Tourism-Targeted Marketing Strategies
The season is here! Muskoka has started buzzing, and no – I’m not talking about the mosquitos, it’s tourist season!
Many business owners in Muskoka rely on the tourism season and need to make the most of it while they can. To help you, we recommend focusing your marketing efforts on these four tourism-targeted strategies.
1. Mobile Friendly & Up-To-Date Website
Did you know that most customers search for a product or service on their mobile device before deciding to make a purchase? Potential customers look for contact details, location, recommendations and reviews to help them make a buying decision. Tourists especially rely on their mobile devices to help guide them in a new place. Because data plans are often limited, potential customers will not appreciate long load times, complicated navigation, or out of date information. If you want high impact tourism-targeted marketing, start here!
2. Up-To-Date Social Media
After a mobile-friendly website, your social media accounts should be the next priority for tourism-targeting marketing. Often coming up in search engines, potential customers searching for your product or service will gravitate toward Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for contact details, location, reviews, and up-to-date information. Pay attention to any seasonal changes in store hours, encourage user engagement, and utilize the platform to promote your seasonal specials and events.
3. Good Signage
Offline marketing is also essential. Do not forget to invest in sound quality, high impact signage. Even with Google Maps, finding a business can quickly become frustrating if there is traffic, poor visibility, or low battery! Many tourists want to “unplug” for the weekend and avoid their mobile devices, so clear signage is your next best strategy to draw them in.
4. Local Publicity
Draw even more attention to your business by getting some local publicity. Host an event, sponsor a charity or get interviewed in a feature article. Many tourists enjoy reading the local news to get a feel for the community they are visiting. Many customers choose to purchase from businesses that are making a positive impact.
Several more tourism-targeted strategies may be profitable for your business, but we suggest these are the essentials. Need help implementing these strategies? Contact us to get your business up and running for bug… um, I mean tourism season in Muskoka!