QR codes are everywhere, or so it seems. Most suffer from one or more of the 7 QR code mistakes that can kill your promotions. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, I saw one tourism campaign that actually avoids all those mistakes: The GR Tag Tour. The signs are posted on existing sign posts, with enough…
Our friend Heather Thomas of Destin Florida Boat Rentals has been looking for ways to make her website “copy-proof.” See, other boat rental companies can say they offer the same services or the same tours, but of course it isn’t the same. How could she better show off her uncopy-able qualities? How can you add…
“The most commonly visited section on a small brick-and-mortar business website is the store locator. Customers want to know your store locations, your hours, and your phone number,” Alex Schmelkin of Alexander Interactive says. My store’s site putslocation and hoursright up top. Here are the important implications for your small town business website: Put your…
Finding funding for tourism projects is always a challenge. One set of funds that gets overlooked for tourism is the USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grants (RBEG) for towns of fewer than 50,000 people. The Kansas Flint Hills region is working togetheron tourism training. Photo (CC) by TravelKS. RBEG funds are intended to support rural entrepreneurs…
This downtown art project comes from Waynoka, Oklahoma, population 927. Far from a dressy, stodgy downtown, they have a casual attitude. It’s a working class town with history as a railroad community. The wooden utility poles downtown were in bad need of a new coat of that boring silver paint. What happened instead is far…
Now that QR codes are appearing in my local small town paper, on bags at the trade show last week, and everywhere else, it’s time to look at what works and what does not work. Because your QR codes are either boosting your engagement with potential customers and visitors, or really ticking them off. Mistake…
Audio tours at tourism destinations are nothing new. Museums have been handing out little headsets for years. But all kinds of new technologies are available. Now that every visitor is carrying a cell phone, you might as well make use of it. Here’s an example from Zedler Mill, in Luling, Texas. There is a welcome…
Brian Matson, Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau, shared some excellent tips for video in small town tourism at our Tourism Currents Track at BlogWorld Expo in LA last year. Brian Matson knows great videobecause he does great video. Many destinations create slick, expensive videos to showcase their entire place in 5 to 7 minutes. Each…
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