Tourist Tracker

Tourism offices and mommy bloggers may Social Media leaders by accident.

2010-06-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

Social media, networking and permission marketing are not just names but definitions. To participate at a business level it is critical to understand what these words mean. Expertise is scarce and charlatans are everywhere. If you want to engage total strangers for profit you better figure this out.

Watch Chris Brogan, and other gurus of social media, they universally admit they are learning. Spamming and frequency or bombarding you with ads or mail doesn't work. Old media is dying. My own local newspaper has gone from 900 employees to less than 300 in three years. Five local magazines have gone out of business in 7 months. Ramming sales through your door with mass marketing is so over.

Permission marketing is different. Take a look at Mommy bloggers and destination marketing organizations. Neither industry is sales driven or technical. I believe this gives them an enormous advantage. In my opinion a terrible blogger from these industries is often much better than a professional from others. Skilled participants like Visit Tampa Bay are producing profits for their partners.

I network with about 1500 hotels and destination offices on several platforms. The differences in their communications are stark. Hotels typically broadcast rate specials day in and day out. I don't know why they or perhaps you, think we care. Slick insincere advertising copy writers need not apply. Show us something we enjoy or need and say it like you mean it. Relationship building online requires frequency, accuracy and heart.

Whoever works on your social media will learn much from mommy blogs or your local tourism office. You'll find all communications gentle opportunities not screaming commercials. Model your social media dialog after these industries. You'll build better and faster networks this way. Of course you can sell online but your approach must be more of a pull than a push.

There are salesmen and computer people who are excellent social media professionals. More are neophytes with little experience. If your thinking about hiring one I suggest you look at their own personal and professional social media commitment. On the job training is too expensive. If they don't have any network followers, contacts AND (not or) friends of their own, don't hire them. That's the beauty of SM everything is out in the open.

No matter who brings you into this raging river of communication called social media, sooner is better. Email usage is leveling off as social media gains popularity. Young people don't email much; they are our very predictable future. They are also intolerant of sales pitches and robotic techno speak.

I think mommy blogs and destination sites do well because they don't really have products. Moms give help to their connections. Destinations offer fun activities not cheap hotel rooms. Study their subtle presentation method and communication techniques.

In the end, you need to be my friend if you want to do business. Mommy Bloggers and destination marketing people are great friend makers. Watch and learn...

Social Media Prospecting - A hunting we will go!

2010-04-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

As a young man I was delighted by Elmer Fudd and his constant quest for that "Wasclee Wabbit". Mr Fudd would try everything to bag Buggs Bunny. The antagonistic rabbit was always able to be somewhere else when Elmer pulled the trigger.

During my social media seminars and consultations, I have noticed similarities. Everyone in attendance is hunting for business. Like Elmer Fudd, my attendees find their "wasclee" customers elusive and hard to pin down. If you remember, Elmer tried everything. It's not funny in real life when your trying to turn a profit and nothing works.

Social Media platforms are considered "big guns" in marketing. With 408,000,000 FaceBook members, thats a reasonable assumption. Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube and the rest are valid opportunities. Why not? There are a billion computers in the world now and 3 billion mobile units. Social media taps nearly every unit in a warn and engaging manner.

Unlike cartoon characters, my clients know what to do with a customer if they see one. The part they are missing is the hunt. Expecting business from social media is kind of like 10,000 monkeys with 10,000 typwriters preparing the US Constitution in 10,000 years. Will the infinite monkey theorum work for you? Not bloodly likely!

Hunting down customers is the single most important job in business development. Everyone uses buggy whip manufacturers as a prime example of industries desroyed by progress. You must have heard somebody say they closed when cars were invented. This is simply not true, buried in examples of their demise are people selling very expensive buggy whips. A few producers hunted the world and developed a wealthy equestrian customer base. Social media is perfect for hunting if you change your thinking.

As a marketing and sales director for televsion and magazine advertising firms, my job was to "hunt" prospects. Salespeople, even the bad ones could close deals if I could get them to a modestly interested businessman. Really - even my bad sales people could sell if I got them close.

Think about your social media. Who do you contact now? Is it your mom, friends or everyone on earth that is likely to buy from you? What do you put out in Tweets and posts? Are you eating a ham sandwich or pointing out luxury hotel income has been up three weeks in a row to your tourism contacts?

If you want business online act like it. Some say a message mix of 80% social and 20% business is good. You can't act like a multilevel marketing piranha and expect folks to follow. Thats common sense but I disagree with the 80% social rule. Marketing in a world of permission requires focus.

Posting about your cat everyday won't build your business or your credibility. Actually, I can't think of anything you can post repeatedly and prosper. I suggest you break down the original 80% social aspect again into 80/20 with your new 80% business related. Not you, but industry information that is good.
Take the 20% and say your sick of working late again, you went to a new restaurant or your cat gives your boss the heebe-jeebees. Go very personal very seldom, do it to add dimension to your presentation. Sell your own product rarely and when you do be serious.

All of this is preparing for your hunt. You can't hunt elephants with a BB gun and you can't hunt customers with inane drivel. Loading up on good information sets the stage for increased attention from your target audience.

I started hunting tourism organizations two years ago. I didn't take long to realize hotels have great influence with these offices. Soon I was hunting hotels. I friend, connect or follow them and direct them to this blog to show I'm serious.

