Experience Marketing News

Making Your Brand Shine During Tourism’s Year of The GOAT

February 15, 2022

Did you know that 2022 is supposed to be “tourism’s year of the GOAT”?

While the moniker sounds ridiculous, its premise embodies what Expedia has donned a brand new travel mindset projected to take over. Leading with an acronym that stands for “Greatest of All Trips,” it comes with the notion that folks have shifted to a “no-regrets” style of travel.

Higher spend. Bigger expectations. LOTS of plans.

So if your brand caters to tourism or experiences, pay attention, because otherwise you could be left butting heads with competition.

LEVELING UP YOUR EXPERIENCE TO “GREATEST OF ALL TIME”

The best way to cater to this new visitor is to execute at a level higher than their base expectations, which, yes, are already high. The trick is to be a step ahead… cover the little things, answer the questions before they have a chance to ask them, and take care of the tiniest of details before your target market has a chance to think of them.

Remember, GOATs are resilient. They rise above at even the steepest of mountains. It’s your turn to do that too.

HOW TO TAKE CHARGE

With so much to account for during this day and time, we can certainly understand that “being ahead of the curve” sounds a little daunting. But it doesn’t have to be.

Shifting your attention just a tad can ensure you’re not at the back of the herd.

HERE’S OUR LIST OF GREATS:

Stay Informed: One lasting trait of Covid times is the importance of fluidity. Having a keen ear for what’s next lends your brand the unique opportunity to optimize services, product, and even selling propositions on the fly. And the less time it takes between decision making and implementation means more revenue in the bank. Start by following along with Arival, Tourpreneur, Skift, and your local CVB. Complement that with newsletters from Stacked Marketer or Social Media Examiner. And if inclined, try in-person discovery at a local or even national level, international for the Super GOATs!
Pay Attention To Google: One thing we’ve learned lately is that Google Things To Do is growing, and you need to be connected. You can do this through a res tech provider for the immediate or with facilitation from Google or Von Mack in the direct future. We recommend testing out campaigns for the interface, as it takes up a tons of SERP visual realty. For more, reach out, because #TeamVonMack’s lining up our all call for Beta.
InterConnectivity Is Huge: We’re talking in-person networking. We’re speaking to API functionality. We’re discussing channel management. No one gets ahead by functioning as a silo. Expanding your horizons here will help you know what’s next AND aid in service offerings. Again, it’s about going next level. Don’t do that alone.
Get Social: First, stew on #3 from our list a bit. Then a bit more. Then take that mindset to social media. Go video if you can! Cross-tag your pictures. Highlight people on tour. The best way for your brand to be found is by putting it out there to begin with. Social gives you credibility and it makes your brand current. It is an important element to embrace throughout 2022.
Where Gen Z Leads, You Follow: Gen Z is connected. They are online. They are huge on social. And they’re what the rest of the world is looking to for trends. Also important is the fact that elder Gen Z’s are graduating university now. It’s time to stop looking at them as children who do not pay for their own trips. Respect them. Invite them to your cultivated community. And give them props when they give you a shout out. Because being mindful of that will make them mindful of you too.
OTA’s Are Not Evil… Use Them To Your Advantage: It’s time to stop the hate with Online Travel Agencies. If you build your inventory into a reseller, then the next step is managing your company’s availability in a way that synergizes with your master approach to seasonality. From there, you get the benefit of taking up that much more realty on search results pages. Because if not, your competitor can steal sales with a listing where you fall short.