Can Blogging Help Maine's Tourism Industry?
The Press Herald ran a big article on the current state of Maine's tourism on Sunday with Overnights Up, Day Trips Down.
It was a mixed bag, with the coast seeing some increases and the rest of the state seeing a downturn.
Midweek bookings at motels and campgrounds are lower than
usual, [Vaughn Stinson, executive director of the Maine Tourism Association] said. Inland areas that typically struggle to attract
visitors, such as the Moosehead Lake and Rangeley Lakes
regions, also are reporting slower-than-normal business.
"It's not a robust season by any means," he said.
Earlier there was some talk about sending the current tourism ad campaign out to bid, but it was decided to not make a change now:
The preliminary...data indicate that the state's
advertising and promotion efforts are bringing results, according
to Patricia Eltman, Maine's new tourism director.
That got me to wondering whether any money or training goes to individual businesses that rely on the tourist trade, whether it's lodging, amusement parks, or adventure sailing vacations.
Search engine optimization, email marketing, and especially travel and tourism blogs could go a long way to help attract out-of-staters to spend time and money here in the Pine Tree State.
Lately I'm seeing a lot more innkeepers blogging, which I think is a great way to both increase one's search engine visibility and to promote local businesses such as restaurants and shops. By blogging, innkeepers are doing over the Internet what they've been doing in person for so long: making their guests feel welcome and helping them get the most out of their stay.
Innkeepers should keep in mind what their future guests are searching for at Google or Yahoo when they write their posts:
- Top Five Ogunquit Museums
- Where Can You Rent Kayaks in Kennebunkport?
- Want to Visit an Island Lighthouse?
Blogs can also be used to feature weekend (or midweek) specials, capitalize on traveling art shows, or drum up business during normally slow times. For inns that have a lot of repeat visitors year after year, a blog can be a great way of keeping guests up-to-date with changes and improvements to the facilities, and even be a place where guests can keep in touch with fellow travelers.
Like anything else, the more time and effort innkeepers (and any other business owner for that matter--whether you're involved in tourism or not) put into developing their blog, the more results they'll see from it.
Comments
As a new transplant to Florida from Maine, I know that I'll keep up with what's happening in my "Home" state via the internet. Anything that gets the word out about how gorgeous Maine is and the many varieties of things to do will ultimately help increase tourism.
I miss Maine so much!
Posted by TammyAugust 6, 2007 10:51 AM
I have been a dedicated blogger for 2 years and seen very limited results in terms of sales from the effort. Those that are already signed up for a trip certainly read the latest information, but I am not convinced that it in any way generates new business. Simply changing web content and publishing regular newsletters to your web site accomplish the same goal as far as I am concerned. The only folks I ever read talking about the effectiveness of a blog are the dedicated bloggers certainly not any of my small business counterparts. I am sure that if all of the innkeepers and cafe owners or even my fellow guides (imagine!) started blogging tomorrow there would be little if any change in the number of visitors to the state because of the effort.
Posted by Don KleinerAugust 6, 2007 08:00 PM
Don, I am sorry to hear that. I have seen the opposite of what you have written. I have seen first hand in the real world a large influence from Internet blogging. It is probably because I deal with blogs every day. Travel blogs are huge right now. The only problem is not enough people are doing it. The ones who have been doing it for a couple years now can say they are glad they did it. I am a strong believer that if more people started blogs and linked to related blogs we would see a large impact out in the real world. We have just scratched the surface and look how people are already reacting to the blogging industry.
Posted by Steve RemingtonAugust 7, 2007 09:05 AM
Don,
Thanks for the feedback. I'm a small business owner and the blogs I write for my company and for MaineToday have been a huge boon for my business, increasing our search engine visibility, landing me speaking gigs, and getting paying clients.
I appreciate that you and I run different businesses, but I've found that blogging is probably the most effective Web marketing (or any type of marketing for that matter) that I do.
Without knowing more about your business, I couldn't make any recommendations if you're doing things the right way, or if you could be leveraging your content better, writing more search engine friendly titles, etc.
Also, "simply changing Web content and publishing regular email newsletters" is great, but takes a lot of work. A blog accomplishes both of these items with a lot less work. If you're making regular changes to your site and publishing an ezine, then you're already light-years ahead of most of your competitors.
Wishing you the best....
Posted by Rich BrooksAugust 7, 2007 09:36 AM
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