Beyond The Clip: Three Ways To Maximize Journalist Visits To Your Destination
May 8, 2015 | By: DCIMedia relations is a core element of most destination marketing programs. When journalists visit a destination and write a story, the exposure then increases the profile of the destination in the minds of its target consumers.
With ever increasing pressure to boost return on investment, destination marketing organizations (DMO) are readily seeking means to bolster the value of each journalist’s visit. Here are three ways DMO publicists are making that happen.
Utilizing DMO Blogs to Feature Visiting Journalist Perspectives
The Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau recently turned the tables on the old way of doing things and wrote an article about a visiting journalist discovering the city! In a piece entitled, “Blind Love: A Travel Writer Meets Louisville” which appeared on the newly launched Share Louisville Love blog, the DMO follows digital influencer and prolific freelance travel writer, David Duran, as he eats, shops and visits his way through Louisville’s many offerings. Utilizing David’s own social media posts, the Louisville team curated an entire article about his time exploring the city.
Infused by a first person narrative, the piece comes across as a fun highlight both of David’s thoughts on his experiences in Louisville and Louisville’s thoughts on their experiences with David. This approach to covering visiting journalists from the destination’s perspective is fun, pithy and utterly original.
Hosting Journalist Conferences to Bolster Awareness Of DMO Efforts
What’s better than hosting an entire convention of journalists in your destination? Garnering editorial coverage of their visit to increase your DMO’s profiles as a leader in driving economic development, of course!
The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board, a long-standing North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) member, appealed to the organization to host their 2015 Conference & Marketplace in May 2015. This marks the first time the conference has ever been held outside the United States.
The tourism board has used this opportunity as a means to remind locals in the community of the importance and value of tourism. They are actively placing feature stories about the arrival of the convention delegates and the importance of hosting this convention in print and online editorial outlets throughout the Puerto Vallarta region.
Granting Digital Influencers Access to DMO Social Media Channels
While the notion of a social media “takeover” is not a new one, it’s still a really smart bet for DMO’s when digital influencers come to town. Not only does it allow for a whole new, and often times large, audience to receive, take interest in and follow DMO content, it also gives your current followers a fresh take on your destination through the eyes of another. Simply grant a visiting influencer access to your platforms for a day and you’ll receive loads of new, reusable content and hopefully many new followers. Of course it’s always advisable to do your homework and ensure that their followers and content is in line with yours first.
This past March, Explore Georgia teamed up with Top Chef judge and Georgia restauranteur, Chef Hugh Acheson, for an Instagram takeover as a key “ingredient” in their year-long program to highlight the state’s culinary excellence. The tourism board met with Chef Acheson prior to the takeover to create a storyline for him to follow that best represented the state, while giving creative license on photos and copy over to Acheson.
This is an excellent example of finding a relevant voice that resonates on a personal level to not one but two different audiences – the DMO’s and Acheson’s. By sharing Georgia love along a key theme, in this case culinary, it allowed the DMO to capture and grow an audience that may not have previously ever thought to pay attention.