on the record â?–
On The Record Online Tools: Key to Marketing FOLLOWING ARE ANSWERS from Leisure Group Travel readers who responded to this question about online marketing: How are you using online tools—websites, email, social networking—to grow your business? Collette is concentrating on the “social� aspect of social media. Through our corporate blog (Traveling Well) and various Twitter accounts we are participating in the vast online travel community. Rather than focus on selfpromotion and “advertising,� we participate in discussions and point out interesting travel stories, while posting our own useful travel content. That can include everything from travel
Chocolate Tours
DeBrand Chocolatier oers tours of their kitchens as well as an elegant chocolate shoppe with gourmet desserts and specialty drinks. Call the Corporate OďŹƒce to reserve your tour today!
XXX EFCSBOE DPN t Conveniently located just a few minutes from I-69 Exit 116 on the north side of Fort Wayne, Indiana. LeisureGroupTravel.com
LArrY KOPKE
BONNiE BrOwNiNG
photo and packing tips to timely information on new escorted tours. Via this strategy, which includes a lot of listening as well as content creation, we are learning more about our clients and their needs. This will organically grow our business simply by making us a more informed organization while at the same time providing potential customers with something of value. John Geysen, Copywriter Collette Vacations Pawtucket, RI Here is how we use online tools for the AQS Quilt Shows – we produce four of the largest quilt shows in the country, with attendance ranging from 17,000 to 30,000: • Website: Hosts our show information and online registration • Email: We use email to send out our weekly OnPoint newsletter that covers a variety of topics – our quilt show, new books released, membership opportunity, magazine subscription links, free quilt patterns and quilt puzzles. • Blog: Our communication link where quilters can learn more about our shows, magazines, tips and tricks, etc. • Facebook and Twitter: Communication links back to our website and blog We have one staff member whose job it is to monitor Facebook and Twitter.
JOHN GEYSEN
Five staff members contribute to providing content for our website and blogs. It is a continual challenge to keep people up-to-date with information in this fast-paced technological world today. We are continually looking for new avenues to provide information to our consumers. Recently we just added webcasting of lectures and some special events from our events – people could subscribe to watch them live or “on demand� up to 90 days following the event. Bonnie Browning, Executive Show Director American Quilter’s Society Paducah KY Over the years, some 20 to be exact, as a small business owner I have always looked for the easiest and least expensive way to promote my business. When it was Coastal Tours a quarterly newsletter was printed and mailed to a list of about 800 tour operators and travel agents. Yes, it was expensive, but it helped sell tours. In 2006 I partnered with a number of my suppliers and we did co-op ads. The business rolled in. Just about a month ago a tour operator called and wanted to talk about one of the tours that was featured in a magazine. The magazine did have a shelf life as that was five years ago. June 2011 103