Our Managing Director Mark Worden said “We’re delighted to be able to continue our support for these awards, which shine a light on those leading the way in the tourism and hospitality marketplace. Having been involved with the awards for so many years, we know that the bar is set incredibly high; anyone who wins an award on the night deserves all of the recognition and praise they receive and are instrumental in making the South West such an attractive destination for those not only in the UK, but all over the world!”

We will be sponsoring the Visitor Information category, which fits well with our own work within the industry; we are proud to say that seven of the region’s most significant destinations now use MiHi as their web development agency.

Winners will be announced on the 16th November. Good luck to everyone involved in this year’s Devon Tourism Awards.

The post MiHi Digital continues support for the Devon Tourism Awards appeared first on MiHiDigital.

We were first approached by Birchill Farm toward the start of the summer period. They knew we were specialists in tourism marketing and wanted our guidance on how to increase bookings, having taken the business over just a couple of years ago.

Once we’d visited and looked around, it was clear a large gap existed between what was on their website and the heavenly reality of what is there. With that in mind, replacing the old site with one that does them justice was a central part of our plan; there is no point in driving lots of traffic if people can’t easily see how blooming awesome it is!

We also gave guidance on their approach to listing sites, as well as their approach to email marketing.

You can view their new website here: https://birchillfarm.co.uk/

The post New website launched for Birchill Farm Holiday Cottages appeared first on MiHiDigital.

The MiHi team recently helped Great Eckworthy to launch a website just as stylish as their luxury holiday cottages.

When the new owners of Great Eckworthy moved down to this area of Devon, they knew they wanted to work with an agency who understood the tourism industry like the back of their hand. In other words, Mihi were the perfect fit! With no existing website, they needed a team to create something sleek and sophisticated from scratch.

And the mission was a success, don’t you think?

You can view their website here: https://greateckworthy.com/

The post New website launched for Great Eckworthy appeared first on MiHiDigital.

Their reputation means that their work takes them way beyond their base in Swansea, just as ours does from our little office location near the Tamar. That’s actually how they got in touch with us; they were facing some SEO problems and were referred on by another agency who knew that we were the perfect fit for them.

Having solved their SEO issues, we then moved on to building their new site. Taking a relatively primitive original version of just five pages, up to one with more than thirty pages full of tree surgery services and advice, will help them rank for even more key phrases, as well as reach more people in the process.

This one really has been a win, win, win!

You can visit their new website here: cantellowtreesurgery.co.uk

If you want to know more about how MiHi Digital can help your business grow, then get in touch with the team!

Call us on 01566 232323 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk.

The post New website launched for Cantellow Tree Surgery in Swansea appeared first on MiHiDigital.

So today we meet the new star of MiHi Digital, Juliet. Our resident climber and list maker, she’s relatively new to the team but has become a vital part of the MiHi family after only a few weeks! So here are 10 vitally important things you MUST know about Juliet…

What’s your name and role?

Juliet Sawyer, Senior Social Media Manager and Content Coordinator

When did you join the MiHi team? 

June 2023

What’s your favourite viral video?

Ooh, that’s a tricky one! I’m going to go with the video of those kids gate-crashing that live news report.

Who’s your number one influencer?

At the moment, I’m loving Amelia Dimoldenberg AKA chicken nugget girl.

What is your office essential?

I always need a pen and paper so I can whip up a good list. But other than that, it’s got to be my cat.

What was your best holiday experience?

I hiked 96 miles across the Scottish highlands with my family and it was absolutely beautiful. My feet were throbbing by the end though.

Top tip for starting out on social media?

There’s a clue in the name but social media is supposed to be social. It’s not about spitting out posts and hoping your people will flock to you. Social media is a two-way thing and a large chunk of your time should be dedicated to chatting, networking and engaging with your community 

What would your mastermind category be?

I know a lot about climbing as that’s my main hobby. Failing that, maybe Shrek.

How many followers do you have on your most popular social media account?

My Instagram account for type 1 diabetics has nearly 6k followers.

instagram.com/type1untangled

Recommend a great place to eat/drink in the southwest?

There’s a great tapas bar in Exeter called Calvo Loco. It’s a small, independent restaurant with a cosy atmosphere and the food is incredible. Make sure you try the chillies!

if you want to know more about how MiHi Digital can help your business grow, then get in touch with the team!

Call us on 01566 232323 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk.

The post Meet the team at MiHi Digital… Juliet Sawyer appeared first on MiHiDigital.

So, if you’re wondering if you’re on trend, behind or perhaps even a little ahead of the curve, here are our Managing Director’s thoughts on how the South West Tourism Sector has been shaping up in the second quarter of this year…

When are we now comparing to?

