1. Offer an incentive for guests to check in on FourSquare. Free 24 hour Wi-Fi access, perhaps?

2. Everyone loves contests and photos, so have a photo contest. Winner gets a free room upgrade?

3. Make it beneficial for guests to check in using Facebook Places. How about discounted Wi-Fi access?

4. Host a TweetUp or #tWINEup. Maybe a great opportunity to partner with the hotel bar or with a neighborhood restaurant?

5. Run a sweepstakes. A great way to grow your online following & build your mailing list… what’s the coolest giveaway package you can imagine?

6. Utilize your mailing list. Wouldn’t your customers want access to exclusive offers so they can come back?

7. Collaborate with local establishments. Doesn’t the saying go, “The more, the merrier?”

8. Ask customers to leave a comment on Twitter or Facebook with their experience. Why not choose a lucky winner or two each month?

9. Post a photo and play “Guess the Property” if you have more than one location. Maybe this will turn out to be a great conversation piece?

10. Give people a glimpse behind the scenes. How about a picture of a housekeeper making the bed or a smile from the front desk?

11. Create a “Things to do” list for your area to post on your website and as a concierge resource. Are your social media links at the bottom?

12. Cross-promote with other local establishments via social media. Don’t you want their customers visiting you too?

13. Create “The Suite Suite Life” envy blog posts to showcase what an upgrade would get ‘em in your hotel. Don’t you think they deserve an inside look?

14. Promote local events. Have you ever heard of promotional karma?

15. Partake in themes days like “Travel Tuesday” or “Wine Wednesday.” Don’t you love coming up with witty, retweetable quotes?

16. Utilize sites like Groupon or Living Social (Escapes). What’s not to love about direct marketing?

17. List your hotel & vacation specials with online discount sites. Are you thinking TravelZoo too?

18. Make sure your social media links are on every piece of marketing that leaves your office. Simple, isn’t it?

19. Celebrate Guest Appreciation Day. What kind of perks can you offer?

Tourism industry professionals, both do-it-yourself marketers and public relations agencies, have a hard time figuring out the best way to reach out and build successful relationships with bloggers.

As both bloggers and social media professionals, we’ve been on both sides of the playing field – doing the outreach and destinations/brands reaching out to us – which has helped us gain a very clear understanding of what to do and what not to do. Now we’re here to help you!

Here are a few tried-and-true best practices to build mutually successful relationships with bloggers:

Send a personalized introduction email

Adding a blogger to your mailing list without permission is not only considered bad manners, but you’re missing out on an opportunity to build a more personal and effective relationship. Instead, write a personal email to the blogger introducing yourself, your company, and how you found out about their blog (go ahead, butter ‘em up!).  Tell them you’d really appreciate the opportunity to occasionally send them information about your destination that might be of interest to their audience. Then ASK if you can add them to their mailing list.

Make genuine comments on blog posts

Bloggers take pride in their writing and love comments and creating conversation surrounding their blog posts. You can win a blogger over by becoming a regular visitor to their website and leaving genuine comments or participating in the conversation. Make your own ‘Blogger Outreach’ list and take the time to visit these sites at least once a month.

Update… Personally

Know this: Many bloggers receive a dozen or more press releases and story pitches per day. Most are intimately titled “Dear Blogger” or “Dear Ms. <name of blog>” or simply “Dear <space left blank>,” or most without anything at all. If you’d like to set yourself apart and build successful relationships with key bloggers, try personally touching base with updates. Although it might take a bit of extra time, you’ll find the success rate far outweighs the extra time you have spent building a solid relationship.

Create a VIP blogger program with perks

Create a VIP blogger program that gets people talking about your destination. Grab some top-notch bloggers who already love your destination and allow them to help you spread the word.

One example is Mexico Today, a joint public and private sector initiative designed to help promote Mexico as a tourist destination. A diverse group of talented bloggers offer their own opinions and experiences about everyday life in Mexico.  Writers, of course, are compensated for any content created on their blogs for Mexico Today. In addition, dynamic Mexico Today Twitter and Facebook accounts help to promote Mexico as an amazing destination.

Contest Time: You be the judge!

Are you running an online contest to see who has the best vacation photo? Do you need a few judges? Enlist your favorite travel bloggers!

This is a win-win situation for both the blogger and destination… you’ll both gain exposure and get to know a broader audience. Earlier this year, iExplore announced a Photo Safari Contest for the chance to win a $9000 Classic Kenya Safari. Judges were accomplished photo journalists and bloggers. Remember, it’s about cross-promoting for maximum exposure.

Add bloggers to your social media profiles

Do you use your Facebook profile for business? Do you have Twitter or LinkedIn accounts? Consider connecting with key travel bloggers on various social media platforms to build relationships. This is a great way to keep in touch without the hassle of email and know what’s going on in their lives. It’s relationship building.

(Photo credit: Source Blogger, skitch, ScentTrailMarketing, BlogCDN)

It’s simple: Wineries are missing out on opportunities to SELL.

There’s a theory in the wine industry that if customers don’t join your wine club or buy when they’re in the tasting room… they’re lost forever.

WRONG.

Here’s the truth: Tasting room staff could be doing a lot more to win customers over and generate future sales.

The key to generating sales is to engage with the customer. It makes all the difference in the world.

Here are a few tips to help guests purchase a bottle of wine or bring ‘em back for more:

1. Create a Great Experience.

A likeable employee paired with a great story can sell wine. There’s no doubt about it.

In fact, there’s no bigger turn off than tasting room staff that don’t even pretend to care. Why? Because the majority of people visit a winery for the experience. Whoever you have behind the counter needs to be knowledgeable about the wine and be able to sense customer needs. In other words, they need to know the difference between a customer who is looking to drink and a customer looking to taste.

Then, employees need to know how to relate and entertain. It’s their job to create lasting impressions, so make sure you hire someone capable!

As a customer, if I enjoy my experience, I will either return, tell my friends, or do both. Word of mouth is key in the wine industry.

2. Ask People to Join Your Mailing List.

Not everybody is ready to join your wine club or buy a bottle on their first visit. However, if you can keep in touch… your chances of making a sale (or several) significantly improves.

Do you have their information to keep in touch? If not, you’re missing out on big opportunities to SELL!

Each day, you should be signing up visitors for your mailing list and it’s easier to do than you think. Because your newsletter offers lots of secret insider information such as access to VIP parties, wine knowledge to impress your friends, and great deals… it’s a no-brainer that everyone would want to be on your list, right?

Well, it’s your friendly employee’s job, now that they are best friends with your latest customer, to sweet talk the benefits of being on the mailing list. Still having trouble building your list? How about trading in that “free” take-home wine glass for a customer email address?

3. Connect Online.

If you’re on Twitter or Facebook, make sure your tasting room guests know it! Post signs where people can see, add it to the bottom (or top) of your tasting menu, on the tasting counter, and maybe even the wine label.

Once you have that, make sure employees mention your presence. Why not offer a check-in special on FourSquare as well?

Instead of telling just one person how much they’ve enjoyed your winery, sites like Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare enable your customers to tell hundreds (if not thousands) of people at the same time… all about your wines! Don’t miss this opportunity!

4. Offer discounts for a future visit.

They’re here now and you definitely want your satisfied customers to return. How about offering discounts on the next wine purchase? Or maybe a limited-time 2 for 1 tasting on the next visit? Of course, an email or mailing address would be a nice exchange, don’t you think?

Remember, it’s all about engaging, so make sure you connect with your guests before they leave the tasting room… so you can keep them as customers! It’s not difficult.

What does your winery do to increase tasting room sales?

(photo via Rutherford Hill)