Partner Toolkit
Travel Nevada has gathered the resources below for partners to use to assist with social media marketing and media relations.
Social Media
It’s easy for social media to seem overwhelming – the networks are always changing, trends are constantly evolving, and everyone has an opinion on how it should be done. Rest assured, though, that you don’t need to be a professional photographer or expert marketer to make social media work for your business!
Why do we encourage all of our partners to create profiles and remain active on Facebook, Instagram, and the like? The answer is simple (albeit twofold) – these sites are often the first place prospective customers will look for you, and it can be one of the cheapest ways to get your name out there!
Think about when you plan your own vacations, or when you’re searching for somewhere new to eat, drink, or shop. How often do you turn to a social media network to see foodie photos of tasty dishes, search reviews of the best places to stay, or ask for recommendations about the coolest events in town? In-state travelers and out-of-town visitors are doing the same things when considering where to go and what to do in the Silver State. By showing up in their social media feeds with a regular presence, you’re encouraging folks to patronize your business and helping showcase how awesome your community is. The best part is that you can capitalize on these actions and efforts for FREE!
Whether you’re looking to improve your cell phone camera skills, take advantage of goofy internet holidays, or dive into the world of user-generated content, we’ve got the tips and tricks to get you started.
Cell Phone Photography and Videography Tips
The cameras that now come standard in almost every type and brand of cell phone pack some seriously pro capabilities, and they are more than capable of snapping standout photos for your social media. The better photo you can take, the more eye-catching it becomes, which will ideally lead to more followers, more visitors, and more income!
If you want to make simple tweaks to how you’re taking photos, Tourism eSchool has the two steps that’ll elevate your game. For more in-depth lessons on cell phone photography, check out Hatchbuck’s three-part series “How to Take Professional Quality Photos with Your iPhone.” Sked Social also has a complete guide to taking picture-perfect Instagram photos, with lots of examples and screenshots included. Of course, you can’t forget about all the apps out there that give your photos that extra bit of oomph. Buffer has a list of 26 favorites that’ll make your shots even more engaging.
When it comes to video, there’s no shortage of great resources out there that’ll teach you everything from the most basic of basics to the smartest tricks that would never cross your mind. These three articles are easy to understand and full of information:
How to Create Content
Sure, you can take killer photos and shoot stellar video – but what do you do with these pieces of content? What should you even be taking photos and video of?
Coming up with ideas for what to post on your social media channels is arguably the hardest part of being on social media. The good news is, because this is a challenge for the smallest businesses and the biggest brands, there are lots of suggestions out there for how to clear this mental hurdle.
When you’re not sure where to begin with social content, think about what kinds of posts you like seeing from the businesses and brands you follow. Do you love getting glimpses of behind-the-scenes activity, or meeting the employees who make it all happen? When a page posts a poll or hosts a giveaway, do you participate? What kinds of content most capture your attention? The answers to these questions can inform how you interact with your own audience and help jumpstart that brainstorm.
If the creative roadblock hits really hard, turn to the internet! CoSchedule and Sprout Social both have lists full of ideas for social media posts, and you can find even more by Googling “ideas for social media posts.” Even if you don’t have a company blog, the thought processes behind these suggestions still totally work.
- 52 Effective Social Media Post Ideas and Examples to Fill Your Calendar – CoSchedule
- 20 Social Media Ideas to Keep Your Brand’s Feed Fresh – Sprout Social
Hashtag Holidays
We’ve all seen wacky (and not so wacky) holidays trending on Facebook and Twitter – #NationalMargaritaDay, #StarWarsDay, #SmallBusinessSaturday, #BikeMonth, etc. These are perfect opportunities for your business to join the digital conversation and have some fun!
Take a look at upcoming celebrations and see which ones make sense for your brand. If you’re a bar or restaurant, maybe you offer a special for #NationalBeerDay (April 7). Properties with outdoor seating may want to show off their patios, campfires, decks, and such on #NationalPicnicDay (April 23). Ask a team member to dust off their alien Halloween costume for #UFODay on July 2! The options are almost endless.
Sprout Social has a downloadable calendar of hashtag holidays, along with tips for how to best use them, while you can search Days of the Year for any and every hashtag holiday taking place.
User-Generated Content
If you’re unfamiliar with this term or practice, the simplest explanation is that user-generated content (UGC) is any piece of content about your brand or business that was created by a consumer. There are lots of benefits to using UGC on your social media channels:
- It can feel more authentic and trustworthy than typical marketing messaging
- It shows off your business/brand from a new, different perspective
- It can supplement the content you’re creating
- Sharing it (always with credit!) makes customers feel appreciated and important
Content Calendars
Content calendars can take a variety of forms, but they’re most often some kind of calendar or spreadsheet where you can plan out social media content in advance. Maybe you don’t have time to set aside for daily content creation… but maybe you do have a couple hours each week where you can write up a bunch of posts at once and schedule them out. If you’re a team of people managing social media, a calendar can also streamline who is posting what, when, and where, and give you time to look (and plan) into the future for things like giveaways, holidays, and monthly themes.
