Monkey business - International Group Travel

Check out my latest blog at Group Tour Magazine....my confession on why I love monkey pictures.

Monkey business

© 2012 Group Tour Media Blog,
February 27, 2012
What some monkey pictures and a cheeky squirrel have to teach group tour planners about website engagment, a blog by Senior Staff Writer Amanda Black
I have a confession to make. I am obsessed with monkeys — not actual ones, just cute ones in pictures. In real life, they can be mean, smelly nuisances. But come on, have you seen how darling these little guys are in pictures?
So I’ve decided that monkeys are awesome in theory. Anyone who converses with me on a regular basis through electronic means (either by IM, Facebook or e-mail) has seen their dose of monkey pictures shared with them.
Now it’s your turn.
The Daily Mail, the venerable London tabloid (as tabloids go) often posts monkey pictures stories on its delightful website, Mail Online. They know these stories will get hits, and it’s working. Today’s cover page had a story about monkeys in the Caribbean stealing cocktails.
Recently, a report came out claiming that the Daily Mail’s online portal was more popular than the New York Times’ website. You need to do the math just right and squint to get there, but according to the tracking firm ComScore, Mail Online reached 45.3 million sets of eyes last December. Compare that to the New York Times’ number of 44.8 million.
The British tabloids are embroiled in scandal right now, but from what I hear, the Daily Mail isn’t involved with the phone-hacking scandals.
I can feel good about looking at those monkey pictures, right? I’ll share my two favorites with you:
In this one, a black macaque grabbed the camera and showed off a toothy grin.
Here, a young snow monkey shows how to really relax.

	Photo: Shawn Allen
	This family of monkeys has a home in the trees and on the Internet.

What can we learn from all of this?
1). Monkeys are awesome, but you knew that.
2). Getting people to your website can seem like a mysterious process, but when you give people what they want, they will visit. You don’t have to have name recognition to get all of the hits. You need engaging content more than a famous name.
Having an animal mascot (aka engaging content) worked well for Banff-Lake Louise Tourism. Sure, they have the lovely Alberta Rocky Mountains to sell, but a friendly little squirrel has gained tons of attention for them.
The little guy showed up in a vacation shot that went viral, and now he’s the star of the DMO’s social media feeds. Currently @ Banff-Squirrel has 10,223 Twitter followers.
Not bad for a rodent.
What brings people to your website?

Monkey business - International Group Travel