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January 1, 2025 20 mins

In this insightful episode of the Tourism Hub Podcast, host Despina Karatzias delves into part six of the enlightening seven-part series, "Igniting Smart Marketing for 2025." This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs and experience makers, focusing on the often-overlooked power of diversifying marketing channels beyond social media.

Despina emphasises the foundational importance of your website and email database as the primary assets in your marketing strategy. These are the channels where you maintain control, free from the whims of algorithms and platform changes. By exploring the exciting possibilities of multi-channel marketing, Despina guides listeners on how to strengthen business resilience, reach, and engagement.

Listeners will learn about the risks of relying too heavily on social media, illustrated by the 2021 Facebook and Instagram outage that cost businesses millions globally. Despina shares strategies to diversify beyond social media, highlighting the significance of email marketing, video content, and collaborations with local businesses and influencers.

The episode also explores the potential of destination marketing, encouraging listeners to engage with visitors through various platforms, from blogs to visitor centres. By expanding your strategy, you become part of the visitor journey, from dreaming to experiencing and beyond.

Despina provides practical steps to diversify marketing efforts, including leveraging email marketing platforms, video editing tools, and analytics to enhance reach without overwhelming resources. She also stresses the importance of building relationships with tourism boards, trade partners, and content creators to amplify marketing efforts.

Join Despina in this empowering discussion and embrace a holistic marketing strategy that respects your primary assets while expanding your reach. This episode is a testament to building a resilient, adaptable marketing strategy that meets your audience wherever they are.

 
01:09 - The Importance of Diversifying Marketing Channels
02:22 - Leveraging Your Website and Email Database
02:58 - Risks of Relying Solely on Social Media
06:18 - Expanding Beyond Social Media
08:59 - Collaborations and Partnerships
14:50 - Tools and Strategies for Effective Marketing
16:33 - Action Plan for Diversifying Marketing
 

Grab your FREE copy of the must-read Top 25 Marketing Mistakes Your Small Business Must Avoid eBook today!

 

Connect with Despina Karatzias:

Website: Institute of Excellence

LinkedIn: Despina Karatzias

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Well, hello, beautiful people ofthe visitor economy and welcome
back to the Tourism Hub podcast.
I am your proud host, Aspina Karatsias,and today we are diving into part six
of our seven part series, IgnitingSmart Marketing for 2025 and Beyond.

(00:20):
This episode explores what many businessesoverlook, the power of of diversifying
your marketing channels when we are onlyfocused on social media, specifically.
Now, while social media is a cornerstoneof modern marketing and a vehicle to grow

(00:42):
community and a path to your next big hit.
Conversion, your nextbooking, your next purchase.
Relying too heavily on a singleplatform, however, leaves us vulnerable,
especially your beautiful business.
Algorithm changes, platformdisruptions, or even shifts.

(01:03):
in audience behavior can impactyour ability to connect with
that community that you've built.
But before we dive into the excitingpossibilities of multi channel
marketing, let me start with this.
Your website and your email databaseshould always be your primary focus.

(01:25):
If you've been with me on the journey orin any of my training or workshops, this
has not changed over the past decade.
Your website is the one place.
It's where you own the content, youown the narrative and the experience.
It's your digital storefront open24 7 and the foundation of all

(01:48):
of your, not only your marketingefforts, but your sales efforts.
It's your 24 7 marketing departmentand sales department all in one.
Similarly, Your email databaseis where you own the relationship
with your audience free fromalgorithms or third party control.

(02:09):
Respect these channels as yourmost valuable assets, because quite
frankly, they are, you are the landlordof these assets, not the tenant.
Now with that in mind, let's explorehow to diversify your marketing beyond
social media to strengthen your reach,engagement and your business resilience.

(02:34):
Let's start with whydiversification is important.
is essential.
Marketing isn't just about showing up,it's about showing up in the right places.
For many businesses, socialmedia is the go to marketing
strategy, and for good reason.
It's accessible, it's affordable,it's engaging, and it's powerful.

(02:58):
But here's the risk when it's Theonly focus and more than that,
when we're only focusing on oneplatform, platform vulnerability.
I don't know if you remember back in2021, Facebook and Instagram, now part

(03:19):
of the meta verse, part of, you know,meta, they experienced a six hour outage.
What you may not remember or know.
Is that an outage of six hours onthese two behemoth platforms cost
businesses globally an estimated65 million dollar loss in revenue.

(03:44):
By leaning too heavily on one platform,you leave your business at the
mercy of forces beyond your control.
That's why we go back to your websiteand your email list being the non
negotiables in your marketing strategy.
They're the channels you fully own.

(04:06):
and you fully control.
Unlike social media, your website and youremail campaigns don't rely on external
algorithms to reach your audience.
They are your foundation, yourconsistent, reliable marketing backbone.
We use social media as our amplification.