For tips on how to get started with a content calendar, Hootsuite has you covered. HubSpot also has a free, downloadable template if you want to play around with the idea!
Looking for even more free marketing tools? Crello’s got 100 of ‘em – literally!
Download the Media Alert Template
Your City, Nevada To Launch New Tourism Program
Optional Subhead: Program Expected to Increase Visitation by 30 Percent
WHAT:
Media alerts are used to communicate top-line event details to media in order to encourage their attendance. They are often formatted with a bulleted list of Who, What, Where and When information. In the What section, you’ll include a description similar to the lead paragraph of a news release. This section should be just a few sentences and is intended to entice media to attend the event to get key information and visuals.
WHEN:
Day, Month XX, 20XX, XX a.m. – XX p.m.
Here you’ll include the key events media will care about covering.
XX a.m. – Important person speaks
XX a.m. – Reveal, ribbon cutting, ground breaking, etc.
XX p.m. – Refreshments
XX p.m. — Event ends
WHERE:
Location, Street Address, City, NV, 89XXX
WHO:
Interview opportunities with:
• Your City Mayor, Name
• Your Organization CEO, Name
• Other Spokesperson, Name
VISUALS:
Photo and video opportunities include:
• Remarks from important people
• Reveal, ribbon cutting, ground breaking, etc.
CONTACT:
For more information, to secure media access or to request photography, please contact PR Contact Name at email@yourcity.com or (775) XXX-XXXX.
“For Immediate Release”
Or
“Embargoed Until X/XX”
Media Contact:
Your Name
Email Address, Phone #
Your City, Nevada To Launch New Tourism Program
Optional Subhead: Program Expected to Increase Visitation by 30 Percent
YOUR CITY, Nev., Month X, 20XX – Your City, which you will briefly describe here and link to, today announced a first-of-its-kind program designed to attract visitors from the neighboring states. Your lead paragraph should be concise and include the most important and compelling information.
Following that paragraph is a little more information about the news your sharing, such as why it was launched, how it works or how long it will run. These are key messages that help position your story in a way that aligns with your brand values.
“Your City’s representative, mayor or spokesperson could then offer a quote about the program and its importance to your community,” said Your City Mayor, John/Jane Smith. “Consider offering additional program details here as well, to encourage media to include this quote.”
If you have partners or other important people helping with your program or campaign, feel free to describe them here. This could also be a place to go into additional information about the program, such as:
- Events and activities
- Campaign elements
- And more!
News releases should include links and images when possible for access to registration pages and visual appeal. Using bullets is another way to make information easier to digest for readers and journalists. Bold fonts, underlines and italics, however, may not be picked up by media, so font alterations are not recommended.
Most journalists use a writing style called A.P. Style, so writing in that way can make their jobs easier, therefore increasing their willingness to use your news release in their publication. Journalists also prefer releases that are one or two pages in length.
Consider making your last line a link for more information or registration.
###
About Your City
After your release, which is ended with “###,” you’ll include a boilerplate with key information about your destination like its size, location, key features and differentiating factors. This should be three or four sentences in length, with a link back to your organization’s website. You might also consider including your social media channels as well.
Acronym Reference Sheet
DMO = Domestic Marketing Organization (I’m pretty sure!)
OTA = Online Travel Agency (Expedia, etc.)
KPI = Key Performance Indicator
POI = Point Of Interest
ROI = Return on Investment
PR = Public Relations
RFP = Request for Proposal
RFQ = Request for Quotation
PO = Purchase Order
SEO = Search Engine Optimization
SEM = Search Engine Marketing
FB = Facebook
IG = Instagram
FIT = Free Independent Traveler
An FIT is an individual (or small group of < 10) traveling and vacationing with a self-booked itinerary. FIT travel is.
MICE = Meetings, Incentives, Convention, and Exhibitions
The MICE market refers to a specialized niche of group tourism dedicated to planning, booking, and facilitating conferences, seminars, and other events, which is a big moneymaker in the travel industry
UGC = User Generated Content
FAM Tour= Familiarization Tour or Familiarization Trip
FAMILS= Familiarizations (Australian version of a FAM tour)
Incentive FAM= Participants earned their way on to the trip by booking a lot of volume or winning a contest
Qualified= Usually referring to the fact that this person has the ability to book business
B2B= Business to Business
B2C= Business to Consumer
WTM= World Travel Market
BUSA= Brand USA
VUSA= Visit the USA
ASTA= American Society of Travel Agents
TO= Tour Operator
CHT= Cultural Heritage Tourism
CITM= China International Travel Mart
ITB= International Tourism Borse
DINK= Dual Income No Kids
DMO= Destination Marketing Organization
CVA= Convention and Visitors Association
CVB= Convention and Visitors Bureau
C of C= Chamber of Commerce
DVNP= Death Valley National Park
VoF= Valley of Fire
GBNP= Great Basin National Park
TN= Travel Nevada
RTT= Reno/Tahoe Territory
ABA= American Bus Association
TVB= Tourism and Visitors Bureau
NTA= National Tour Association
GDPR= General Data Protection Restrictions
ESTO= Educational Seminar for State Tourism Offices
ETA= Estimated Time of Arrival
SWAG= Stuff We All Get (promotional items or giveaways)
FIT= Fully Independent Traveler or Free Individual Traveler
GBT= Global Business Travel
GCT= Grand Circle Travel
GGTS= Governor’s Global Tourism Summit
RR= Rural Roundup
NST= Nevada Silver Trails
ADR= Average Daily Rate
RevPar= Revenue per Occupied Room
TOT= Transient Occupancy Tax
BID= Business Improvement District
TID= Tourism Improvement District
TDZ= Tourism Development Zone
TMD= Tourism Marketing District
RFP= Request for Proposal
RFQ= Request for Quotation
LOA= Letter of Agreement
LOU= Letter of Understanding
MOU= Memorandum of Understanding
IFTM= International French Travel Market
Benelux= Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg
BRIC= Brazil, Russia, India, China
Long-haul (Flight)= Flight duration of 6-12 hours
NCOT= Nevada Commission on Tourism
DFMI= Don’t Fence Me In
Comp= Complimentary
Out-of-home= Outdoor advertising
Step and Repeat= Backdrop for photos/interviews, usually with logos
Collateral= Brochures, maps, guides, etc.
