Information vs inspiration

Are you making an easy mistake in your marketing? Something that makes a big difference, but which is luckily easy to resolve? 

I've written before about how sometimes we're just not saying what we think we're saying. 

There's another common mistake we often make. 

Information or inspiration?

A common error is to offer too much basic information, when people actually need inspiration.

The key is to think what your visitors need to know, and when. 

Image you're vaguely thinking about a holiday in a place you've not yet visited?

What would you need to know, to convince you to go? 

If you've never been before, you'll need some ideas for what to do in the local area. You'll probably need a bit of guidance about how long to allow in various places, and reassurance that it's worth visiting. Once you've decided to visit, then you'll start to look for more concrete information. 

If you've been before, you'll have most of the factual information in your head. But you need to be convinced that it's worth re-visiting. So perhaps you'll look for new places to visit, or events - or something that reminds you of what's there and why you enjoyed it. 

Inspirational content is essential.

You might be failing to get bookings or visitors, not because your business isn't good enough, but because visitors need to know about surrounding businesses and to feel inspired enough to commit to a visit. A holiday or day trip is supposed to be uplifting and enjoyable. But sometimes we make it hard to choose to visit us. 

But... you're trying to attract both people who've been before and new visitors? 

No problem. You can offer inspiration and information. But not necessarily both at once. You just need to layer the information and inspiration, on different web pages or in different social media posts. 

It's really easy to google and find information.

Inspiration can be harder to find, especially if it's targeted to the needs of real people. By simply offering more inspirational content about your local area, you can stand out from your competition and show you're a local expert.