Summer is here, and it’s about all you can do to focus on work when your all-inclusive resort vacation is coming up. Instead of fighting all those fun holiday thoughts, why not combine them with a little marketing and get started on your vacation a bit early?
It’s time to jump-start vacation season with some marketing fun that will remind you of your all-inclusive resort.
The Grand Entrance: Getting your vacation started right matters. You want to walk into the resort and be greeted warmly. Someone should hand you a cold, bubbly drink with something sugary dazzling the rim of the glass. You should have a feeling like, “Oh, yes. I belong here.”
The big resort entrance is the branding of your company. When your audience has an encounter with your brand, you want them to have a fantastic first impression. This comes with a clear understanding of who you are as a brand and what you have to offer.
It means having a set message, color scheme and tone to your brand. It means being recognizable the minute a member of your audience encounters your brand.
The Drink Bar: This is where it really settles in that you’re on vacation! The stress begins to melt as you satisfy your craving for that pina colada or margarita. Even if you’re celebrating an alcohol-free getaway, you can feel the everyday you slipping away as you sip, and the resort version of you begins to feel free and relaxed. You’re quenching your thirst and getting ready for fun to begin.
Your content pieces should each have the feel of a well-mixed, perfectly proportioned cocktail. They bring valuable information with a hint of charm or humor, like the ideal garnish on a fantastic drink. Your content marketing strategy is the drinks bar itself, with a talented bartender who understands what everyone wants and provides it with style.
If your content marketing has been a bit one-dimensional, like a cheap beer, you may want to start using a more nuanced approach. Tie in different formats, such as video or an infographic, if you’ve been in a rut with blogs and white papers.
The Infinity Pool: Are you swimming in a pool that’s part of the ocean or the ocean that’s part of your pool? Nobody knows. Just put your sunglasses back on and enjoy the view.
Your social marketing should bring all the mesmerizing beauty of the infinity pool, where content flows between different platforms complete with interactive elements. Your audience doesn’t care exactly how it’s happening, they just know they are into it.
The Entertainment: You always know when you’ve reached that part of vacation where you’ve had so much fun that you’re exhausted. Parasailing? Yeah, awesome. Excursions? You’re all about it. But after a few outings, you just want to kick back and enjoy a little live music, a movie or a comedian.
In marketing world, this is visual marketing, and particularly video marketing. Sometimes your audience just wants an easy way to access some information without having to work for it. And they want to be entertained.
So, you give your audience a taste of vacation relaxation, where all they have to do is click the right-facing arrow and sit back to watch. If you make it funny, engaging or heartfelt, they’ll click on your next one, too.
Ooh, That Buffet: You know why you really came. You heard about the seafood. The steak. The DESSERTS. If you didn’t have a friend who gained seven pounds at this resort, you wouldn’t have even considered it. It’s really just a few activities and outings between meals, snacks, bites.
Give the people what they want. Give them options, and make them good ones. Your audience needs a variety of choices in the ways they connect with your brand. That’s why you want to create a strategy with a lot of irresistible touchpoints. You will want to use social media, email marketing and blogs, then sprinkle in some PPC and geofencing. Make it a whole buffet of connections. It will be mmm, delicious!
Excursions: Pack your little bag. Make sure you are where you’re supposed to be at the time you’re supposed to be there. Don’t forget the sunscreen. You’re off on an excursion! Whether it’s a vineyard, a coastal enclave, a zipline or local market, there are so many ways to go on a little vacation from your vacation. And why not? Make the most of this all-inclusive resort because we’re getting close to returning to the real world.
When you’re on vacation, it’s fun to keep it fresh, and your marketing strategy should use the same approach. Don’t get bogged down with one social media platform, like a guy who’s been going to the same mile marker on the same beach for decades and doesn’t know there are better spots just around the bend.
Tap into AI to brainstorm some new ideas. Try a social media marketing trend. Collaborate with an influencer in your industry. You might even jump in with something that scares you just a bit, like a live video.
When you’re ready to get away, getting started on resort-style marketing may be the next-best thing. We would love to chat with you and hear about where your business is headed and how it’s going so far. Then we can talk about how to help you get there faster with a little help from us—SJC Marketing.