Whether you are a part of the big city or a member of a small town community, you have pride in your Texas town. When you love your city, it is common to feel a desire to spread the wonder and fun to all those who might visit. Some places, however, have higher visibility to tourists than other cities simply because of those cities’ size and population. That does not mean that small towns should not improve their marketing and advertising in order to attract more potential visitors.
At Found, we understand how important it is for towns of all sizes to bring an increase in tourism, and the best way to do that is to get your town’s story out there. With a specialized and customized digital marketing campaign, your small town can work to be at the forefront of the minds of those who are planning a trip to Texas. Because we are based in Austin, we know exactly why Texas is the best place to visit, and we want to help you tell your story.
What Is Digital Marketing?
In previous years, companies and businesses of all sizes would utilize print media and word of mouth recommendations to attract new and returning clients and customers. This includes towns of various sizes and their efforts to bring tourism to their homes. We live in a time when people do not usually stroll down Main Street to window shop, read the newspaper on a daily basis, or pay attention to commercials when they watch TV. People now shop online for the things they need or want, get their news from social media, and either mute commercials or watch streaming services without commercials.
So, how can companies (and towns) advertise when the tried and true methods no longer work? The answer is simple: digital marketing. In the modern world of the 21st century, the old advertising techniques have largely been replaced by new methods of digital marketing and advertising.
Digital marketing incorporates many of the traditional ideas for advertising but alters them to fit the digital world. Instead of placing ads in newspapers or buying a billboard, companies will now use Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising on search engines or social media to bring brand awareness to those people who are most interested. Digital marketing also uses a group of techniques known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to get a company’s website to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs), ranking above their competitors and gaining more visibility online. This ensures that potential clients will see that website after searching for specific keywords.
Social media has also taken the world by storm, and it is rare to find an individual, company, organization, or even an entire city without some type of social media presence. This may be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, and many other platforms. Each of these platforms has its own appeal, and it is critical that your digital marketing and advertising campaign includes social media as a major branch of the concept. When you want to reach an audience who spends the vast majority of their time online, and specifically on social media, you simply cannot ignore it as part of your campaign. Social media platforms are also a great way for potential visitors to get a sneak preview of what you have to offer, connect with people in your town, and continue to increase their excitement for experiencing everything you have to offer. To you, your town is much more than simply a place to live. Use your social media accounts to demonstrate what that means and why it is something that simply cannot be missed by travelers.
There is much more to digital marketing including website design and development, social media management, reputation management, blogs and website content, email marketing, photography, videography, and much more. What is most important about digital marketing is that the primary goal is to bring greater brand awareness and make sure that potential customers contact you before you competitors.
Why Is Digital Marketing Important for Small Towns?
You may be wondering why digital marketing is applicable to an entire town, even a small town. Simply put, think about your town’s story and the journey your citizens took to get there. While the great people in your town know and have pride in your story, those outside of Texas (or just outside of the city) probably don’t. If you want to tell your story and bring awareness of your city to potential tourists, digital marketing is a great way to do that.
At Found, we know that each town has a unique story waiting to be told, and we are here to help discover, curate, and amplify yours. Through a comprehensive, individualized marketing campaign and strategy, we can work to ensure that your town and the local businesses in it get the attention they deserve. We are a full-service marketing agency that thrives in the tourism and travel niche, and our curiosity and penchant for storytelling drive our multi-media, cross-channel services including brand and web development, creative services, public and media relations, content management, and digital advertising.
Just a Couple of Our Many Success Stories
In the abstract, it may be difficult to understand exactly what a digital marketing campaign might look like for an entire city. Let us give you a couple of examples to demonstrate exactly what our team at Found can do for you and your town.
In August 2015, we coordinated with the San Saba EDC to build, launch, and maintain a tourism brand for their town. We were able to conceptualize a brand deck, built out graphic design, logo, and banner packages, websites, and social media initiation, and messaging for launch before the holiday season. After 4 years, Found’s digital marketing efforts have been able to bring about a significant impact for the city, including the following:
- Overall increase in sales tax collection
- Significant increase in attendance at city events such as the annual Sip n’ Stroll (including an increase in revenue at that event)
- Record retail sales for many local businesses
- Feature episode on The Daytripper
- Cover story for Texas Highways
Digital, print, and social media coverage have helped to make San Saba a new tourist destination in Texas.
In addition to the city itself, Found can also work for local businesses within that city. As an example, we have been working with the Dofflemyer Hotel since 2015 to increase its digital profile and to bring increased seasonal travelers for holiday stays. Because of our effort, booking rates doubled between September 2015 and March 2016, and they have a sustained average occupancy for the last 4 years of ~60%. Our promotional video garnered over 12,000 views, and the social media engagement on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the hotel has significantly increased as well.
From cities to local businesses, Found can bring the brand awareness and increased visitor traffic you need so help spread your story beyond the city’s borders
Our Digital Marketing Services
At Found, we offer a variety of services in several categories that combine into the best, customized digital marketing campaign possible for your small town. We are proud to offer the following:
- Communication
- Brand strategy
- Audience and customer journey
- Positioning
- Content creation marketing
- Social media influencer and media strategy
- Web Services
- WordPress template design
- Custom e-commerce sites
- Security options
- SEO
- Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising
- E-mail marketing
- Graphic Design
- Logo design
- Style guide
- Brand collateral materials
- Flyers and posters
- Social media graphics
- Multimedia
- Creative direction
- Lifestyle photography
- Product photography
- Drone photography and video
- Promotional videos
- Video production
The team at Found can help you show others why you have the pride you do in your small town and work to increase your city’s tourism and revenue. We will even show you measurable results when it comes to increasing tourism, commerce, event promotion, and economic development through things like increase in sales tax revenue, increase in event attendance, increase in brand awareness, and growth in social media followings.
Contact Our Digital Marketing Experts
If your small town, city, or business is looking for a way to increase traffic and tourism, the digital marketing specialists at Found are here to help. We started working in the hospitality and lifestyle industry in 2012 but have evolved and diversified into marketing for small towns.
Because we love traveling and bringing stories to life, we have developed a strong affinity for city clients. We work with cities to drive tourism and with businesses to bring their heart and soul to life for tourists. Our Austin-based full-service marketing agency will handle the conceptualization and implementation of a complete and customized digital marketing campaign for you and will continue to maintain it so that you can see the same kind of growth and prosperity as San Saba and the Dofflemyer Hotel. Contact us today to see how we can help your town and local businesses continue to thrive and attract more visitors.