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Due to the fast way in which the Internet is evolving, there is now a plethora of digital channels which can be used to hold a dialogue between a brand and a consumer, for example, between your hotel and your future or repeat guests.
“Travel planning is still one of the leading reasons consumers use these channels. If you want gays and lesbians to find your hotel, attraction, event or tour when they are planning their holidays, you better be going digital,” says gay tourism marketing specialist Dee Farrell.
If you need to assess your online marketing strategy in terms of reaching the gay market, hire an expert to fine tune your campaign and then hire a content creator to contribute to the blogs, video channels and Facebook and Twitter accounts you’ve established.”
–Dee@PeacockTourism.com.
Edited from Wikipedia and comments by a Digital Marketing Maven
The Gay Market in Tourism
By Matt Skallerud, former IGLTA President and founder of Pink Banana Media
As the lesbian and gay travel market has grown and developed over the past 30 years, it’s been the travel industry which has embraced and been at the forefront in marketing to the gay and lesbian community.
The world of gay and lesbian travel is maturing, and now there are companies dedicated exclusively to gay tourism marketing and business associations solely for this segment of the industry.
- On the Business-to-Business (B2B) front, the first and foremost of these is the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), one of the largest and oldest gay business associations worldwide. With conventions and symposiums held each year throughout the world, IGLTA is one of the finest representations of a truly global trade association that mirrors the growth of the gay community worldwide.
- On the marketing front, my company Pink Banana Media and IGLTA cofounder Dee Farrell’s company (Peacock Tourism Marketing) have emerged to specifically help travel agencies, tourism bureaus, tour operators and resorts better reach and serve gay and lesbian travellers.
How to Reach the Gay Traveller
The travel industry is catering to gay and lesbian travelers more than ever. Still, it takes more than flying a rainbow flag to attract these travelers — and their dollars. And in today’s digital age, it takes more than advertising to get the attention of savvy surfers. If you’re brand/message is not yet interacting with these consumers/travelers, you better catch up!
Blogging is tool to engage people
Utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Photos and Video to Market a Destination to Locals and Gay & Lesbian Visitors By Matt Skallerud, Pink Banana Media
Traditionally, destination marketing has been divided into two distinct market groups – travelers coming INTO a destination and locals (or natives) already LIVING IN a destination. With the continued shift of online marketing to social media and Web 2.0, the distinction between these two groups is becoming blurred.
Traditionally, when targeting a consumer using banner ads or direct e-mail, a destination worked with specific media either targeting the inbound gay traveler or the person living in that city or region. The two media were very different, and yet crossover existed even then in the form of local event listings, restaurant specials and bar and club updates, all of interest to both locals and travelers alike.
Today, when promoting a destination on Facebook, a blog, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube, that crossover works to a destination marketer’s advantage, as a more single and unified message can be delivered that appeals to both markets. This advantage makes it even easier to work with a wider variety of local and travel media from which to share content with and partner with for an even more comprehensive and stronger destination marketing campaign targeting the gay and lesbian traveller and local community.
Colleagues through IGLTA
Matt, Mr. Pink Banana, and Dee, Chief Bird at Peacock Tourism, met through their work with the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA.org). They are collaborating on bringing a how-to seminar to Australia so Rainbow Tourism Accredited and IGLTA operators can learn how to implement savvy digital marketing to their target campaigns.
The workshops will be held in Sydney and the Gold Coast in 2010. ”Take our strategy outline, modify to best suit your destination’s unique needs, and adopt social network marketing as one of your top growth areas for marketing in the next decade. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results!”
So preach Dee & Matt in conjunction with Mark at Rainbow Tourism.com, the sponsor of the operator workshops.
Interview with RJ Neel, President of RJ Neel & Associates, NYC
Talking about the importance of using social media networking
and video marketing solutions to grow your business.
RJ Neel, serial entrepreneur
September 2009.
RJ, we’ve discussed many times that the world isn’t interested in blah, boring or the ordinary. Because of your tremendous body of knowledge about new media, I have a few questions and curiosities. Help!
Q. How does our small company keep our blog topical, the site interactive, feed a Facebook fan page, and build a following on Twitter? Do we need a full-time social media dork like Ellen uses to tweet live during her show?
Thanks for your reply. Emma Enterprises, NYC
(Stay tuned for RJ’s video reply.)
– Dee Farrell, Chief Peacock, blogs at Peacock Tourism Marketing, with a focus on marketing communications tactics for tourism operators who OUT reach to lesbian and gay travelers.
Sep 03, 2009 – by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing
Every business should operate with a set of plans – a plan for the business, a plan for cash, a plan for growth, and certainly a plan for marketing. Opening a business with no plan is kind of like driving somewhere you’ve probably never been without a map or GPS device.
A marketing plan is commonly accepted as standard fare, but still, few businesses operate from any semblance of one. In my experience it’s not because they don’t think they need one, it’s because they’ve either never gotten around to creating one, or worse, they’ve created a marketing plan only to check it off the list and shove it in the bottom of drawer somewhere.
John says, “I’ve worked with many small businesses, created many marketing plans, and I can tell you that …marketing plans are essential mind and stress freeing tools, and you can and should lean very heavily on yours – if you can avoid these 7 marketing planning pitfalls.”
Birds of a Feather
Here’s Ms Peacock’s take on this.
After reading John’s article in full for the 7 pitfalls to avoid, I hope you’ll join me in taking the marketing plan out of the bottom drawer. I refreshed mine this morning and was immediately motivated to post this item to tell you my #1 pet peeve: consulting clients who don’t activate their plans or fail to correct their course weeks after their initiatives.
“If you don’t hold every initiative accountable you can’t make your plans work – it’s also a great way to waste a lot of money. Failure to monitor, analyze, and measure marketing actions is the single greatest factor holding businesses back,” says John.
Editor’s Note: John Jantsch is a marketing and digital technology coach and author of Marketing Plan Pro powered by Duct Tape Marketing – the world’s #1 selling marketing planning software.