Category Archive: Lake Tahoe

Tahoe Local Digital and Social Media Marketing – Who’s Doing it Best Series

Posted by on January 26, 2012

Tahoe Local Who’s Doing it Best in the Digital and Social Media Marketing Space

Jan 2012 – Tahoe Mountain Sports

I’ve been thinking about starting this series for a while as there are certain local Tahoe companies and businesses that are doing a really good job with their online and social media marketing efforts. There’s no better time to start this series than in the month of January. Once a month, I will feature a local Lake Tahoe business who’s doing an extremely good job with their website, digital, mobile or social media. If you have any suggestions, feel free to send them my way at milena@outandaboutmarketing.com.

Our first selection goes out to Tahoe Mountain Sports and below are some of the reasons for it. In the spirit of Full Disclosure I have to say that this blog post is in no way paid or sponsored by Tahoe Mountain Sports. They didn’t give me any discounts or goodies to write it.

1. Website

Tahoe Mountain Sports website is organized and build with user experience in mind. It is my understanding they are doing all the work in-house. I wish they were using an outside agency as I would hire them right away. Kudos to the entire team at TMS! It’s great to see local talent producing high quality work like this. The website has clear call to actions, it’s easy to navigate, it’s professional looking and has integrated social networks and features really well. I love the fact that you can shop online. So many local Tahoe businesses are completely missing out on the entire ecommerce opportunity. It’s 2012 people! Start selling your products and services online. The site is well organized with items for men, women and kids, plus you can shop by brand, activity and gear. In addition, MTS provides a very detailed information on Tahoe with anything you need for your complete Tahoe adventure from weather and web cams to general information about the area. I like their gift cards availability as well so you can gift someone with an email delivered right to their inbox. I love their Deal of the Day. It’s a great way to bring people back to your website daily. Kudos to TMS for keeping this active. I’m sure it pays well in sales for them.

I decided to test their Live Chat function which integrated with my Facebook account. I asked them a question and received an immediate response. A few pleasant exchanges later, I went on to continue writing this blog post. I can keep going about their website features, like free shipping, secure check out, Amazon payments, etc. In summary, this is an excellent website and I’m sure they are seeing the returns from their efforts in real dollar signs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Blog 

TMS maintains a very active blog which shows they understand the power of search and social. The blog also shows their passion and enthusiasm for the outdoors, sports, Tahoe and their business. Their love for the outdoors is captivating. It’s an engaging blog with interesting articles, product reviews and tons of photos. One of my favorite posts was their recent Yosemite trip with the Tahoe bikini chicks. Now, this is a great way to sell some bikinis in winter and even get the guys interested. Right?

 

Photo courtesy of the TMS blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Social Media

In addition to the blog, TMS is active on Facebook (2,267 likes), Twitter (324 followers), YouTube (70,959 views to their videos so far) and Google+ (68 people). They are active on their social networks and responding to people not just blasting out messages like some other companies (won’t mention any names) are continuing to do.

I’d love to get into more details on their social media but we’ll keep this for another post. With some social media guidance Tahoe Mountain Sports can make their business even more social and connect with more people on the web in pursuit of adventure and sport clothing and accessories.
4. Mobile Site
Tahoe Mountain Sports mobile experience is not your typical scrolling website but an actual mobile site optimized for smart phones and tablets. Simple and easy you can now purchase a jacket or whatever you need directly from your cell phone.  As more and more people are using their smart phones and tablets businesses need to adapt their website for mobile devices to make user experience better. This one is a no brainer. The Tahoe Mountain Sports staff reported an increase of 113% in traffic since the mobile site launched and that’s just the beginning. Does your business have one?
5. Email Marketing
Just like one would expect seeing their website, social and mobile efforts so far, their email marketing efforts don’t disappoint either. Their emails are not overwhelming. Most include sales information, some are in an effort to get you to return as a customer. If I could sign up for even more relevant offers based on my activities and interests, that would be even better. There are currently four categories that one can sign up for.
I liked getting this offer in my inbox from Mountain Travel Sports. It’s a good way to try to convince me to go back to shopping. Plus, using a first name in an email is always a guarantee to get your attention.
6. Most importantly – store experience. 
One can argue that just because they have a strong digital, mobile and social presence they don’t necessary have a good brick and mortar store experience. I’ve been to their store a few times and I have to say they are some of the friendliest and knowledgeable people I know in Tahoe. I spent 15 minutes with the store owner Dave yesterday talking about ski helmets. He knows his products and understands how to take care of customers. I enjoy visiting and supporting his store and I’ll continue to do so online and offline.
Have you had any experience with Tahoe Mountain Store? Please, share it with us by leaving a comment below.