This has been very good for me even though the market is small. Last week I did a telephone consultation for a very successful event production agency in Cananda. They found me online and liked what they saw. One of the owners sent me an email with a question. I answered. She sent me another. Eventually I told her she was almost out of free advice. We did business! I put their money in my account because of social media. They were kind enough to recommend me on Linkedin. I will use their kind words as bait. Social media puts recomendations on steroids! Imagine 22% of my blog readers will click on the link - they can't resist.

Socal media won't work unless you approach it as a hunter. "Who will buy from you", "what do they want to know" and "where are they" is key. In my seminars I point out 65% of people who use Twitter are at work. That means they have a job and a computer station. A good start if your selling vacations or cars.

Hunters know the seasons and reasons game moves. Why do people go to specific Linkedin groups or post events on Twitter? Do you know MySpace is still better to market music type offers? Learn to spot opportunity, find your proverbial waterhole in cyberspace. Learn what other hunters in your industry do on social media. Follow them and steal their contacts.

Only people who want what you have will buy your stuff. They are somewhere on Social Media. Elmer Fudd was unable to put himself on target. Can you? Marketing rules are the same for social media. Don't be confused by the technology.

I suggest content is more important than anything now. Focus your efforts there. Reward your friends and followers with value. Forget the zillions and focus on the few. You will make money!

Social Media Seminar Data Links

2010-04-09T05:13:00.000-07:00

If you attended my Space Coast, CVB seminar let me thank you again. As promised here is my data source list.

Here is a collection of really good information on social media. Certainly this is a departure from my normal bloging format. I hope you find it useful.

1. Twitter Writes Its own Success Stories by Brian Solis - In the middle of 2009, Twitter embarked upon two promising projects, each designed to increase user retention, simplify adoption and engagement, and unlock the imagination for sharing and learning as well as building communities, one follow and one tweet at a time. First, Twitter redesigned its home page to convey the ease and demonstrate the value of a new forum for micro communication. Second, Twitter introduced a 101 series of lessons aimed at businesses to help them embrace Twitter as a tool to establish good will with customers and prospects and also increase brand awareness and potentially demand and sales overall. On March 30th, Twitter rolled out a new home page to showcase trends and real-time search results. Twitter.com now also features the top tweets at any moment as well as friends, industry peers, celebrities, and relevant businesses to provide a sample flavor of Twitter.

2. Statistics on Facebook from Facebook - More than 400 million active users. 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day. More than 35 million users update their status each day. More than 60 million status updates posted each day. More than 3 billion photos uploaded to the site each month....

3. Required FTC Blogger Disclosure by Walter Olson - The most absurd part of it is the way the FTC is trying to make it okay by assuring us that they will be selective in deciding which writers on the internet to pursue. That is, they’ve deliberately made a grotesquely overbroad rule, enough to sweep so many of us into technical violations, but we’re supposed to feel soothed by the knowledge that government agents will decide who among us gets fined.

4. New Media University by Brian Solis - Co-Founder Biz Stone explained the rationale behind the creation of the guide, “Many are seeing a wide variety of businesses using Twitter in interesting ways to create value for customers and consumers. As a result, we’re often invited by businesses and organizations to talk about Twitter and how it can be used to better engage with customers. The results demonstrate how customers are getting value out of Twitter and suggest techniques businesses can employ to enhance that value.”

5. linkedin.com by quantcast - Here you get meat and potatoes demographics. Look up cities states domains whatever tyo define your Twitter opportunity.

6. Age-Gender Demographics of Facebook Users in USA by Anand - More women are into Facebook in the US than men. In the most recent study, there were over 34.3 million American men and 45.4 million American women who were registered on Facebook. Here is the percent-wise distribution (of the whole US population) in the various age categories...

7. 54% of US Internet users on Facebook, 27% on MySpace by Lee Ann Prescott - December 2009 data from comScore puts Facebook’s unique US visitor count at nearly 112 million. With a total estimated US Internet population of 205 million, that means that 54% of all Internet users are on Facebook. MySpace captured a still strong 57 million users in December — 27% of the Internet population.

8. 6 Ingredients of Successful Collaboration by Amber Naslund - Many collaborations fail before they start because the people involved aren’t sure what they’re trying to accomplish. Like many projects and processes, collaborative ones need a purpose, and a clear direction. Everyone needs to be working from the same set of sheet music, understand roles and expectations, and understand what a successful project looks like

9. 5 Elements of a Successful Facebook Fan Page by Samir Balwani - Building a large following requires a network of other platforms, working in conjunction to drive visitors to your fan page. One brand that does that well is Victoria’s Secret with their PINK line. As you can see, on their PINK landing page they have a link to their Facebook fan page and their MySpace() profile. Victoria’s Secret leverages the traffic their home page gets and pushes them to their Facebook fan page.

10. Twitter tops 10 billion tweets - It took more than three years for Twitter to reach 10 billion tweets. But thanks to rapid growth, 20 billion doesn't seem too far away.

11. How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media for Real Results by Samuel Axon - Social media can be a scary prospect for small businesses; unlike traditional marketing methods, it puts part of the message in the hands of the customers. But while it’s easy to be concerned that the message will go the wrong way, the benefits can outweigh the risks if you use the available services wisely.

12. Facebook and Twitter Making a Major Impact on Purchase Decisions by Adam Ostrow - Specifically, the study by Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies found that consumers are 67% more likely to buy from the brands they follow on Twitter, and 51% more likely to buy from a brand they follow on Facebook(). Moreover, they’re 79% more likely to recommend their Twitter() follows to a friend, and 60% more likely to do the same on Facebook:

That should be enough to get you going! If I would recomend one source it would be Mashable. They have a million followers for a reason. A few of the links above are from them.

