Keep Discovering Shoulder Season Industry Toolkit by DiscoverIreland

Shoulder Season Industry Toolkit

Maximise bookings throughout autumn and winter with practical tips and free marketing assets

Exciting video content for Instagram and Facebook Stories

Social media calendar for autumn and winter

Simple, creative ways to promote your business

2023/24 EDITION

Drive more bookings this shoulder season

Imagery for shoulder season

Social shareables and frames

Assets for shoulder season

Inspiring visitors with video

Reach more visitors on DiscoverIreland.ie and VisitDublin.com

Keep Discovering Industry Assets - Our Terms and Conditions of Use

By using our Keep Discovering suite of assets and the Discovering Begins Here logo, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions of use. You must be a tourism business to be permitted to use these assets and you must only use them in accordance with the guidelines we have outlined in this Keep Discovering Industry Toolkit. The assets may be used in print and digital marketing materials, provided they follow the guidelines outlined in this Toolkit. The assets may not be used in signage, vehicular branding or packaging or merchandising of any kind including clothing and uniforms. Fáilte Ireland (who are the owners of these assets) reserves the right to withdraw the use of the assets from any ineligible business or a business that is using the assets in an inappropriate manner.

Promoting your event Checklist 04 05 06 08 09 10 13 14

Welcome to the Shoulder Season Toolkit

Over the summer months, Fáilte Ireland’s Keep Discovering marketing campaign has been inspiring Irish holidaymakers to discover more of what’s on their doorstep. As summer draws to a close, our campaign will continue to encourage domestic visitors to keep exploring our beautiful country and experience the joy of an autumn and winter break.

Our Shoulder Season Toolkit will give you all the resources and advice you need to leverage this campaign and attract more visitors during autumn and winter.

Leveraging a campaign like Keep Discovering means using it to maximum advantage for your business. With the help of this toolkit, you can experience the benefits of being part of a national campaign that runs across TV, radio, print, digital and social media.

To help your business get the most out of the shoulder season, we have included free marketing assets inside the toolkit. You’ll find festive frames for Halloween, Christmas and New Year, ready-to-go videos to promote your region on Instagram and Facebook Stories, and sample copy to refresh your newsletter and website for the upcoming season. You’ll also find handy tutorial videos to help you optimise your marketing and create engaging content that drives bookings.

Let’s get started!

Niall Tracey, Director of Demand Development Fáilte Ireland

How to use this guide

This is a digital toolkit. Throughout this guide where you see the download symbol, you can access assets and resources from the Marketing Toolbox Log in with your Ireland’s Content Pool credentials or register to create a new account. Turn to page 5 for more information.

Introduction

COVER IMAGE: SLIEVE LIAG, CO DONEGAL FINTRA BEACH, GLENEE, CO DONEGAL

Drive more bookings this shoulder season

Throughout the summer, our Keep Discovering marketing campaign inspired people to seek adventure and experience the joy of a home holiday, while simultaneously driving more bookings for tourism businesses across Ireland.

Although the upcoming shoulder season can traditionally be quieter, domestic visitors are still keen to explore, and we’re providing even more support to help your business secure bookings.

In this toolkit, we have assets and resources that you can use in your own marketing activities to help you attract even more visitors.

Let’s extend the visitor season and continue the success of Keep Discovering throughout autumn and winter.

GOOD TO KNOW

Our Keep Discovering marketing campaign aims to drive more domestic holidays. It encourages the people of Ireland to get out and explore what's on their doorstep. Learn more about the campaign on page 4 of our industry toolkit.

Our industry partner logo

This is our Keep Discovering industry partner logo. You can use it in your own marketing communications throughout the shoulder season. It's a great way to leverage our national Keep Discovering marketing campaign.

4 KEEP DISCOVERING | SHOULDER SEASON Shoulder Season

Download our industry partner logo here @GALWAYATLANTAQUARIA

Available on Ireland's Content Pool Available on the Marketing Toolbox

Imagery for the shoulder season

To help you make the most of our Keep Discovering campaign during the shoulder season, we've curated a collection of imagery you can use for free in your marketing activities.

Find lots of inspiring autumn and winter content on our Marketing Toolbox which is stocked with campaign assets to help you promote your business. Follow the steps outlined in the video below to access the platform.

Don't forget, you can also access free stock imagery on Ireland’s Content Pool. There you will find over 50,000 videos and images captured in Ireland. Click here to browse and download some fantastic imagery for your shoulder season campaigns.

GOOD TO KNOW

You can use your Ireland’s Content Pool login details to access the Marketing Toolbox for free. Click here to log in.

How to use the Marketing Toolbox

Check out this video for a step-bystep guide on how to search for and download free images, videos and more on the Marketing Toolbox. Remember, you can also check out Ireland’s Content Pool for even more images and video clips.

GOOD TO KNOW

Download our user guide for more helpful tips on how to use the Marketing Toolbox.