Do you have what it takes to be featured on our monthly series on Who’s Doing it Best in Tahoe? Let us know by leaving a comment below or send us an email to

milena@outandaboutmarketing.com

Categories: Blog Email marketing eMarketing Lake Tahoe Small Businesses | 8 Comments »

Does your Travel&Tourism brand know how to engage on Facebook?

Posted by on October 13, 2011

I had the pleasure to present at SMG Tahoe Technology & Marketing 2011 on Facebook for Business with focus on the Travel&Tourism industry. I like the event as it gathers many local and regional folks involved in the travel, tourism, outdoor and recreation industries. I’ve worked with many of them over the years and the event has the feel of a family gathering.

I truly enjoyed the presentations I saw, starting with Troy Thompson from Travel2.0 setting the stage for the day, Mike Henderson from Arborglyph talking about destination marketing videos, Rob Gadtke from KPS3 n mapping media and technology to the buying process and Eric Bengston on Developing an Interactive Strategy.

Below you will find my presentation on how to engage with your fans on Facebook and create a culture and vibrant online community with lots of examples from local and national properties doing it right. I covered custom landing pages, affordable apps, best business practices and measurements. In addition to my presentation, feel free to use my handout on 10 Facebook tips to improve engagement. Some of these tips you can implement today in your Facebook marketing.

Facebook for Business – Travel&Tourism by Milena Regos, Out&About Marketing

For the 10 Facebook tips for businesses, click here. Enjoy! What have you found that works for your on Facebook? Share some stories with us.

Categories: Blog Business Events Facebook Lake Tahoe Marketing Measurements Social Media Social Media Marketing Technology | No Comments »

Win a ticket to SMG Tourism, Technology and Marketing Workshop

Posted by on August 29, 2011

Want to win a free ticket to the Strategic Marketing Group Tourism, Technology and Marketing Workshop in South Lake Tahoe on Oct 12th?

A good friend, Troy Thompson from Travel 2.0 is going to be the keynote speaker and I will present on Facebook for business. Let me know what you want to learn.

Out&About Marketing is giving away a free admission to the event. Here’s how to you can win the free ticket valued at $99 before Aug 31 and $125 after.

2 ways to WIN:

  1. Tweet with #WinSMGTahoe hashtag in your tweet. You can tweet up to 3 times a day. You will get an entry every time you tweet.We’ll randomly draw the winner.
  2. Leave a comment on this blog post and tell us why you want to go.

Contest rules:

  1. Contest ends Oct 3rd and the winner will be announced on this blog.
  2. The winner will be selected at random and the decision is final.
  3. If you have already purchased a ticket, no problem. We’ll give you a full refund on your ticket or you can just give away the ticket to someone who really wants to go.
  4. No purchase is necessary to win.
  5. You are responsible for your own travel expenses.

Good luck to everyone! See you on Oct 12th!

Categories: Blog Business Events Lake Tahoe Marketing Small Businesses Social Media Social Media Marketing Technology | 7 Comments »

I’ll be jumping in Lake Tahoe on March 6 for Special Olympics – Support the Cause

Posted by on January 23, 2011

In support of Special Olympics I’m going to jump in Lake Tahoe on March 6. Crazy? Yes!

1. The Cause -  Special Olympics. Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

2. Special Olympics history – The concept for Special Olympics was born in the early 1960s when Eunice Kennedy Shriver started a day camp for people with developmental disabilities at her home in Rockville, Maryland. The first International Special Olympics Games were held in 1968 at Soldier Field, Chicago with 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 26 states and Canada.

Mrs. Shriver’s vision has grown into one of the largest and most successful sports and volunteer organizations in the world. There are Chapters in every state of America and in more than 140 countries worldwide serving more than one-million Special Olympics athletes.

3. Special Olympics Northern California is proud to serve more than 13,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities.

4. Diamond Peak and Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe have been the proud sponsor for Special Olympics two years in a row. This event receives support from the community and many IVGID and Hyatt employees.

5. My pledge - My goal is to raise at least $5,500 for this organization and I’m counting on your support.

6. It’s a party! – On March 6th, come to the Hyatt pier and watch me jump in the freezing waters of Lake Tahoe. Temperature is around 40F (4C). Brrrrrrrr!!!!!! Bring your cameras! I will need your support.Even better, sign up to jump in with me.

7. Please, donate. Every little bit will help me reach my goal. You can donate online here.

8. Spread the word. We can do it together. Let’s use social media, online and personal networks and let’s raise some money. These kids need it. We can all help.

