As a local business owner, you may or may not be in an area where tourism and travel have a large impact on your business. However, almost regardless of where in the world your business resides, there are likely going to be at least a handful of people visiting your area at any given time. And the more this number grows, the more you’re going to want to be able to take advantage of this demographic in your area. But for many business owners, it’s hard to know how to best contact and appeal to tourists visiting your area. So to help with this, here are three ways you can start appealing to tourists as a small, local business.
Get Found Through Google Maps
When people are new to or visiting an area, they often use apps like Google Maps to help them familiarize themselves with what their current location has to offer. And if they aren’t able to find you when they’re using this app, the chances of getting them to your store are pretty slim. For this reason, Stephanie Heitman, a contributor to Business2Community.com, recommends ensuring that your business is registered with Google My Business and that all your business information found there is accurate. By doing this, you’ll be able to be seen by anyone looking at the Google Map of your area, which will increase the likelihood of bringing in more tourists to your location.
Keep An Eye On Instagram
Travelers will often keep those on their social media channels up to date on where they are and what they’re doing. One of the easiest social media platforms to accomplish this task is Instagram. Through Instagram, users can take a photo of where they are or what they’re doing and use hashtags to connect their experiences with others having the same experience. With this idea in mind, James Mulvey, a contributor to HootSuite.com, recommends keeping an eye on Instagram, especially the hashtags applicable to your area, so you can see when someone new is close to your store. By knowing what type of people frequently visit your area, you can better cater to that demographic in the hopes of bringing more of those tourists to your shop.
Create An Event
People will travel quite a distance to come to an event that appeals to them. One way you can take advantage of this is to create your own even that you then market to those close to your area in the hopes of bringing them into your store. Another way you can use events is to market your business at an event. If you’re able to build relationships between customers and your brand while at this event, you may be able to get those tourists to travel a little farther in order to come to your brick and mortar store.
If you’re looking for more ways to get tourists to your local business, use the tips mentioned above to help make that dream a reality.
Originally posted on September 9, 2017 @ 7:57 am