Day 2 of 3: Internet Marketing and Social Media Workshop held inCooktown, Queensland, Australia for tourism operators

1. Workshop 2: Driving Business Through the Internet Blueprint for the Bush (B4B)

2. Overview Workshop 2 From last workshop – Hosting & SEO Basics Tourism and Consumer Behaviour Trends Target Markets - Experiential Marketing Website Optimisation – Photos and Video Search Engine Optimisation Pay Per Click/Action Campaigns Online Distribution/Booking

3. Overview Workshop 2 ATDW and Tourism Exchange Email Marketing Customer Relationship Management Analytics and Reporting

4. Domain Names Domain name is the address used to find your site on the internet East to recognise, not too lengthy and meaningful to the target market Reflect brand name com.au or com Use alternatives if name taken

5. Domain Names www.auda.org.au/registrars/accredited-registrars www.austdomains.com.au www.crazydomains.com.au www.cheapdomains.com.au

6. Hosting All sites must be hosted on a web server Key generating regions determine where to host – Australia Disk space Monthly traffic Number of domains Email Features Site publishing Support

7. Hosting http://hosting.webcity.com.au/hosting-starter.php www.digitalpacific.com.au/hosting/sitebuilder www.redalto.com.au/web-design.html

8. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): The Basics http://hosting.webcity.com.au/hosting-starter.php www.digitalpacific.com.au/hosting/sitebuilder www.redalto.com.au/web-design.html

9. SEO – The Basics The process of designing and updating a Web site such that it is likely to show up in organic listings for relevant user queries on popular search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. Keywords, page titles, content https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

10. Future Tourism Trends and Issues UNWTO – trends towards cultural holidays Increasing ethical scrutiny Ageing population Move to mini breaks Death of distance – localised travel Growth in numbers – emerging middle class in China and India

11. Consumer Behaviour Re-localisation Technology Social Shopping Speed and simplicity Changes in household composition Brand promiscuity Rise of intangibles Consumer identities and experiences Environmental concerns Self improvement

12. Target Markets Domestic leisure tourists who prefer touring and do more on their travels – nature – outdoors - fishing – exploring – adventure etc. – travel as couples or small groups – and they research on-line International leisure tourists (NZ or EU, USA) who are interested in niche segments – history – culture –nature – and want the Australian experience - usually self drive or tour groups – and they research on-line.

13. Experiential Marketing Global Experience Seeker: Unique, authentic experiences Aware of what destination has to offer – less receptive to NTO promotions Off the beaten track – experience lifestyles (destinations not necessarily on set tourism routes) Self discovery and education Drawn to destinations yet to be discovered Experience led campaigns attract these customers

14. Experiential Target Market Spend money to ‘experience’ life's offerings Look for a variety of experiences Have a high net worth Will spend more Are well educated Are prolific internet users

15. The seven key Australian Experiences Aboriginal Culture Nature in Australia Outback Australia Aussie Coastal Lifestyle Food and Wine Australian Major Cities Australian Journeys

16. Implications for Cooktown Promote as unique and experiential (vs. observational) – promote USP Utilise web media, WOM and brochures to connect Deliver more than photo opportunities – engaging experiences Maximise the location Allie with competitors (bundling) Back stage experiences

17. Implications for Cooktown Make sure the language in promotional activities reflect and sell the overall experience, not just a product – utilise style that is informal, relaxed, genuine and conversational in tone – emotive verbs and sensory adjectives

18. Resources http://faculty.rcoe.appstate.edu/smithtw/Craft_Minilessons/RE_3150_f02/Melissa_Craft.htm

19. Overview: Website Optimisation Visual design (consumer behaviour) Content Consistency Usability Visibility Evaluation Updating – current content Basic SEO

20. Use of Photos Images first item people see when visiting website Web is a visual medium - rich descriptions provide customers with context – read only 12% of what is written Use photos to set the scene and tell the story Experiential based Evoke emotions High/Med resolution Jpeg files http://www.images.australia.com/

21. Using Photos to Generate Conversations Format for the Web Rename your photo files Make your photo titles meaningful Enter rich descriptions Include your brand whenever possible Tag your photos with relevant keywords Link to your photos www.flickr.com

22. Making Photos Part of Your Tourism Business Increase the likelihood that your photos and pictures will benefit your brand on-line and potentially drive more traffic to your website. Terms and conditions of photo release - customers Good quality camera and familiarisation Encourage multitude of photos – before, during and after At end of day download Upload the photos as soon as possible to a photo sharing website like Flickr.com Send an email to all the customers who went on the trip to let them know that the photos are available for viewing. Make it easy for your customers to share the photos.