Last let me say if you don't know how to do it and you can't find directions on You Tube you need to forget about doing it. Fan pages set-up, Building a better Linkedin profile,Twitter accounts, BBQ, folding shirts, whatever - You Tube will have a tutorial.

Promise...

adman2u@cfl.rr.com

Social Media hasn't changed rules of marketing

2010-03-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

I entered advertising as a salesman for a cable TV advertising firm in 1978. Three years later, I was stolen away by an ad agency. After BUYING advertising for 30 years, my marketing philosophy had changed almost completely. Social media is forcing this philosophical transition on everyone. I understand why Pepsi pulled out of the Super Bowl and dedicated $20,000,000 to social media last year.

Selling often reshapes a product to match a customer's needs. This results in some seemingly credible but totally phony sales pitches. Fear, sex and overstated benefits often mask sheer idiocy in product application. If you listen closely, you will find it is almost impossible to even exist in America without a SHAM WOW. Think they got the first part of the name correct? Other products are even more exaggerated.

Buying is a much different process. You do realize a cleaning cloth is not the answer to life. It gets harder as the pitch moves beyond "too good to be true" into the world of just"maybe". Even harder is the transition from personal benefit to professional asset. We know a cleaning rag won't save us, but how about a new fleet of fuel efficient vehicles, a new marketing plan or software?

New media or "social media" is hard on hucksters. Users rat out underperformers and sing high praises for good guys. Big corporations and little businesses are abandoning old fashioned, under performing advertising and embracing SM. In tough times like these, social media has become the siren song of easy money.

During a recent consultation, my client told me he was getting involved because SM was big and it was free. No Kidding - Free! It's free until you realize your time invested must be substantial if you are to turn a profit. "Really," I said. "Let's step away from the cyber-Kool-aid for a minute."

Social Media is a marathon - not a race. Tapping 400,000,000+ people on Facebook is impossible. But, get serious and you can have a pretty good following in six months. Every business needs people to sell to. Social media has people. Social media has more people than all the newspapers in America combined.

Be aware - if you don't add value to your communications or you step out of line, you will be cut off. We "social media-ites" don't care if you had a ham sandwich for lunch, but we may be fascinated if you had a delicious ham sandwich on marbled rye at a NEW deli for $8. The Kogi BBQ people have taken Twitter to a whole new business level. Make sure YOU bring something to the table.

Bring good content and reap your reward. People will listen and respond, then they will tell friends. If friends tell friends you've gone viral. That's a good thing. Most importantly. you can communicate directly with them. Catch their attention, answer their questions, deliver the goods and take their money. Back and forth messaging lets you cut through millions to reach many who will happily become your customers.

Learn demographics for each social media platform. Decide where you will focus your time instead of running willy-nilly across cyberspace begging for an order. It's easy to find information now. 1,978,891 people follow Mashable (Pete Cashmore) on Twitter for a reason. They put up valuable information every day.

Twitter has a fantastic search engine. Even their basic find people allows you to search social media. Searching produces thousands of connections and more data links than you can read - ever.

Facebook has topped Google in user popularity, scoring more hits on its home page worldwide than the giant search engine. About 27,000,000 users in the US are 18 to 25, 21,000,000 are 26 to 34 and 18,000,000 are over 45. Women dominate the platform by 65%. Every one of these "consumers" can be engaged in a two way conversation for FREE. If this demographic group is good for your business, go after it first.

I use Linkedin extensively. This platform represents 50,000,000 business professionals. I find it very helpful to reach tourism and marketing executives. This is a real relationship tool. Before I meet someone, I try to learn what they like, where they went to school and a ton of things to start a friendly open conversation. Things to close a deal are now online.

I am using Linkedin to run my intern program at Daytona State College. It forced students to learn a new platform and made it easy for executives to see their resumes and activities. Getting a job this year is going to be tough. Linkedin will help. Interns, instructors, tourism directors and I all interact in a group called Social Media Intern Program for Tourism. Everyone can keep abreast with activity updates and communicate at will. This is a permission based group, so it is easy to manage.

Social media speeds up the sales process if you take the time to learn how. I don't use my picture on my Linkedin profile because I'm so darn good looking. Heck, that would be like a Sham WOW commercial! I use it so real people know what to expect. I am what I am and I intend to prosper because of it. Get involved in social media and you can too....

LinkedIn to win for travel destinations

2009-12-01T14:22:00.000-08:00

Two years ago, social media reportedly reached 35,000 individual platforms. Reduced by attrittion, technology, and popularity, social media now has only 12,000 selections today. Experts expect this number to keep shrinking as traffic, content and useability grows.

Four platforms dominate the travel industry: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. Blogs are popular, however they require more effort to be well done.

Few DMO's are using what I consider to be the "silver bullet" of social marketing. Only one social network offers single source access to 100's or even 10's of thousands of active potiential consumers.

This asset is LinkedIn. While it's 50,000,000 user database seems small, the potiential is huge. Bigger, I think, than many other platforms. LinkedIn is for professionals not generic masses. By category or interest a Facebook user can be a consumer, but a LinkedIn connection could produce immediate access to a 100,000 consumers.

Let's consider this in a military fashion: One Twitter follower is like one Facebook friend, just one, a single, alone. Call these folks "soldiers" in your "war" for market dominance.

By sharp contrast, LinkedIn users are "generals". While Twitter and Facebook bring soldiers, LinkedIn will deliver more social media firepower. These contacts access a human army.

