I live on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. It’s a stunning area that depends on tourism for the well-being of its economy and community. But right now, with the global recession dragging on and the Australian dollar strong, Sunshine Coast tourism is suffering.
I’d love to boost tourism here through blogging and social media marketing. Tourism marketing excites me because it’s the perfect meeting point between my twin passions of travel and online marketing.
A few weeks ago I went to a tourism industry event for local business leaders about how to increase tourism to the Sunshine Coast and I’ve created this short video to share my ideas.
The video outlines the benefits of blogging for Sunshine Coast tourism marketing and explains how blog marketing can increase tourism to the Sunshine Coast.
Of course, blog marketing can be used to boost most businesses and industries anywhere in the world so, even if you’re not involved in tourism or not based in Australia, these ideas will still be relevant and should still inspire you.
My Sunshine Coast Tourism Marketing Dream
My dream is to help 1,000 other Sunshine Coast, Queensland or Australian bloggers to grow their blogs to 10,000 readers each month so between us we’d have 10 million monthly readers.
Blogging is a sustainable, cost-effective and powerful marketing tool which allows tourism business owners to take charge of their own marketing and leverage a powerful marketing tool.
It’s a big dream but it’s really possible if I can inspire, inform, mentor and support other bloggers.
Individually those bloggers and business owners will each be building a sustainable marketing tool for their own businesses and as a group they’d be a tourism marketing powerhouse.
My Tourism Marketing Background
I have an MA in Design for Interactive Media and 16 years experience in the field. I moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2009 and own a small web design company called Mucho which specialises in setting up effective websites and blogs for small businesses.
I’ve worked with Regional Development Australia Sunshine Coast and Sunshine Coast Destination Limited as well as many small local businesses.
Here are three example of websites and blogs we’ve designed for tourism operators on the Sunshine Coast and overseas:
Charlie Babault Safaris
For more information on tourism marketing, social media marketing, blog design or web copywriting for tourism operators on the Sunshine Coast or in any other prime tourism destination please contact Annabel.
Together we can take Sunshine Coast tourism marketing to the next level.
Hi Annabel,
I’m a freelancer from India, and I have some of my folks in Sydney.
Let me know if you have any deals or offers and I’ll ask them.
Looking forward to your response.
Yours Respectfully,
Dominic
Hi Dominic, thank you:) Sydnersiders love to come here for their hols – so much warmer and you can escape the crowds:)
Annabel, this is a spectacularly good idea. I also agree that blogging as a medium is in its infancy, and that it’s misused and abused as much as it’s used effectively.
This project seems tailor-made for success!
When you can get tourists to guest post…
Hi Dave, lol, absolutely, we’ll give them a free coffee at the airport if they write. Allowing blog post before they go;) There are so many brilliant possibilities!
Annabel, I love your idea! Blogging and social media are still terribly underused. I think it’s a shame that so many pass up the opportunity to do for themselves and instead rely on some ad agency or PR firm to do it for them.
I understand that some businesses might have to hire someone to do the blogging and social media bits for them, but they would still be in more control than the traditional way.
Here’s hoping your project works. I know it has all the potential, it just takes people getting on board!
Hi Steve, thanks for breaking the ice and being the first to comment:) I know many bloggers think blogging is mainstream but like you I believe this is just the beginning. I’m dead keen to get all the regular business people on board who think they can’t blog and show them that they can.
Great that you mention people can outsource things that they can’t do because no one can do everything but even if you hire people for some things blogging and social media marketing still remain a cost effective alternative to traditional advertising and, more importantly a long term solution.
Fingers crossed, I’m excited about seeing where it all ends.
Annabel,
So good to see you on video and well done.
I am not 100% sure I understand completely, but I belong to BlogCrush in Orange County, California, and was told that hotels, and other small businesses related to tourism are looking for bloggers to write about them and offer freebies in exchange because they get free content on the web, (I’m sure it has to be positive) in exchange for “publicity.” Our bloggers in the group also have a chance of offering the tourism business a possibility of being in print, if the blog post is picked up by OC Family. I’m fortunate to belong to this group. This may be something you want to start: the Noosa BlogCrush Group.
Hi Sonia,
BlogCrush sounds a bit different from what I’m talking about here. BlogCrush seems like a great way for brands or businesses to get publicity on other people’s blogs. It’s a good idea and would work well in tandem with or separately from my dream.
I’d recommend business start and build up their own blogs so they don’t have to rely on other people when they need a marketing boost.
But there’s definitely room for both:)
Hey Annabel, You are inspirational and i love your thoughts on promoting the sunshine coast. I am not sure if your aware but i have been working on the Sunshine Coast Excellence in Business Awards for exactly the same reason. We are blessed with our geography and if we can help promote other businesses we can also have a blessed economy. Would you be interested in knowing more about the awards?
Hi Lisa, thanks so much. Of course, I’ll get in touch. It is a real boost if Sunshine Coast tourism and other businesses work together to increase their marketing power. Far more powerful than viewing each other as competitors:)