Are you in?

Categories: Blog Business Customer service eMarketing Events Lake Tahoe Life Marketing Ski industry Social Media Word of Mouth | 3 Comments »

How to Say No! – Guest Blog

Posted by on November 1, 2010

Jen Schmidt is a very talented Lake Tahoe photographer who’s determined to succeed in life. She has also realized that having your own business can be very stressful at times. Over a cup of coffee with Jen, we talked about the hardest thing to do – How to Say No. Jen offered to write this post (Thank you Jen!) and give you, our valuable readers her advice on How to Say No and keep your head above water. Did I mention she’s only 25?  To get in touch with Jen about her amazing photography, please, contact her directly.

As I write this, I am thinking about a million different things. Well, maybe not a million, but at least 74.

At this moment in my life I am a full-time photographer with a budding business, I associate- and second-shoot weddings for two different studios, and I nanny part-time.  I write three or four pieces for Tahoe Quarterly every issue, attend a networking group once a week and try to get out of the house with friends at least once a month to maintain some ghostly semblance of a social life. I actively participate in Relay For Life, Star Follies and Boy Scouts. I never say no when someone asks me to donate a photo session to a silent auction for a charitable cause. I’d like to lose 25 pounds. And I’m a 25-year old kid in a long-distance relationship. I barely have enough time to take care of myself, let alone sleep on a regular basis. And anytime I’m awake, unless I’ve paid for a vacation and forced myself to leave the laptop and camera behind, I’m working.

It’s funny that one of the first words we learn how to say becomes so difficult for us later in life. It’s easy to say yes to one thing or another – but it’s a slippery slope. Before you know it you feel like poor Atlas and slowly, but surely, your muscles begin to weaken…

Why do we over-commit? Because we honestly want to help, or we don’t want to be rude. Maybe we fear we’ll lose a good opportunity or hurt someone’s feelings. And saying yes to every offer makes it feel like you can take on the world, until you realize you can’t. Because I am clearly no expert on how not to over-commit, I’ve done a little research with some help from my friend, the Internet, and compiled it here for you in a handy list.

1.   Figure out your priorities. Don’t focus solely on professional goals if you want to spend time with your family. If you want to make your photography startup a success, as much as it pains me to say it, you can’t spend time running around with little kids or freelancing for magazines. Of course, easier said than done.

2.    Set goals that keep those priorities in mind. When you don’t have a concrete vision of what you want to accomplish with your family, career, health, social life, finances…you have no point of reference when your boss asks you to take on more travel or a project that requires an extra 10 hours a week. This’ll help you spot conflicts before they’re right on top of you.

3.    Sleep on it. When someone asks you for your time and you’re not sure, tell them you’ll get back to them. Which is not to say, be flaky. Just take a minute away from the situation to weigh the value of the offer and how much time you actually have. Does it help you with your goals?

4.    Finish what you started. Always honor your commitments, but once they’re done you’re free to go.

5.    That said – buy yourself some time in the short-term by making a list of your commitments and seeing what can be rescheduled, delegated or even cancelled. Combat calendar claustrophobia – once you have some room to breathe you can make your plan.

6.    Schedule time for yourself and stick to it. Call it trite but you know it’s true. The road to hell is paved with what? Make it a ritual – walk the dog every day at 5:00 or take lunch away from your desk – and it’ll keep you sane.

7.    Don’t waste your time trying to please everyone. You’ll be tearing your hair out and in the process you’ll be doing a disservice to all the people and priorities that matter most. Some people are always miserable; refuse to let them take you down too.

8.    If a good opportunity falls in your lap and you don’t have the time for it, refer it to a reliable colleague or friend. With any luck they’ll be gracious and return the favor when they’re over-committed.

9.    Keep, or regain, some perspective. When you’re feeling pressed, take a deep breath and back up a few feet. Pointillists paint myriad small dots to form an image, but unless you’re standing at a distance you won’t know what it is. Remember the big picture and don’t let those small dots get in your head. If that doesn’t help, look up how much space you take up on the geological timeline.

10. Do something fun. Seriously, maybe if you accidentally build in a little extra margin you can have some time for yourself. Remember fun?

Long story short? If something brings you joy or your business money, keep it. If it only stresses you out and there’s no room for improvement, it’s time to cut your losses. Two-year-olds the world over can say it, so it’s time for some verbal rehabilitation. Relish the small victory that is that teeny, tiny two-letter word.

Your turn? What keeps you up at night? How do you Say No? Would you like to see more guest posts?

Categories: Blog Business Lake Tahoe Small Businesses | 1 Comment »