One of the things I love most about the tourism industry is that it's not just made up of huge corporations. Sure, people travel the world to see tourist attractions like the Eiffel Tower or the Great Wall of China. But those of us in the industry know the real truth—this industry is mostly made up of small businesses. In fact, over 90% of tourism businesses are considered small businesses by the SBA definition.

Instagram is one of the biggest and busiest social media platforms. Of the over one billion monthly active users worldwide, 80% follow brands—making the platform very attractive to marketers.

"We love our customers, and they obviously love us. They keep coming back, again and again!"

Who doesn't want to be able to say that? And, if that is the case with your organization, let me ask you this question: Do you know why they are coming back?

Not to be a "downer," but we shouldn't confuse a repeat customer with a loyal customer. They are not the same.

It can be far too easy to end up feeling overwhelmed at work. Though this sometimes does speak to your workload or taking on new tasks and skills, often the root cause has more to do with not having a healthy work-life balance.

Which came first—the chicken or the egg? Growing your email list and social fan base are a bit like the classic chicken and egg conundrum. You really can't do one without the other! Savvy marketers know that a healthy social fan base is a wealth of potential new emails for your list. But let's take a closer look at switching things up and using your email list to grow your fan base.