I have tested this twice. Yesterday, I went to my LinkedIn profile and inserted the word "canoe" in the "Find Companies" search box. I picked "Osagian Canoe," and followed links to their website. From there, I went to the "Contact Us" page and called them on the phone.

Understand this was a random phone call to a total stranger in Lebanon, MO. I requested conversation with "their web and social media guru." A very pleasant woman connected me to Jared Carr in less than a minute.

I explained to Mr. Carr that I had a theory about LinkedIn as a contact point for tourism destination marketing. I told him it was a cold call and an experiment in social media. He stayed on the line.

I told him that nearly every tourism destination in Florida advertised fishing and paddling to some extent. If he and the destination would compare notes and data it might create a powerful marketing partnership.

The more people enjoyed their canoe, the better it would be for his company. And if they enjoyed canoing in Florida, all the better for FL tourism. There is a real common interest and potiential for business at a very low or zero cost to either party. He agreed!

Jared Carr is willing to talk about a cross promotional effort for canoeing with any interested tourism destination. He has a list of paddlers to negotiate a mutually beneficial marketing relationship. Promise me you'll keep me in the loop if it works out. This is a live prospect...

There are 1963 entries for golf companies. Some are hotels trying to locate golfers on LinkedIn, but all of the major manufacturers are there. More than 20 pages of prospects. Are you trying to sell golf in your community? Are you reaching less golfers with old fashioned marketing?

Golf as an industry is in decline. It would be hard to imagine someone not willing to discuss a mutually beneficial marketing campaign. Would it help if Ping, Callaway or the Swedish Golf Federation did an email blast naming your destination? How about Tweets or friend notices for you - would that work?

Would it be possible to get a large golf shop or chain store to do a golf vacation package with you? Remember everytime somebody uses their golf equipment to create happy memories these companies make money. LinkedIn can help you make money!

Recruiting strangers on Twitter and Facebook is pretty easy. Attracting people by interest is possible. Most tourism destinations are doing some social media. A few are doing it well. LinkedIn can help you do it better.

If you offer eco-water activities, contact Mr. Carr. Together, you might create a perfect marketing partnership. I'm rooting for you! Move to the other business leaders clearly listed and easily found on LinkedIn.

Facebook and Twitter are your shotgun media, LinkedIn will be your laser. This social platform can focus your marketing efforts better than any other. If you want consumers or participants this is the way to go.

When you make the contact keep in mind that person wants to be successful too. Partnerships in travel work. Go out and get some!

"Word of Finger" replaces Word of Mouth in Travel

2009-11-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

Recently a FL tourism director asked me to define social media. I responded: "Word of mouth on steroids." Today, I've seen a better description: "Word of Finger."

My teenage daughter can type a zillion words a minute on her phone, and not one has more than 5 letters. She and her friends prefer to text. Old people (over 40) rely on emails, and while we may use spell-check and real words with many letters, it's still "word-of-finger."

For decades my ad agency client meetings covered word-of-mouth. Everyone knew it was the best marketing but the slowest. Generating conversation or buzz took a long time. If your new company was depending on word-of-mouth, you were going to starve. We could increase word-of-mouth with PR. However, none of this compares to what happens today.

Social media has put conversations about products and services in the fast lane. No, make that the jet lane. Facebook gets 500,000 new "friends" every day. Twitter "followers" increased almost 1400% last year and LinkedIn is up to 50,000,000 professionals worldwide.

Certainly there is a demographic component. The average 26-year-old goes to 4 different online or mobile locations every day for messages. Smaller businesses have embraced new media but large corporations are slow to get involved. Tourism industry professionals are vesting rapidly.

"Word-of-finger" has evolved from a single digit communication tool for obnoxious drivers to marketing products and services. While I remain aggresively old fashioned behind the wheel, I embrace this new media in our boardroom. Consider me bidigital!

My own social media experiment has been gaining momentum. I have indeed opened doors and monetized my efforts. Today, I was followed by a travel writer with 95,000 Twitter followers. Every time words flow out to his fingers, he can reach nearly 100,000 people all by himself. Could you have imagined this a year ago.

Nothing worthwhile is free and SM does have a price. There is a significant time commitment and content still rules. Here is an interesting report that comes out every month. If your DMO is not listed, send them your contact information. Click on the link to check on your peers.

Tourism organizations on Twitter are ranked

Several tourism organizations I work with using social marketing report success. Tampa is doing a great job (you will see them listed above). Some have hired outside vendors and some have increased staff. New disclosure rulings from the FCC may cause problems to outside vendors. The ball is in motion and the game is exciting.

Last week a Michigan CVB director reported booking 500 group room nights while Twitter keyword searching. I read this from a LinkedIn group I participate in.

Keep in mind that as you develop your social network, basic marketing rules still apply. It is still sales and it works better if you have a staff or an army to help you. Friends, followers and connections have replaced advertisments in magazines or newspapers.

Social media has come just in time. In FL there is not a single large daily newspaper not suffering financial difficulty. Today I sent out a list of magazines that folded in 2009. Billboard companies are desperately negotiating with destinations at extremely low rates. Our marketing world is changing.

Young people are bathing in social media. Business people are catching up. DMO's would do well to follow trends. Webinar marketing is rated as the number one source of information among business professionals. Peer rating is second. Does your destination have a webinar ready? Can your staff market to groups with an online presentation? If not - why?

"Word-of-Finger" is power. This medium is perfect for tourism and travel offices willing to invest their time and energy. I am looking forward to participating. Connect to me on LinkedIn and Twitter or be my next FaceBook "friend". Together we will learn faster...

