Ideas & knowhow
Tools
Don't just tell - show
We often say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but how often do we actually use the right photos to convey key points?
Most businesses have something they need to tell their visitors or need to stand out somehow. A single photo might do the trick.
Have you thought about the key messages you're trying to convey and then made sure you're using photos that tell that story?
Years ago I advised a hotelier, Dave, who ran a small hotel in an area that was notorious for dirty and run-down …
Enter awards & boost your business
Follow these simple notes to create an award-winning application. You’ll find this process can boost your business in other ways too.
I've acted as a judge for many different tourism and hospitality awards over the years, most recently on the judging panel for the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence. This article looks at the benefit of entering awards and gives an insight into what I and fellow judges look for.
Before you start… imagine the scene:
Congratulations! You’ve won!
What do you w…
Improve reviews, get more recommendations and save time
If you're ever been on one of my marketing workshops, you've probably heard me talking about certain topics again and again. Some might even say I nag...
Here are some points I keep making - they probably sound familiar? I go on about them because they're key to the success of your business.
Visitors need to be inspired, given information about your surroundings, other local businesses and multiple reasons to visit. They love to get 'insiders' tips' and if you do this right, they'll share…
Don't advertise until you've done everything else
Have you ever had a random phone call or email offering you the chance to advertise at a bargain price? Or thought you might need to pay money and advertise your business to give it a bit of a boost?
This article could save you a lot of money!
It's never a good idea to advertise just because you think you're getting a bargain. I'll come on to when to advertise later. But first, before you pay to advertise, make sure you've really taken advertise of all the free channels and opportunities first…
Top tips for online booking sites
This blog was written by Ross Williams at Beyonk
If you’re using an online booking system here are some tips to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth from it.
At Beyonk we try to ensure the businesses we work with get the most out of our systems. Here are some essentials you should be trying to get from your system and how it can help your business as a whole:
Set Up
It’s one thing having online booking available on your website, but don’t forget it needs to be visible. ‘Clicks kill’ …
Optimise your Google Business Profile
This is something you can quickly do to raise the profile of your business.
It's easier and quicker than you think so if you're been putting it off... do it now!
It's important. It's free. It's optimising your Google Business Profile - the new name for Google My Business. Don't worry about the 'optimise bit' - I'll explain.
92% of search engine searches are on Google so it's incredibly powerful. You want your business to show up as high in the results pages as possible. You don't need any te…
Electric Vehicle Charging Points
Remember the days when B&Bs went from having ‘hot and cold running water in each room’ signs and then had to upgrade to full private bathrooms because the market demanded it? And then WIFI became the must-have? At some point this will happen with EV charging points…
The following is intended to provide some links and points to consider. It does not constitute direct advice*.
Considerations:
- Do you need to upgrade your electricity supply?
- Have you told your insurance company you plan to…
Using and responding to reviews
I’ve spoken to many tourism business owners who feel really demoralised when this happens. It’s so easy to focus on one bad review, even when all your oth…
Hashtags - why, which, where
When you write a social media post, are you an expert sprinkler of #hashtags or are you still mystified by the random-seeming words after the # sign?
It doesn’t help that each social media channel uses hashtags in different ways. And that some guidelines and algorithms have also recently changed. Here’s a quick overview.
First of all, what are hashtags?
They’re the short words or phrases that follow the #, that help perform the sorting process to decide which posts get seen, and when. Not all…
Are you wasting time on the wrong social media?
There’s a marketing saying, ‘fish where the fish are’. There’s no point promoting into a vacuum.
It used to be hard to know what marketing activities were actually working. Now it’s easier, particularly if you’re trying to work out how to get people to your website. There are essentially four ways people will come to your website:
1. By searching on Google & other search engines
2. By typing in your domain name
3. By foll…