Listen in to a Local Marketing for Tour Operators Coaching Call (102)

Listen in to a Local Marketing for Tour Operators Coaching Call with Marketing Expert Jeremiah Calvino

Tour Operators know the importance of local marketing for tour operators during COVID-19 but how exactly do we go about marketing our tours to locals?

Rob Pitingolo is a tour operator who is struggling to market his local tours online, so we asked tours and activities marketing expert Jeremiah Calvino of Blend Marketing to join us in the virtual Tourpreneur studio to talk local marketing for tour operators.

On today’s episode, we discuss how tour operators can market and promote their tours to local consumers, despite increased shutdowns among tourist attraction sites.

We discuss how remarketing campaigns and content marketing strategies can help with local marketing for tour operators and the importance of understanding your target audience and their search habits.

Our guests explain why you need to identify your company’s competitive edge and value proposition and how you can use your website and landing pages to build rapport and promote the customer experience.

We share strategies you can use to troubleshoot poor performing re-marketing campaigns, the average cost per lead you should expect from your campaigns, and the importance of using a nurture funnel approach to your marketing efforts to avoid ‘ad-blindness.’

We also share strategies you can use to customize your website copy and online content to attract local – and international – tourists and how to use Facebook look-alike audiences to attract new customers.

Jeremiah Calvino is the Founder of Blend Marketing, a full service marketing agency designed to help tour and attraction businesses align their strategy, branding, and marketing to increase company growth and profitability.

With decades of experience in Marketing and Communications, Jeremiah and his team have helped tour operators and organizations around the globe – including the Milwaukee Food & City Tours, Skyline Hawai’i, and Lake Geneva Ziplines & Adventures – to increase their bookings, optimize their marketing efforts, and scale their businesses

Rob Pitingolo is the Founder and Chief Tour Guide at Trip Hacks, DC, a tour operation devoted to providing fun, stress-free public and private guided tours throughout the Washington, DC region. He is also the host of the Trip Hacks DC podcast and YouTube channel.

“You can’t expect people to convert with one touch or with a single message.” – Jeremiah Calvino

This week on Tourpreneur:

• How to define your local market and determine if your they are currently searching for tours
• Taking advantage of lower ad spend in a downturn market and the value of ‘testing the waters’ on advertising platforms like Google
• Using content marketing strategies and remarketing ad campaigns to promote your tour business
• Understanding your target audience and how it impacts the ROI of your marketing efforts
• Identifying what makes your tour company unique in a crowded local market
• Using your website and landing pages to build rapport with your customers and promote the customer experience
• The average cost and ROI of remarketing ad campaigns on platforms like Facebook and Instagram
• Troubleshooting remarketing campaigns to increase their effectiveness and improve your ROI
• Using a nurture funnel approach to prevent ad-blindness
• Customizing your website copy and online content to attract local and international customers
• Using local upcoming events to promote your tours and help your local market discover your tours as a fun entertainment option
• Best practices for promoting your tours to Facebook look-alike audiences and how to customize your ad messaging and images to attract the right customers
• The value of layering your marketing campaigns to create more touchpoints for your target audience
• Marketing strategies individual tour operators should currently be doing and when to consider working with a professional marketing agency

Our Favorite Quotes:

• “Figure out what the core set of information people need to start considering making a purchase, then build out those remarketing campaigns.” – Jeremiah Calvino
• “What worked before isn’t necessarily going to work now.” – Rob Pitingolo
• “People are out there looking for things to do, but you’ve got to make them aware of what you’ve got.” – Jeremiah Calvino

Resources Mentioned:

• Google Optimize

Connect with Jeremiah Calvino:

• Blend Marketing
• Blend Marketing on LinkedIn
• Blend Marketing on Instagram
• Blend Marketing on Facebook
• Blend Marketing on Twitter
• Jeremiah Calvino on LinkedIn

Connect with Rob Pitingolo:

• Trip Hacks DC
• Trip Hacks DC Podcast
• Trip Hacks DC YouTube
• Trip Hacks DC on LinkedIn
• Trip Hacks DC on Instagram
• Trip Hacks DC on Facebook
• Trip Hacks DC on Twitter
• Rob Pitingolo on LinkedIn

Exploring the World of Tour Entrepreneurship

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Tourpreneur. If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to subscribe to the show and leave a review. Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more tour operators

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and join the Tourpreneur Facebook community! And for more great content and information about the tours and activity industry, visit our website and subscribe to our Daily Brief emails.

Not sure how to market your tours and activities locally?

Checkfront just released an in-depth and highly actionable e-book on local marketing, which covers everything from optimizing your local presence online to standing out in the local community.  Get your free copy today! 

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