As Summer approaches, businesses who invest in advertising now will optimize their potential revenue during tourist season. Since there are dozens of unique ways to advertise, we’ve created a list of the most effective advertising ideas for businesses targeting tourists and locals during tourist season.
Answer these questions before reading our list of advertising ideas, they will help you determine which method is best for your business!
- What is your budget?
Who is your ideal customer?Note: An ‘ideal customer’ should mirror the following: loves your brand and region and is proud to associate themselves with it, writes a good review on Yelp, doesn’t ask about price and often spends more money on upsells. For example, the ideal customer for a bed and breakfast in St. Augustine is a repeat customer who loves the Old City, purchases upsell items such as champagne, and brags about your bed and breakfast to their friends.- How old are they? Are they male or female?
Advertising Ideas
1. Website Banners and Ad Space on a Reputable Site
It’s important to choose advertising spaces on an outlet that will reach your ideal customer and is also trustworthy. Therefore, many businesses choose to advertise via banners and spaces on websites such as OldCity.com. Travelers often use these types of sites to research and plan their vacation making it easy for them to find your ad. In addition, 70% of global respondents, or travelers, consider websites to be the second-most trusted format to use while they are planning their vacation.
Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers
Cost: Low
Select from the following ad spaces on OldCity.com:
Things to Do, Where to Eat, Where to Stay, Community.
2. Direct Mail
“Direct mail marketing is far from dead.” – Says Forbes Magazine. Direct mail is effective for businesses who are targeting locals because they already have their postal code and travelers don’t receive mail while they’re on vacation.
Here are a few astonishing statistics for restaurants, bars, and attractions in the Old City targeting locals.
- 80-90% of direct mail gets opened.
- 30% of millennials agree that mail is more effective at getting them to act.
- The return profit of direct mail is 7%, but, mobile is 2%, email is 1%, social media is 1%.
- 56% of people who responded to direct mail went online or visited the store.
Ideal Customer: Locals
Cost: Middle
3. Vehicle Wraps, Decals, and Bumper Stickers
Vehicle graphics are a great way to advertise because they discretely attract attention, are seen by thousands of drivers, and are at work 24 hours a day for 365 days a year. Restaurants, bars, boutiques, attractions, and other establishments looking to attract customers that are already in their region will benefit from vehicle graphics. However, lodging businesses should consider a different vessel since travelers book rooms prior to their vacation.
Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers in your region.
Cost: Vehicle wraps are an investment, ranging between $1,500 to $3,500, while decals and bumper stickers can cost up to $1,500. Estimated prices, prices may vary.
Let’s get started on your bumper sticker or vehicle graphic design!
4. Print Design & Cross-Promotion
Cross Promotion: Using your social network to promote a business that in return promotes your business.
Amongst our list of advertising ideas, we had to add cross-promotion. Potential customers see cross-promotion as word-of-mouth, and word-of-mouth is extremely effective. Since customers don’t know your relationship with the respective business, they’ll consider this recommendation as reputable. But, first, you’ll need print media to distribute to your joint advertisers, such as brochures, flyers, hanging posters, or business cards.
Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers already in your region.
Cost: Low
Not sure which business you should trade your print media with?
Give us a call, we will design your brochures, flyers, hanging posters, or business cards and connect you with a partnering business.
5. Social Media Campaigns
Social media outlets use an algorithm (set of rules), to create a better experience for the average user. Algorithms used by Facebook and Instagram organize a user’s feed based on whether it’s relevant to the user’s interests. However, Twitter has a natural in-real-time feed. This means that your Twitter posts will appear in your follower’s feed as soon as you tweet. But, posts on Instagram and Facebook may take two days, three days, four days, etc. to appear to your followers. Naturally, paying for a promoted post will get your post more exposure, because the platform overrides the algorithm for that post.
But, are your ideal customers using social media?
According to publications by Pewinternet.org, Forbes.com, and Businessinsider.com Facebook is the most popular outlet with the most demographically diverse user-base.
Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers
Cost: Low
The graph below will help you find which platform your ideal customers use the most:
This social media demographic chart is by PEW, from a survey conducted in January of 2018.
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Mission Statement
Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at 904-867-4112 or contact us today.
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