One of my go to books for knowing what to do and how to write copy that sells - and that's what some of our emails have turned into - is Ogilvy On Advertising.

Sure, it's nearly 50 years old, but in dealing with... Read More

During a recent state travel conference one of our workshops focused on trends impacting the travel industry. Here are my top 10

1) People are cautiously optimistic that the Recession is over.

2) 64% of travelers look for service providers and prefer working directly with hotels vs. Online Travel Assoc. (hotels.com, Orbitz, etc.).

3) 28% of people who travel will take a business trip.

4) 60% of people who travel look forward to getting away, because time... Read More

There are things that are cyclical. Branding seems to be one of those items. There are three things to keep in mind when discussing branding - whether it's a product, your company, personal branding (a new trend for consideration) or the destination.

1. A Brand is reputation
2. A Brand Image is perception - what people say about you (your product, destination, etc.) when you're not around
3. Branding is the practice... Read More

Strategic Plan = a process and resulting document to guide the organization. A roadmap for the leadership, staff, and committees. Some of the best plans are only a few pages. Format it to be easy to read and serve as a compelling guide.

When was the last time you read or updated your Strategic Plan. You do have one, don't you?

SOURCE: Strategic Planning Services

Social media strategies move at the speed of light. Just when you think you've got your plan down, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and the rest make a subtle (sometimes not so subtle switch) that throws a wrench into everything. Here are six things to help you remain the master of your social media strategy:

1. Document... Read More

What has worked in the past to create success is not always what will create success in the future. Don't just think outside the box. Throw the box away and never look back.

Selling the destination is all about telling a story. One that holds your customer's attention and makes the appeal of the destination so desirable, so irresistible your audience has little choice but to visit, meet, etc. Here are 5 simple steps to win the war on conversion.

1. Authority - be the expert. Know what you're talking about; not selling, no one wants to be sold. But tell the story about your destination, meeting... Read More

One of the destination's most important marketing tool is its website. Is yours cool? I mean when was the last time you revised it since it launched. Here are 8 rules to making it better.

1. Avoid auto play music and video.
2. Avoid mobile only sites - go with mobile optimization.
3. Be careful with parallax scrolling (that thing where background images move by the camera slower than foreground images, creating an... Read More

When did the "pound symbol" become redefined as a "hashtag"? Pay attention.

With the advent of Twitter, the hashtag has become a part of our daily socialization in, well, social media. And if you're using Twitter to tell your destination story, you need a plan. According to expert Lauren Dugan, "It’s easy enough to add one or two relevant hashtags to the end of a tweet – like #education, #technology, #marketing and other industry-... Read More

Have you started moving your ad budget from traditional media to on-line? Pretty smart. Travel consultant Roger Brooks suggests that at least 45% of your budget should be on-line. There's Google AdWords and Bing Ads. Your campaign is geo-targeted combined with the right keywords and ads that tell your destination story.

What about your social media strategy?

Regardless of what you may have read or... Read More