5 Top Digital Influencers: Caribbean Edition
April 2, 2015 | By: DCIOver the years, the number of print publications focused on profiling the Caribbean has significantly diminished. With consumer confidence in “digital influencers” on the rise, the importance of bloggers and social media mavericks has never been more evident to Caribbean marketers and public relations professionals. Partnering with these passionate digital experts to speak directly to consumers is important for destinations seeking to engage with Caribbean travel fanatics and novices alike.
Here are our recommendations of five Caribbean digital influencers every Caribbean destination marketer should know:
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1. Stephen and Patrick Bennett: Brothers Stephen and Patrick Bennett from St. Croix, USVI, run Uncommon Caribbean, one of the top blogs focusing on under-the-radar Caribbean experiences. The Bennett brothers have a strong multi-platform reach, with 60,000 unique monthly visitors, 8,150 Twitter followers and almost 43,000 Facebook likes. They recently wrote an insightful Caribbean tourism forecast.
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2. Caribbean Sunshine: The operators of Caribbean Sunshine have developed a powerful social media presence – especially on Pinterest. With more than 20,000 followers, the outlet frequently posts pins covering topics such as island fashion, cuisine and must-see attractions. Caribbean Sunshine also has 14,700 Twitter followers.
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3. Robert Curley: With close to 60 million unique monthly visitors, About.com remains an important online outlet. Marketers looking to penetrate the site should look no further than Robert Curley, About.com’s Caribbean expert. Curley writes about a variety of sub-topics for the page, most recently covering the many different St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the islands. He is also a growing social media user, tallying 1,719 Facebook likes and reaching 5,667 Twitter followers.
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4. Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon: A self-declared “black belt shopper,” Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon is always looking for the next best locally-made Caribbean good to share with her audience. She operates her own blog, JetSetSarah.com, acts as the Travel Editor for CaribbeanJournal.com and contributes to outlets like Caribbean Travel + Life and USAToday.com. Greaves-Gabbadon is a heavy social media user, with 3,782 followers on Twitter and 1,660 on Instagram.
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5. RumShopRyan: Rum and Caribbean travel usually go hand-in-hand, and Ryan of RumShopRyan has made a name for himself by writing about it. The Florida-based writer channels his love for the islands with posts covering Caribbean news and, more often than not, classic local cocktails. Ryan pushes his content to his 13,000 Twitter followers and 46,000 Facebook followers, and moonlights as a Caribbean expert for Answers.com.
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Know of other influential Caribbean travel writers? Share them with us!