Searching Twitter for Tourists is Easy

2009-10-23T12:13:00.000-07:00

Twitter has been a very interesting study for me. Like many of my clients, I have struggled to make sense of it. Most communications (Tweets) are so random it is hard imagine a viable business model.

If you look me up (touristtracker) you will see I am now well over a 1000 followers, most are industry specific. It has never been my goal to have a zillion followers. My interests are purely DMO and travel industry folks so I don't seek large numbers.

A DMO should have different goals. Tourism destinations need every follower they can get their cyber hooks into. People still go on vacation! Twitter has lots of people... The shotgun approach has value.

For the past month I have been experimenting with a more focused marketing approach. Twitter has search and it is fantastic.

These advanced options leave little doubt why Google offered them $500,000,000 last year. This tool will put heads in your beds. Go to twitter.search.com use advanced search options.

For the tourism destination marketing office this is a powerful tool. Twitter search allows you to seek and follow peple with an interest in activites and amenities in your area.

I typed in kayaking with a 100 mile range and was overloaded with potiential participants. These people are actively talking about kayaking. Who better to tell about your rivers and lakes than people who are talking about enjoying aquatic activities?

Next I searched music festivals (100 miles) again to be rewarded by active participants. Let me quote "One of my friends who goes to alot of music festivals knows their music". Can you work with leads like this?

Put in a zip code then select a distance. I got pages of people within 25 miles of Tampa. Apply this to an event. Suppose I wanted to bring people from Ocala, Orlando and Jacksonville to Daytona for a concert? Just go to the search engine and type in their zip codes. Follow them and your almost home. Add the word music in the words search option. This is great stuff!

Search out categories your offering to visitors and follow everyone. At least 60% of these people will follow you back just because! Start your Tweets with good topically driven content. Good Tweets will get you more followers. If you got it flaunt it - posh hotels, bike trails, beaches, shrimp festivals, horse shows whatever. Like a stone thrown in a lake your message will move out and reach interested parties.

Social Media is producing business for me and I have a very small and very specific client base. Tourism destinations should at least take a look at this. You have plenty of great things to offer and Twitter has people who want to know. I think it's a great match and in this economy the price is hard to beat too. Trust me twitter.search.com is for you...

Click here for link.

Past visitors are best market for hotels and CVB

2009-09-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

I had a most interesting conversation with a CVB Director about 6 months ago. A couple of larger hotel operators had approached him about pooling data and co-operatively marketing to past visitors. They proposed testing with about 120,000 names and addresses plus a ton of opt-in email data.

Great idea right!

Their director and his staff ran with the idea - right into a brick wall. Many hotels loved the idea but a few said they would never give up their client list. Since the DMO is tax-funded and not all members would participate, their project died.

Some property managers were unwilling to reveal their customer base. They did not feel the value offset any possibility of losing current business. A valid point, I think!

The idea intriged me. From a hotel prospective it is very cost effective. For the CVB they get increased marketing dollars. To a marketing guy like me it is new business. I love these challenges.

Eventually I reached a solution for hotel owners my DMO clients endorsed. Next I met with the GM of a property group holding 3 hotels. He suggested a few slight modifications, I agreed. He too signed on but why not?

Mathematically we can do a million messages collectively for the price of a hotel doing 100,000 pieces on it's own. This includes data scrubbing, printing, web surveys and tracking at no additional cost. Our program reduces expense from about $0.66 per piece to as low as $0.05.

Next I set out to determine how likely are these people to return. I also wanted to know if there was a point of no return on aging. How long would they respond? Price savings are a great sales tool but response is king.

Ferreting out this data took much more time than I had expected. Adding to the labor was the length of reports (Kozak 296 pages). Information spans nearly twenty years and yet it is remarkably hard to get. It is also most compelling.

The value of this target group is clear. Former visitors are 30% more likely to return to your destination as much as 5 years later. If you can get them to come back a second time they are 70% more likely to return repeatedly.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, I had forgotten how many of my friends visited Jersey Shore every summer. I have taken family trips to the Smoky Mountains 5 times in 8 years. We do different things each time. This year I got to trout fish with my 16 year old daughter. We love it. How do you vacation?

All this data came from the link below. It is an excellent paper put together by Maria Helena Pereda, a PHD student. Her reference list will get you more information than you can read in a week.

I have created a marketing program based on this research. It has been very well received in the tourism world. Our first project is coming together now and others are on line. Check the report. Pay special attention to Kozak, 2000,2001 and Oppermann 1999. Her other sources are excellent as well.

Repeat Visitors of a Tourist Destination

If your interested call me

Good News from economists

2009-09-15T08:28:00.001-07:00

Good news is always welcome. Traveling around FL, I find many property owners and DMO's expect us to stuggle past 2010.
My own community looks like a ghost town now. We hope for a winter so cold polar bears come down from the ice pack to raid villages in NY and PA. Please let it be so!
Hotel News Now takes a more reasonable approach to tourism. Their article on HIP is great.
HIP captures current conditions in the hotel industry. Five components are compiled to create a real time tracking system. Hotel Industry Pulse index went up for the second month in a row gaining 1.5% in August.
HotelNewsNow.com projects economic improvement as early as the end of this year. Lets hope they are right!
Read the whole story here.

Social Media Contest

2009-09-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Today we have our first formal meeting with Daytona State College. Over the past few months we have been roughing out a social media contest for DMO's in FL.

