Understand your brand and build on it...

It's important when marketing to tell your stories, sharing how the natural world inspires you, motivates you and teaches you humanity. Dig through your image archives and find photos that capture wild Africa and her incredible spirit, share them on social media, tell people why you are sharing them and what they mean to you...

Write down what it is that makes the African bush so special and how you feel when you share it with guests from all over the world...

Tell people what motivates you and your brand, what makes your brand tick, what defines it...

Most importantly, take the time to regularly reflect on what your brand actually is, what it stands for, where it's strengths and weaknesses lie and how you can strengthen it. If you don't have a vision and mission statement, now's the time to prepare one. Likewise with a vision and value statement...

What are these? Allow us to explain:

Mission Statement: This is what a company actually does. It should be short and easy to remember. Your mission statement should also be specific enough that people understand what you do and how it may differ from your competitors. 

Vision Statement:  This is what your company aspires to be; which can be much different than what a company is (mission statement). When done right, your vision statement can and should help drive decisions and goals in your company.

Value Statement:  A value statement conveys the values and priorities of a company. This lets your customers and staff know what’s important to your business and the kind of culture it has. It can be used internally and externally and is guideline for operations and a way of marketing to your core audience.

So what makes a good story? Well, let's look at why you are in this industry, for a start. What got you into tourism? Why do you do what you do? What do you love about what you do? Passion is a great driver of awesome content, so let it shine. Coupled with good writing and fabulous images, your love for tourism should underpin everything you sent out to the public space. 

If you don't tap into what it is that drives you and your business, and the spark that makes you get out of bed in the morning, then you are never going to convince scared and wary travellers to put their faith in you and your product/service. We have to focus and re-commit ourselves to rebuilding and re-defining what we do on a regular basis. It's what keeps our businesses fresh.

Let your stories and your content focus on your clients, too. Get them excited at the prospect of travelling to Africa. Let them see who you are and what you stand for through content that builds trust and authority. 

Don't be afraid of emotion. It's good to show humanity. Slick and corporate is yesterday. Authentic is the way forward. Find warmth and realness and allow your content to connect with people. People do business with other people - people they like, know and trust, and brands that aren't people-centric inevitably suffer for it as a result. 

Your content IS your brand. It's the biggest touchpoint you have, whether on social media, your website or in your regular newsletters. Don't scrimp on it. Give it the respect it deserves. Whether it's a three line Facebook post or a 1000-word blog makes no difference. Make every word count. Always.

Need advice? We're always happy to chat and specialise in helping small tourism businesses improve their existing content and create fresh, engaging marketing content going forward. So get in touch and let's see how we can help!