.

Today we do it online - website to website.

And instead of driving to the "shopping"district of town, we use Google to find our results for us.

No matter what your business people are looking for you online.

It's time to embrace your customers where they are. You have your own "hand picked" community out there waiting. Put your product in front of an engaged audience.

So while you may still be getting sales over the telephone, next time ask them if they checked out your website, 8.9 of 10 will have done so before they called - and that's ROBO in action.

The following are some key points from the Atlantic Internet Marketing conference keynote. (See, even though I got to go, you get the benefits - and you didn't have to sit in those chairs !)


How to make love to your client, Mike McDermont, Freshbooks.com


People are people, they don't want to be treated like a business.


Freshbooks is an online invoicing service for professionals. They have, through social media, positioned themselves as more then an accounting software firm, they are a firm that is in the experience delivery business.


Aren't we all in the experience delivery business?


Consumers talk about their experiences - good or bad. And as tourism operators we would hope for it to be all good !


You can use social media to get to know your customers - just like we used the 1-800 number to get them to call us, we can leverage social media to find out what they want to see, and what they really think.


You can use social media to DRIVE the one on one communication.


Social media, for example Trip Advisor, allows you to "track" the coffee table conversation. People used to take a vacation and then go home and complain to their families, their neighbours and perhaps their co-workers...around the coffee table. Now people take a vacation and go home, get online and complain to the WORLD...around the social media table.


The web is a word of mouth machine !


You can leverage negative Trip Advisor comments into positive ones. Respond in a positive way, let other viewers know the proposed resolution.


Every product can be reinvented


That's assuming you'll ever get a negative comment, 95% of the WWW comments are positive ones. And savvy users can tell a true negative comment from one that's a result of an impossible customer.


Take the negative comments under advisement and reinvent your product if need be. Just like the new Triscuit with addition of rosemary, your B&B can with a bit of revamp, suddenly become the hot spot of the Maritimes.

Google External Keyword Tool

The Google External Keyword Tool will help business owners understand how their audience searches for them. And it will help you utilitze negative kewords - for example eliminating those who are searching for a free vacation, you're not interested in people conducting those kinds of searches.

While I normally tell my session participants to have an expert run their keyword campaigns and SEO (search engine optimization) there are a few of you who handle it yourselves.

I've only taken a passing glance at the tool but like all Google tools, it's easy to use, free and has lots of help features.

Like I preach in my sessions - repetitive content is key to natural search engine ranking, and this tool can help you find your meta data keywords and your content keywords.

So if you're stuck on keywords, give this tool a try.

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Conferences

Just a heads up about two Conferences you may want to attend:

Firstly, the annual TIANB conference is coming up, early bird registration ends April 17 (save over $100). We are having TWO Tourism Gurus this year, Joe Pine and Roger Brooks. This conference is value for your money. May 22 in Caraquet. Visit http://www.tianb.com/ for more information.

Second, the Atlantic Internet Marketing conference will be next week in Halifax. I will be attending along with my other tourismtechnology.com counterparts. While not geared to tourism specifically, it's a great broad base of information and local contacts to help you generate the most out of your website and blog. http://www.aimconference.com/

Just get the job done.

This week's post is dedicated to procrastination and doing those things which you do not like to do.

I'm generally pro technology, and bubbly smiley about websites. However I get the feeling that not all people are like that ... imagine.

Imagine not being at one with your computer, imagine not being in total sync with MS office products ... I shudder at the thought.

So I have a confession.

I dislike to exercise. I loath it the way most of you loath checking and composing email. Not just general loathing, but a deep deep psychological loathing of lactic acid pain.

But for the past two weeks I've been on the exercise bike and drinking at least one glass of water EVERY DAY. And that includes Saturdays and Sundays. In fact I'm sitting at work right now with my water and drinking that bland ol' H2O as I type.

So if I can make the effort to Exercise, You can make an effort with your website !

Start like I did, with a small goal, and just keep at it. Set up a time of day, and stick to the routine.



There are two main factors in my success:

One - there is a chilled water dispenser at my office. It's right there in front of me. And chilled water is a bit tastier, so it's not to much of a hassle for me.
Two - I also own an exercise bike. It's not fancy but it does the job. And it's right in my house, so again it's not a hassle.


Look around at your technology options, are they a hassle ? If so, think about making some changes.

• If your computer is too slow, take it in for a professional "cleansing" or a few upgrade parts
• Consider buying a new computer
• Is your computer in a comfortable work area?
• If your website is a pain to update, consider getting a new one.
• Or talk to a web developer to see what can be done with the one you have.

In this market, every developer should be keen on any business, even a few hours of work. Find someone who speaks to you at a level you understand and don't be afraid to get a second opinion (or a third).

I finally started thinking in terms of the rewards, rather then the tasks. The rewards of exercise is good health, long life, better fitting clothes.... while on the beach visiting one of your fine establishments.

The rewards of a technology / website upgrade is that it will make your life easier, it will encourage you to make those frequent updates, and it will lead to increased business.