Mediaboss Marketing

By Virginia Haley

Destination marketing organizations such as Visit Sarasota County strive to be at the forefront of new trends in marketing and public relations. Its imperative because travel is a competitive industry and brings millions of dollars in economic benefits to Sarasota County.

Marketing trends change often, especially with the constant evolution of digital and mobile platforms. Several years ago, the buzz words in marketing were authenticity, social media and content. Today, influencer marketing is the term with all the buzz.

Influencers have always been around, albeit not by that name.Basically,an influencer is a person viewed as a thought- and opinion-leader. They are the people others go to for trusted advice. The evolution of social medias popularity and availability, along with the proliferation of content marketing, led to the birth of influencer marketing. This is the practice of working with these individuals who have branded themselves and have significant numbers of friends, followers and interaction with their followers on digital platforms such as blogs and Facebook, Instagram,Twitterand YouTube.

These individuals are trusted by their followers to provide authentic and honest information about products, restaurants, destinations and many other things. Influencers reach thousands of consumers, and brands work with influencers to share the brands' stories in an authentic way.

Destination marketing organizationsare incorporating influences into their brand strategy in numerous ways. We at Visit Sarasota County view this type of marketing as an extension of public relations and content and social media marketing. It's similar to recruiting brand ambassadors for the destination or to working with travel journalists. And, like them, not all influencers are created equal.

Micro-influencers have a small number of followers but usually focus on a niche, such as travel. These micro-influencers are typically very engaged with their followers on a regular basis. Large influencers have alotof followers but may or may not be as engaged with them. Lastly, there are communities of influencers, such as Igers941, a locally based group ofInstagramerswho share all there is to see and do in Sarasota and the nearby area.

Visit Sarasota County vets all influencers before working directly with them to ensure that their voice and individual brand resonates with our brand image. Visit Sarasota County and theinfluencerswork together to develop a plan to either conduct an Instagram takeover or to host influencers and bloggers on in-destination familiarization tours so they share images,videosand articles about the destination on their respective social media platforms and blogs.

In the past year, we have organized several opportunities, such as Instagram meet-ups, for local influencers to come together and to learn more about an aspect of the destination. These influencers are encouraged to take photos, use hashtags and tag the destination in these photos.

Visit Sarasota County does not tell them what to share or how to share it but encourages them to use their own voice to authentically tell the Sarasota story to their followers.

Additionally, we have had local influencers take over our Instagram account for a day. Visit Sarasota County worked with the influencers in advance to set expectations and outcomes. The influencers then showcased, through their own authentic style and voice, select areas in which their audience could shop in Sarasota during our Shoptember event.

This summer, Visit Sarasota County will layer this approach with the launch of its You Ota Visit campaign. This public-relations-driven campaign will focus on the influencers in our area, both thought-leaders with influence and those who influence via social media channels. The campaign will involve locals reaching out to their friends and family to tell them they Ota visit Sarasota. We will film various thought-leaders in the community as they explain why their friends and family "ought to" visit them and explain why this is such a wonderful place to come for a summer trip.

The videos will be shared via social media platforms, and Visit Sarasota County will work with digital influencers to share the message while also providing alternative digital opportunities for locals to use to invite their friends and family to come to Sarasota.

In the end, working with influencers, whether they be traditional thought-leaders within the community or those individuals with a significant number of people interacting with them on social media platforms, we recognize the importance of cultivating a community of ambassadors who help us share our messages.

Virginia Haley is the president of Visit Sarasota County. She can be reached at 941-955-0991 or vhaley@visitsarasota.org.

Link:
HALEY: Taking our marketing message to the social media masses - Sarasota Herald-Tribune