At the Nebraska Travel Conference, Shannon Gray of North Star Ideas presented a session on how towns and communities can better know themselves in order to better market themselves to tourists. It involves some work and some research to do properly, but it does not have to cost a lot of money. Here are some…
Mobile is the future of marketing, but no one is talking about the specifics. What do you do? How does it work? Tourism Currents co-founder SheilaScarborough sharing mobile secretswith Texas tourism pros. One thing that is here now, and works especially well for tourism-based businesses, is mobile coupons. A business can send just the coupons…
By Jon Swanson Leon was the high school band director in a small town in Iowa. He started working on his Master’s degree. He figured out some research topic that sounded good, that was like all the rest of the Master’s research projects around. His adviser said, “Forget that. Everyone is doing those kinds of…
It’s the million dollar question in small towns: how do we get more participation? Participation might mean volunteers, contributions, or even audience members. Volunteers kick off the Picture My WeekendPhotography event in Alva, Oklahoma. I get asked this every time I speak. It seems every town and organization, every festival and fair is dealing with…
By Jon Swanson Nancy and I are on a blogger tour in Hampton, Iowa. A bunch of bloggers are in town to learn more about agriculture and the local community. It’s a great idea for the town and for us. On Friday night, there is a wine and cheese, star-gazing, coffee-drinking, meet and greet. With live…
Small town businesses and tourism groups are using Twitter for marketing and building community. One of the problems with that can be the limited reach. Twylah is one tool to reach more people, even those who don’t use or maybe don’t even like Twitter. Normal people view a Twitter page as something of a foreign…
Have a byway, driving tour or walking tour? There is one thing you can add to your signs to improve how your visitors see it. What’s missing? The “MORE” link. Here’s what I mean. Add the QR Code and short URL that takes visitors online for more information. And be sure to taken them directly to…
Last week, I found myself in downtown Concrete, Washington, facing this huge map mural at the end of the street. I love the way the design works around the doorway. I even love the tag line, “Welcome to Concrete, center of the known universe.” As I figured out my location on the map, I realized…
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