From Slopes to Sunshine: Tourism Marketing in the Hyperlinked Age

© 2005 Tod Maffin Inc.

The New Influencers

Marketing is becoming increasingly centralized. People turn to Google as often as they turn to their friends for advice on which ski hill is best, which restaurants are good, and so on. Playing a critical role in this shift are bloggers – online diarists.

Though blogs began largely with teens spouting off angst-filled love poetry, the bloggers’ influence is beginning to influence business.

Major search engines like Google favour blog postings because they’re updated frequently and usually contain links to recommended businesses. Thus, if you’d like your ski operation to appear at the top of Google, you’ll need to connect with these new influencers.

Not surprisingly, this is a fickle bunch. People who start ski blogs are usually hardcore aficionados of downhill, boarding, or other sports. They know their stuff. Demographically, they’ve also grown up with strong media savvy – they can see a p.r. pitch coming a mile away. Nevertheless, they are not outside of influence. So far, successful strategies to get bloggers talking is to offer promotions to the more highly trafficked hobbyist sites — perhaps a free day lift pass, presented as an opportunity to try out a newly opened run.

Blogs also provide a direct advertising opportunity. Rates are usually cheap (in most cases, you’d be the first advertiser) and many bloggers are willing to post editorial content in return for advertising revenue or even contra.

The Strategic Blog

Beyond using others’ blogs, you may want to consider starting your own. Blogs have a huge advantage that most business has yet to exploit: Most blogs provide a commenting functionality, where any reader can add to the dialogue of the posted article. Often, these threads evolve into productive discussions that can help an organization understand the needs of its customers.

Let’s say you’re soft-launching a ski-and-stay package to a select group of customers. By establishing a regularly updated (a couple of times a week) blog that discusses ongoing changes to the package, your test group can add their thoughts, start discussion threads, and help you refine the final offering. (Note to focus group firms: Embrace the blog movement as your friend, or be made irrelevant by it.)

Human Resources: Youth and Retirees

North America is about to experience a massive workforce shortage. Next Generation Company predicts that by 2006, two people will be leaving every job for every one person available to fill it. And by 2008, most H.R. analysts believe the continent will be facing a 10 million worker shortage. Baby boomers will be retiring en masse in the coming years, leaving scant few experienced managers to take their place. Filling those positions will be two kinds of people.

First, young people with energy but limited experience. Secondly, older workers who are reaching the traditional retirement age but feel well enough to continue working. To attract and maintain these people, the only currency with any value in the future will be a generous and creative benefits package. Salaries will be a commodity – everyone will be paying cash. You’ll need to create or partner with a firm which can bring you a genuinely unique benefits package that might include free lift passes, weekend getaways at a member’s property, a concierge service, and more.

Posted June 15, 2005 Comments