You’ll be familiar with the saying you want to be comparing ‘apples with apples’ or ‘oranges with oranges’. It’s certainly no different with website data; you want to be comparing like for like, season with season, year with year. However, Covid has obviously made that very difficult; if you compare 2021 with 2020, you’ll likely be filled with a warm fuzzy feeling. Compare 2019 with 2020 and you’re likely to be brought out in lockdown sweats.

But when should you be comparing to? Up until the start of this year, I had been a strong advocate of comparing your data back to 2019. It was the last year of ‘normality’ and a decent gauge of where you stood against that stasis. However, far too much water is now under the bridge, so it’s time to move that comparison forward and reflect on where you stand against the same period last year.

Although there are of course variances to take into consideration, we can factor those into our own thoughts and feelings on overall performance.

Let’s take a look at the average performance against last year….

Bookings are still being made late

I highlighted at the start of the year that people were making booking decisions a lot closer to the date of arrival. This trend has continued throughout the second quarter of the year, with those looking forward in their booking calendars still seeing gaps where they’d usually not. But, when looking back, thinking to themselves that performance on the whole has certainly not been as bad as they would have anticipated.

Late bookings are an obvious breeding ground for uncertainty and nervousness. However, with website traffic starting to rally, my belief is that bookings should pick up from here, although they will be made later, even as we head into the school summer holidays in some cases (read on for more on that!).

The exception to any late booking rule is repeat bookers; they will always book earlier and more regularly, so if you aren’t already putting in place methods to woo people that have already been with you, then now is the time to get moving.

Your cash flow will look better as will your booking calendar.

Website traffic has strengthened through May

The first four months of the year represented a 10 – 20% drop in traffic for most websites when compared to last year. That kind of makes sense; they’re booking later, so they won’t be looking earlier!

However, May was the first month that we saw most sites rally above their 2022 traffic levels; sometimes only marginally but some are up by 10 – 15%. These are certainly encouraging signs for those still looking to fill the months ahead and do buck the trend of lower traffic often seen on bank holidays (if you’ve forgotten, May was rammed full of them!).

Further evidence of the late booking culture is the level of traffic seen during school holidays; this is riding higher than usual and does suggest that some are looking for a holiday during the actual period of the school holiday. Very last minute indeed.

The July and August divide

Funny one this; if I tell you that people are booking later, then logic would suggest that July is booked before August. Not the case for many; several of our clients are busier in August than they are in July. If I cast the data net wider, that’s not necessarily uncommon and we’ve often seen a trend of August booking before July in the past.

However, if you’re reading this and thinking you’re the opposite, then you’re also not alone! Several of our other clients are seeing strong July performance with a more hollow August.

The only common denominator here is that there are still gaps in these school summer holiday months when there are usually not. Remember though, later bookings suggest that not all is lost here.

Deals aren’t gaining traction

We’ve seen a poor response to deals and offers. Why might that be? It’s important to remember that a deal or special offer is there to nudge someone over the line; it won’t change their mind completely. What I mean by this is that if someone is wanting to stay during July, when they can get time off work or it’s during school holidays, offering them a discount for June is not going to work. Having an offer that makes your price competitive for when they are staying will.

But what I would say there is that that is more about price than the offer itself. We’re undoubtedly in a strange pricing stage; we had Covid and the resulting period where prices went up purely because demand was so high. Since then, the input costs for you as a business have soared, so the temptation is to now rise again. That’s understandable but getting your pricing right now will mean you’ll gain more than any deal or special offer you have to resort to down the line.

Our overall feeling?

Reasonably optimistic. We’ve had a slow start to the year and all indicators are suggesting that the late booking trend will continue into the busiest part of the year. The growth in traffic during May and into June gives definite hope that demand is picking back up (although there is still too much in the way of supply on the market), so getting your pricing and proposition right now will stand you in good stead for what’s to come.

If you’re a business in the tourism industry that needs help from experts in the field, then get in touch with the team. 

Call us on 01566 232323 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk.

The post Our Overview of the South West Tourism Sector During Q2 of 2023 appeared first on MiHiDigital.

If you’re creating content sporadically, not only is this taking your time, but you’re probably seeing a few more typos than you’d like and maybe even a change in tone across your platforms which ultimately isn’t the best look for your business. So, planning ahead and creating a social media calendar would be a much better use of your time as well as giving you the opportunity to proof your posts before those blasted keyboard warriors pick up on every typo or inaccuracy in the book.

What the heck is a social media calendar?

By creating a social media calendar, you’ll be able to plan your posts, manage whole campaigns and give yourself some sort of structure for creating content that week, or that month if you’re feeling brave! It’s also a good place to find any gaps in your media library that might need filling.

