LAS VEGAS — Home-based agents who take the time and trouble to hone their public relations skills can raise both their profits and their profiles.
That was the message Jennifer Doncsecz, owner and president of VIP Vacations in Hamburg, Pa., had on Wednesday for attendees at Travel Weekly's LeisureWorld 2011 and Home Based Travel Agent Show and Convention here.
Opening the morning’s “How to Become Your Own P.R. Specialist” breakout session, Doncsecz, a regular travel commentator for local and national media such as Fox News Philadelphia, CNN and Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, admitted to attendees that “as a travel agent, it’s hard to get P.R.”
But, she added, by learning how to write an effective press release, creating a unique image and cultivating media relationships, any home-based agent can become his or her own P.R. team and perhaps garner news coverage. That can translate into savings on publicity and advertising costs, she said, as well as increase sales.
“The first step in getting noticed is doing something noteworthy … and newsworthy,” Doncsecz said.
Crafting an eye-catching logo coupled with a snappy slogan can be a good start. Gimmicks, usually thought of negatively, actually can be good. Doncsecz pointed to the meteoric rise of pop star Lady Gaga as an example of effective, and highly individualized, self-promotion.
“Lady Gaga’s gimmick is that she doesn’t wear pants — but as travel agents, we shouldn’t do that,” said Doncsecz, to laughter from the room. “But, like Lady Gaga, we need to create images for ourselves that differentiate us from the competition.”
Once agents set themselves apart from the crowd, it’s time to get the word out. One approach is the traditional press release. “There’s a format to it and you don’t have to hire a P.R. firm to write one,” Doncsecz advised, noting that including a catchy teaser, or headline, and the “five W’s and one H” -- who, what, when, where, why and how -- make for, in her experience, a good release.
Agents can avail themselves of free websites such as PRLog.com and PRWeb.com for dissemination of their press releases.
The Internet also affords the opportunity to take what Doncsecz called the “P.R. 2.0” approach to self-promotion: “Eliminating the use of conventional media and reaching your clients through search-engine optimization and social media sites,” such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
In the end, focusing on what you do best is what’s most important and more likely to get agents some attention. “Just because your story is simply new doesn’t make it necessarily newsworthy,” said Doncsecz.