on the record ❖
On The Record How Do You Use Online Tools To Market Your Business? FOLLOWING ARE ANSWERS from Leisure Group Travel readers who responded to the question: How are you using online marketing tools—websites, email, social networking—to promote your business, capture new customers and retain loyal followers?
success with Pinterest I have had a Facebook page for my business from very early on and find it’s incredibly effective at “spreading the word” about the products and services we offer. Not only am I able to post promotional material about tours, Facebook also enables me to create a separate, dedicated “event” for each tour I do, which is invaluable when it comes to targeting specific markets. By the same token, Pinterest is a new, exciting and cost-effective way to promote. Once the buzz started to build about the site, I saw right away that it was easy to convert my sales materials to “pins” and upload them to a dedicated board for upcoming tours. I’m finding that Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter have more immediacy, not only when it comes to updating and keeping the information current, but also in terms of response. Melinda Hughey The RH Factor, Pulaski, TN
Cost-effective Facebook Ads I am using email, Facebook and my website exclusively now to market trips. I’ve found I need practically no other marketing in order to 12 June 2012
JAn & CArl COleMAn
lisA COllins
fill buses! I maintain a free website at Shutterfly, where I post trips, then ask travelers to post their photos when we get home. It serves dual purposes, by helping me to promote from a very easy platform at no charge and by providing a place for customer-generated advertising. I post every trip on Facebook multiple times and have begun buying Facebook ads as well. They are so cost-effective because I can tar-
MelinDA HUgHeY
Full Online Arsenal At Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre and Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre we use all forms of electronic media to communicate with our audiences: both groups and individuals. On our Facebook accounts, we post an entire photo album of the new show within three days after the opening so the fans can see the quality of the show as well as check in on some of their favorite performers if they have returned to perform a role. We also
It serves dual purposes, by helping me to promote from a very easy platform at no charge and by providing a place for customer-generated advertising. get my demographic, choose my maximum expenditure and pay only for those who click through the ads. So all the “viewers” who simply look but don’t click are FREE! I am starting to tweet, but I’m finding my target customers are not yet tweeting regularly so it’s not as effective. I’m sure that’s next! Lisa S. Collins, Owner Arts & Culture Tours, LLC Belpre, OH/Parkersburg, WV
post reviews of the shows as soon as they are published in the newspaper or through radio and post photos of events that we have attended with the cast. If there was a special offer to our guests, we post it on our Facebook account, and we tape each show on our preview night and create a sample video of the show and post it to the website and the Facebook account. We are also inviting the audience members each day to use their LeisureGroupTravel.com