We Pine for East Texas in 2013
We're committed to bringing exciting and unique ways of telling and developing the story of your community or site to you. Browse our 2013 Benefits categories below to identify ways that Texas Forest Trail Region can help you boost your promotions, intepretation, and business best practices efforts in 2013. Have a better idea? Share it with us and maybe we can add it to our program line-up as part of your benefits package. Benefits by membership level are detailed in our 2013 Members Guide. Have questions? Call us: (936) 560-3699. We're happy to help.
2013 Benefits Categories:
- TFTR Web Site
- TFTR Facebook Page
- Printed Promotions
- Traveler Outreach
- Networking & Education
- Media Campaigns
- Appreciation
- Add-On Services
- Earn $100 Off!
TFTR Web Site
15,000 online visitors a month are looking for information about you. Are they getting what they need? Make sure your pictures and information are well featured on our robust and modern new travel site TexasForestTrail.com.
Benefits by page:
| HOME | Photo in Slider |  |
| Regional Highlight Feature |  |
|
| OUR STORIES | Inclusion with story, photo, link depends on membership level |  |
| CALENDAR | Event listing with photo |  |
| PLAN YOUR ADVENTURE | Listing with photo |  |
| 200 words additional text |  |
|
| PARTNER | Named/link to your web site |
 |
| Organization logo |
TFTR Facebook Page
2,000+ Facebookers actively pine for East Texas. Make sure they’re pining for you by using our Facebook page as a vehicle to promote your events to a wider audience. We are constantly reviewing trends and methodologies for keeping our engagement high. Leave the work to us!
- Promoted Posts (paid by TFTR). Read Facebook FAQ about Promoted Posts. "Every day, news feed delivers the stories you post to your friends and subscribers. Promote important posts to help people notice them. Promoted posts appear higher in news feed, so there's a better chance your audience will see them...Only Pages with at least 400 likes can promote posts, and only posts made after June 2012 are eligible." Note that as of November 2012, the Texas Forest Trail Facebook page has 2,000+ fans.
- More on Twitter: Events posted to our Texas Forest Trail Facebook page will also be posted to our Twitter feed, reaching 1100+ more fans and followers.
- Photo Albums: Make sure photos of your community or site are front and center for our fans. Depending on level of membership, our partners may host their own named photo folder with up to 15 photos from that site only. Alternatively, photos may be included in category folders such as "historic houses," "downtowns" and "parks," for our fans to browse by subject. All photos will include location information in captions that positively promotes your site.
Printed Promotions
Why spend your money on a brochure for a few hundred people when you could spend less and get lots, lots more? Consider: statewide coverage, professional design, distribution of at least 20,000 every 6 months, longer shelf-life than a single event, and sophisticated integration with technology via QR codes and companion mobile and micro sites.
Your membership of any level offers you the opportunity to...
- Participate in the Events Brochures offered twice annually at announced rates. Additional discounts apply for Paul Bunyan (15%), Tree Topper (10%), and Faller Bucker (5%) levels.
- Participate in our updated Regional Driving Map at announced rates. This new look for a seasoned favorite will include mobile integration and a much more glovebox-friendly design/folding. Paul Bunyan and Tree Topper members will be given the first opportunity to claim premium banner positions before they are opened to other partners.
- Participate in any other announced co-op project, rack card, or advertising in 2013. Additional discounts may apply for Paul Bunyan, Tree Topper, and Faller Bucker levels.
Traveler Outreach
How do we help you reach travelers? We talk to them about you, live and online. We target all our activities towards increasing travel in and through East Texas. Consider these unique opportunities to reach the traveling public:
- Display your brochure at the State Fair of Texas: Nearly 3 million visitors (travelers!) attend the State Fair of Texas in Dallas annually. With the other 9 heritage regions, Texas Forest Trail hosts a Texas travel booth in a premium location in the Food & Fiber Pavilion across from the Go Texan store. Energetic partners are also encourage to volunteer to staff our booth for a couple of shifts (and display their brochure for free if they do!) and see the great Big Tex in person.
- Be A Spotlighted Destination in an Online Contest: Your site or community is especially memorable to our online visitors when it accompanies the excitement of a contest and giveaway of a prize. Our partners have the opportunity to be a featured destination for such a contest and if they wish, help us design the contest and pick the prize.
- Put Your Events in the Palms of Travelers with our monthly (beginning January 2013) mobile-friendly e-news. Some member levels offer the opportunity to include photos with their events listings. Let our travelers keep your event info in their pockets, on the go.
Networking & Education
Do you have access to best practices, news about current marketing and interpretive trends, state agencies and associations, and top-level speakers? You should and we want to help you get it. TFTR uses both in-person (Tourism Toolkits, Lunch & Learns) and online strategies (webinars, live chats, Facebook Partner Group, lending library) to help you improve and grow your knowledge and connectivity.
- Save $ : All participants from partner member organizations (and individuals) receive special members-only pricing at our in-person workshops hosted by TFTR.
- Priority Access : All participants from partner member organizations (and individuals) receive priority registration for TFTR-hosted online webinars.
- Media Library: Enjoy free access to educational videos and how-to documents for staff development, as well as hundred of photos to brighten your brochures and promotions.
Media Campaigns
You ought to be top-of-mind to travelers and if we have our way, you’ll be there regularly. Our systematic media campaigns encourage travelers to check your sites and communities for out-of-the-ordinary treasures. You'll be included in the following news releases in 2013:
- Partnership Announcement (if a member before 6/1/13)
- Special events in seasonal news releases- e.g. Fall color, Holiday getaways, Spring flowers, Summer fun
- Themed itineraries (where applicable to you): Emerging themes for 2013 are Musical Roots, Poultry Heritage, Easy Weekends
Appreciation
A little recognition of all you do to make this partnership work can't hurt, right? We'd like to thank you by giving you...
- Access to TFTR logo on your web site and marketing materials
- TFTR window decal
- Certificate of Partnership
- Invitations to TFTR events & meetings
- Periodic updates from TFTR
- Recognition in Annual Report (if a member by 8/31/13)
Add-On Services
What do YOU need to succeed? Big city or active town, your tourism, business development, and preservation needs aren’t solved with a one-size-fits-all approach. Our new add-on services packages allow you to pick individualized programs tailored to your organization. Pay for only those services you use.
Select from:
- tourism needs assessments
- secret shopping
- hospitality education
- professional graphic design work
- propose your own
Services are billed as negotiated and are extremely competitive with prevailing market rates. Contact us for pricing and options. Add-on services are only available to 2013 members at the Whistle Punk* level and higher.
Earn $100 OFF!
You've got a lot to offer, too. Offering a diversity of services and products makes us a richer organization. Call us to learn how you can contribute your organization's goods or service to earn up to $100 off your 2013 membership. *Whistle Punk members may earn the ENTIRE cost of their membership through in-kind goods and services.