If you have been watching my activites over the past year you know I have been really working it! Social media has produced results for my business. A few of my clients in travel have success stories.

Involving the school has many benefits. They are anxious to participate in a real world case study. We shall share their perceptions, most of them are social media veterans. It will be exciting!

Social media is the buzz of tourism marketing. We are all just facinated by it's potential. Most are sure we can put heads in beds and promote activities, but the question is how?

A few are doing a great job, many participate and some hold back. We are about to dive into a great experiment. Will you help us create a real formula for destination marketing.

Today is our first formal meeting with our partners. Students at the Daytona State College are going to help us as part of their class activities. Everyone wants to know more.

Please add your thoughts under comments. What type of competition will help you most? What do you want us to experiment with? We plan on Twitter, FaceBook and LinkedIn to start. We have other ideas but I really want yours.

We also need a few more members of FL DMO's to serve on our advisory board. If you can do that contact me via LinkedIn or by email bill.denmark@dme411.com

If you want answers help us create the right questions. I will post data here as it unfolds.

Thanks for your input...

Bill Denmark

FL Governor's Conference on Tourism Miami

2009-08-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

I just returned from my first Governor's Conference. Last year they reported 800+ this year just 624 registered. Folks I spoke with said hotel operators were missing this year. They were missed.
Fontainebleau food was great. The presentation by Visit Florida and the speech by Governor Crist were excellent. I did however disagee strongly with their main speaker Richard Florida.
The man was well spoken, a highly esteemed author of 4 books. His manner was engaging and I liked watching him work. His premise was that diversity in a community was what we needed to improve tourism.
Mr. Florida says people come to see historic buildings and green spaces. He says they want to ride bicycles. In my own town of New Smyrna Beach they come for our beach and to ride over to Disney.
Each time our CVB spends money on historical tourism, events or bird watchers we get no return. This year they added $5,000 to a summer wine festival it turned into a free beer blast for 400 locals. They spent $5,000 on a surfing contest and beach traffic was way down from last year. Add $10,000 to a 32 year old art show and a whopping $35,000 to historical tourism in our rundown downtown, a glimpse of their marketing expertice.
None of these diversity builders did anything but reward local politicos. Our tourism is worse than ever. We are off nearly 20%. Now they are funding a Boat Week promotion. The boating industry has collapsed nationwide. I predict this diversity builder will fail too.
Losing sight of your real product is the best way to waste bed tax money. St. Augustine and Gettysburg have historical tourism not us, maybe not you.
I created a kayak race years ago, 98 boats showed up. That is an amazing success for a first time event. Sadly this group of people take great pride in not consuming - who knew? My clients spent thousands of dollars sold about 30 hamburgs and a few beers. Two contestants had driven 250 miles and were sleeping in their cars. No heads in beds here. All of the PR was useless.
Mr. Florida did a great job. I hate to disagree, but I must. His core theory was diversity is what people want and what made an economy sing. I suspect he only tuned his talk to tourism for us. So I have to ask -
If diversity is the way to sell a community and to raise all to a level of self supporting love of life. How does California work in? How is cash flow out West in the tourism and cultural diversity Mecca - the Golden State?
My advise is to ignore Mr. Florida and follow Visit Florida. Find out what people love to do (make sure they will pay for it) - invite them in.
I think everyone must experiment with their marketing budget. Just be logical and keep track of the actual return. ROI should not be hidden but embraced. Many very good events and marketing venues are available if you have actual resources.
Be careful times are tough. Avoid political events and promotions. ECHO may just be a hollow sound after you spend money for nothing - The sound of me saying "I told you so" over and over in your head...

It's not over till its over REVpar falls again

2009-08-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

Finding good news for my blog is brutal. As I travel across FL and speak to people in GA, I find we are worse off than most of the USA. Tuesday I was in a county budget meeting tourism was off -14%. Thats the good news because our "season" officially ends this weekend. School will open as the song goes - the boys of summer are gone... So is their parents money!
Average occupancy will drop like a rock. Since my own town has already lost 50% of it's restaurants and many other businesses, I shudder to think what Chrismas will be like. "Plan on socks and underwear kids"
Here is newest report on hotel occupancy from HotelNews. Six markets were up.
Read the whole story here.

Mountain of Good News from CVB's

2009-08-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

A new contact from Twitter and Linked in has generated growth for her CVB. Neha Shah, Pittsboro-Siler City CVB, reports tourism income increased 2.1% for 2008 and feels this year is good too.
Local business owners report similar experiences. Chapel Hill B&B says business doubled since 2008. He sings high praise of her CVB.
Much of the effort in this tourism office is turned towards partnership development. Several other business owners spoke highly of the staff's efforts. Clearly they are using every opportunity to grow community awareness.
Their marketing focuses closer to home and it seems to be working. Beverly Perdue announced in March that visitors to N. Carolina had spent a record of 16.9 billion dollars.
Link to all counties here.

I have seen her constant entries in social networking. Her organization works hard for the money!
Bravo Neha Shah!