Depending on what floats your boat you could be setting up your calendar in a spreadsheet or in Google Calendar or some sort of over-expensive social media management tool. But our favourite is the Meta Planner because it gets the job done and even better, it’s free!

So, where to start when creating your social media calendar?

A good place is to take a proper look through your current social media profiles. See what kind of content worked before (and what didn’t) then have a good nosey at some of your competitors to see what they’re up to because odds are, you can use their ideas for some inspiration.

Next, you need to think about what social media platforms you want to focus on, do you have a photogenic, hands-on business that would work perfectly on Instagram and Facebook? Or are you more of a B2B organisation that would have value in Twitter and LinkedIn? Remember, you can start small and build up to more as you learn more about your audience and customers.

What should you be including in your calendar?

Well, this totally depends on what your business needs for example a small business might need a few details and a picture whereas a big organisation may need full tracking links budgets and management approval. but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it’s likely that you’ll just need the basics like:

·      The platform you’re posting to

·      The date and time you’re posting

·      Your caption

·      Any media – images or videos (or a link to where they’re stored)

·      Or just a link to an already published post or webpage.

If you wanted to go into more detail, you could label what your posts are, remembering the social media rule of thirds:

·      1/3 of your content should be relevant news and tips that are beneficial for your followers.

·      1/3 of your content should be promoting your product or service.

·      1/3 of your content should be interacting with others and be personal.

Now fill that calendar with some crackin’ ideas!

Start with noting your ideas for each day and build those into captions, then plan how you’re going to create the media for your posts.

Take note, it’s always a good idea to proof your calendar with another member of your team too, just remember to schedule your posts in when they’re ready!

And that’s it, we make it sound so simple right? As with everything social media, the more you do, the more you learn about your audience and the easier it will be to get that spot-on content in your calendar!

If you want to know more about how MiHi Digital can help your business grow on social media, then get in touch with the team!

Call us on 01566 232323 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk.

The post Top Tips for Creating Your Social Media Calendar appeared first on MiHiDigital.

We know it has its downsides from definite limitations when it comes to categorising your business to the fact that anyone anywhere can write, well, anything about you, your service and your staff, even if they haven’t experienced it first-hand! 

But we still believe that the good far outweighs the bad when it comes to making the most of your TripAdvisor profile.  First things first, it’s largely free. There are very few other spaces in the online world that still offer such reach and marketing capabilities for nothing at all. But really making TripAdvisor work for you goes beyond simply claiming your free profile and hoping for the best.

Here are some easy things you can do right now to supercharge your TripAdvisor page:

1. Follow up and ask for honest reviews…

If you don’t ask, you don’t get and it’s just good business sense to ask every guest who visits for their feedback. Send a personalised ‘thank you’ email to every visitor with a link to your TripAdvisor page, asking for a review.

Most booking systems and CRM systems allow you to automate this so it’s super easy, simply set it up to send the first message between 24 and 72 hours after the visit and follow up with a reminder a couple of weeks later.

2. Tell them what you want to hear…

TripAdvisor of course wants its reviews to be the most useful to its users so don’t be afraid to prompt your guests on what to include in their feedback. Questions like ‘what was the highlight of your experience?’ and ‘how easy was it to book?’ for example could elicit a much richer review which will go down well with the TripAdvisor algorithm.

3. People can be lazy, make it easy…

Trust us, no one wants to search out a way to offer their feedback unless they’ve had a dreadful experience. So make leaving a review as easy as possible by including direct links anywhere you can and incorporate it into your website by adding your rating widget to your footer and booking pages.

Make sure you include any TripAdvisor certificates or awards logos into your website footer with a direct link to your profile too for extra ways in.

4. Train staff to ask…

Guests always respond better to a personal, verbal ask than an email so if you get a chance to have a conversation with your visitors, don’t be afraid to ask!  And make sure your staff are trained up and feel confident to have those conversations too especially your front-of-house team.

5. Have 10+ high quality images…

TripAdvisor is a pretty effective digital shop window, so make sure you’re setting it up just right. It’s been proven that businesses with 10 to 15 high-quality photos on TripAdvisor get double the customer interaction, so take some time to find your best images (or get some taken), get them uploaded and show off your business. It’s also a great way for reviewers to confirm they’re reviewing the right place and encourage photos in their own reviews.

6. Interaction is key…

Like every other social media platform, being social is non-negotiable. Make sure you’re setting aside time to respond to reviews, even (some might say, especially) the negative ones. People need to see that feedback is being heard to encourage them to leave reviews in the future. Thank them and remember to be respectful and professional, as you well know – it’s all very public! But don’t be afraid to let a little personality shine through.

7. Add physical signage…

Add some signage with a QR code to your TripAdvisor account around the place but especially at exit areas as a priority. If guests have had a great time, they’re more likely to leave a review as they leave. 

