Fortune Favors The Prepared
We know – it's hard to plan your marketing for the winter season when it's so hot outside that the office bitch can't even make it once around the loop (see Sage above). But it's true – if you haven't already started your internet marketing strategy for the winter season – then you're already behind!
In a meeting with a client just last week, they casually mentioned that up to 70% of their winter bookings are completed by the end of November. Needless to say, that doesn't leave much time to "wing it" through the summer and into the fall with only hopes for a solid winter season.
So, if you're ready to begin planning you're winter web strategy, don't delay any longer. Read through the articles below to get some ideas of how you can begin to proactively prepare your web presence and then give us a call.
Or contact us today for a complimentary review and get ready to leave your competition out in cold this winter.
– The Blue Tent Team
Web: Dress Code Required
You wouldn't go out in a snow storm dressed like this, so why would you send your website into winter unprepared?
On our Drupal-based Blue Tent CMS, it's possible to have seasonal themes that can be switched with less effort than it takes to change from a bathing suit into a pair of long johns. An effective site serves up the visual experience that the end-user is seeking. If you live in a seasonal environment, this means keeping your site consistent with the seasons that you're selling. Several of our clients have taken advantage of this unique feature, including snowmassfreeride.com.
Knowing that snowboarding wasn't exactly top-of-mind for most outdoor athletes in July, Snowmass Mountain Resort developed a summer theme with unique content on mountain biking and other summer pursuits unique to Snowmass. Don't let your website have an off-season and make sure it's dressed for winter. To see another great example of a summer/winter theme check out telluride.com.
Email: Enhance Your Opt-in Experience
Evaluating your email opt-in process at least twice a year is a must-do for any effective email program. Being aware of the number of new subscribers that you attract as well as your "list churn" rate is imperative.
Email marketing is all about building and maintaining strong relationships. The email relationship starts when someone opts-in to receive information from your company or organization. Start simple and build the relationship from there. In the beginning, most people don’t want to give out much personal information - and asking for too much right away decreases your chance of getting that initial sign-up. Even just asking for the email address is a great start.
What happens after you get their email address is where the relationship starts to build, and first impressions are everything to building a good and trusting relationship. It is important that these next steps are done right and not overlooked. There are three key parts to this process that help create a great opt-in experience. First is the opt-in form itself. Second is the subscription confirmation page and the third is the subscription confirmation and welcome messages.
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Managing Your Online Reputation
Do you know what people say about your company online? Do others view your company with suspicion? Web 2.0 can be summed up in one word: Transparency.
It's no secret that the web is bringing businesses and consumers closer than ever before. No longer can you simply tout your company as providing "excellent customer service" – just ask The Comcast Guy. YouTube is just one of the many Web 2.0 technologies that has shown that when a company makes a mistake, the internet is quick to make sure that everybody knows about it. It's now more important than ever before to not only be aware of your online reputation – but also to leverage ways that use it to your advantage.
Encouraging your customers to post and read comments online about your business is just matter of doing business in today's digital environment. Accepting and embracing this development is extremely important – especially for folks in the lodging and vacation rental industries. Somebody's comments on TripAdvisor.com or Yelp.com about your business can make the difference between winning a customer or losing them to the competition.
There are many ways to leverage these client reviews to your advantage. It's all about finding ways to turn your most satisfied customers in your fiercest brand advocates. To learn more, please contact your account manager to set up a time to review.
» Contact
us to manage your online reputation today
SEM: Boost Rankings with Friendly URLs
Take a look at these two website addresses or URLs:
chasenrainbows.com/
chasenrainbows.com/maui-vacation-rentals/luxury-condos.php
Notice the difference? One is seemingly meaningless while the other is very descriptive.
The second URL uses the new URL Rewrite Module built for the Site Management Console (SMC). This new SMC Module has been developed to provide you with an easy-to-manage solution for giving your site pages more meaningful, useful and search engine-friendly URLs.
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