(04:30):
to drive them off and bring themback to our Mothership, our website.
Diversifying your marketing channelsand respecting the platforms and
the relationships that you own,provide you with a Resilience.
So if one channel underperforms,others can pick up the slack.

(04:54):
It provides you reach.
So different audiencesuse different platforms.
So expanding ensures that you'reconnecting with a broader customer base
and it provides you with stability.
It helps you stay visibleeven during disruptions or
algorithmic changes.

(05:15):
Algorithmic.
I'm sure that's a word,but you know what I mean.
Diversifying also appliesto destination marketing.
Think of it this way.
Visitors to your destinationaren't just scrolling social media.
They're reading blogs, they'rewatching video, they're engaging
with email campaigns and exploringrecommendations from local businesses,

(05:38):
other influencers, even the media.
Dropping in to visitor centres.
By expanding your strategy,you're not just advertising or
marketing, you're becoming better.
Part of that visitor journeyin all those wonderful stages.
Remember from dreaming to planningto booking to experiencing and the

(06:03):
better part, the one in betweenbooking and experiencing, anticipating
and the one after experiencing theability to, for us to be thanking.
Okay.
And the list goes on, but that's thejourney that we want to be part of.
Now that we understand the importanceof diversification and unpacking that,

(06:26):
let's explore what expanding beyondsocial media could look like by way
of platform and the type of contentthat you are creating and sharing.
Email marketing is the starting point.
Email remains one of the mosteffective marketing channels with

(06:46):
an average ROI return on investmentand also ROR return on relationship
of 36 for every dollar spent.
Return.
So building a list of subscribersusing opt ins like a downloadable free
guide, for example, top 10 must visitspots in Insert Your Destination.

(07:11):
Use your email campaigns tobring traffic to your website.
And remember, don't That being yourcentral hub, that's the ultimate
aim of what we want to achieve isdrive those visitors to your website.
That's a key strategic and,that's on all of our KPIs.

(07:33):
Video marketing.
Video content is the king of engagement.
It has been for a long time and continuesto, particularly with short form
content, generating 1200 percent moreshares than text or images combined.
Now using platforms like YouTube,Instagram, Reels, and TikTok to create

(07:57):
immersive, engaging content thatshowcases your business and your brand.
is also a great strategy for yoursocial media across, or I should say
across your social media platforms.
So if you are already doing video,let's think about broadening your

(08:21):
horizons and your reach by broadeningSharing on multiple platforms.
And hey, guess what?
Also, loading up and embeddingthat video onto, remember,
the Mothership, your website.
Get some more engagingcontent on your website.
So think about your About Us page.

(08:42):
Think about the Home page on your website.
Think about yourFrequently Asked Questions.
How can we help you?
Turn that content into useful contentthat we can share on our social
media platforms, but also have ahome, have a home on our website.
And collaborations with local businesses,social media, or local influencers

(09:06):
and visitor information centers.
Reach out to your local tourismorganizations, your other
transport or tourism operatorsthat compliment what you do, your
hotels, your accommodation providers.
Many already have distribution channelsof their own, like their own email
database, newsletters, or visitorbrochures, where you can can be featured.

(09:32):
Think about how you cancollaborate in this way.
Remember these channels worktogether to complement your
website and email database.
Social media can attract attention.
Email keeps the connection alive andyour website seals the deal by turning
visitors into guests and customers.

(09:55):
Diversifying isn't justabout platforms though.
Of course, it's about people.
Your connections with other businesses andorganizations can amplify your marketing
efforts by building these relationships.
This includes, number one, yourtourism councils and your tourism

(10:16):
boards and visitor informationcentres, like I mentioned earlier.
Collaborating with these local entities,you really have an opportunity to
build relationships and stay upto date and stay aware of local
trends that and opportunities thatyou can be a part of and featured

(10:40):
in these destination marketingcampaigns, both digital or in print.
Many tourism boards createdestination guides or social media
posts highlighting local businesses.
In Australia, at the time of thisrecording, if you do not have your
experience listed, Even on theAustralian Tourism Data Warehouse

(11:04):
database, the ATDW, you are also missingout on another online significant
marketing and distribution strategy.
And fun fact, If you are a Victorianbusiness and you are a sustainable
accredited tourism business, yousave 60 percent on this listing.

(11:26):
So another thing, diversification.
We're doing all of these things onFacebook and Instagram, on YouTube.
However, what about about things that, youknow, that can really help amplify your
business and get into that visit Victoria,visit New South Wales, queensland.
com, like where you can really haveyour business featured, and piggyback on

(11:51):
your destination's marketing activity.
Number two, and an extension of this isyour trade partners and referral networks.
Building relationships with yourtravel network, travel agents,
tour operators, wholesalers, etc.
inbound tour operators andeven transport services.

