This document provides tips for bloggers on how to better work with public relations (PR) teams and tourist boards. It emphasizes the importance of strong writing skills and high-quality content. It also stresses the value of metrics and analytics, as well as maintaining consistent communication and sharing stats with PR partners. Building long-term relationships is key, and bloggers should understand the long planning cycles of the travel industry. Overall, the document offers advice on how bloggers can position themselves as valuable content creators and collaborate effectively with PR professionals.

1. Working with PRs and
Tourist Boards
Michael Collins – TravelMedia.ieMichael Collins – TravelMedia.ie

2. What do WE want to achieve today?
I WANT YOU
– to have more knowledge than your competitors
– to understand from the inside where we all fit in the greater
scheme of things
– to be able to better communicate better with tourist boards
and PRs, speak their language – stats, evergreen etc
– to know what they want, to see the relationship from the
other side of the fence
– to get more trips, more invitations

3. ck to Add Title
• Traditional PR
• Social Media – 50%
• Press trips
• Media Buying
• Events
• Representation
• Strategy

4. Background

5. • 2001, 2003, 2009
• I got out
• Print was declining
• Print not dead
• Content delivery + distribution changing
• One thing has not changed
• GOOD CONTENT
• CONTENT IS STILL KING

6. Mark Twain
Cicero
Voltaire
Blaise Pascal
“If I Had More
Time, I Would
Have Written
You a Shorter
Letter”

7. Blaise Pascal
“If I Had More Time, I Would
Have Written You a Shorter
Letter”

8. Quality writing
• Biggest challenge, issue
• Advantage and disadvantage
• Take your time, write like you have been
commissioned for the New York Times, every time

9. You cannot be serious
“Hi Michael, I know you asked for 800
words, but the trip was so much fun and I
had so much to say I couldn’t decide which
parts to cut, it’s just over 1100 words, you
decide……..”

10. Then and Now
• You are the editor, publisher, designer, distributor....
• You’ve got to be good at all the above
• First and foremost the writing, content, images
• Increased competition, anyone can do it
• Relationships with editors no longer key
• Relationships with PRs, tourist boards now more
important than ever

11. What do our clients understand about Bloggers?
• Some, a lot (younger)
• Others, nothing (older, decision makers)
• Some have worked with bloggers before
• Others have no experience at all
• With varying results
• Why is this relevant?
• You have to sell yourself, what you do

12. What they do understand is…….
• Print - clippings
• Broadcast – video/audio clips
• Press trips – real people – they were nice
• MEASUREMENT
• Where did the money go
• The internet is great at MEASUREMENT
• We love stats – I’ll come back to this

13. Tips and advice
• Follow, Like, Share, Engage with us
• Sounds obvious, but a lot of bloggers don’t do it
• It’s how we communicate, invite, ask, request……
• Who should you be following
– Travel PRs
– Tourist Boards
– Airlines
– Hotel chains

14. This week on Twitter

15. Tips and advice
• Don’t try and be everywhere
• Facebook is not the only platform
• Press/blogger trips we need a mix - FB, radio, print, YouTube,
Instagram
• e.g. Fionn Davenport, Twitter and Instagram only

16. Don’t Bluff
• It’s a small world, we all know each other – travel PRs and tourist
boards
• I spent 6 years as a travel editor, publisher, writer
• Member of global travel PR networks
• Ireland, UK, France, USA, South Africa, Australia, Italy, Spain, Germany,
India, China, Belgium, Netherlands, etc.

17. Disconnect
• Media = SHORT TERM
• Industry = LONG TERM
• 2 months notice for a bespoke trip, not 2 weeks or 2 days
• Planning for the year ahead takes place Sept-Nov
• Festival – City of Culture – 6 months out, not 2 weeks

18. Are you Monitoring Yourself
• Monitor yourself and share your activity with us
• Success with Google shows us your blog is set up properly
• Are you using Google Authorship?

19. Google Authorship
• Link your Google+ account with your blog
• Better search results for your blog posts
• Share these results with us

20. Be Professional
• Have a Facebook Business Page, not a Personal Page
• We need to see stats
• Not possible on a personal page
• Likewise for apps and competitions etc

21. Keeping Facebook Work and Personal Separate
• Keep your personal life and party antics separate from your
professional life as a travel blogger
• We do this in our office. My staff have separate work and personal
pages
• You can merge your old personal page with a new business page and
not lose any Likes

22. Stats – Reporting - Feedback

23. Share your stats with us

24. More Stats
PeerIndex, Kred, Google+ Ripples, Facebook EdgeRank Checker, Twitalyzer
•We do this in our office. My staff have separate work and personal pages

25. Evergreen
• Show us you know what evergreen means
• Don’t just distribute once
• Distribute again and again
• It’s easy
• So many ways, reasons to distribute – festivals, national days, etc.
• It helps you and us – grow your audience and ours
• Stay in touch and you’ll stay on our radar
• Report regularly, updates

26. Evergreen

27. Evergreen

28. Evergreen

29. Evergreen

30. Use Our #hashtags
• #hashtags are across all platforms, not just Twitter
• Facebook being the most recent to adopt the #
• Use our #hashtags
• Monitoring our #hashtags
• #Puglia

31. Not my job
• Yes, it’s not your job
• Your job to be a brilliant writer/photographer
• GREAT CONTENT – GREAT WRITING
• But…………………
• There’s a lot of competition out there, and you need
to be the best to beat the rest……….
• Therefore, it is your job

32. New V Old Media
• They do work together
• New is a back door into old media
• Fionn Davenport when on Newstalk uses his own personal Twitter
handle @fionndavenport when on air
• Why? Why do Newstalk allow this?
• He brings a new and larger audience to the show
• His new world Klout adds value to his position and influence in the old
world
• Think of yourself as a content creator, with an audience, not just as
new media – as a blogger, etc

33. Know Your Place
• Where do you fit, where do I fit, in the world of travel content
• Content Marketing
• Marketers need content, good content, and lots of it
• Government – Tourist Board – PR – Travel Writer - Distribution

34. Remember this annoying guy?

35. Takeaways
1. Stats, stats and more stats
2. Communicate. Talk to us. Stay in contact. Report back
3. Content is King, especially well written content
4. Travel industry needs lots and lots of content. Reciprocal
relationship
5. Know your medium. Share, RT, Like, Engage, #, Repeat
6. It costs nothing to be polite
7. We work with people we like

36. Thank you
Michael Collins
@TravelMedia_ie
facebook/TravelMedia.ie
michael@travelmedia.ie