We all know that our customers and target market are searching for information online every day.

We also know that we should be providing information rich, visual resources to help and engage them and drive them to our money pages.

But somehow few of us are doing it.

The biggest problem with content marketing is getting started

Nokia likes Canary Content's photos so much that they sent us the new Lumia 920 smart phone with Carl Zeiss camera for testing. We plan to put it through its paces in the Gran Canaria sunshine and see exactly what it can do.

First Impressions

We've got the Lumia for two weeks and then we send it back to Nokia. Here are our impressions from the first day of testing. We have deliberatly avoided reading any other reviews so this is a genuine blind test.

The Lumia 920 is large and solid: Perfect for taking photos. The camera button is in the right place, exactly where it is on most cameras when you hold the phone horizontally. The lens is also well placed so that you never have to move your fingers out of the way of the shot. No more blurry pink shots of my own fingers!

We like the elongated native 16:9 photo formatt although it takes a bit of getting used to. You can switch to 4:3 with a few swipes.

Our first image quality test was scary from a photography point of view. The quality of the images is better than the professional cameras we were using just a few years ago. Photos taken in the sunshine are almost noise free and the colours are accurate.

The Lumia 920 is the first smart phone that we've used that is good enough to be a useful tool for the photographer. The photos it takes are as good as most high-end point and shoot cameras and low end DSLRs.

So far the Lumia 920 has impressed us. We're going to keep pushing it on the beach to see exactly what it's camera is capable of doing.

The Mobile Revolution

The desktop is dead; the laptop is obsolete. Look around you: The world’s gone mobile. Tablets, e-readers and large screen mobiles are the future. The internet is everywhere. Game changer? It’s a new game!

Here are the rules:

Lanzarote's mixture of cohesive architecture and Cesar Manrique-inspired features give the island an identity. It has used design and art to brand itself in a way that the other Canary Islands haven't managed. Even the local wine in Lanzarote (Yaiza, Bermejo) comes in elegant and original bottles.

I can't think of another place where one artist has had such a huge impact and maybe Manrique is a one-off. However, Lanzarote's successful branding is an example that the other Canary Islands and their resorts need to study and emulate.

Our local Carrefour supermarket is an infuriating shop. It is huge and stocks a wide range of products at low prices. However, Carrefour also seems to abhor its customers with a passion. Every time I go there I swear I will never return.  

The basic things that Carrefour gets wrong are as applicable to websites and online business as they are to supermarkets. Here are the four things that Carrefour's ineptness has taught me:

It may be August but there is never a bad time for some powerful statistics showing the importance of the internet and social media for the tourist industry: From the infographics here.

87% of travellers us the Internet for the majority of their holiday planning.

52% use social media for holiday inspiration.

52% of people going on holiday like a Facebook page related to their trip. 

76% post holiday photos on social networks.

59% post a status update about their holiday.

74% use social media while on holiday.

46% post hotel reviews.

Enjoy the holidays! ;-)

Thanks to Valerie Everett for the cool photo.

The Millennial Generation, born after 1980, are the future of tourism in the Canary Islands. The blue-faced teenagers of today, hiding behind their mobile devices, will soon be the biggest consumer group in European history. They are starting to pick holiday destinations!

Consequently, attracting the Millennials is vital to the future of our hotels and tourist industry.

Facebook gives links a higher EdgeWeight than any other content type except photos. This tip allows you to change the text title of a link shared in Facebook.

Instead of simply linking to third party content, link to the article pinned onto you own Pinterest gallery. This drives users to your content platform, rather than sending them to someone else’s website. Better still, share links to the latest fresh and interesting content on your blog.

The most important, and the most neglected, part of social media strategy in the tourist industry occurs offline. Customers are highly engaged with hotels, restaurants and other tourist businesses when they are using their services. Most businesses in the Canary Islands fail to take advantage.

In the tourist industry we see our customers for short periods with long gaps in between. Before the internet era quality service and excellent amenities were the only way to build customer loyalty. Now, with blogs, social media and email lists everything has changed. We have the tools to stay in touch with our customers and build loyalty.

The primary aim of all tourist businesses should be to get permission to stay in touch with their customers. We must start engaging while our customers are tanned and happy!

There is a huge amount of information available about the best time to Tweet, post on Facebook and publish blog posts. Most of it is from America where there is only an hour’s time difference separating the entire audience. For Canarian tourist businesses, timing is far less important than the quality of content we provide. This is because our audience is spread across several time zones.

At 0.900 the British are arriving at their desks, just as the Germans start to think of their first mid-morning coffee. The Finns are already planning lunch and in Rekjavik, they have only just woken up. Given these differences, working out the optimal time to send out your stuff is futile.