Check out some great examples on the TripAdvisor website

8. Lean in on your regulars…

Reach out to your regulars and membership base, if they’ve visited recently email them and ask for a review. If they’ve signed up to be a member for example, you know they love what you’re doing and they’re likely to leave you a good review.

9. Use reviews in your marketing…

Take advantage of this by using authentic, positive reviews and images on your social media, in physical marketing and on your website – just make sure you thank the reviewer! This fires up the concept of social proof in your followers and potential customers while also encouraging new reviews too! It’s a win-win!

10. Keep it positive…

Even when dealing with a negative review, keep things upbeat but don’t be afraid to challenge factually inaccurate reviews. Visitors are really wising up to the unqualified negative review now so if you find yourself on the receiving end of something like this, be professional but clear in your response. Visitors will see that you’re really engaged with your business and customers. If a negative review has merit, again, holding your hands up, apologising and outlining what you’ll do to rectify the problems raised is so much better than simply leaving it unanswered. 

Doing all the above consistently will start to see your business creep up the TripAdvisor algorithms and gain more visibility in a very busy space. Just remember the three pillars of the TripAdvisor algorithm, Quantity, Quality and Recency. So, make sure you’re getting regular reviews, of a good quality (not just ‘nice place’) and that they’re recent as reviews from 2 years ago won’t do anything for your account!

if you want to know more about how MiHi Digital can help your business grow, then get in touch with the team!

Call us on 01566 232323 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk.

The post Boost your TripAdvisor ranking with these 10 Proven Tips appeared first on MiHiDigital.

What’s your name and role?
Joe Brearley, Senior Digital Marketing Executive

When did you join the MiHi Team?
May 2017

What’s your favourite viral video?
It’s a tricky one, but this is the OG viral video… So gotta be this one!

Who’s your number one influencer?
Currently, got to say Max Fosh… But that’s the first one that came to my head

What is your office essential?
Coffee. Good, strong coffee.

Where was your best holiday experience?
Rhodes, got to pick my honeymoon!

Top tip for starting out on social media?
Remember to be yourself… The audience wants to get to know YOU as well as your business!

What would your Mastermind category be?
Harry Potter. Obviously.

How many followers do you have on your most popular social media account? 
I only have a personal account on Instagram, but you should check out our MiHi Digital account at @mihidigital

Recommend a great place to eat/drink in the Southwest?
Positanos in Plymouth. Hearty Italian food is always a winner!

if you want to know more about how MiHi Digital can help your business grow, then get in touch with the team!

Call us on 01566 232323 or email hello@mihidigital.co.uk.

The post Meet the team at MiHi Digital… Joe Brearley appeared first on MiHiDigital.

Instagram and YouTube have a more varied audience
For most businesses, Instagram and YouTube provide a better target market. TikTok has been dominated by Gen Z since its launch and that is showing no signs of changing. This is great news if your business is targeted at Gen Z but bad news if it isn’t. The limited audience range makes it difficult to promote your business, whilst in comparison, Instagram and YouTube have a varied user base so no matter how niche your business is, you’ll be able to find an audience for what you offer.

Instagram and YouTube are more business friendly
TikTok is widely known for its informal and light hearted content with trends and dances becoming particularly popular. This means there is less scope for selling products and services effectively, particularly when you compare it to Instagram and YouTube which actively make it easier to sell your products/services through features like clickable links. Whilst you can of course use trending audios and take part in challenges, the chances are that very few of these are going to be suitable for your business.

Instagram offers more format options
Chances are when it comes to your products or services, you need to get a certain amount of information across. This is where Instagram and YouTube can reign supreme over TikTok. Both these platforms allow you to post longer format videos, letting you get all the information across whereas TikTok is more geared to short, snappy content. Instagram also gives you more options on how you’d like to present your content, including images, stories, longer captions, reels and videos. This makes it easier to create varied content that will appeal to a wider audience, as some people will prefer image content over video.

Instagram and YouTube deliver better results
Whilst it can be tempting to focus all your energy on TikTok videos because of its popularity, the goal of any business’s social media is to increase brand awareness and revenue. For most businesses, lead generation on TikTok is going to be significantly smaller because the target market is not going to be as wide as Instagram or YouTube. That’s why we recommend focusing social media marketing efforts on Instagram or YouTube, ahead of TikTok.

Whilst there are pros to using TikTok and it does have a large user base, the core issue with it is that for most businesses, their target audience is not going to be on it. You may get video views but if they’re not engaging with your business, endless views aren’t going to help you.

Struggling with social media and need help with your digital marketing strategy? Give us a call on 01566 232323 or email us at hello@mihidigital.co.uk

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