BROAD QUESTION

HOW AZERBAIJAN CAN INCREASE ITS ATTRACTIVENESS AS A TOURIST DESTINATION BY LEVERAGING DIGITAL MARKETING?

DIGITAL MARKETING: WHY DOES IT MATTER?

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY

Website

Content Marketing

Email Marketing

Social Media

WEBSITE

RESPONSIVE

In the world of growing device usage you can no longer ignore responsiveness of your website for each type of device.

•  Mobile Responsive

•  Tablet Responsive

•  Laptop Responsive

SEO/SEM Absolutelly esential as online search engines continue to dominate the travel industry with two out of three leisure travellers (66%) and 59% of business travellers using them to research travel. •  Search Engine Optimization

(Organic Search) •  Search Engine Marketing (PPC

and Display Ads)

USABILITY & DESIGN •  Simple Navigation

•  As fast as possible

•  Quality design in accordance with the digital strategy and branding goals

WEBSITE

From static “billboard” websites – promoting tourism and hospitality partners with lots of banner ads and generic descriptions to more organic story-driven portals that resemble

travel media websites.

Build a collaborative local network of suppliers. Provide a leadership role in unifying your region’s many assets to market as one. Your website is the place to provide useful information for travellers. Why do you need visitors to go through your stationary visitor centre? Why not take your services to them instead?

CONTENT MARKETING

1. Relevance Any content you share on social media, your blog or email update must be really relevant to your Ideal Customer. Everyone is busy and time poor. It is content people are more likely take some action with such as read it, share it and comment on it. Relevant also means sharing the right content at the right time, based on where your customers are in their stage of travel planning. For example this could be content that inspires them, such a beautiful photo when they are thinking about where to go on their next holiday or a blog article that helps them plan a better holiday when they are coming to or visiting your region.

2. Engagement Any content you share must engage your ideal customer. When your content engages a person it creates an emotional connection and they are more likely to connect with your brand and business. This helps build trust and loyalty and drive sales when the customer is in a position to buy your product or visit your region.

3. Optimization Any content you share must be able to be seen by your ideal customers and be able to be consumed by your customers. There are a million places to be sharing content online. However to ensure it is helping you achieve your goals and not wasting time and resources, you only need to worry about sharing it where your Ideal Customers are hanging out.

4. Consistency Successful content marketing happens when you commit for the long-term. Content marketing is an “always-on” marketing tactic meaning it is something you need to be doing little and often. Think about it from your customer’s point of view. You can’t expect to only communicate with customers when you have something to sell in this day and age, such as only sharing salesy emails or social media updates. Successful content marketing is about building trust and authority with customers through the relevant & engaging content you share regularly online, keeping your business or region top of mind for when they are ready to buy or visit.

5. Measurement There is no point undertaking any content marketing tactics unless you plan to measure it. There are 2 areas to measure your content marketing success. Content Love (aka engagement): on social, email and website blog. Keep an eye on the content your ideal customers are engaging with (eg liking, sharing, commenting on), and share more of the same. This keeps your tourism brand top of mind for when they are ready to book. Customer bookings/sales as a result of great content they saw from your business. Using Google Analytics, you can tracking the actual bookings

customers have made

CONTENT MARKETING

SOCIAL MEDIA

PLANNING PHASE VACATION PHASE POST-VACATION PHASE

SOCIAL SELLING Social media can influence travel plans. Only 47% if those who used social media said they stuck with their original plans. ENGAGEMENT Consumers are looking for suggestions, recommendations and insight from social media. Destinations who engage are destinations who win. BUILD RAPORT Social media gives destinations an opportunity to build trust and rapport with travellers by engaging with their posts and tweets.

85% of leisure travelers use their smartphone while abroad. Identifying these people talking about your destination while there gives you a chance to enhance their experience. Furthermore, it increases the chance of them sharing more positive stories about your destination or business.

75% of users share content about their vacations on social media when they get back from vacation. Encouraging reviews and giving thanks for reviews will increase the likelihood of generating more in the future.

EMAIL MARKETING

1 Content Calendar Email marketing campaigns can be overwhelming if they are not backed by a strong content plan. Deciding content at the last minute is not only challenging, but is also ineffective. You will find yourself sending destination offers too late for travellers to take an informed decision or recommending places and activities to a segment of audience that hasn’t shown much interest in it.

2 Location Sensitivity Considering and leveraging certain location based aspects of your target audience can make your emails very relevant and appealing. Location is also a great indicator of travelling habits and the decision making trends of your audience.

3 The Value of Images Discover the power of visual storytelling. It may sound as a cliché that a picture tells a thousand words, but you will find real value in using high quality visuals to promote your destination.

4. Timing is Everything Figure out the optimal time to prepare and send your email campaigns. Many destination marketers get timing totally wrong when it comes to email campaigns. They either send offers too late, not leaving enough consideration or decision-making time or send out offers too early.

5. Optimise Your Landing Pages Connect your email content to relevant landing pages. There’s nothing more disappointing than to receive a great offer or message that directs you to a landing page where you struggle to make the association.

ORKHAN KHALAFOV, Digital Marketing Strategist DIGITAL MARKETING SERVICES & OUTSOURCING

•  Search Engine Marketing

•  Social Media Marketing

•  Content Marketing

•  Email Marketing

Contacts: Mob: +99450 334 99 99 Email: orkhan.khalafov@gmail.com