The standard tourism brochure rack: crowded and boring. But you still have to compete here. 
If we could make tourism maps more interactive, maybe we can do the same with standard brochures.
We all try to do this:
- Put a website address or email address on every single brochure.
But I’ve added a new goal:
- Make the website address short and easy to type on mobile phone keypads.
But this is still thinking in terms of offering our information in our way. How can we start interacting?
- Offer a reason to go online: offer bonus materials, extra photos, or a coupon. Bonus points if you can make it mobile-friendly.
- Include your tag on your brochure, and encourage visitors to upload photos and stories. The tag is a unique keyword people can use to identify their photos or stories online. It makes it easier to search for your visitors’ posts.
How are you helping to create tomorrow’s tourism brochures?
Photo by Becky McCray
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Great advice, and to elaborate on the easy URL, point it to a mobile -friendly page. Visitors probably aren’t going to run back to a computer to for more info. Instant gratification.
Great points on printing on brochures themselves. At tourism centers themselves the racks can be much more interactive with use of video and limited interactive. There was a display at a NYC national parks museum where each national park had a separate plaque with text and photos above where the brochures were placed.
Deepdish and Sandra, those are great ideas. Thanks for adding them!
Sheila keeps telling me that mobile is where everything is going, and last night, I saw how true it was. Three out of eight people at our networking meeting pulled out phones to check a fact, their schedule, and even the severe weather forecast.
Becky – on my trip last week I used mobile a lot to get directions, find restaurants and addresses. A separate mobile friendly .mobi web address helps too. Once my hubby was having trouble getting the online directions on his phone and I said, “well I guess you could CALL them.” LOL
If the tourists have a smart phone with a camera the brochure can make use of QR Code to take them right to the web site. QR codes can also be used for coupons or specials.
Paul, I love the idea of QR codes. I’ve heard how common they are in Asia, and how well they can connect you to instant info. Do you know which US phones can read them now?
You can create your own trail tags or interactive rack tags – as QR Codes or MS Tags – at vizitag.com
Thanks, Stewart. Still looking for someone to tell me their phone can read QR codes, or to give a listing of which phones can. I’d like an idea how widespread the capability of reading them is in the US.
QRMe has a full list of QR code readers. Just enter your mobile phone type in the search box to list compatible readers.
http://www.qrme.co.uk/qr-code-resources/qr-code-readers.html.
You can login using your Facebook account (or register) and you’re allocated a trackable QR code. Use the ‘My Live Geomap’ menu option to see where and when your QR code was scanned on a Google map. It’s free.
Regards
Ian. QRMe
Forgot to say .. If you like the site please let your Facebook friends know about it by using the ‘Invite your Facebook friends’ menu option.
Thank you, Ian. This is a growing topic.