Tourism business owners and marketers often look baffled when we tell them that blogging is one of the single most important marketing tactics their business can implement.
Yes, even more important than social media posting!
The problem is, so many still misunderstand blogging and question why a blog is needed. When in fact, it is such an essential, powerful, inexpensive, and potentially very lucrative element of your wine tourism marketing plan.
So, what is a Blog?
A blog (short for “weblog” – a term created to reflect the process of logging content on the web) is an online website article displaying information in the reverse chronological order, with latest posts appearing first.
It is a platform where a writer can share their views and/or knowledge on an individual subject.
“Marketers who prioritise blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI” – Source: HubSpot.
And….
“On average, companies with blogs produce 67% more leads per month than those without” – Source: DemandMetric.
Leads and Return on Investment are pretty powerful reasons to start blogging, yet there are even more benefits to blogging as part of a well thought out tourism marketing tactic.
These benefits include:
No.1 Blogging can help you create a great first impression
Regardless of what type of tourism business you have and where the end sale occurs – let’s remember where your visitors begin their research. Online.
So, if people are looking to book or stay with you, at some stay they will visit your website…
Make a great first impression.
Leverage the ever-growing online traffic with a blog – to attract new visitors and convert them into valuable customers.
No.2 Blogging creates strong customer connections
Prospective customers come to your website when they’re looking to connect with your tourism business.
Of course, you hope this turns into sales and a long, loyal and profitable relationship!
Your blogs can be used to:
- Inform & educate your visitor.
- Celebrate awards and other exciting news.
- Introduce your product or offering (just don’t regurgitate your sales pages).
- Share your expertise – and help your ideal customer feel like an expert themself!
- Position yourself as an authority.
- Build credibility and trust.
- Enlighten and entertain.
- Offer unique insights.
- Help the reader immerse themselves in your brand story and tourism region.
- Create and strengthen customer relationships.
No.3 Search engines love blogs
Search engines (Google, Bing etc.) are big fans of fresh, new, quality content.
There are reputedly over 200 factors that influence where your website is ranked by Google.
Google tweaks the algorithm constantly to ensure the end user (that’s you and me!) get the best possible relevant, high quality search results.
Blogging is the perfect vehicle to help you remain relevant in Google’s eyes and potentially rank higher in organic search results. Simply offer up regular doses of useful, valuable and quality content that helps your customers solve their problems.
Just remember that it is your audience you are writing for first. If you’re making your visitors happy, you’ll also appease the Google gods.
On top of this, if you can learn how to tick off your SEO checklist, by ranking for certain keywords, attract other links back to your blogs, as well as generate comments, this all makes your website shine in the eyes of the search engines.
And, search engine love means greater online visibility, which in turn generates a greater flow of traffic to your site.
No.4 Blogging is user-friendly & budget-friendly
Gone are the days when blogging was technically hard to do, or costly to implement.
With web platforms like WordPress, it is now super simple to learn how to spread your message to the world. More often than not, it is also a simple exercise to add a Blog section to your website for you to hit the ground running.
No.5 Your blog content is yours & is visible to all
Have you ever been frustrated by being at the mercy of Facebook and social media algorithms? Wondering if you even appear in the News Feeds of your followers?
The good news about your blog is that you own and control the content.
No.6 Blogging creates ‘evergreen’ content with a long lifespan
To continue with the social media comparisons, blogs are a fantastic way to create ‘evergreen’ content (long lasting content).
This means they are always on your website, and in many cases, you are able to repurpose or reshape blog content for other uses for plenty of time to come.
This differs from social media posts that have a very short shelf life. In some cases, it can be as little as a few seconds before they’ve moved onto the next social media post or opened another app!
No.7 Your blogs can be easily shared far & wide!
Blog posts are super easy to share, both by your own business and by your audience.
Think social media, newsletters, email campaigns and more.
This in itself is a great SEO tactic! You appear more relevant, useful and valuable in the eyes of Google, because more people are using and distributing your content.
This also helps you to spread the word further about your tourism business and bring more of your ideal customers back to your website.
