How to develop your marketing plan

Marketing activities

A good marketing plan includes a mix of online and offline
activities such as digital marketing, media and public relations
and local promotion.

It is worthwhile doing some research to decide which channels
will be most effective to reach your ideal customers.

There are plenty of marketing plan templates available online to help — business.gov.au is a good place to start.

An effective marketing plan includes a mixture of:

• Digital marketing
• Media and public relations
• Offline marketing.

Digital marketing

A good online presence is vital to ensure your ideal customers can easily find your business when they research their trip online.

There are so many options available to market your business online and knowing where to start can be overwhelming.

There are three essential digital marketing tools that are important to have in place to help your customer find your tourism business online:

• Website
• Social media channels
• Online listings.

Website

Your website is the hub of all your online marketing activities
and should be:

• User-friendly, designed with your customer in mind, making
it easy for them to navigate, find the information they need,
book your product and contact you

• Fresh and modern in design and layout

• Mobile-friendly: Your customers are often searching on their
mobile devices (phones and tablets). A mobile responsive
website provides a better online experience for your
customers while they are on the move

• Search-engine friendly and incorporate keyword-rich,
inspiring content. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
increases the volume of traffic to your website through
organic search engine results. Keywords, quality content and
a great user experience will help Google prioritise your
website over your competitors and allow your customers to
find your website easier

• Visually powerful: incorporating high-quality imagery and video

• Easy to connect with and have clear calls to action
including your phone number, email, contact forms and
social media links

• Bookable with an online booking facility

• Linked to your other online activities such as social media
pages, media articles or external websites. This builds
website authority and provides users with additional content
they may need.

Review your website, is it time for a refresh? Speak to a web developer who can create a site that ticks all the right boxes for you.

You could also enhance your findability by keyword advertising on search engines like Google and Bing.

CLICK HERE TO SEE IF YOUR SITE IS MOBILE FRIENDLY

Social media channels

Social media helps you share your stories in the online community and reach potential customers.

Travellers use social media at every stage of the travel cycle — from dreaming and looking for travel inspiration, to planning and booking, to experiencing and sharing their travel stories.

Research what social media platforms your ideal customer uses when you are deciding which channels to use for your digital marketing.

Facebook and Instagram can be very effective platforms for tourism businesses. They both have business page functionality, which is easy to set up and start sharing on, and offer highly targeted, paid advertising options. YouTube is useful for sharing your video content to inspire customers.

Get involved in Destination NSW social media activities and leverage our channels by having a look at our Social Media Guidelines. Tourism Australia also provides some tips about social media and how to interact with their channels here.

Facebook

• Set up your business page
• Post inspiring content: text,
  images, videos (including 360
  degree video)
• ‘Like’ the pages of other NSW
  tourism businesses and your local
  tourism organisations.

Instagram

• Set up your business page
• Start posting high-resolution, eye catching and engaging images
• Use #hashtags so your images can be found.

YouTube

• Set up your business channel
• Upload quality videos
• Optimise videos for search with keyword-rich description
• Embed your videos into your website and share them on social media.

Social media tips

Remember that it is social, people use social media to interact with family and friends. Keep content, interesting, quirky, inspiring and engaging and not ‘a sales pitch’.

• Be creative and smart with your captions — give customers insight into where images were taken and what they can do there
• Curate your content by sharing posts, images and useful information from other people. On Instagram, ask permission first and always credit the source when sharing other people’s images
• Choose a consistent schedule for posting content and stick to it
• Follow larger communities such as Destination NSW, Tourism Australia and your local tourism marketing organisations — engage with them and leverage their platforms
• Consider using social media monitoring tools to help you strengthen your social presence, grow your audience, and manage your social channels.

Online listings

There are many other websites where you can list your product online for free. Extra listings will increase your presence online, increase your search engine optimisation and help drive more business to your website.

Get Connected

Get Connected is Destination NSW’s free website membership program. Simple and easy to use Get Connected membership is open to all tourism operators within NSW. Showcase your tourism products on Destination NSW’s consumer sites sydney.com and visitnsw.com and reach more than two million potential visitors a month. Powered by the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW-Online) platform, NSW tourism operators can list their products on sydney.com and visitnsw.com, which deliver over six million leads to NSW industry partners each year.

By listing your tourism business or event Program, your product will be made available to over 70 local and national Australian Tourism Data Warehouse distributor partners.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW

For further assistance, please contact the Get Connected Support Desk on 1300 655 077 or getconnected@dnsw.com.au

Review site listings

Consumers increasingly trust online consumer opinions and are using review sites to help plan their trips. Business listings on review sites can enhance your business’s reputation and have a positive impact on attracting visitors.

Review site listings are a free, effective way to promote your business. Some of the key sites are:

• TripAdvisor
• Google Business Profile
• Bing places for business
• Facebook business page
• Yelp

Reviews are also made through booking platforms and distribution partners such as: booking.com and Viator.

Like social media, it is important to consider which review websites your customers are using, for example Yelp is popular in the American market.

Ensure that you have a business listing on the key review sites that your potential customers use:

• Claim your business listing: optimise it with a business description and images
• Encourage your customers to write a review
• Monitor your reviews and respond appropriately
• Use any feedback to make improvements in your business.

When you provide memorable experiences for your customers that exceed their expectations, this increases the chances they will tell the world about your business. Find out more about standing out from the crowd and exceeding customer expectations.

With so many review sites available to consumers, consistently monitoring your online reputation can be a time-consuming task. To help you stay on top of your reviews across multiple sites, consider investing in a review management platform, which can help promote your business and capture any negative customer experiences.

Google listings

Search engines are a popular tool for users to begin their online research. Google is the most popular search engine with hundreds of millions of searches every day so it is a good idea to ensure your business is listed correctly with Google.

Setting up a Google Business Profile will get you listed with Google Search and Google Maps. You can create a new listing or claim an existing listing here.

Online listing tips

• Be consistent, especially with your name, address, website and phone number
• Know where you are listed and keep a record of your listings
• Use relevant images and videos
• Optimise them with keyword-rich descriptions
• Link your listings to your website and social media pages
• Keep them up to date

Want to learn more about digital marketing?

There is lots of information online to help you keep up-to-date with effective digital marketing tools, such as Google Garage. You may also find a digital workshop near you with Business Connect, or you can seek professional help from a digital marketing agency.

READ NEXT: Guide to offline marketing