Make the Most of Social Media

When marketing your destination, social media is one of the most valuable tools you have. Simply having a Facebook page, however, doesn’t mean you’ll get the conversions you signed up for. Here are a few key features you’ll want to know as you push your message in 2017.

Interact

No matter how much your visitors love your site or attraction, no one likes to be talked at. People want to interact and be interacted with. Most social media platforms feature the ability to share content from other pages, direct message, tag and reply to them. The lingo changes from platform to platform (Facebook: Share, Twitter: Retweet, Pinterest: Repin, Instagram: Regram, etc.) but the purpose is the same: talk with and about others, and they’ll talk with and about you. Make your message a mutually beneficial conversation. It doesn’t take much to follow a relevant page with your own and tag their name when you post something you think they’ll like. They might just share it on their own page, allowing your message to reach a whole new audience.

Video & Live Stream

Consumers are increasingly responding more positively to video over text, and live-stream video is on the rise. These tools are perfect for promoting tourism experiences! Even if you don’t have video-specific social medias such as YouTube and Vine, or live-stream platforms such as Snapchat and Periscope, you can still jump on this train. Instagram recently introduced video stories much like Snapchat, and Facebook now allows you to stream live video. Since storytelling as a marketing strategy is growing rapidly, these tools are going to be extremely helpful in the coming year.

Micro-targeting

Every consumer asks the question, “What’s in it for me?” You can’t answer that unless you know your audience. When you post an ad on Facebook or other major social media platform, you have the option of targeting to an audience based on location, age range, interests and much more, so that you’re sure to reach the travelers you intend to hear your message.

These features only scratch the surface of what you can do with social media; but there is no reason to worry. Give us a call at (845) 615-9084 to schedule a tourism marketing consultation, and we’ll help you on your way!