Sometimes the biggest hurdle for destination marketers is convincing their board to approve digital marketing spend.  Whether it’s their lack of understanding of digital marketing or pure shock of the cost, tourism boards can often be apprehensive about expanding advertising to digital as well as traditional. 

Here’s how to convince your board that digital advertising should be a part of your marketing mix.

1. Educate

Educate your board on the value of digital advertising. Convey to them that digital advertising :

• is highly targeted – there’s a better chance you will reach the right people at the right time compared to traditional advertising.
• delivers measurable results – with digital advertising you are able to measure ROI in real time to figure out what’s working and what’s not. This allows you to achieve an ROI not possible through other means.
• is optimizable – when you run a print or TV ad, there’s typically no way to make adjustments. With digital advertising you can analyze results and optimize the campaign as needed.

“The big hook for my board was proving that our campaign placed more eyes on our website and more heads in beds than we ever have before,” said Jerry Brown, Executive Director of Alpine Helen/White County GA CVB. “That provided more revenue to allow us to continue with digital as well as traditional advertising.”

2. Bring in the experts

If your attempt to educate the board yourself isn’t successful, it might be helpful to bring in a third party expert to discuss why digital advertising should be a part of your marketing mix. They can break down what a digital campaign can consist of, explain the cost breakdown compared to traditional advertising, and provide examples of digital advertising wins similar to your destination.

Want to learn more about how we are bringing value and ROI to destination marketers? Let’s talk.