Vacation marketing opportunity

2009-08-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

If I was a DMO anywhere near a JetBlue airport, I would be very happy. The carrier has announced an unlimited fare rate of $599. Anyone can fly anywhere, inside of a month. Talk about exciting promotion possibilities!
As a tourism director I would be shopping destination partners right now. I would develop a vacation package around their low rate. I' not going to look up where they really fly but only offer a concept here.
Miami for three days followed by New Orleans, followed by Las vegas followed by Denver to NYC and then back to Miami.
Jet Blue has given the wildly mobile wings, now they only need an incentive to fly and a place to perch.
Destination marketing needs all the help it can get. My perception is this adds a new angle to tourism marketing. I hope it helps put heads in your beds!
Read about JetBlue Promotion Here

Twitter takes up slack for missing media writers & reporters

2009-08-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

This is a really interesting article from BBC. It speaks to changes in the media world and the power of social networking.
Years ago, I did a newspaper column on how cell phones had killed the "float" bad movies got. Producers who generated super good trailers for super bad movies had nearly a week to make money no matter public opinion. Word of mouth used to be slow. Once everyone had a cell phone people (especially young people) would walk out of the theatre and call friends. If the movie was a stinker it died in a day or two. The industry lost it's "float" or short term profitability.
BBC article reports less reporters reviewing festival in Edinburg. Less coverage gathers less interest and less revenue. A downward spiral seen in many industries.
Travel industry professionals tell me there are less travel writers due to the constriction, even death of media. Staff cuts in a magazine 500 or 1000 miles away effect tourism. Social media allows hard working DMO's to market themselves.
Generating room nights is harder than ever. I like this article it offers new thinking - everyone in tourism should adapt.
Read the Complete Story Here

Promotions put heads in beds.

2009-08-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

Top ten trends in hotel bookings - HotelNewsNow newsletter has Brian Ferguson from Expedia in issue.
Most interesting to me was increasing room nights with promotional effort. #3 One property increased bookings 68% using 4th of July package.
While this may not be the marketing magic bullet of room night growth it's a powerful reason to get creative.
Be sure to read #6 where hotel in Tennessee increased bookings by 413%. Bet you wish it was you!
Read Whole Story Here

Brazil Hotels increasing profits

2009-08-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

Brazilian hotels hit a record for revenue per available room(revPAR) in 2008. Results came from 300 properties and reflect a four year average of 9%.
Projection are for positive groth for 2009 as well. Investors are keeping an eye on the country as 87% of the total facility count is unaffiliated with major brands or chain operations.
Read the Complete story here.

CVB Delightful! Here is a great blog

2009-07-31T13:43:00.001-07:00

Interesting line-up for DMO's using Twitter. List for top users and drop-outs. Visit Chicago is most followed and many have more than 1000 followers.
They are asking to be notified if they are missing any DMO or CVB Twitter Accounts.
Want to be on the list?
See Complete Story Here

One Country Grows Tourism Business 2009

2009-07-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here is an uphill battle with a happy ending. Guess a million times what country had an increase in happy-go-lucky people on holiday?
Throw in bombs, a tsunami and an earthquake for adventure. Indonesia is the sole survivor of the world wide tourism fall.
I really wish this article had more information. Is it a price thing? Are there sordid facts to dark to speak of or are they just doing a great job.
Read the Story Here.

Budweiser 4th of July sales reflect tourism decline

2009-07-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Budweiser people wish we were all crying in our beer. Sales revenue indicates we are choosing to not drink as much or buying other brands.When I was in college we used to call it WOS beer - Whats On Sale beer!
July 4th holiday is big beer holiday however this year - business is way off. Revenue reports in this article are telling. Loyal consumers are leaving their suds behind.
Hotels and destinations can't allow that. Guests who switch may never come back.
FACVB convetion speaker said it takes 5 years to recover from lower room rates. They suggested properties hold firm. I think if you go out of business you never recover. Before you object to lowering daily room rate read this story.
Here is a look from outside your check-in desk. Drink it in...
Read Story Here

Revenue decline in travel worst for hotels

2009-07-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a great bit of research. Revenue loss is hitting hotels harder than any other segment of the tourism / travel industry.
My conclusion is that the first thing folks give up is room luxury. I have stated many times people rarely go on vacation to rent a room. If that was true, Nebraska corn fields would be traveler friendly and hotels would outnumber tractors.
This article would suggest a partnership combining area attractions and activities with your property would be a wise move. Remind guests how cool your destination is first, you may get the booking.
Good Luck!

Travel & Social Media Increasing traffic July

2009-07-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a great write-up on trends in travel and social media. Over and over I read and experience their validity as a match. Even my own small experiments in social media come up positive.
This article should force your involvement if your a travel professional. Don't wait this bandwagon has your name on it.
Read article here.

Social Marketing Report

2009-07-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

It is always interesting (and important) to look at things from different angles. New study on social marketing by Anderson Analytics is in sharp contrast to article I posted a month ago - Twitter & Travel Seems like Salt & Pepper.
This report compares various users. Demographic information is facinating. Those of us who use Twitter are most interested in SEX! Who knew... The report covers coffee buying and income as well. For the record, I participate in LinkedIn and Twitter not others.
My take is romantic holidays should be an easy sell on Twitter. If you give it a try keep me posted.
Read Article Here:

