Digital Marketing

In this month’s blog, we review the effectiveness of Reels as part of our social media marketing strategy for three different clients. This is how Facebook and Instagram Reels boost our clients’ brand visibility to increase their overall ROI—and how you can do it, too.

When it comes to optimising your marketing budget to increase ROI, there is no shortage of DIY guides on the internet. The only catch? Most of them either offer generic one-size-fits-all approaches to marketing regardless of industry or get so technical that you need an MBA just to decipher the content. We’re here to help.

Read on for our definitive guide to increasing ROI through smart marketing, specifically made for the tourism industry and translated from jargon to real talk.

The Salene, nestled amidst Stellenbosch’s best wine farms in the heart of the Devon Valley, needed a brand refresh. Having recently changed owners and rebranded from Zarose, we knew it was important to differentiate this luxury accommodation offering from the many other options in the area. When your competitors all boast stunning scenery, luxurious stays, an incredible location and wedding venues to boot, standing out of the crowd can be a challenge. Our solution? Tell the best story.

With an office based in Stellenbosch, our team of digital marketers for tourism know the winelands, Garden Route and West Coast better than most, but when it comes to Northern KwaZulu-Natal they need 'refreshers' every then and now. Luckily, one of our clients, Isibindi Africa Lodges, invited us to experience their lodges stretching from the iSimangaliso Wetland Park to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Park. Here's how it went:

As leaders in African tourism marketing, Eco Africa Digital researched and compiled a document that highlights the most important travel trends for the African tourism industry for 2021.

These include:

1. Smaller Groups & Privacy
2. Regenerative Travel
3. Bye-Bye 9 to 5: Work Wherever You Want
4. Vital Value: Maximising Travel For Less
5. Flexible Cancellation Terms & Safety
6. Travel Bubbles
7. Preference for Outdoor Experiences
8. Rise in Popularity of Local Travel

2020 looked to be the start of a new decade where tourism would grow exponentially and the industry as a whole would have one of its best years yet, however, nature and COVID-19 had other plans. While we could create, strategise, and put our tried-and-tested tourism marketing methods and skills to effective use and plan for the future, nothing could have prepared us for what lay ahead. Luckily, we found opportunity and a space to test new ideas and push the creative and innovation boundaries. We took something as simple as selling vouchers and turned it into a travel restrictions success story for our client, Mount High Luxury Country House, which is based in Mpumulanga, South Africa.

A successful way to generate business during a tourism crisis is through the use of discounted or value-added vouchers. These vouchers allow you to take in vital revenue from consumers immediately and could ensure your business’ survival until travel restrictions are lifted.

Where do we go to find guidance during a crisis? Especially one we have never been through before? It’s simple, we revert to our tried-and-tested principles and apply those to our new – temporary – reality.

This is a statement that was made by Damian Cook, Founder and Managing Director of E-tourism Frontiers at the 2019 World Travel Market Africa (WTM) in Cape Town. Here are some of the highlights of Damian’s talk.