(12:14):
These partnerships can be a differencethat makes a difference in your
marketing activity that can open upreferral streams more than Anything
that social media can do for you.
So really working these relationshipson and offline through page placement

(12:36):
and inbound linking to your websitethat can go a long way to increase
your domain authority, as well asyour visibility and brand awareness.
Number three is your contentpartnerships, working with bloggers,
vloggers, influencers, who you cantake the lead by researching if they're

(13:00):
a good fit and resonate with yourexperience and your brand values.
Their audiences, Trust them and makingit an effective way to build credibility
and build content that can exist againand create tentacles for what you do

(13:22):
in front of other audiences, whichare great, collaborative strategies.
And number four is on site promotion,providing places like visitor centers,
our wonderful Visitor informationor visitor inspiration centers and

(13:42):
transport hubs with material likebrochures, QR codes, linking back to
your website, or even exclusive offersthat drive traffic to your office.
channels.
Another great thing here is inviting.
I mean, I've said this before, but I'llkeep it and I'll put it back on the
whiteboard, inviting those hardworkingvolunteers and frontline staff at

(14:07):
visitor centers, your concierge network,, frontline reception staff your local
hotel or motel or bed and breakfast,just inviting them to experience your
product or exchanging, doing it, youknow, doing a contract, wouldn't that
be a wonderful piece of content toshare on your social media, to write

(14:28):
a blog post, to see on your website,diversify your content strategy.
These types of collaborationscan go a really long way in
really leveraging and how you.
operate, how you communicate andhow you can use these platforms.

(14:50):
The right tools can help you expand yourreach without overwhelming your resources.
And this includes things like emailmarketing platforms, tools like MailChimp
or ActiveCampaign make it easy to designcampaigns, automate follow ups, and

(15:11):
track engagement, video editing software,building our skill set in platforms like
Canva, C A N V A, or CapCut, another greatediting tool that allows you to create
professional looking videos, and more.
Even if you're not a tech wizard,like even if it just start with video.

(15:32):
These are how you can level up again,have a play with them, download them,
see what you can do and analytics toolsusing things like Google analytics.
To track your website traffic or toolslike Buffer to measure social media
engagement across multiple platforms.
, your social media meta,I mentioned meta earlier.

(15:55):
Your meta business suite, great placeto manage the content, but also not
disregarding looking at the analyticsthat it can provide is really powerful.
And your customer relationshipmanagement systems.
Using your CRM to segmentaudiences and tailor messaging

(16:17):
across your different platforms.
So listen to part 5 for more on CRMsfor your relationship management
goals to acquire new customers andretain existing loyal customers.
So here's your action plan for thispart of the series and for the week.

(16:39):
Start small and be intentional.
Review your website.
Check that your site is mobilefriendly, loads quickly and
has clear call to actions.
Launch an email campaign.
Have you done one recently?
Do you have an email list?

(17:00):
Is it clean?
Is it up to date?
If yes, it's time to draft a simplenewsletter with updates on what
you've been up to, tips or specialoffers for your loyal subscribers.
And please create that video.
Record a 30 second clipshowcasing a unique aspect of you.

(17:24):
or the experience that you offer.
Share it across YouTube Shorts,Instagram Reels, and TikTok, and then,
you know, measure it, see how it goes.
Last but not least, make the effortto reach out to a local partner.
Contact your local visitor center orA complimentary business about further

(17:47):
exploring across promotion opportunity.
But remember, this isn'tjust done one and forget.
Look at this as a holisticmarketing strategic approach.
And that's time for action.
Diversifying your marketingchannels isn't about doing more.

(18:08):
It's about doing more.
What works, where it works, forthe right person that you want
to attract into your business.
By expanding beyond social mediaand respecting your website and
respecting your email list as yourprimary assets, you're building a
resilient, adaptable strategy thatmeets your audience wherever they are.

(18:34):
Thank you, my friends.
Friends for tuning in to the tourism hubpodcast where our dedication is to bring
you people process purpose and Placesto make your week and your business
better today than it was yesterdayThis episode is brought to you by the

(18:57):
Institute of Excellence your school fortourism and small business greatness
And it is in small business Buy our freeebook, Top 25 Marketing Mistakes Your
Small Business Must Avoid To Thrive.
You can buy it now.
Download it and sign up for a a copyand a coffee at instituteofexcellence.

(19:17):
com.
It's a full on workbook.
It's not just an ebook.
It's a workbook that you canwork through at your own pace
and just get your strategy on.
And don't forget.
To leave a review and hit subscribeso you never miss an episode.
Until next time, stayignited and stay inspired.
And remember, your website and emaildatabase are your marketing cornerstones.

(19:42):
Keep building and keep thriving.
Okay,
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