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There will never be a better tie-in to the American Bus Association (ABA) Marketplace than what will take place in St. Louis from Jan. 10-13, 2015. Where else can you achieve the “overarching” goal to build your business than in this iconic American city?
More than 3,500 motorcoach and tour operators, suppliers and travel industry professionals will be in St. Louis for a full week of business opportunity and growth during January’s ABA event. Marketplace truly is a market-place, offering more
Have you used any of Twitter’s ad products yet? They’re a great way to get your brand in front of the most interested and receptive Twitter users. You can target specific users to increase relevancy
of your message and attract new followers, and use ads to promote events, deals and contests. You can
target interested users to sign up for your newsletter and retarget your website’s visitors to convert. Does that sound a little daunting? Here’s a process that’ll help get you started with your first Twitter ad:
Start with a goal
What do you want to accomplish with your Twitter ad campaign? This will not only keep you focused on your overall objective, but having a goal will inherently help
The Monthly Newsletter of the Missouri Division of Tourism
The Travel VanH&L Partners
A website is often the most powerful tool in a tourism organization’s tool kit. Following the implementation of an easy-to-use content management system,
the options of engaging digital strategies are
endless. However, with the sizable volume of information to share, picking and choosing the best
elements for your site can be a daunting process.
Below are three tourism-focused digital strategies to strengthen your website and drive business-building conversions.
Storytelling
Your visitors aren’t just seeking information about a specific location when they land on your website. They’re looking for an
Director’s Message
Matt Ocello, SteadyRainDigital Clarity
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August 2014
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Registration for the 2014 Missouri Governor’s Conference on Tourism is open! Go to VisitMO.com/conference for information about the conference, set for Oct. 7-9 in St. Louis. Make sure you register early (before Sept. 13) to get the discounted rate.
The 2014 Governor’s Conference on Tourism includes several top-notch speakers whose sessions on subjects such as productivity, partnerships and marketing are designed to help you and your destination succeed. Check out the tentative agenda here, and
note it will be updated frequently as the conference date draws nearer.
2014 is a year of firsts for the conference. For starters, it’s the first time we’ll hear from generational expert Hannah Ubl, who promises an engaging 90 minutes of fun and education during her session on Thursday. A millennial herself, Hannah is passionate about helping people of all ages understand one another. A graduate of Boston University (she studied advertising
Registration Is Open for Governor’s Conference on Tourism
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and environmental science), Hannah heads up the social media efforts for BridgeWorks, a consulting firm that researches generational differences on a global scale. She is an avid researcher, uncovering valuable tips and actionable solutions for multi- generational workplaces.
But the first first actually happens Tuesday, when conference attendees are invited to enjoy a Halloween-themed welcome reception (a first!) sponsored by SteadyRain. Held at The Pageant, one of St. Louis’ top concert venues, the SteadyRain event promises a fun networking option for conference attendees. A costume contest will test your creative genius; Dave & Them perform live, bringing you their take on contemporary and classic rock as well as country tunes, both old and new; and you can nosh on some of St. Louis’ favorite eats from several of the city’s famous eateries – Gooey Louie, Ted Drewes, Kakao Chocolate and many other eateries.
A full day of sessions Wednesday leads up to the annual Tourism Awards gala, where industry professionals are honored for their contributions to the tourism industry. After the gala, don’t miss the Afterglow Reception sponsored by the Madden Media team. Enjoy panoramic airport views as you sip, savor and network with your peers in the tourism industry.
Remember, check out the conference homepage at VisitMO.com/conference and be sure to join us Oct. 7-9 in St. Louis for the annual Missouri Governor’s Conference on Tourism!
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Aug. 7-17, 2014Missouri State FairSedalia, Mo.
Aug. 22-26, 2014SYTA Annual ConferenceToronto, Canada
Aug. 24-26, 2014ESTOLouisville, Ky. Sept. 3-4, 2014HSMAI MEET NationalWashington, D.C.
Sept. 16, 2014Joint Meeting Planners’ TradeshowJefferson City, Mo.
Oct. 7-9, 2014Governor’s Conference on TourismSt. Louis, Mo.
Oct. 20-22, 2014TTRA Marketing Outlook ForumAtlanta, Ga.
Nov. 10-13, 2014TEAMS ConferenceLas Vegas, Nev.
Jan. 10-13, 2015ABA MarketplaceSt. Louis, Mo.
Jan. 18-22, 2015Travel ExchangeNew Orleans, La.
April 14-16, 2015African American Travel ConferenceMerrillville, Ind.