Drayage= The shipping of the collateral
Hosted= Someone else pays
Fly-Drive= Visitors fly into a destination and then travel by car/motorcycle or RV
Hub and Spoke= Staying in the same place and making excursion trips from there
NAITA= National Association of Independent Travel Agents
Brexit= British exit from the European Union or EU
UK= England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
GSE= German Speaking Europe, Includes Germany, Austria and most of Switzerland
ROI= Return on Investment
PPP= Public Private Partnerships
PTBA= Professional Travel Bloggers Association
OHV= Off-highway vehicle
NSP= Nevada State Parks
BLC= Biggest Little City
BLM= Bureau of Land Management
AIANTA= American Indian Alaskan Native Tourism Association
Lift= Air Travel, usually referring to an airport i.e. we now have a lot of new lift coming out of South Korea
Product= Whatever it is you are selling, accommodations, tours, attractions, dining, etc.
Buyer= Travel companies looking to sell your “product” to their customers, the Buyers are the people who we meet with at travel shows. Usually Product Managers or Marketing Managers.
Supplier= The destination, hotel, attraction, etc. with product to sell to a buyer, usually on a commission or reduced rate
Speed Dating= Quick rapid fire one-on-one appointments between Buyers and Suppliers usually lasting less than 15 minutes
Consumer Travel Show= Talking directly to the actual consumer or traveler, B2C
Travel/Trade Show= Talking to a Tour Operator, Travel Agency or OTA, B2B
TAC Meeting or TAC Committee= Refers to the Territory Advisory Committee comprised of the 6 Nevada territory chairs and our Rural Commissioner, formed to assist with grant recommendations
RASC= Reno Air Service Committee
PLPT= Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
PRT= Travel Nevada’s “Projects Relating to Tourism” infrastructure grant program
PRSA= Public Relations Society of America
LAS = Las Vegas McCarran International Airport code
RNO = Reno Tahoe International Airport code
EKO= Elko Regional Airport code
TTRA= Travel and Tourism Research Association
NTTW = National Travel & Tourism Week
UNWTO= United Nations World Tourism Organization
BOE= Board of Examiners
IPW= Originally International Pow Wow but officially known as IPW now
SLT= South Lake Tahoe
NLT= North Lake Tahoe
IFC= Interim Finance Committee
LCB= Legislative Council Bureau
DTCA= Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs
SIP= Sales and Industry Partners
VC= Virginia City
NEATS= Nevada Employee Action and Timekeeping System
KPI= Key Performance Indicator
IT= Indian Territory
NHS= Nevada Historical Society
NAC= Nevada Arts Council
NIC= Nevada Indian Commission
USTA= United States Travel Association
PERS= Public Employees Retirement System
CCT= Cowboy Country Territory
GDP = Gross Domestic Product
PET= Pony Express Territory
LVT= Las Vegas Territory
SHPO= Nevada State Historical Preservation Office (pronounced ship-o)
DMC= Destination Management Company
PAX= Industry abbreviation for passengers
VAT= Value Added Tax (Europe and Canada)
Visa Waiver= A program created to eliminate the visa requirement to travel to certain countries, simplifying travel
Travel/Trade= Collective term for Tour Operators, Wholesalers and Travel Agents
VGK= Vegas Golden Knights
NHLA= Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association
RNAC= Rural Nevada Association of Chambers
EDAWN= Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada
NDOW= Nevada Department of Wildlife
GOED= Governor’s Office of Economic Development
GBHAP= Great Basin Heritage Area Partnership
T&T= Travel and Tourism sector
VFR= Visiting Friends and Relatives
IATA= International Air Transport Association
VR= Virtual Reality
AR= Augmented Reality
DAM = Digital Asset Management
UVM = Unique Visitors a Month
CTR = Click Through Ratio