To successfully market on the Internet you must have good content and then distribute it effectively – this is the essence of e-Marketing.

Importance of the Internet
The internet is the most important marketing channel in tourism; it is flexible, quick, engaging and allows your content to be distributed cheaply and widely to a massive audience.

Facts:

-          Tourism is the largest selling commodity on the Internet
-          more than 50% of the tourism spend in Europe is done over the Internet
-          More than 70% of travelers start their travel plans on the Internet
-          The Internet is becoming a more visual medium (Show, don’t Tell)

The Internet is continually becoming a more important business channel – if you do not have a plan to market to this channel then you need to develop one quickly.

Importance of Rich Media

The old saying ‘ Content is King ‘ is even more appropriate on the Internet. With a massive selection available on the Internet, content must be interesting, engaging and preferably interactive otherwise the visitor will simply move on.

Tourism organizations / businesses should invest the following forms of multimedia or content:-

• Text – good at relaying basic info
• Audio – excellent for stories, interviews , etc
• Images – attract attention, emotive & provide credibility
• Video – powerful as it conveys images and info quickly and effectively
• Virtual Tours – brilliant at providing detailed information and credibility
• Interactive Maps – provides spatial understanding of location/ destination

”Content is not just king, it is the emperor of all things digital.” Rupert Murdoch

Importance of Distribution

You can have the best content however if it is not well distributed then it only has limited use and will not generate business. You should develop a comprehensive plan for distributing you content that involves the following channels:-

-          Website
-          Blogs (yours and other peoples)
-          E-Newsletters
-          Social Media
-          Emails
-          Documents
-          Via Agents

So to successfully market on the Internet you need to accept the growing importance of this channel and adapt your marketing strategy accordingly. Most importantly develop great content and have a plan to distribute it – this way you will get a great return on investment on the development of your content.

Good luck and go for it – the longer you wait the further you get left behind!!