HOW TO GET THE BEST FROM OUTDOORNI.COM
USER GUIDE
Index
Introduction Page 2
Section A
1.0 Getting Started Page 4
1.1 Current User – Organisation is already profiled on OutdoorNI.com Page 4
1.2 New User – Organisation is not profiled on OutdoorNI.com Page 4
2.0 Making the most out of OutdoorNI.com Page6
2.1 Ensure your profile is up to date Page 6
2.2 The more you put in – the more you get out Page 7
3.0 Events Page 7
4.0 Activity Experiences Page 8
5.0 News Page 8
6.0 CanoeNI.com Page 9
7.0 Contacts Page 9
Section B Selling to the Segments
Introduction Page 10
1.0 Kids & Family Page 10
2.0 Fun with Friends Page 15
3.0 Learn Something New Page 18
4.0 Take on the Challenge Page 22
5.0 Short Break Minimum Requirements Page 24
Appendix 1 - Charts from OutdoorNI.com Consumer Survey 2010
INTRODUCTION
OutdoorNI.com is your definitive guide to outdoor activities in Northern Ireland so if you are an outdoor activity provider, club, association or shop then this website provides a fantastic and FREE promotional tool for your organisation.
The purpose of this guide is to explain how through a few easy steps you can get the best from OutdoorNI.com and its sister sites – WalkNI.com, CanoeNI.com and CycleNI.com.
Benefits to your Organisation
OudoorNI.com provides an easy and most importantly a free way to promote your organisation. It is the definitive guide to outdoor activities in Northern Ireland with on average 8,000 visitors per month providing a great way for:
Outdoor Activity Providers to:
o generate enquires, bookings and profit
o promote events and activity experiences
o promote your own website
Associations to:
o recruit new members to your association
o promote association events
o encourage people to get involved in your sport
o promote your own association website
Clubs to:
o recruit new club members
o promote club events
o encourage people to get involved in your sport
o promote your own club website
Shops to:
o recruit new customers
o promote discount evenings
o promote your own website
OutdoorNI.com is a key vehicle for promoting outdoor recreation in Northern Ireland and is promoted by Outdoor Recreation NI via exhibitions, PR, e-marketing and social media.
Links
To help to build the sites profile, we would be grateful if you could add us as a link on your website -: www.outdoorni.com – your definitive guide to outdoor activities in Northern Ireland.
Ease of Update
OutdoorNI.com allows you constant access to update your profile, events and activity experiences. The Trade Login area provides free and easy access to your account meaning the information relating to your organisation should never be out of date.
It is of paramount importance to ensure your profile including events, activity experiences and photos are kept up to date to ensure you are achieving “stand out”. If your page is not up to date visitors will simply go elsewhere at the click of a mouse!
Feeds
The information on OutdoorNI.com is also fed to our sister sites e.g. any information on walking will be fed to WalkNI.com meaning you only need to enter the information once.
Take some time to work your way through this Step by Step guide in order to ensure you are getting the best out of OutdoorNI.com and its sister websites.
8
SECTION A
1.0 GETTING STARTED
o It is more than likely that your organisation is already profiled on OutdoorNI.com - Please have a look on the website before you go any further.
o If you are included on the site go directly to1.1
o If you are not included go directly to 1.2
1.1 Current User – Organisation is already profiled on OutdoorNI.com
If your organisation is already profiled on the website then you will have your own Username & Password. If you do not have a record of these please email to request a reminder. You can then reset these to something more memorable.
To login:
o Log on to www.outdoorni.com and scroll down to the bottom of the homepage
o Click on TRADE AREA as circled below
o Enter username and password – N.B. these are both case sensitive
o Click Login
Proceed to Section 2.0 Making the most out of OutdoorNI.com
1.2 New User – Organisation is not profiled on OutdoorNI.com
o Log on to www.outdoorni.com and scroll down to the bottom right of the homepage
o Click on TRADE AREA as circled below
The following page will be displayed:
o Scroll down to New User? and click on Sign Up button
Complete all fields within Outdoor NI Trade Account Sign-Up
Click on ‘?’ icon for guidance notes on each field
Ensure to keep a record of your username and password for future use – these will be case sensitive!!
