If you were down to your last dollar, where would you spend it...

Someone said that some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers. The wordplay made me chuckle. But the fact that even Bill Gates, among the most successful entrepreneurs to walk the earth, proclaims that if he were down to his last dollar he would invest it in PR, there has to be some truth to it.?

I recently met a senior official from a boutique new property that’s recently launched in Maldives. It was a thirty-minute rendezvous give or take, in which he mostly spoke about the incredible interest the property was receiving from celebrities and miscellaneous A-listers. He threw some heavy duty names and I remember sitting there wondering what would possibly draw an A-lister to a new, relatively small-sized property, in a place like Maldives where your jaw drops a little bit further with every hotel you see. He was tooting his own horn I was convinced. After all businesses will steal every opportunity to self-promote right! The meeting ended and honestly I didn’t think too much of it. Until the next day. I came across an article that validated every detail he had sung to me. It had visuals of the celebrities he spoke of and glorious reviews. I was flushed. Why didn’t I believe him? He had sat there and spent thirty minutes trying to build his case but it took a cursory thirty-second scan of an article to convince me.??That’s the subliminal hold PR has on all of us. Advertising is saying you are good. Public relations is getting someone else to say you are good. No prizes for guessing which works better.

In the tourism industry the role of PR is more crucial than anywhere else. In the pandemic era, where researching before travel has emerged as the number one trend, people are thoroughly investigating travel destinations before finally going ahead and making a purchase. In fact our studies indicate that majority of Indians find informative content from destinations and travel brands to play a primary role in influencing their decisions while planning their trips. In view of this, strategic PR is steadily climbing the list of marketing spends for intelligent tourism brands. If you are or aim to belong within that category then here are some PR tactics that can help you keep pace in a highly competitive market:

Content is king, channels are queen

Remember that what they want to hear is as important as what you want to say. The secret sauce is in the balance of both.??Content must be rich and engaging and should add value to the readers.??That should be the starting point. How to take this content to users should come later.

Consistency & Relevance

Outline a well though out content calendar, try to coincide it with all your major activities, and stick to it. Consistent push messaging of timely and relevant content over time builds positive brand imagery and recall. This will not happen overnight so stay patient and remember you are in it for the long haul.

You’ve got mail!

If harnessed well the power of email marketing is tremendous. When done right it is a mix of journalism, psychology and lawyering and allows you to build a captive community, have two-way personalized conversations, create curiosity, encourage call to actions, generate leads, the possibilities are truly boundless.???

Get Social

If your brand does not have an active social media presence today you might as well be living under a rock. With 4.48 billion social media users around the world in July 2021, almost 57 percent of the total global population exists on social media. But just being present on social media is not enough. These stats also indicate that you are constantly competing for attention from consumers who are increasingly spoilt for choice. Differentiate your content, be consistent and remain focused on expanding your share of voice. More on that below…?

Be LOUD!

Share of voice is one of the most popular metrics used in public relations. It is defined as?the number of conversations being had about your brand within a specific timeframe, divided by the total number of conversations about your topic, industry, or niche. The larger your share of voice the more successful your PR efforts. Increase your share of voice by creating share-worthy social content, constantly engage your consumers and actively draw their interest to you to cultivate brand loyalty.?

Full-court press

Engage the press fully. It’s simple- The more they know you the more likely they are to talk about you. It’s a great way to generate and model a positive image about?your brand. It will also ensure your audience receives a first hand story which may have more trust potential than being fed a perspective that has come from you.

Finger on the pulse

Remember the viral video where an Indian family was caught stealing hotel accessories in Bali? Ixigo rode that wave by turning around a video of its own titled ‘Stuff You Can Take From Hotels’- a hilarious take on the incident. Or take for example the recent episode where Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp crashed for nearly 12 hours. Swiftly jumping on the opportunity Twitter wrote on its official handle “hello literally everyone”, while Microsoft Teams posted “*unmutes mic* hey everyone”. Great content with the flexibility of moment marketing thrown in the mix is an unbeatable combination. Little effort, big impact.

The last few months have permanently disrupted the travel industry. While this time will be forever remembered for its many calamities and tumultuous events, it also shined a light on the gaps in the sector and what is needed to bridge them. With lockdown restrictions beginning to ease this is the most opportune time to market the sector and start rebuilding it. Organizational leaders who?stayed the course with their PR investment?will undoubtedly reap the long-term benefits. For others, now is as good a time to start as any.