Local businesses and travel businesses have opportunities that other businesses do not.
Every time there is an event in your area you can piggyback on the fanfare for the event and promote your own business.
When people come to your area for an event they’ll probably visit many of the local businesses in town for lodging, food and entertainment. That brings in more revenue on its own, but you can do even more to promote your business.
Here are a few steps you can use local events to boost your travel business.
1. Create An Official Partnership
It’s always best to reach out to the host of an event to see if there are official opportunities for partnerships. It might require a sponsorship of some kind, but even a small sponsorship could lead to coverage in the local media for your business along with the event.
If you are able to partner, the best way would be to offer your services to those attending the event.
Let’s say there is a baseball game in town. Your restaurant could promote root beer and ice cream for all those coming from the game. You might have to offer a discount, but you’ll get a mention at the game that fans are welcome to visit.
Or if the fair is town for the week your massage shop could offer massages to those that have been walking around the fair all week with their kids. Again, you might have to offer a discount, but it’s a good way to introduce your business to new customers.
The key to promotions like this is to measure the number of new customers. You’re trying to get new people to visit that wouldn’t have visited before had you not made the partnership.
2. Website Partnerships
Before events, many of the attendees will go on the event’s website to get details. Ask the event if they could put your information on their website leading up to the event.
This can work well for lodging options like hotels and bed and breakfast inns. You may have to pay, but it can lead to exposure that you wouldn’t otherwise receive.
This can also work if there are conference events in your area. Your restaurant could ask to be featured on the website as one of the options for attendees to take their business associates for dinner after the day’s conference event are over.
Identify the things attendees will need during the visit and find a way to synergize with the event. Make the event host look good by featuring you on their website and you’ll have created a win-win situation that works out for you and for them.
3. Email Partnerships
Email partnerships can work just like website partnership and can sometimes work even better. The event probably sends out emails leading up to the event.
If you can find a way to be included in those emails you’ll get exposure. If you’re a hotel or B&B, see if you could be featured in the email. The event likely wants to promote the lodging options for their attendees anyway so it might as well feature you.
Make it easy for the event and provide them with whatever materials they might need like images and text for the email.
Final Thoughts
There are lots of opportunities to piggyback on big events that come to your town. Identify what the attendees will need while they’re in town and see how you can provide solutions. Once you find something that will work, reach out to the event coordinator and see if there are partnership opportunities.
It can be valuable for you and for them and could turn into an annual partnership that continues for years.