23. Use of Videos Should aim to convert online visitors into guests Evoke an emotive story Allow user to identify themselves with what they are watching Same principles as photos More engaging ‘Home made’ or professional - technology

24. Use of Videos Focus on people Keep the videos short Skip the fancy title screen Upload Videos to Web A.S.A.P Titles - from 75 to 120 characters. Description – 200 characters - descriptions should be detailed, utilising keywords - include the http:// as many video hosting sites will automatically convert the URL into a link. Tags: Again, be as detailed as possible utilizing top keyword phrases. You also need to include your brand, city, and topics.

25. Use of Videos www.youtube.com

26. CMS Makes it easier for people to create, edit and publish content on a website. Historically, website publishing has required significant technical skills (HTML, programming). A good CMS allows non-technical authors and editors to easily and quickly publish their content. A CMS makes it easier for you to manage who creates, edits and publishes content. Because it establishes defined publishing processes, you can allocate specific publishing rights to various individuals.

27. CMS www.lights.co.nz www.wix.com

28. SEO Find matching documents and display them according to relevance Frequent updates to documents searched and ranking algorithm Strive to produce “better”, more relevant results than competitors

29. SEO

30. SEO: Keywords Consider: Traffic – How often do people search using the keyword? Competition – How many other sites appear with this keyword? Relevancy – Is this the keyword people will use when searching for this product or service?

31. Meta Tags Essential when search engines could not access content Now meta keywords have been made somewhat obsolete Not utilised by Google to rank pages and sites

32. Submitting to Search Engines www.google.com/addurl http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit www.bing.com/docs/submit.aspx

33. SEO: Article Writing One of the most effective ways of improving your search engine rankings is through writing and submitting articles. Write an article about something related to the subject of your website For every article directory that publishes your article you'll get a link to your website - other websites might 'pick-up' your article to publish on their own website - meaning you get even more links

34. SEO: Article Writing So effective because each article is published on its own unique webpage, meaning your link might be the only external link on that page, which gives your link full 'strength‘ Also, on topic directly related to your company and its offerings

35. SEO: Article Writing Ezine Article - www.ezinearticles.com GoArticles - www.goarticles.com Articles Base - www.articlesbase.com

36. Link Building www.yahoo.com linkdomain:www.name of your site Click web search Check competitors links Google business name and send link request PageRank http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php hyperlinks

37. Link Building Get published on other websites (blogs) Photo and video submissions Guest writing Comments of posts/blogs DMOZ directory http://www.dmoz.org/

38. Cooktown: Cooperative Link Building Create a Cooktown link building strategy Bundling (to create USP and SEO) Cooperative approach utilising links and hyperlinks Improves SEO of region and individual business

39. PPC – How it Works PPC ads appear as “sponsored listings” Companies bid on price they are willing to pay “per click” Typically have very good tracking tools and statistics Ability to control ad text Can set budgets and spending limits Google AdWords and Overture are the two leaders

40. PPC – How it Works

41. PPC vs. Organic SEO

42. PPC – Content Strategy One of the most important factors of a successful PPC campaign is writing successful ad copy. Using Keywords in your Headlines Call to action: Promotions and sales capture people's attention Qualifications and Guarantees Take them to a relevant landing page that contains rich content, including the searchers query and elements of the ad copy

43. PPC – Content Strategy The role of PPC advertising is to drive traffic to your site, not to convert your visitors into buyers. That's the role of your Web site. Landing Pages CPA (cost per action)

