In January, Destination Gettysburg launched the My Gettysburg App, available for free on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. To date, there have been 2,583 downloads with 14,125 sessions and the travel season is really just ramping up.
 
This easy-to-use tool includes information on all 310 members, the full calendar of events, as well as coupons, itineraries, videos, maps and more. The app is a great way for visitors to access complete information about a business, including turn-by-turn directions. Not only should every visitor have the My Gettysburg app, it is an excellent way for our frontline staff to help visitors with information.
 
Visitors are loving the tool. Kathy Webb’s review says it all, “LOVE IT – My husband and I are frequent visitors to Gettysburg. This app has helped us find things to do that we never would have thought of doing. We both love Gettysburg and the app. Thank you for creating it!”
 
Let’s all work together to connect visitors with our members.

Earlier this year,each member received a table tent promotional piece and recently a decal that can be placed on your counter or door. We have seen both tools being used and hope others will help in the promotion. We have also now produced a business card-sized promotional piece that can sit on counters, be slid into key sleeves or distributed by servers when asked by a visitor, “What else is there to do in Gettysburg?”
 
If you would like a quantity of the business card promo piece, additional window clings or table tents, please contact Stacey Fox at stacey@destinationgettysburg.com. 

Sixty-two percent of global travelers visit TripAdvisor before booking their trip. When was the last time you looked at what people are saying about your business on TripAdvisor?
 
Beginning in June, Destination Gettysburg will increase their presence on TripAdvisor, working to extend our brand presence and inspire more travelers visiting the top site in online travel to make Gettysburg their vacation and getaway destination. We will place digital ads on TripAdvisor targeting visitors from PA, OH, WV, VA, DC, NJ, DE and NY who are researching travel to Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland. This campaign will run throughout the summer.
 
The goal is twofold – get the visitor to click through to our website or to at least get them to research Gettysburg while they are on TripAdvisor. Once connected to Gettysburg content, we want to inspire them to book a visit. What will they see when they visit your listing on their site?
 
During the 2016 Build, Inspire, Innovate Summit, Mark Preston of TripAdvisor shared travel trends and tips to manage your online reputation. Did you know that there are over 190 user contributions posted to TripAdvisor every minute? How does a business make sure they have the best ranking possible? It starts with service when the visitor is at your property and ends with responding to posts – positive and negative.
 
We learned that TripAdvisor currently lists 75 accommodations, 108 things to do and 121 restaurants in the Gettysburg zip code. These 303 businesses have received over 61,000 reviews and opinions. While our goal at Destination Gettysburg is to push all potential visitors to our official website, reality is that visitors use TripAdvisor. In fact, in 2015, Gettysburg traffic on TripAdvisor represented 4 million page views by 1 million unique visitors.  Visitors use TripAdvisor because the reviews help them feel more confident in their travel decisions and have a better trip.* These reviews are also being populated on 105,000 unique domains with a TripAdvisor widget delivering 1 billion views of TripAdvisor content on sites other than TripAdvisor each month.
 
Did you know that the average review score on TripAdvisor is a 4.12? With that in mind, it is important to note that the average Gettysburg accommodation review score of 4.33, the average review score for a Gettysburg attraction is 4.68 and the average Gettysburg restaurant review score is 4.14. This averages out to an overall review score for Gettysburg on TripAdvisor of 4.39. Nice job!
 
If you know that you are delivering a superior experience at your property, don’t hesitate to ask for the review. Consider ending each transaction with, “Thank you for spending time with us; we encourage you to post a review on TripAdvisor about your experience.” You could even add a note to your receipts or send a follow up email requesting the review with a link to your page.
 
Once the reviews are posted, it is your job to respond regularly to these comments. But how?
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If you have not already done so, register in the TripAdvisor Management Center by visiting www.tripadvisor.com/owners. Once there, search for and find your property, fill in the details on the form presented and sign in. From there, it is time to get to work. The TripAdvisor platform offers campaign dashboards to monitor incoming reviews and optimize campaigns. The dashboard also consolidates key metrics to measure day-to-day performance including reviews, rankings and photos. Be sure to sign up for review notification emails to keep you on track responding in a timely manner.
 
There is a right way and a wrong way to respond to postings. For more ideas straight from TripAdvisor click here.
 
*Source: PhoCusWright’s “Custom Survey Research Engagement,” prepared for TripAdvisor. December 2013

As an extension of Destination Gettysburg’s #MyGettysburg marketing campaign, the organization recently kicked off a series of social media photo frames – something that provides visitors with the spark to share their experiences in Adams County, Pa., with their friends and family.
 
Officially launched at Destination Gettysburg’s National Travel & Tourism Week’s Community Cookout, these photo frames feature an accompanying hashtag - #GettysburgOutdoors, #TasteGettysburg, #MakeYourOwnHistory or #FindYourPark, a nod to the National Park Service’s centennial anniversary. The initiative also features a dry-erase board for visitors to write their own #MyGettysburg story as a way of sharing their personal passions about this destination.
 
Staff at Destination Gettysburg will be out and about in 2016, asking visitors to not only pose with the frames, but to post photos of themselves to their own social media channels for their friends to see. Those who post their photos on social media will receive a free T-shirt.
 
This marketing initiative gives visitors a new opportunity to share why they love Gettysburg in a fun and eye-catching way. By encouraging participants to post photos on their own social media accounts, the tourism community is expanding its reach beyond its own collective social media followers. 

The internationally popular ride-sharing company Uber will begin offering service in Adams County, Pa.
 
Uber acts similar to a taxi service, but riders locate rides through an Uber app on their smartphones. Uber-trained drivers in the area will be notified of the request and a driver will arrive to pick up the rider(s). All cost transactions are completed through the Uber app.
 
Once the service is officially up-and-running on May 27, rides can be obtained 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including to and from the Harrisburg and Baltimore airports as well as the Harrisburg Amtrak station.
 
Allan Junggust, an Uber driver, recently reached out to Destination Gettysburg in an effort to make sure that members and visitors themselves are aware of the service and how to maximize the opportunities, especially on busy event weekends.
 
Limited Uber service will begin on May 16th at 8 a.m. Users looking for rides during this time, should post a ride request to Uber of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Facebook page or text Allan Junggust directly at (717) 688-5653. Riders, even during this time will need to download the Uber app onto their phones.
 
Allan is available to help members of Destination Gettysburg understand Uber so that they may best help their customers utilize the ride-sharing service. Contact Allan at allanjunggust@yahoo.com.