Ideas & knowhow

Single solution to many marketing problems

Simple solution

Do you ever feel like your potential guests and visitors are just 'not getting it'?

That maybe people just don't realise how good you are, that you have the most fantastic business?

Perhaps they keep asking the same questions over and over again, or miss the point on what you have to say? 

Or maybe you're sometimes downhearted because you know you're offering a brilliant service or experience and yet you just don't seem to be able to charge the prices you'd like, or attract the visitors you want? 

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Optimise your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile

This is something you can quickly do to raise the profile of your business.

It's easier and quicker than you think so if you're been putting it off... do it now!

It's important. It's free. It's optimising your Google Business Profile - the new name for Google My Business. Don't worry about the 'optimise bit' - I'll explain. 

92% of search engine searches are on Google so it's incredibly powerful. You want your business to show up as high in the results pages as possible. You don't need any te…

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Electric Vehicle Charging Points

EV charging

Remember the days when B&Bs went from having ‘hot and cold running water in each room’ signs and then had to upgrade to full private bathrooms because the market demanded it? And then WIFI became the must-have? At some point this will happen with EV charging points… 

The following is intended to provide some links and points to consider. It does not constitute direct advice*.

Considerations:

  • Do you need to upgrade your electricity supply?
  • Have you told your insurance company you plan to…

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How to find out if you're wasting your time on the wrong social media

Wasting time on wrong social media

Are you wasting time on the wrong social media?

There’s a marketing saying, ‘fish where the fish are’. There’s no point promoting into a vacuum.

It used to be hard to know what marketing activities were actually working. Now it’s easier, particularly if you’re trying to work out how to get people to your website. There are essentially four ways people will come to your website:

1. By searching on Google & other search engines

2. By typing in your domain name

3. By foll…

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Ukraine

Ukraine

A few people have asked whether to post about the situation in Ukraine on their business pages on social media. They’ve said it feels wrong to not acknowledge what’s happening, but perhaps visitors don't expect comments about the news on tourism business accounts?

Some businesses and individuals are posting what they’re actually doing to help. This could encourage others to do something similar, and raises awareness of the issues. Some say it’s ‘virtue signalling’ and you don’t need to tell…

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Using and responding to reviews

Reviews
You’ve put everything you have into making your business as good as it can be. You’ve poured in blood, sweat, tears, money, your heart and soul. And then like a slap in the face, you suddenly get a bad review or negative feedback.
We'll deal with how you can make use of good reviews in a moment. Let's tackle the negative ones first

I’ve spoken to many tourism business owners who feel really demoralised when this happens. It’s so easy to focus on one bad review, even when all your oth…

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Marketing mind-reading

Marketing mindreader

Imagine if I tried to get you to pay money for something you'd never heard of? Would you pay? For your sake, I hope not!

Would you buy something you knew about, but didn't see how you could benefit from it? I doubt it.

Imagine now that your friend has recommended something to you. They're full of praise and you can see how great it would be for you too. You're thinking about when you can buy it, how you can get it. Your mind isn't even focusing on how much it costs - you're ready to pay what is ne…

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The power of three

power of three

If you want people to remember something, put it in a list of three.

If you want to help someone make a choice, give three options.

If you want people to feel comfortable enough to book or visit you, use three things. 

(see what I did there?!)

Three is a powerful number - very useful in marketing

Our brains like to have choices, but not to feel overwhelmed. They also like to remember information in patterns and 3 is the smallest 'pattern' for brains to find.

We grow up thinking t…

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Hashtags - why, which, where

hashtags

When you write a social media post, are you an expert sprinkler of #hashtags or are you still mystified by the random-seeming words after the # sign?

It doesn’t help that each social media channel uses hashtags in different ways. And that some guidelines and algorithms have also recently changed. Here’s a quick overview.

First of all, what are hashtags?

They’re the short words or phrases that follow the #, that help perform the sorting process to decide which posts get seen, and when. Not all…

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Pinterest predicts

Crystal ball

Do you know what your visitors will want in a couple of years' time? What their expectations will be? Have you got some ideas for how you might be able to adapt what you do to make your business more profitable? Or maybe just how to theme a room or create an activity to stimulate more demand? 

Tourism is full of trends. Over time it's possible to spot opportunities and to adapt products and services to appeal to changing markets. A little tweak to how you describe something could make a differe…

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