44. PPC – Set Up Accounts Google AdWords Overture

45. Online Booking Over 60% of tourists book online Essential component of web strategy Improve the value chain (intermediaries) Costs (licensing, installation & training, support) Is it suitable with current software (3rd party applications) Tourism E-Kit Provides overview and costs of all main systems

46. Online Distribution A channel is simply a mechanism by which your product reaches the consumer Consumers are able to: See the real-time availability of the product Book online directly on the distributor website Allotments vs. real time inventory Payment methods Commission

47. ATDW National database of tourism products and destinations so that they can be published, promoted and sold through multiple websites and other digital media. ATDW distributors may also sell the tourism suppliers’ inventory (rooms, tours, events, and attractions) online using ATDW’s inclusive booking platform, the Tourism Exchange Australia (TXA)

48. Benefits of ATDW Simple listing submission through your state government tourism office. One listing submission is delivered to hundreds of tourism websites and other digital channels. International exposure. Drives supplier marketing costs down. Millions of web pages are viewed per month

49. ADTW Process Contact the ATDW representative at your state tourism office to organise for your product to be listed on the ATDW database so that it can be published on ATDW’s distributor websites. Costs vary depending on which state or territory you are based – average AUD100.00 per year

50. ADTW Process

51. Tourism Exchange The TXA allows multiple booking systems to connect at the same time and sell your inventory (rooms, tours, events, attractions) instantly online through ATDW’s many distributors. This gives you, the opportunity to sell your rooms, tours, events or attractions online through several websites with little effort and without the trouble of phone call or email bookings. The TXA looks after the transactions for you while bookings are being made through multiple websites.

54. Tourism Exchange - Benefits Ability to select the distributors you wish to book your product Stop participating (opt out) at any time Customise your rates for different distributors Increase the exposure of your products in new markets Receive money immediately upon booking into your nominated bank account Always remain in control of your own inventory

55. Email Marketing - Strategies

56. Email Marketing - Strategies Give your newsletter a personality and a unique voice. Let your reader feel there is a human behind the email. Provide educational content, testimonials, and stories. Research proved they are very successful in newsletters. Use colours, brand your newsletter with your logo. No ad copy

57. Email Marketing - Strategies Use headings to keep the reader focused Links and calling out areas that are clickable Landing Page Viral opportunities

58. Email Marketing - Strategies When preparing your email-marketing calendar, there are a few things to consider: Internal and External Events Industry Events Seasonality Customer Activities

59. Who to Email Owner opted in from your site (newsletter subscription). Owner purchased from you within 2 years Owner handed you their business card knowing you would contact them. Owner completed an offline form and indicated they wanted to be emailed.

60. Practical: Email/Newsletter Software www.mailchimp.com

61. CRM: Customer relationship management (CRM) is all about managing the relationships you have with your current – and future – customers. CRM combines business processes, people, and technology together to achieve one goal: obtaining and keeping customers satisfied. This strategy helps you learn more about your clients and their behaviour so that you can develop strong, enduring relationships that will benefit both you and your clients.

62. CRM: Strategy A successful CRM strategy is built by addressing three fundamental concerns: Understand who your customers are. Understand how both parties derive value from the relationship Build processes and systems to remove blockages.

63. Practical: Online CRM Package http://www.freecrm.com/ http://www.bizroof.com/

64. Analytics and Reporting Evaluating marketing efforts is essential Tracking code on your site differentiates sources of traffic and visitor behaviour. Page Views: The number of pages viewed is the basis of analytics and site traffic. Unique Page Views: A filtered view based on the number of pages a visitor views without the duplication of double visits to various pages.

65. Analytics and Reporting Frequently Visited Pages: The popularity and number of pages can show what content brings in long tail traffic and other insightful facts. Visitors: The start of all in-depth analytics. Hits are a misleading measure. Hits are the number of requests that your browser makes to a website server in order to display one or more pages.

66. Google Analytics Google Analytics is a free website statistics program provided by Google. It is an essential tool for website owners to understand how visitors access and interact with your website. It provides easy-to-understand graphs and analytics information about your website traffic, enabling you to monitor and refine the information on your website. www.google.com/analytics

67. Resource http://www.tourism.australia.com/en-au/industry/default.aspx