Inbound Marketing – A Creative New PR Tool!

Tami Wessley
Posted by Tami Wessley on October 19, 2011

Imagine this. You manage a tourism agency for a country that has been plagued by natural disasters, nuclear accidents and your currency is so strong that it is extremely expensive for visitors of other countries to visit you. As a result, your tourism is down over 50% compared to just one year ago. What would you do? Historically, this would have meant a spin campaign costing millions and a long recovery period.

Screen shot 2011 10 19 at 4.03.21 PMCreative Inbound Marketing techniques are wiping out that way of thinking. The Japan Tourism Agency is planning to offer 10,000 free, round-trip air tickets as an incentive to visit Japan. The only hitch is those visitors have to agree to blog about their trip and share their experiences via social media. All that credible, fresh content talking about the great trip will not only quickly spread the word that Japan is an enjoyable, safe place to visit but immediately drive much needed tourism dollars back into the Japanese economy via accommodations, meals and souvenirs.

Simply brilliant. And, it incorporates all the tenets of Inbound Marketing:

Get found – you bet. Anyone even remotely interested in Japan will see this offer.

Convert – yes again. This offer gives interested prospects a way to stand up and say, “Here I am.” The offer requires they not only provide their contact information (for future communications, no doubt) and insights into why they want to visit Japan via a short written response.

Nurture – of course. Those that don’t receive the free tickets will absolutely be receiving ongoing HTML emails from the Japan Tourism Agency encouraging future visits.

Close Leads – absolutely! They will not only get their 10,000 free visitors but many more based on knowledge and ongoing communications.

Analyze – definitely. Before selecting the winners, the agency will know exactly how to communicate with non-winners, how to reach them, the messages they’re most interested in and even have a feel for what their future marketing messages should contain.

Step-by-Step Guide to Inbound Marketing

Topics: Search Engine Optimization, Marketing Technology, Inbound Marketing, PR & Earned Media, Social Media

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