2.0 MAKING THE MOST OF OUTDOORNI.COM
Each time you return to OutdoorNI.com Log-in as per section 1.1
The page below will be displayed:
2.1 Ensure your profile is up to date
The foundation of your OutdoorNI.com entry is your profile. This section will also allow you to create a profile on WalKNI.com, CycleNI.com and CanoeNI.com (if relevant to your organisation.)
The majority of fields are self explanatory however you can click on the ‘?’ icon beside each field for further guidance.
You can also upload a series of photos to your gallery – simply click on My Profile / Upload Gallery Images and follow the on-line instructions
2.2 The more you put in - the more you get out
It is really important to build on the foundation of your profile on OutdoorNI.com. There are two main reasons to regularly update the events, activity experiences and news sections:
a) Outdoor Recreation NI’s Marketing Channels
The information you provide on your events, activity experiences and news goes a lot further than you think:
Exhibitions – Outdoor Recreation NI attended several exhibitions each year. The most up to date info on OutdoorNI.com is included in the targeted promotional materials produced for each show.
PR – Outdoor Recreation NI has secured nearly £4million of PR in the past 6 months. The most up to date info on OutdoorNI.com is used for these articles.
Social Media – Outdoor Recreation NI regularly post the most up to date info on its Facebook and Twitter pages. Outdoor Recreation NI also regularly post on other relevant forums and websites.
E-Marketing – Outdoor Recreation NI send out regular e-newsletters to over 10,000 contacts.
Therefore if you aren’t updating your profile with your latest events, activity experiences and news then it is impossible for Outdoor Recreation NI to promote them through its marketing channels.
b) Website Prominence
The most important page to be seen on is the home page. Only current and up to date information will be included on the home page. So if your info is not up to date it will not feature on the most prominent page.
It is important to build the following sections into your marketing plan. As little as 20 minutes spent on these sections each week will provide a significant increase in your enquiries and referrals from OutdoorNI.com.
3.0 EVENTS
Events are the most popular item on OutdoorNI.com and therefore a fantastic way to attract customers to your organisation. This section allows you to promote any events you have running throughout the year such as family fun days, demo days etc. If details of the event change then you can alter these at any stage.
Entering a new event
Click on My Events / + Add New Event
The majority of fields are self explanatory however you can click on the ‘?’ icon beside each field for further guidance.
If the event is specifically relevant to walking, canoeing or cycling it will automatically be posted on the appropriate sister website. The events will also be automatically included on the relevant OutdoorNI.com / WalkNI.com / CanoeNI.com Facebook page.
It is advisable that your event only appeals to one of the segments. For further guidance and good practice examples see Section B OutdoorNI.com – Sell to the segments
4.0 ACTIVITY EXPERIENCES
Whilst your profile allows you tell the consumer everything you do, the ‘Activity Experiences’ section allows you to tell the consumer what you do best.
A great opportunity to promote your ‘best sellers.’ Unlike events these are not date specific but our simply set out to inspire the customer.
Outdoor Recreation NI uses the Activity Experiences to create itineraries for each area.
Entering a new activity experience
Click on My Activity Experiences / + Add New Activity Experience
The majority of fields are self explanatory however you can click on the ‘?’ icon beside each field for further guidance.
You have the choice to either upload a day out or a short break as an Activity Experience. It is advisable that your Activity Experience only appeals to one of the segments. For further guidance, minimum requirements for short breaks and good practice examples see – Section B OutdoorNI.com – Sell to the segments
5.0 NEWS
News can be uploaded to the website by clicking on My News / Add New News Article
The latest news is displayed on the homepage and the News page will display the 10 most recent news stories. Therefore it is important to constantly send in new articles to ensure you receive prominence.