Your blog becomes the hub of a never-ending social circle, sending out content and drawing people back.
No.8 Blogs attract an audience of more qualified visitors
By creating regular blog posts that are valuable and helpful – you attract a willing audience that can in turn be converted into customers and other profitable relationships.
When you spread the word about your blog articles – either via email campaigns, newsletters or social media such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn – your reader needs to actually visit your website to read the full blog post.
This means they are already qualified visitors and are ready to engage with your tourism brand.
Also, by bringing your ideal customers to your website (rather than them simply reading a post and staying in a social media platform), the Google gods see your website as a quality site and may rank it higher than your competitors.
No.9 Blogging builds credibility, authority and engagement
Blogging offers you the opportunity to establish yourself as an authority within your tourism region and become an industry leader.
If your readers continue to receive valuable information from your tourism business, they will be more inclined to return to your website and share with their own network.
This in turn will build the credibility of your brand and increase customer engagement – whether they are brand new customer or have purchased previously.
Having a blog also makes for a great reason to stay in touch with all of your customers.
Each time you post a new blog, you can share it on social media and via your email newsletter – encouraging brand loyalty and repeat purchasing by keeping your tourism business top of mind.
No.10 Blogs allow and encourage instant feedback
Blogging is different to static webpages, as blog posts encourage interaction and two-way conversations.
This exchange of ideas allows you to stay in touch with your readers. Any feedback you receive – be it comments, reviews or shares – will give you another opportunity to track and review what you are offering and respond.
Blogging also gives you another avenue to build trust, relationships and display the human element of your brand.
No.11 Blogs Generate extra business opportunities
In addition to attracting your ideal customers, blogging can also generate other opportunities for your tourism business.
This can include industry speaking engagements, media and press enquiries, conference opportunities, festival and event involvement and so on.
Positioning yourself as a tourism expert or leader in your region can definitely pay off in more ways than one!
No.12 Media love blogs
When media are doing due diligence on media releases or looking to interview for stories and features, they may look to your website and social media for their research.
So, if they don’t find articles and other information that appeals, they are less likely to move forward with the interview.
Another great example of it not only being prospective customers that you are writing blogs for – you can also generate credibility and influence over other audiences.
No.13 Blogging is a powerful storytelling tool
Every tourism business has a unique story to tell. So, use your blog to tell your story!
We love blogging, because it can:
- Humanise your brand,
- Communicate your brand story,
- Enchant your readers, and
- Differentiate your brand from thousands of other websites.
Your blog is a wonderful platform to be authentic.
Focus on the human element of your brand and show ideal customers what your unique business is all about.
No.14 Blogs can help build your email database
This is particularly valuable if you have more than one offering.
Insightful and informative tourism blogs can funnel your reader into newsletter opt-in and other DTC (Direct to Consumer) email sign-up lists.
No.15 Blogs help you stand out from the crowd
What is amazing to us is that with all of these benefits – there is still a very small percentage of tourism businesses that use a blog as a marketing tactic!
This is great news for you, because it offers you a prime opportunity to stand out from your competitors.
Imagine for a minute that you were comparing two tourism businesses.
While their product offering was very similar, you find that one business offered a wide range of helpful and informative blog articles on their website, while the other didn’t even have a blog.
Wouldn’t you rather choose the business who will ‘play host’ to you, help you get to know their region, offer you unique insights and leave you feeling informed and excited to book your visit?
We know that we certainly would!
Are you ready to get blogging?
Put simply, having a blog on your website is a great investment.
After reading through these 15 reasons, we’re sure you can now see why we say that blogging is the single most important thing your tourism business can do.
We’ll leave you now with our last tips for writing quality blogs that connect:
- Write engaging, valuable and relevant content.
- Keep it informative and helpful – not salesy.
- Aim for around 1,000 words (absolute minimum is 300 words).
- Make it easy to scan! Use subheadings, images and videos.
- Learn how to pick an SEO keyword phrase and sprinkle throughout.
- Put your customer hat on – remember that they’re who you are writing for!
FUTHER READING: How to Write Great Tourism Website Copy