Social shareables and frames

Tell your audience exactly why they should visit your business during the autumn and winter season with our collection of social shareables and frames that you can use on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Give people an incentive to book using the value frames or encourage holidaymakers to plan an autumn or winter adventure with inspirational posts. You’ll also find ready-to-go assets for a selection of counties as well as Instagram Stories for every region.

County assets!

Use Our Official Hashtags

#KeepDiscovering

#DiscoverIreland

#WildAtlanticWay

#LoveDublin

#IrelandsAncientEast

#IrelandsHiddenHeartlands

Make your own social media posts with this free tool

As part of this toolkit, you can download lots of editable frames to use on social media. Check out this video for a step-by-step guide on how to customise these frames using your own images.

GOOD TO KNOW

Check out our how-to guide for helpful tips on how to find assets for your county on the Marketing Toolbox.

6 KEEP DISCOVERING | SHOULDER SEASON

Social Shareables

Download frames and posts for a selection of counties here

Value social media posts and frames

Check out the following social media posts and frames designed for autumn and winter. You can also download frames for your local regional experience brand.

 Free cancellation

 Book a Christmas getaway

 10% off

 Spooktacular deals

... and more

Download value social posts here

Download value social frames here

Inspirational posts and frames

Check out our inspirational social media posts and templates branded for the Keep Discovering campaign.

 Visit us this autumn

 Make more memories

 Wrap up and explore

 Discover your perfect winter break

 Ring in the New Year

...and more

DON’T FORGET

Click the sticker icon on Instagram Stories and search ‘Keep Discovering’ to find GIFs for your region and bring your stories to life.

Download inspirational social frames here

VIDEOS FOR STORIES!

Download inspirational social posts here

Check out our 15 second videos for Instagram and Facebook Stories. Download content for your local regional experience brand

Assets for shoulder season

As we move into Autumn, now is the perfect time to update your website, newsletter and social media channels with seasonal content. Entice visitors to make a booking with your business by combining exciting copy with our customisable assets designed for shoulder season.

Website and email copy

Email marketing is an effective way to inspire your subscribers to book during autumn and winter. With an eyecatching subject line and a compelling preheader—a preview of the email's content—you can create an email that subscribers want to open.

Download sample copy to use on your website

Social media calendar

Check out our sample social media calendar to help you create engaging content on your own channels.

Edit the copy to suit your business or region before you post.

Download our social media calendar

A great email will also drive more users to your website so make sure your content is up to date for autumn and winter with enticing copy and imagery. Download our sample copy below and check out our Email Marketing Guide for more practical advice on how to optimise your newsletter.

Download sample copy to use in your newsletter

Check out page 10 of our Keep Discovering Toolkit to get the inside scoop on the best times to post on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

8 KEEP DISCOVERING | SHOULDER SEASON REPLY From: Boutique Hotel and Spa Subject: Your autumn/winter adventure is closer than you think! Welcome to your next adventure Hi Alex, It s time to treat yourself this autumn/winter We have lots of great deals and offers right now so make the most of it and get planning. City break, weekend with friends or romantic getaway –where will your next adventure take you? Boutique Hotel & Spa, Latin Quarter, Galway, Ireland. H91 0000 +353 91 000 000 • reservations@boutique-hotel.ie UNSUBSCRIBE | PRIVACY POLICY Book now

TOP TIP

Inspiring visitors with video

If a picture paints a thousand words, video decorates the entire book. We know that visitors want to hear about all the things to see and do around your business, and video is a great way to show them. As part of our Keep Discovering campaign, we’ve made it easy for you to use our suite of inspiring videos on your own social channels.

National advertising

TV: 30 sec ad for all audiences - can be used on all channels

Instagram: 12 sec ad targeting an under 35s audience

Facebook: 12 sec ad targeting an over 35s audience

Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands

TV: 30 sec ad for all audiencescan be used on all channels

Instagram: 12 sec ad targeting an under 35s audience

Facebook: 12 sec ad targeting an over 35s audience

Wild Atlantic Way

TV: 30 sec ad for all audiencescan be used on all channels

Instagram: 12 sec ad targeting an under 35s audience

Facebook: 12 sec ad targeting an over 35s audience

GOOD TO KNOW

Consumers love video marketing, spending on average 19 hours a week watching online videos. [Wyzowl, 2022]

Dublin

TV: 30 sec ad for all audiencescan be used on all channels

Instagram: 12 sec ad targeting an under 35s audience

Facebook: 12 sec ad targeting an over 35s audience

Ireland’s Ancient East

TV: 30 sec ad for all audiencescan be used on all channels

Instagram: 12 sec ad targeting an under 35s audience

Facebook: 12 sec ad targeting an over 35s audience

Keep Discovering Video

Videos for your county

Video is a great tool to promote your tourism business. To help you attract new customers, we have included a selection of county videos for use on your own social media accounts. Find your county below, download the video and share it on Facebook or Instagram to entice new visitors.