This gives you the opportunity to tell customers about a new activity, new facility or interesting story regarding your organisation.
Please write the news article in the 3rd person i.e. rather than writing ‘we have launched a new activity’ instead write ‘Joe Bloggs outdoor centre has launched a new activity’
Once your news piece has been submitted, it will go to Outdoor Recreation NI for approval, who can allocate what website it should appear on.
6.0 CANOENI.COM
Due to the level of detail required for our specialist canoeing website, there are a number of separate sections, which, if you are a canoeing provider special attention should be paid to. This information is displayed only on CanoeNI.com.
These sections include:
o Add New Canoe Hire Entry (under My Activity Experiences)
o Add New Canoe Guided Trips (under My Activity Experiences)
o Add New Canoeing Course (under My Events)
The majority of fields within these are self explanatory however you can click on the ‘?’ icon beside each field for further guidance.
For further guidance, minimum requirements for guided trips and good practice examples see – Section B OutdoorNI.com – Sell to the segments
7.0 CONTACTS
For further information and technical support please do not hesitate to contact the Outdoor Recreation NI Marketing Team
Phone +44(0)28 9030 3930
Disclaimer
You should be aware that all our websites have a consumer disclaimer available at the bottom of each home page.
Whilst all the clubs, associations and activity operators listed on this website generally operate according to that which is accepted as current best practice, it is the responsibility of the participant to ensure they are credible and all appropriate safety standards are adhered to. The Countryside Access and Activities Network neither have, nor assume any responsibility for the accuracy or the completeness of the information supplied or the service and level of care afforded by any of the clubs, associations and activity operators listed on this website.
Photo Information – Uploading Images on the Trade area of OutdoorNI.com
If you are loading images to your own profile on OutdoorNI.com, you must have ownership of these images or have permission to use them. In the event that you either do not own or do not have permission to use these images that you have uploaded to OutdoorNI.com, you will be liable for any payment that is demanded from the image owner for using their images.
Section B OutdoorNI.com - Selling to the Segments
Introduction
The new OutdoorNI.com is designed to appeal to 4 clear segments – each with their own motivations for taking part in outdoor activity days out or holidays. All future marketing activity will be targeted towards these segments.
This section will provide an overview of the motivations of these segments and also some good practice examples illustrating how to provide relevant and enticing information on events and activity experiences for these segments.
Finally for those uploading cycling and walking short breaks or guided canoe trips a list of minimum requirements has been provided.
Who are the segments
The segments to which OutdoorNI.com will be promoted are:
o Kids & Family - with children aged between 8-16
o Fun with Friends – couples and groups of friends aged 18-30
o Learn something new – adults who want to learn a new activity – i.e. skill based courses
o Take on the challenge – adults who want to combine physical challenges with the outdoors e.g. adventure racers
These segments have been selected by amalgamating 3 key pieces of research
o Outdoor Recreation NI’s OutdoorNI.com on-line consumer survey Sept 2010 – see key results in Appendix 1
o NITB’s NI and ROI Segmentation 2010 which led to the production of NITB’s ‘Know to Grow’ 2010 Planning Guide –more info available on www.nitb.com
It is strongly advised you get your own copy of NITB’s ‘Know to Grow’ 2010 Planning Guide which provides much more detail on the motivations of each of the segments. There are some spare copies in the Outdoor Recreation NI Office.
1.0 Kids & Family
This OutdoorNI.com segment is closely aligned to the ‘Kid’s Rule’ segment in NITB’s ‘Know to Grow’ 2010 Planning Guide. It outlines ‘Pre & Primary School’ and ‘Teenage Kicks’ sub segments however due to the nature of outdoor activities offered we will focus on those aged between 8-16 years old.
Who are they
They normally go abroad for their main holiday; their trip to Northern Ireland is normally their second holiday. Parents work full-time, they have limited disposable income and their free time and social life is limited.