Is this you?
You’ve got limited budget and resources and very tight deadlines. You need to work with Local Councils, Visitor Information Centres, Local, State and Federal Government , the Tourism Industry Council and then there are the operators, the people you ultimately are trying to assist.
Your job also includes “Marketing the area on Social Media” …. somebody slipped that line into your Job Specification. That stuff shouldn’t take long should it?
Well, I hear you and it’s a big ask! So how can you effectively and efficiently make a difference for your area?
Stop and breathe
Firstly, remember there are lots of other people in the Tourism industry grappling with the same issue. Secondly, decide that your are going to take action and take control (Don’t forget to consult 🙂 ) and put together a plan.
Ask yourself the following questions and if necessary do some research. Grab yourself a pen and paper and start scribbling.
- What type of products and experiences do I have in my area and who do they appeal to? You may have a product audit somewhere to help.
- What are the relative volumes of each of these these products/experiences?
- Which one of these type of products/experiences support the areas brand?
Now draw yourself a bullseye and put that product and/or experience type in the middle and add the others in the ring of the bullseye, ever decreasing in volume.
Now think about that product/experience type, what demographic does it appeal too? You can grab your areas marketing plan, who are they? young/old, etc..
Now here comes the magic!
So we know what products/experiences are in your regions “bullseye” and we know the target demographic. For example “Families” and the “Adelaide Hills”, so it’s the young and more mature adults. So in this case in my opinion that RTO should focus Instagram and Facebook if resources are limited. Another example might be a region like the “Gold Coast” with all the theme parks they might consider “Snapchat” as the most important platform.
The 80/20 rule applies
Now I’m not saying that the Adelaide Hills shouldn’t use Snapchat or the Gold Coast shouldn’t use Facebook, all I am saying if that your resources are limited, put your efforts into the platform that is likely to yield the most return.
It’s better to to do things really well, that 1/2 dozen things poorly. So target your efforts instead of using the scattergun approach. Once you’ve mastered your most profitable platform you can go back to that bullseye and tackle the next one!
I know this is a rather simplistic approach and there are different platforms used for different stages of the purchasing cycle and I know that the serious marketers could challenge this advice on many levels, but if you’re pushed for time and want to make a difference, why not give it a try?
Good luck!!
