What Visitscotland Can Do for You
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What VisitScotland can do for you How we can support and promote your business Contents 00 WHAT CAN VISITSCOTLAND DO FOR YOUR BUSINESS? 04 01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS Get your free listing on our global website 07 Reach for the stars 10 Taste Our Best 11 Use our Welcome Schemes to appeal to visitors with specific interests 12 Be in the iKnow 13 Advertise in prime locations and publications 14 Engage with our latest campaigns 15 Take part in our promotional activities 16 Promote your business at an event, exhibition or trade show 18 Target the business events market 20 Align with Themed Years 21 02 GET ADVICE AND SUPPORT Analyse your digital presence in a digital review 23 Check out our practical advice guides and toolkits 24 Attend an industry event in your area 27 03 KNOW YOUR MARKET Utilise the wealth of research and insights at your fingertips 29 04 CONSIDER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Promote your local area or sector 31 Support an event you are organising 32 05 CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESSES Go for a Scottish Thistle Award 35 02 What can VisitScotland do for your business? VisitScotland is Scotland’s national This booklet gives you an overview tourism organisation. We work closely of the main opportunities available with businesses, public agencies and so you can consider the best options stakeholders to maximise the benefits for your business. of tourism to Scotland’s economy and that includes helping to support and More information is available on all promote your business. of these opportunities on the business support pages of our corporate website We provide products and services visitscotland.org or by speaking directly that can help you reach your to your Industry Relationship Manager. target markets more efficiently and we can provide vital resources to assist you in developing your business. By working together, we can continue to attract visitors to Scotland and deliver exceptional holiday experiences to visitors, ensuring they feel the true Spirit of Scotland. 04 05 01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS Get your free listing on our global website Scotland’s national tourism website, We offer FREE listings on the website, visitscotland.com, welcomes over with a number of promotional features 20 million visitors each year. to enable you to showcase your business, increase awareness and drive referrals Relaunched in 2016, the site is optimised directly to you. for mobile devices and all content pages are translated into five major European languages. It provides a truly global platform to promote Scotland and your business to the world. All our marketing activity — from press to TV adverts — drives potential visitors to visitscotland.com to ensure that businesses across Scotland receive as many referrals as possible from their listing on the site. 01 Promote your business 07 01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS Features of a business web listing include: • Referrals from visitors directly to • The option for accommodation you via your contact details, email businesses to link to an address and website link integrated booking engine Business listings on and/or take bookings from our visitscotland.com generated iCentre network across Scotland • Promotion of Quality Assurance 1.4 million visitor referrals awards to provide visitors with reassurance on the standard of • Our partnership with TrustYou which to Scottish businesses. experience they can expect gives accommodation businesses the opportunity to display a score and summary of online feedback, • Images and video content to reflecting genuine reviews from inspire potential visitors and their guests encourage them to find out more about your business Get your free listing at • Access to an online system, visitscotland.org/free-web-listing giving you the flexibility to • Descriptive content to highlight your make changes to your listing unique selling points and attract at any point throughout the year interest from visitors. This can be optimised for search by using key words and phrases • Practical information such as your facilities, prices and opening hours 08 09 01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS 01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS Reach for the stars Taste Our Best VisitScotland operates a star-graded Participation in the QA scheme starts The Taste Our Best Quality Assurance Quality Assurance (QA) scheme for a from as little as £107 + VAT depending scheme showcases businesses that offer wide variety of tourism businesses. on the sector and size of your business. quality Scottish food and is available to food and drink businesses such as cafes, On joining the QA scheme you will receive For more information on the QA schemes takeaways and restaurants from £50. a visit from one of our highly experienced and how we can work with you go to Quality & Tourism Advisors who will give visitscotland.org/quality-assurance If you participate in one of our other an objective, impartial assessment of QA schemes and also have an eligible what it is like as a customer to stay with food offering, Taste Our Best is you or to visit your attraction. automatically included free-of-charge in your QA assessment. Invaluable feedback and a detailed report will highlight what works well To get the most out of your Taste Our Best and what could be improved to help you award, we offer a toolkit with resources attain the level of quality you desire. and advice to help market your business and this badge of quality to the world. It can help you better understand your strengths and weaknesses and make Three quarters of Taste Our Best informed decisions about investing in participants use the award to promote and developing your business to ensure their business, with 72% receiving it is as economically sustainable, and positive feedback from their customers profitable, as it can be. regarding local sourcing of produce. QA stars shown alongside online reviews We have been promoting Taste Our Best give your guests a balance of objective to millions, with PR coverage alone and subjective views to assist guests in reaching 3.5 million potential visitors. their decision making. Find out more at visitscotland.org/taste-our-best 10 11 01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS 01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS Use our Welcome Schemes to appeal Be in the iKnow to visitors with specific interests We have developed a range of Welcome Find out more at visitscotland.org/ The VisitScotland Information Partner An online community platform has also Schemes to recognise businesses that welcome-schemes or through your (VIP) programme recognises the been introduced on visitscotland.com cater for specific niche markets. Industry Relationship Manager. wonderful service and information that that provides visitors with an additional many businesses provide their visitors. way of getting the inside track from They help guide visitors with specific If you participate in Quality Assurance people in the know, like you. Get started interests to businesses that pay (QA) our range of Welcome Schemes It is open to Quality Assured businesses and share your stories, travel advice and particular attention to their needs. complement your award and are across the tourism industry as well as top tips at community.visitscotland.com available to you free of charge. community groups, social enterprises For example, a cyclist may look for and transport providers free of charge. Find out more at a business with the ‘Cyclist Welcome The schemes are also available to visitscotland.org/iknow Scheme’ as they offer a lockable businesses that don’t participate The VIP programme is ultimately about space for bike storage. in QA for a small fee. reaching more people with more tailored information so they stay longer, spend We also have an Experiencing Gaelic more and grow the visitor economy and Welcome Scheme which recognises create jobs. the efforts businesses make to promote the Gaelic language and culture. By being part of the programme you will benefit from official iKnow Scotland branding and collateral as well as promotional material and information resources. These include: • New point of sale material • Internal window sticker • Staff badges • Certificate • Access to toolkit templates • iKnow logo added to your visitscotland.com web listing 12 13 01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS 01 PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS Advertise in prime Engage with our locations and publications latest campaigns VISITSCOTLAND iCENTRES CONSUMER PUBLICATIONS The ‘Spirit of Scotland’ campaign, The campaign helped deliver We offer a variety of advertising You can purchase advertising for your launched in early 2016, saw a new era for 567,000 referrals to businesses from opportunities in our iCentre network business in a number of regional and VisitScotland marketing and captured visitscotland.com, an increase of across Scotland to suit a range of national publications, produced on our the imagination of both visitors and 20% year-on-year, representing £200 business needs and budget. These behalf by contracted third party agencies. tourism businesses. During its first few million of potential visitor income in opportunities, from leaflet racking to Guides are distributed to thousands of months, our online campaign films just five months. poster displays, enable you to promote potential and return visitors to Scotland. received more than 20 million views and your products and services to a receptive #ScotSpirit was used over 150,000 times Working with businesses in Scotland audience looking for inspiration on A variety of advertising and on Twitter. Capitalise on this by using within our campaigns is a priority for where to go and what to see and do. entry options are available in the #ScotSpirit across your social media. us. Our Spirit of Scotland industry different guides, from full page adverts eBook gives you information on what Details and pricing options for to small listings. More information is DISCOVER THE we are doing and how we can work advertising in one of our iCentres available at SPIRIT OF together.