PORT TOWNSEND — The value of networking, both online and face to face, was underscored at the 2011 Tourism Summit at Fort Worden State Park on Wednesday.
About 125 tourism professionals from across the North Olympic Peninsula and elsewhere — along with 19 students from the Port Townsend High School tourism and hospitality program — attended the all-day conference, which featured speakers on tourism and travel.
The conference, sponsored by the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission, was open to any regional businesses in and around the Salish Sea interested in tourism, said Mary Brelsford, spokeswoman for the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau based in Port Angeles.
“I am reminded of the power of working together and joint-marketing each other’s businesses,” said Chrystie Kisler of Finnriver Farms in Chimacum at the conference’s close.
“If we create an internal network among ourselves and refer each other to each other’s businesses, we can build a stronger community that way,” she said.
Tourism-oriented businesses need to use advanced Internet-based advertising methods in order to generate visits, said Jennifer Peper, vice president of Aristotle Interactive in Little Rock, Ark.
Peper presented the final address of the conference: “Tying It All Together — Making Sense of a Growing List of Complex Marketing Channels.”
“When you take out a banner ad, it’s only there for a short time,” Peper said.
“But if you invest in search optimization, it can bring you business for months and years.”
Search Optimization, or SEO, is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a Web page in search engines via the “natural” or unpaid search results while including terms and keywords that are easily picked up by Google or other engines, according to computer consultant Keven Eliff, who also spoke at the conference.
Peper also said paid advertisements “per click” can also bring in business from unexpected places.
For instance, someone can search for the word “cider” and call up a clever video that explains why a local blend is the best in the world.
If the message catches on, the cider manufacturer could be shipping cases across the country or find people turning up at their door, she said.
Peper said all businesses need Facebook, Twitter and a Web page to cover all the social media bases.
Peper said that if Olympic Peninsula businesses present their assets online, it will draw people to the area.
“It’s amazing how much beautiful open space you have here, and there are a lot of people from the city who are looking for exactly what you can offer,” she said.
Attendees of the conference were anxious to apply Peper’s social networking tips to their business.
“I’ve learned some new tricks today, and I’m pretty excited about it,” said Joy Baisch of Brinnon, who was representing the Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce.
“We are doing parts of this. I don’t know if we are doing enough,” said Debbie Wardrop, manager of The Inn at Port Ludlow.
“We are looking to get the word out, because once people are here, they come back.”
Kisler said she was made aware of new technologies but that they would take some time and expertise to figure out.
“I’ve found that one of the best things for our business is to attend these conferences,” she said.
“I always meet someone or learn something that will help us grow.”
The Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission is made up of chambers of commerce and tourism marketing entities from the Hood Canal to Kalaloch.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.