Whether you’re rebranding or brainstorming a new social media campaign, finding inspiration in your industry is a great place to start. Fortunately, in the realm of destination marketing, there’s plenty of inspiration out there. From logo designs and website layouts to killer blog content, we’ve gathered some of our favorite destination marketing organizations that are doing truly creative marketing. 

If you’re considering hiring a marketing agency, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve compiled a list of 5 questions to help you decide if it makes sense for your business. While I’ll admit that working with a marketing agency isn’t the right move for everyone, I’ve seen many skeptical businesses benefit from this kind of partnership – especially if they’re struggling to market themselves successfully on their own. 

Paid advertising is perhaps the most important tool for letting the world know about your destination. While your organic social channels and website might be pumping out great content, it’s pretty difficult to compete in a digital landscape without dropping some dollars. Whether you’re marketing for an up-and-coming small town or a well-known city that’s been drawing tourists for years, it’s a tool you’ll want to have in your toolbox. This doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune on digital advertising; it just means you need to be strategic.

It’s no coincidence that you’re seeing more and more for-profit companies participate in charitable giving and volunteering, and take a moral stance on big issues. According to the 2020 Zeno Strength of Purpose Study, 94 percent of global consumers say it is important that the companies they engage with have a strong purpose. In the Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2019, 42 percent of millennials said they have begun or deepened a business relationship because they perceive a company’s products or services to have a positive impact on society and/or the environment. Further, 37 percent said they have stopped or lessened a business relationship because of the company’s ethical behavior.

There's an old saying in marketing called The Rule of 7. Discovered by former advertising executives of the 1930s, the Rule of 7 is the average number of times a person must be exposed to your messaging before taking any action. Luckily with a solid social media strategy planned out, this becomes much easier. But it only works if your potential buyer recognizes your brand every single time they see it. For this to happen, your brand needs to be consistent across various topics, no matter the location or situation.

As we continue forecasting what marketing trends we think will be a major hit for 2020, today, we turn our sights on branding. Easily one of the most exciting facets of the marketing world, branding just gets better and better as companies have to try harder to compete to gain the attention of overloaded customers. Today we are taking a look at the best trends of 2020 when it comes to branding, and why we're so excited about them.

There are a few places to go when you’re needing inspiration in the workplace. Some of us scroll through Instagram, some peruse Pinterest, and some head on over to their bookmarks to skim through their favorite blogs. But would you believe us if we told you that LinkedIn was actually one of the better places to gain inspiration from thought leaders in your industry?

Despite what you may think, LinkedIn is no longer just a place for corporate players to share thinly veiled sales pitches, show off their use of the word “leverage,” or repost the occasional, “You can do it, dreamer,” poster. If you’re following the right people, LinkedIn becomes a place where you keep a finger on the pulse of your industry, find your fire, and get inspired. That’s why today we’re talking about our The Top Ten LinkedIn Influencers Worth Following Right Now.

Fact: writing a white paper is no joke. It’s certainly one of the bigger sorts of projects a marketing team will work on and will require some serious leg work. White paper’s require hours of research, a healthy dose of timely and reliable sources, a research position and tone of voice, a dang good subject. It typically will be anywhere from 3000-5,000 well thought out words and an all-hands on deck approach from more than one of your marketing team members

If you were to search for articles on building a strategy for your marketing efforts, you'd get a whole heap of advice on how to build a successful digital marketing strategy. That's all fine and dandy, but what about traditional marketing? Has the sun set on its benefits? Or is it possible that traditional marketing can still play a huge role in feeding your digital strategy? To answer these questions, first we need to define what the heck it is we're talking about. Let's take a look at what exactly these terms mean, and how they can work together to build a beefy marketing strategy.

In the past decade or so, we've seen the emergence of one of the most powerful marketing tools since the invention of automation: The Influencer. When tapped correctly, the influencer can be a major asset for promoting your brand awareness and overall product. On the contrary, influencer marketing done poorly can come back to bite you in the business butt in a major way. Today we're taking a look at what an influencer is, as well as some inspiration on how to use them, and some serious warnings on how not to use them from real life booms and busts.