Landing pages appeal to organic search

2009-07-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

Advertising Authority websites have proven to be great tools of commerce. Statistics indicate 55-70% of all new tourism traffic visits online first.
Still, a large portion of travelers come to destinations via other media modes. Few if any destination marketers are willing to ignore 30-45% of their new market potiential. Tourist Tracker is designed to test these media choices for effectivness.
However after consulting with the director of a FL CVB we have exposed significant marketing opportunities. With a programming modification, landing pages will capture organic web search traffic. In some cases, they may be more effective than actual destination home sites.
All Tourist Tracker "web intercepts" (or landing pages) will now be tuned to attract search engine review. Like the home pages they lead to, these entries in cyberspace act as magnets for web crawlers. Narrow page parameters work in your favor.
Take fishing as an example. When a fishing magazine ad is tested, all responsees lead through the Tourist Tracker conduit to your home page. All are counted and those surveyed will be added to your data stream. Ad testing provides accountability and political defensibility.
Beyond advertising, anyone who types "fishing" into their web browser may be directed to your landing page. Consider it a Tourist Tracker bonus! Often a landing page will appear before your home page because of search specificity. Your potiential angler/vistor asked for fishing. They did not ask for beach, attractions,festivals,boating,special room rates, air boat rides, bird watching, golf, pool and Oh-by-the-way fishing. Organic searches key in on specific topics in order to deliver relevant information. The huge content volume on a typical CVB/TDC home website can lower its ranking, landing pages improve them.
Here is a very informative link on landing pages. It has nothing to do with tourism but if your in the travel industry its worth your time.

Twitter ignored by many ad agencies

2009-07-06T07:18:00.000-07:00

Marketing companies and advertising Agencies are strangly absent in Twitter world. Can 35,000,000 twitter participants be wrong?
Personally I have successfully used Twitter to open doors and tighten relationships with potiential clients. If your here on my blog you know the whole process is a bunch of work. So far I see it as a worthwhile effort.
If Dr. Spock were to recommend social media from the far reaches of our galaxy I think he would say "Learn and prosper".
Lots of interesting data on who's - do's - and dont's of Twitter. Read article here.

NYC Tourism looking to "staycations" for business

2009-07-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

The Big Apple is holding up pretty well in this tourism recession. Travel experts Reports USA annual average -11% and I know of counties in Florida logging losses as high as 46% for a single month.
This article pins all hopes on the "staycation" Little short trips. Instate Travel here in the Sunshine State is indeed critical.
Many people are taking weekend adventures instead of long vacations. Shorter travel and shorter dollars are the norm. Here there and everywhere!
Full Story

Web based changes 101+ for regular marketing people

2009-07-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

Little Changes, Large Results; 5 Things Marketers can do now with Avinash Kaushik.
A FANTASTIC lesson for people who are not web based but web reliant. The most informative 30 minutes I have ever spent on web marketing.

Full Article

US Treasury sets luxury standard for TARP and beyond

2009-06-30T11:28:00.001-07:00

New rulings for TARP on what is or is not a luxury have been handed down. Uncle Sam or rather the US treasury Department has turned a keen eye to all things high end.
The writer speculates standards set now will reach far beyond actual TARP participation.
I agree corporate standards may be lowered to avoid the implication and bad PR of perceived "excess". High end properties may suffer greatly from this new attack sponsored by Washington DC. Industry professionals should be aware and involved.
Full Story Here:

Wall Street Journal on hidden hotel fees

2009-06-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

Wall Street Journal lists add on charges rising. Hotels inspired by success of airline industry to keep profitablility on the table. Tips, Safe fee, and minibar may be on your check.
FL Attorney General has six open investigations and recently reached settlement with Wyndham Resorts. Projection for industry vary from 10 to 17% decline this year.
Hidden fees are pretty nasty but going out of business doesn't seem a good option either!
Full Article and podcast.

Good News In Travel

2009-06-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

This article from Hotel News offers a few growth markets in world tourism. They identify six markets.
I have been traveling FL speaking to CVB's for the past four months. Only 4 are showing growth. Oddly they are almost as different as night and day.
If the four I know of have anything in common it would be an aggressive staff, willingness to change and long hours!

Bad Economy Good For You?

2009-06-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

Recession causes loyal consumers to change buying habits. Big companies lose market share as fomer buyers move to alternative offerings. Great article on the big retailers and how they are doing.
This could be the perfect environment to promote new tourism destinations. I suspect high brow vacationers will be in play all year for regular destinations.
Cater to the desires and deliver your content to put more heads in beds. Full story

20 web tune up points for CVB

2009-06-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

Great story on CVB web marketing. If I was going to argue it would be of the possability of selling or charging for web positions from area businesses. This assumes CVB has people on staff with sales training. It also assumes that the act would not unleash a political wail from nonparticipants.
I would suggest 100% or ZERO participation is best for tax funded marketing entities.
Well worth the read.

Twitter & Travel seem like Salt & Pepper

2009-06-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

Interesting article on Twitter takes a negative approach and misses the point. At least the point about travel. In fact Baby Boomers and Gen-X consumers represent the most wealthy demographic group.
I submit if this article is correct Twitter should be embraced by travel professionals.

2009-06-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

FLCVB meeting was a smach hit I'm told. Only bad news was last day when presentation about the future was doom and gloom.
Not all CVB's have lost business 4 in FL are making it happen. All very different but all hard working. All making changes.

Volusia County Travel Stats

2009-06-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

Volusia Co. Fl CVB reports tourism drops 5%. The are putting a pretty positive spin on the story. Suggest good summer season. I have to wonder if they have seen unemployment figures.

Families are strapped in FL with one of worst outlooks for jobs. I suspect this will make even interstate travel hard to come by. Folks up in Ohio and other feeder markets may stay home in record numbers.

Every destination and attraction in the world is slashing prices for cash flow.

You can view it here.

Welcome to my Blog

2009-05-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hello,

I have been in the marketing industry for 23 years. My exposure to tourism started when I was very young. My family owned and operated 3 marinas and a hotel motel complex. The business has been very good to me.

This site has been set up to explore, house, research and compare notes on tourism as an industry. Please feel free to participate in its development.

Learning is living...