Coming Events
Got a news item for us to include next month? Send details and contact info to: [email protected]
experience, a destination, to help them get away from their everyday lives. They want to be told a story. Kick your copywriting up a notch and pair new content with stunning visuals to weave an irresistible story. Entice your audiences to weave themselves into this story, imagining experiences of enjoying everything your organization has to offer.
Targeted Content, Triggers and Hooks
Tourism digital marketers have a tough job. They have to not only create compelling website content but also have to do it for multiple audiences. Considering specific calls-to-action and copy must be featured, marketers face the uphill battle of organizing and visually de-cluttering a website.
One potential solution is the creation of efficient audience dashboards, which marketers can
use to organize and effectively display specific, targeted content on different areas of the site.
On-site Advertising
Many tourism organizations work within a highly-connected network of partnered businesses. This allows their digital marketers to work together to promote related, but not competing, businesses as well as the area as a whole. Your website presents a unique opportunity to do just that and make your organization additional revenue in the process through on-site advertising. Your partners can choose from a variety of display ads to promote their own products and services, contributing to the overall experience of an area for website visitors. Your website plays a vital role in the success of your tourism organization. Focus on enhancing its existing elements and adding new capabilities to strengthen your digital presence and drive more conversions.
Digital Clarity Continued
ConferenceContinued
Interested in free eLearningU digital marketing webinars? Click here for more info.
Ongoing Education
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you choose your Twitter ad product. Do you have a website you’d like to drive users to visits? Use a Twitter Website Card. Are you looking to fuel lead generation? Try a Twitter Lead Generation Card. Maybe you’d like to increase your brand awareness and get more followers? Go ahead and use Twitter’s Promoted Account ad product. Remember: Have your Twitter strategy aligned with your overall marketing objective.
Define your metrics
Think about how you’ll measure success. Is it follower growth? Quality engagement? Reach? Website traffic? Conversions? Define your metrics with your goal in mind.
Determine your audience
What types of followers and customers are you seeking? Make sure you’re maximizing your return on investment by pursuing the
users you want. In Twitter’s targeting dashboard, you can key in on the right users in a number of ways: from basic (location, device, gender and language) to advanced (interest categories and even television viewing habits).
Target users already interested in your brand.
You can use tailored audiences and Twitter remarketing to seek out users who have already shown an interest in your brand. Targeting these users is as easy as adding a small snippet of code on your website. Twitter will match the users who visited the site with Twitter accounts using browser cookie IDs. Similarly, you can customize your audience using your own CRM database records and target the Twitter accounts of those in your database. Both targeting products allow you to match site visitors to Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts, resulting in a relevant, high-quality message to the user.
Develop your ad content
Twitter ad products require different copy and creative. You’ll want to include the proper calls to action, images and links. For example, a Promoted Tweet using a Lead Generation Card may require a different image and call than a Website Card based on the targeting. In one case you may be speaking to a user who has expressed interest in your brand and you’re retargeting with the goal of increasing your newsletter subscribers; in another you may be speaking to a user who is discovering your brand for the first time.
Measure, analyze, and refine
Track and measure your ad in Twitter’s analytics dashboard. There, you can analyze the performance of your ads and learn what’s working and what’s not. You may be drawing clicks on your ad but few new leads. Why? Is it the ad product or the ad itself? Make an adjustment and test and test again. #thankyou
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than 120,000 pre-scheduled appointments and 800 pre-qualified operators.
With good reason, Missouri remains a top destination for tour groups. Perhaps you have given thought to a more robust participation in this annual marketplace, but your budget does not allow for this investment.
Many of our Missouri tourism businesses have embraced this annual event and know it to be one of the best and most productive industry events of the year. But maybe you need to experience the event yourself before you determine if this offers a good ROI. We believe the upcoming marketplace in St. Louis provides an opportunity for ANY community
within the State which has an interest in group travel to participate and benefit.
Therefore, we are offering a limited number of daily individual credentials at the Missouri Booth as we welcome the travel and tourism community to the first sales conference of 2015.
The Missouri Booth in the exhibit hall will be branded utilizing the Missouri Division of Tourism logo and collateral. We can offer day registrations to share the booth space with us for the first eight Missouri Tourism DMOs or businesses that respond.
To be considered, please contact Tracy Johnson at [email protected] or by phoning 573-751-3051 by Aug. 15, 2014. While this arrangement does not give you access to the pre-scheduled
appointments, we think participating can help you gauge interest in tour groups. The experience gained by attending simply cannot be duplicated.
In addition, you will be assisting MDT as we showcase what makes Missouri, and its individual communities, ideal destinations for tour groups. If you have any questions about ABA, feel free to contact Lori Simms at [email protected].
We hope you can meet us in St. Louis!
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