Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
With AI becoming more and more prevalent online, it is imperative to make sure the right information is being shared. That was the message presented by West Virginia Tourism Cooperative Advertising Manager Destiny Workman last Thursday at the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourism Summit.
Workman shared tips and tricks for local businesses to promote themselves online and said a healthy online presence will help attract more visitors.
The most used online search engine – Google –draws information from websites and social media posts to provide information for searchers. Now, the top search response on Google is created by its AI tool, Gemini, which provides information according to what it finds online.
“We have to account for how AI is really coming to the forefront when it comes to how people discover destinations,” Workman said. “Gemini pulls directly from your Google business profile. I’m going to harp on business profiles because it’s really important, and it has to be part of your toolkit. We’re seeing now that listings are one of the most underutilized but simplest things to do when it comes to people discovering you.”
In addition to the Google business profile, Workman encouraged businesses to use the Trip Advisor profile, which AI also draws from for answers.
The AI results are useful for both vague and specific questions. So, if someone asks, “What can I do in Pocahontas County?” it will draw from every site that mentions it is located in Pocahontas County, whether it’s a business or event posting.
If someone asks a more specific question, like “What is happening this weekend in Pocahontas County?” AI will search for any postings for that specific date and Pocahontas County together.
That is why it is important to make sure all your posts are up to date and correct, Workman said.
To assist the businesses in Pocahontas County, the CVB has joined the Destination Optimization program through West Virginia Tourism.
The program is an audit of online presence for local businesses and organizations to see if they are using all the tools that are available to them. The audit was performed by Miles Partnership and Workman shared some of the results.
“We’ve been working with them to do an audit through Destination Optimization which allows them to go through on a business level and audit every business in here and see if you have up to date hours, if you’re actually present on there, do you have photos and all those things,” Workman said.
Pocahontas County is one of nine counties participating in Destination Optimization and within those counties, Miles Partnership audited 1,900 places.
“You’ll see that there are some kinds of disparity with Trip Advisor,” Workman said. “We have 56 percent of these destinations that weren’t on Trip Advisor, so that means they’re not part of the answers that are coming up when people are asking where should I go or what should I do in West Virginia.”
She added that of those that were on Trip Advisor, 47 percent of their listings were incomplete.
Those destinations had a better presence on Google business profiles, with only eight percent not found and 29 percent were incomplete.
“We’re looking to bridge that gap and make sure we get those numbers as low as possible,” Workman said.
Workman shared seven steps to ensure that local businesses are showing up at the top of searches and that their information is correct.
One – claim your presence on online platforms. She said the top four that are imperative are Google, Apple Maps, Bing and Trip Advisor. Younger visitors also search on Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and other social media platforms.
Two – make sure your hours of operation are up to date. If the business is going to be closed for holidays or personal reasons, those must be accurate and current.
Three – create a strong description. With AI drawing from all your posts and pages, it is important to have a correct and concise narrative about your business, where you’re located and what you have to offer.
Four – maximize categories, attributes and menus. Tags are very important to let people know if you are, for instance, dog friendly, have gluten free or vegan options, and any other special services that make you unique.
Five – share photos and videos. We live in a visual age where a 15 second clip on TikTok, YouTube or Facebook will attract more visitors than a paragraph explaining an upcoming event. Photo galleries and videos show off your business and entice visitors to come experience it for themselves.
Six – connect your conversions. Connecting all your social media accounts, business profile pages and official website makes it easier to cross post when you have a special event or campaign you wish to promote.
Seven – encourage and respond to reviews. If a visitor takes the time to write a review, don’t just read them, respond to them. Of course, it is impossible to respond to every single review, especially if it is a simple star review with one line of “nice place,” but if a visitor takes the time to write a narrative, respond back to both bad and good reviews.
Workman said it is very important to keep that dialogue open to get repeat customers and even fix a bad experience.
She said West Virginia Tourism recommends that you respond to 25 percent of four- or five-star reviews. Those are happy customers that want to share their delight and maybe an anecdote about their visit.
For three-star reviews, respond to 50 percent. Those are people who are on the fence and a response to their review will make them see that you are willing to go above and beyond to get their repeat visit.
It is important to respond to 100 percent of low reviews, one- and two-star reviews.
“This is the opportunity here to reclaim those folks that maybe didn’t have the experience they were expecting at that point,” Workman said. “You can also reclaim that and reframe that, too. The great thing about this is 80 percent of unhappy customers are won back just from follow-up from the business.
“Just you acknowledging, hey, maybe that wasn’t the experience you wanted; here’s how we can do better and we hope you come back,” she added.
Seeing that interaction in the reviews will also help new customers when they are planning a trip. If they see the business is actively interacting with its customers, then they will feel that they will be seen as important, as well.
Workman welcomed those in the crowd to reach out to her and her staff with any questions about utilizing online services and said the West Virginia Tourism website has tutorials for anyone who is interested in improving or upgrading their presence online.
