Failte Ireland online marketing for Meath Tourism

Failte Ireland Online Marketing 2009
Presentation to Meath Tourism

Presented by:
Niamh Nevill
eBusiness Manager

Agenda

• Marketing of DiscoverIreland.ie

• Content is still King: impact of Web 2.0

• Other online initiatives from Failte Ireland

• Ten Online Marketing Tips (that don’t cost a penny!)

• Summary

Page 2

Discoverireland.ie
• Received 2.89 million visits in 2008

• Top 5 most popular pages
– Accommodation
– Special Offers
– Things to See and Do
– Festivals and Events
– Discoverireland.ie/west

• Currently undergoing redesign
– Phase 1 launch March 2009
– Phase 2 launch June 2009

• Both phases: content quality improvement plan and distribution
increase of TCS content

• Recent updates for preferred booking engine nomination

Page 3

Significant increase in referrals to Industry websites or email enquiries

78% Increase in visits for Jan-April 2009 vs. 2008: 110,007 extra visits
External referrals from discoverireland.ie:
email, website, booking engine
90000
80000
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
January February March April
2008 visits 2009 visits

Page 5

Redesign of Discovreireland.ie

Redesign over 2 phases:
• To create a contemporary look and feel
• To improve the presentation of motivational content, and tourist item
content such as accommodation, activities, festivals and events.

Page 6

Discover Ireland.ie Updates

Redesign over 2 phases:
• To apply Web 2.0 technologies and trends to enhance user experience.
Example: Google maps, RSS feeds, Links to social networks

Page 7

Discover Ireland.ie exploring new channels

Social Networking
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Yahoo Travel

Page 8

Discover Ireland.ie: aligning traditional channels TV, radio, Print advertising
Advertising:
clear and inviting call to action to visit site across all offline media to Discoverireland.ie.

Page 9

Discover Ireland.ie online marketing
Content is STILL king!
• Search Engine Optimisation:
Continuous evolution of website content to improve rankings and natural search
traffic.
• Extension of traditional content to include rich media like virtual
tours, video, high res images.

Page 10

TCS Strategy 2009-2011
Tourism Content System Overview
• National tourism information database
www.tcs.ireland.ie

• 26,000 tourist items categorised as;
– Accommodation
– Attractions
– Activities
– Festivals and Events
– Transport

• October 2008: review of the current state of
the TCS.

• Failte Ireland created a 3 year plan to
improve on the current content and improve
its quality and distribution.

Page 11

TCS Strategy 2009-2011

The TCS project will ensure that our Irish Tourism content is
current, accurate, engaging and reaches a world-wide audience.

Translates to;

• Audit of content quality and currency; industry
involvement

• Increase distribution of content via content syndication

• Use current web 2.0 technologies to engage consumer

Page 12

Content is
King now
Distribution
is the Queen

Page 13

TCS content syndication to reach a wider audience

Page 14

Discoverireland.ie : other marketing initiatives
Special Offers
• In conjunction with newspaper lift-out
• 3 campaigns, March-April, May-June and July-August
• Contact geraldine.jeffers@failteireland.ie

Page 15

Ten Tips for your online marketing (that won’t cost a penny!)
1. Join the Facebook Group: I love Ireland
Publish stories, images, video related to your area.

2. Join www.twitter.com . Follow each other to increase your numbers.

3. Join www.linkedin.com and Talk Tourism to network with other
professionals and promote business related services.


4. Join www.yahootravel.com and create suggested itineraries
for your area.
“Boyne Valley- home of
Irish Myths and Legends”

Newgrange: 500 years
older than the pyramids!

“High Kings of
Ireland sat at
Hill of Tara..”

5. Multiple social network updates using www.ping.fm and measure
your social network activity using www.bit.ly

6. Upload a video from your area to You Tube. Be sure to Geotag on Google Maps.

Also upload to Facebook, you could use www.qik.com or www.vimeo.com to upload video from
your phone. Then Twitter the link to your videos!


7. Create a Flickr gallery or upload your photos to Google
Earth using Picasa


8. Check out www.TripAdvisor.com and provide responses to
engage with future or past customers

9. Check your website content, contact details, page headings and intro
text: use keywords. Update your listing on discoverireland.ie. To find
out how you rank compared to your competitors, try
www.semrush.com.

Send updates to Teresa Heffernan:

Failte Ireland East and Midlands
teresa.heffernan@failteireland.ie

Phone: (044) 9350119

10. Consider using online vouchers. Recent article indicating that after
social networking the most popular area is related to vouchers.

Failte Ireland’s online focus 2009
• Failte Ireland’s role: to facilitate the success of the industry
– Product development and marketing
– Enterprise and skills dev
– Regional Development and marketing
– Visitor Servicing

• Continue to improve and expand our online presence, both consumer
and corporate

• Expansion of online marketing initiatives:
– Mobile, PDA and GPS technologies
– CRM
– social networking
– rich media
– user-generated content policy

• Website Content improvements and distribution

• Industry Empowerment. Increase eBusiness skills and knowledge

Page 26

eBusiness Supports in online environment
What is it?

• The e-Business Support Initiative is a
3 year project running since June
2008

• Its designed to enable tourism
business operators to identify their
web development needs and provide
them with direct support, on-site
assistance and training.

• The e-Business support is provided in
several stages, undertaken on behalf
of Fáilte Ireland by a team of
independent IT consultants (Service
Providers):

Page 27

How it works:
WEB-CHECK
– review & critique of the existing website by phone
– on-site 1:2:1 consultation to address immediate issues
– highlighting an action plan of further developmental
measures for consideration

• WEB-START
– for SME’s who do not possess a website
– web specification template

• WEB-CHECK PLUS
– additional ½ day on-site e-marketing support to optimise
effectiveness of web-sites following Web-Check input

• WEB-SKILLS
– techniques to optimise on-line sales
– e-Business workshops /e-Symposiums highlighting
cutting edge innovations in e-Business geared towards
the Tourism sector.
– 10 workshops held in 2008, (178 delegates), 30
workshops scheduled for 2009, plus 3 e-Symposiums.

Page 28


• 6 topics addressed during 2009 workshops;
– Online selling
– Google Tools
– Web Content
– Web Safety (safety, risks and hazards)
– SEO
– Web Design & Development

• E-Symposium 12th May Rochestown Park Hotel, CORK

• More Info: www.iia.ie/webcheck
stephen.dudley@failteireland.ie

Page 29

Summary: Key messages from this presentation:
• Check out your listing on www.discoverireland.ie to ensure
your business is represented to its best. Send updates to
Teresa Heffernan, Failte Ireland East and Midlands
teresa.heffernan@failteireland.ie or phone 044 9350119

• Spend twenty minutes per day on
Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Yahoo Travel, Trip Advisor and
start creating a buzz about your area. Try ping.fm for
multiple updates. Follow me on Twitter: niamhtoohey

• Measure your online activities, e.g. www.bit.ly and watch
external referrers on Google analytics. Ensure you calculate
your ROI before investing.

Summary: Key messages from this presentation:

I hope that was useful, here’s a list of links
used in this presentation.
http://niamhsmusings.tumblr.com/

Failte Ireland online marketing for Meath Tourism

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Failte Ireland online marketing for Meath Tourism