Part One: Narrowcasting Your Target Audience For Optimum Results: Knowing that much of today's travel planning occurs online, it can feel impossible to sort through myriad available communications channels -- pay-per-click, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, e-mails, banner ads and branded content. With limited marketing funds, what's a travel marketer to do?

There's a lot of discussion in journalism these days about how important it is to be first -- at a time when getting a "scoop" means breaking a story a few seconds ahead of the next (or next thousand) news outlet. That has led to mistakes and embarrassments.

Of all the terms associated with airline travel, one of the most apropos these days has to be "gangway." The gangway, of course, is the narrow passageway through which passengers board and exit the aircraft. Thanks to ever-increasing checked baggage fees and liberal gate-check policies, the gangway has literally become the place where gangs of impatient business travelers gather to snatch up their bags as they are offloaded-one-by-one-by a single, orange-vested airline employee. Indeed, on one recent, regional flight, I counted over 30 passengers-more than half the airplane's capacity-lining the walls of the gangway, awaiting their gate-checked luggage. It was …

Meeting the information needs of customers while serving the interests of its members.

Providing freebies, or "comps," to travel writers has been a long-time destination marketing tradition. However, as the editorial landscape continues to shift, requests for free hotel stays, air and train travel, and attraction tickets are increasing.

Perceptions are powerful and persistent. In an age when it's commonly believed that "perception is everything," it's important for travel marketers to keep in mind that, while they may have long ago realized that a perception was outdated - or had never been on target in the first place - there are countless numbers of potential customers who persist in maintaining that off-kilter outlook.

Loyalty. It is the holy grail of travel marketers. The mountain peak that all hope to summit-preferably with the right mix of superior products and service. For with loyalty, comes the promise of greater long-term customer value, decreased customer acquisition costs, and positive word-of-mouth.

The love affair between fashion and travel yields a more frequent traveler.

Social media has given consumers a more intimate and direct opportunity to engage with your travel brand, but users' expectations of your offerings and service levels are now higher than ever. And, as many hotels, attractions and destinations hurry to catch up with new communication platforms, they're making costly social media blunders and missing the opportunity to impact lifelong brand affinity and purchase behavior.

Fashion is becoming as associated with travel as food. The connection is not new - witness fashion shoots in travel magazines and, conversely, the big deal about where "Sports Illustrated"'s annual swimsuit issue is located (of course, that depends on whether you consider that fashion.)