Tourism Internet Marketing U

5 Grand Open Tools To Send Your Tourism Web Site Flying

If you really want to get your tourism-related web site up and running quickly then you should plan a grand opening bash that makes a bigger splash than a whale’s tail. Easy? Hmmmm …. depends on who you ask. But it can, and has, been done. Here are 5 tools that you can use to get your web site’s grand opening up in the air so that the right people notice it:

• Press Release - Just as you would kick off a grand opening for a brick and mortar business with a press release, you can also kick off a grand opening for a web site with a press release. But online press releases are so much better than your traditional offline releases. You can add graphics, photos, pull quotes, videos, audio files, and include your direct contact so that people who find the press release in the search engines can contact you without having to find your release in an industry newsletter. Yep, this is one cool tool that you should not pass up.
• A company blog - Yes, company blogs are an essential in today’s online marketplace. You should start writing to your company blog the day your web site goes live. Actually, you could start writing to your blog even before that. But on the day that your web site goes live, you need to come out with a killer blog post that will stand up and noticed in the search engines and social media web sites.
• Social Media Web Sites - There are lots of them, but they are essential. Do your homework before you start and find out which web sites will be most beneficial for your business. MySpace, Facebook, BlogCatalog, Digg, Propeller, StumbleUpon … they all have something to offer and they all are good places to find great traffic if you know how to use them. But you’re only going to have so much time on your hands so use it wisely. (Hint: If you can find a social media site that caters to your end of the tourism business then that would be the ideal place to start).
• Industry Influencers - I’m not talking about using people. I’m talking about developing relationships with them. Your already established influencers within your industry or tourism-related niche should be the first place you start seeking approval. Before you do anything, long before your grand opening, subscribe to their news feeds (they will likely have a blog) and read their content often. When the time is right, send them a short e-mail complimenting them on their style and service offerings and ask them to take a look at your web site and review it for their audience.
• YouTube - Yes, YouTube is a social media site, but it’s so popular that it deserves its own mention. This may not be for everybody, but if you can get creative in your video presentations so that you entertain while inform then YouTube is an excellent opportunity to attract a new audience for your grand opening.

Make your grand opening special by participating in activities that are worthwhile. You can drive targeted traffic to your tourism web site if you use the right tools.

For more about Grand Openings, check out my book 101 Ways to Promote Your Tourism Business Web Site!

-Written by Susan Sweeney