Your strongest marketing tool is right outside your front door! Whether you’re the owner of a bed & breakfast, boutique hotel, or vacation rental, people visit your area for a reason. This is what Destination Marketing is all about. If you’re not leveraging the exciting attractions, beautiful beaches, delicious restaurants, or whatever else your area has to offer, you’re leaving out a crucial piece of your marketing strategy. Sharing local knowledge with potential visitors not only builds trust; it drives bookings. Continue reading for an extensive guide to building a Destination Marketing strategy that works. If you want to know whether your marketing efforts are pointing your brand in the right direction, sign up for our free Marketing Grader!
Here’s What You Need to Know Destination Marketing
Answer Important Questions For Guests
We see many websites in the travel industry that only focus on amenities, such as a “king-size bed,” “cozy fireplace in each room,” or “free WiFi.” Listing your amenities so that they are easy to find online is important, but these websites leave guests without answers to some of their most pertinent questions. What events are happening in the area? Are there hiking trails nearby? Where can you find the best restaurants during your stay? By focusing on your area’s most enticing features, you can provide guests with thoughtful suggestions on what to do and see in your area while painting your property as the perfect place to stay. This brings traffic to your website by targeting popular keywords and using an effective SEO strategy. But it also builds trust around your brand, which makes visitors more likely to book.
Keeping Up with Changes in the Travel Industry
Everyone is suddenly a travel expert. With the rise of companies like Airbnb, many millennials want to book a complete experience. In fact, they will travel to a destination for the activities as much as they will for the amenities. In Lodging Magazine, the CEO and founder of Impulsive Group suggests that boutique hotels, bed & breakfasts, and vacation rentals can compete with this rise in alternative lodging by providing potential guests with options, convenience, and personalization.
Recent surveys reveal that millennials value experiences. They would rather spend money on an enticing event or activity than on an item. As a result, Airbnb offers local experts as tour guides to help travelers get the most out of their vacation. As the travel industry continues to change, local innkeepers and vacation rental managers must market their local expertise. Q4Launch is more than happy to evaluate your website to determine how it reflects your knowledge of the area as an innkeeper. Our team of SEO experts can even help you build a blog that drives organic website traffic!
Other Companies Shifting to Hospitality
Trusted brands like West Elm, known for their quality furniture and services, will soon offer accommodations. As a business owner, you may feel overwhelmed or intimidated trying to keep up with these companies’ large marketing budgets. To help your business grow and appeal to travelers, we can help you update and manage your digital presence.
Digital Presence
It’s important to consider the rate at which website development advances and how frequently it changes. When looking at your website, ask yourself:
- Is your site optimized for conversions?
- Does it highlight your photography?
- How prominently do you feature amenities? Location?
Explore different tools to enhance your digital presence through the use of blogging and social media. An easy-to-navigate website that provides useful, accurate information is an imperative piece of your destination marketing strategy.
Lead Generation
When travelers land on your website looking for things to do, don’t leave them empty-handed. A well-designed Vacation Guide can be the right tool to capture new leads while offering local recommendations that travelers won’t find anywhere else. Engage these leads with email campaigns to further build your brand and create opportunities for new bookings.
REACH OUT TO OUR EXPERTS TO IMPROVE YOUR STRATEGY
Digital marketing is continuously evolving. It can be next to impossible to update your strategy while running a successful business simultaneously. Luckily, our team at Q4Launch aims to help you build your business at a lightning pace. Our digital marketing experts have all the tools you need to create a marketing campaign that generates booking and drives revenue. Get in touch with us today, and take one step closer to creating the perfect Destination Marketing strategy.