4 Simple but Effective Digital Marketing Ideas for Travel & Tourism

The dog days of summer are upon us and vacation season is in full swing. Some of our staff are just getting back from vacations of their own and are fresh with travel-related digital marketing ideas and tips—things they’ve seen on the road, while out and about while on vacation, and online during the planning of their trips—which they’ve contributed to today’s post.

Here are four simple but effective digital marketing ideas for your travel/tourism site or destination:

Clever Use of QR Codes

A mobile strategy—mobile anything, really—is a must for travel and tourism destinations. QR codes are one of the simplest ways tourism destinations can get started with mobile. Generating custom QR codes is easy with freely available online tools like Kaywa. Your QR code can take visitors to a mobile-friendly landing page on your website, or simply point to your homepage or social media accounts.

Broadway at the Beach, a major shopping, dining and amusement complex in Myrtle Beach makes effective use of QR codes all over its premises. QR code signs can be found plastered to the windows of nearly every shop, as well as beneath the feet of visitors on its boardwalk pathways, as shown here:

Nice incorporation of social media icons, too, which lets visitors know where to look for them.

Get on Pinterest

Pinterest’s popularity has skyrocketed in recent months, to the point where Pinterest is now the third most popular social network behind Facebook and Twitter. If your destination is not already on Pinterest, you’re missing the opportunity to be seen by a lot of eyeballs—literally. Pinterest’s emphasis on sharing photos and images is a huge opportunity for travel marketers.

As pinners see photos of beautiful places, interesting attractions or other travel-related eye candy enter into their photo stream, there’s a strong likelihood they’ll re-pin the photo for others to see (the people who follow them) and they may even (hopefully) click through to your website.

Here’s a look at the Pinterest account of King’s Dominion, a major amusement park in Virginia, which pins great pictures of its rides and photos of park visitors having fun:

Text Alerts & SMS Campaigns

Many travel and tourism destinations are starting to offer SMS alerts to stay in contact with customers and provide last-minute travel updates, deals and discounts. Travellers can sign up for the alerts online by texting a designated keyword to an SMS short code. Alternatively travellers can opt in to SMS alerts and email newsletters. SMS campaigns do well when promoted offline in traditional ad spaces like on billboards, radio, and print media.

Paid mobile solutions providers like ClubTexting, Trumpia, and Textmarks offer affordable SMS campaign solutions and make the setup process relatively easy.

Content Marketing

Content marketing, which we’ve written about extensively on this blog, is critical for targeting and reaching potential travelers who may be searching for your destination. Often travelers are searching for something very specific but are unable to find a result that meets all of their criteria, leading to a lot of hopping around from site to site to find the information they need.

The average traveler is overwhelmed with choices when using search engines to research travel destinations, attractions, things to do, deals, discounts, amenities, and other travel-related queries:

This is where content marketing gives you the opportunity to provide exactly what they’re looking for. Through well-optimized, SEO-friendly content and/or supportive ad copy, you can predict the types of things travelers may be searching for and then develop compelling content to attract their eyeballs and clicks.

Content marketing shouldn’t just be limited to your own website, however. By placing content on travel-related sites, social networks, and other types of pages that are likely to rise to the top of the search results for specific queries, you’re creating opportunities for your content to be seen by potential visitors.

Related posts:

1. Travel, Tourism & Hospitality - The Challenges of Online Marketing, Tracking, & Measuring ROI
2. 5 Digital Marketing & Advertising Resolutions for 2012
3. Marketing to Digital Moms
4. Triumph of the Underdog: Digital Marketing Case Studies

1 Comment »

1. QR codes takes online marketing to another platform because it takes the market from a physical place to the internet.

     Comment by Tra — July 9, 2012 @ 2:36 pm

Leave a comment

 back to top