No matter your goal, having a strategic plan can make your next project launch easier. You won’t be scrambling to find the right images or words to make your marketing pop.
In today’s world we rely on GPS to get us to our destination. And in the world of marketing, a roadmap guides the way and helps us market like a pro.
A social marketing roadmap can be used for so many projects:
- Marketing your next group tour
- Planning a foray into another marketing channel
- Beefing up your email list with prospective clients
- Promoting an upcoming event
- Launching a new attraction or feature in your destination
- Showcasing a special hotel benefit
We all like to keep things easy, so here’s a four-step plan that’s easy to remember; each step begins with the letter E.
Edit
This may be the hardest step of all, but it’s the foundation for your strategic marketing plan.
To edit your collection of photos, graphics, articles and blogs, choose only those assets that showcase your style, brand and message. If you’re like me, you have photos from years ago that you love, but they don’t work on social sites because they’re too grainy.
- Seek out and save images that are clear, crisp and colorful.
- Save graphics and articles that speak to your audience and reflect your brand tone, style and voice.
- Select only assets that tell your unique story.
Embrace
Embrace the foundation of your business and your team. In his book “Good to Great,” author Jim C. Collins wrote about having people on the bus and in the right seats. It’s the same for your team.
- Do team members embrace their roles and goals?
- What social sites do your clients embrace?
- Which sites do you embrace?
Execute
This is where the magic starts! Now that you have your foundation set, you get to create and launch your new strategy.
An editorial calendar is an effective way to corral all your marketing tactics—both social and traditional—into one place.
It’s easy to create a calendar that focuses on your assets and your client needs when you already have your tone, style and voice down pat. You’ll add content that supports your theme and begs to be shared by your fans.
When you launch an initiative, your new fans will come to recognize your tone, style and voice across a variety of channels. Organic reach combined with well-targeted advertising will propel your success
Evaluate
In this stage you’ll be able to measure and tweak your strategy
You can track results and determine if a new strategy is worth the time and talent of you and your team.
- Are your fans giving you the “thumbs up”?
- Is your fan base sharing your great content?
- Are they signing up for your programs?
When you track and analyze your social efforts, there are some amazing tools to highlight what’s resonating with your fans. Measure your success in terms of reach, engagement and web traffic.
Monitoring your own progress is grand, but looking further afield is an even better way to see what’s popular on the pages of your suppliers, destinations and even your competitors. Many tourism pros are so focused that they forget the value of learning from others in order to better serve their own unique audiences.
People buy from individuals and organizations they know and like, and building relationships with your fans is the goal of both social and traditional marketing. Being successful at it takes a strategy that’s filled with the four E’s!
Catherine Heeg, an international speaker and trainer, focuses on social media marketing strategies for the tourism and hospitality industry. Connect with her socially and at cmsspeaking.com.
Top photo ©REDPIXEL/Adobe Stock
