Today's presentation provided summaries of three speakers discussing leveraging partnerships and user-generated content for destination marketing. Bryan Barnes discussed partnering with amateur photographers to provide a steady stream of new photos for social media. Michelle Kershner discussed partnering with Chevrolet and food bloggers to promote Restaurant Week in Frederick. Shannon Morgan discussed using surveys on social media to promote "Free State's Finest" businesses and attractions in Maryland.

1. Thank you for joining us.
Welcome.
Today, you will hear from:
• Bryan Barnes, Maryland Office of Tourism
• Michelle Kershner, Visit Frederick
• Shannon Morgan, Maryland Life Magazine

2. SHOESTRING BUDGET?
If this photo
describes your
marketing
budget, then this
presentation is
not for you.

3. HOW TO
use your
amateur photographer community
to (re)build your brand

4. This presentation is about photography content.
Content is a RACE.
The little guys have to be creative to compete.
New Math
In many cases, photos = (the most compelling) content

5. FOR BEST RESULTS, SHARE PHOTOS ON FACEBOOK
(Old News – it’s ok to yawn)
You already know that…
Articles with images
get 94% more total
views.
Source: MDG Advertising

6. “BUT WHERE DO YOU GET ALL THOSE WONDERFUL TOYS?”
Fundamental Question:
Where can we find a steady
stream of beautiful, new
photographic content to
share?

7. The 3 E’s
Fundamental Solution:
1. Engage your amateur
photography community
2. Enable this community
by sharing content as your
own
3. Encourage users to
participate

8. “MARYLAND IN FOCUS”
How we did it. And why.
The term “Case Study” makes me
yawn. But that’s what this is.

9. How is the National Perception of Maryland shaped?

10. 2011 SOCIAL ECOSYSTEM – Maryland
Impressions of the State of Maryland on social networks
*Note: Anecdotal
Evidence
?

11. HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREETS – 1993 - 1999
“A police homicide unit
investigates violent
crimes in the city of
Baltimore.”
- Source: IMDB

12. THE WIRE: 2002 - 2008
Exhibit A
“Baltimore drug scene, seen through the
eyes of drug dealers, and law
enforcement.” - Source: IMDB

13. GOALS
• Increase the amount of
positive imagery of
Maryland in the social
ecosystem
• Spend as little money
as possible
• Encourage users to
share their own photos

14. OBSTACLE:
No new (content) photos to share
It is easy to fall into the
pattern of sharing the
same basic photo content
over and over.

15. ANOTHER OBSTACLE:
Great photo content has historically involved expensive photo shoots
Costs:
• Travel
• Talent
• Photographer
• Setting
• Wardrobe
• Styling, etc…
Not to mention: Time & planning!
= $$$

16. STRENGTH:
DESPITE ADVANCES IN PHONE PHOTOGRAPHY…
SLR Camera
sales are up!
• 30% in 2011
Source: Bloomberg

17. ANOTHER STRENGTH:
BETTER, MORE AFFORDABLE GEAR = MORE HIGH QUALITY
PHOTOS THAN EVER
"It's likely to keep getting cooler and
cheaper as time goes on," King said.
"In tight economic times, enhanced
price-to-value is something that is
critical to, and generally
favors, consumers."
Charles King, Pund-IT

18. THE SOLUTION
Embrace and enlist a
team of volunteer
amateur
photographers.

19. How Maryland assembled this team of Amateur
Photographers…

20. 2 TRUTHS:
1. Everyone takes (at least) a little bit of pride in their photographs.
2. People want to win things

21. MARYLAND MONTHLY PHOTO CONTEST (2011)
After Contest
Before Contest

22. CONVERT “WINNERS” TO “PARTNERS”

23. “MARYLAND IN FOCUS” CONCEPT
• 7 photographers to
cover all geographic
regions of
Maryland
• Assign each a day of
the week

24. Nitty Gritty
• Photos are posted daily at 9:00am
• Give credit and tag each photographer’s “photo” page –create a
following for each photo facebook, twitter
• Wide range of content, drawn from photo library
• Seasonal photos
• Event driven
• Area-specific
Some of my favorites…

30. INVITE PHOTOGRAPHERS TO VIEW/FILM EVENTS.
Provide admission, material to film.

31. REPURPOSE AND REPOST PHOTOS
• Fresh, high-quality content, daily
• Included in contract
• No budget
• Included program
when redesigning
website ->

32. WIN WIN!
Maryland gains a steady stream
of new, beautiful content to post.
Photographer gains exposure
and credit, a portfolio building
program and may make money if
photos are used in print
publications

33. RESULTS
User submissions increased in quantity &
quality

34. RESULTS
Starting to move the meter in the perception of Maryland

35. RESULTS

36. Thank you!
Any questions will be answered at the end.
Up next: Michelle Kershner – Visit Frederick

37. Leveraging partnerships to
implement a blogger event
Michelle Kershner
Marketing & Communication Manager, Visit Frederick

38. A Delicious Love Story:
Chevy + Frederick

39. Where in the World is Frederick, MD?
Centrally located:
•One hour from D.C
•One hour from Baltimore
•Minutes from
Gettysburg, Antietam &
Harper’s Ferry

40. Who are our visitors?
Most of our visitors come
from a 180 mile radius
DC Metro Area
•Major Market
•>50 miles away
•Affluent
•Population: About 5.5 million
•7th largest metro area in the
U.S.
Shopping ● Dining ● Weekend Getaways

41. People in DC Don’t Own Cars!
Everything in
life is
somewhere
else, and you
get there in a
car.
-E.B. White
35 % of households in D.C. do not own a car.
What’s happening?

42. Is DC's love affair with the car
running on empty?
And we’re not the only one that isn’t feeling the love…

43. US Auto Industry
Do you want to see the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet?

44. DC’s love trouble with the car
sparks a new relationship.
Great food, farm-to-table, celebrity Fun ride to a hot dining spot
chef
You have to DRIVE here to DINE here.

45. Partnered with Chevy to Achieve Our Goals
Brought DC food bloggers to Frederick to preview Restaurant Week.
•Entice DC residents to drive less than one hour
to Frederick
•Establish Frederick as a dining destination
•Get some buzz on Restaurant Week
•Build positive relationships

46. The Plan
“Chevy Gets a Taste of Frederick Restaurant Week
with Popular D.C. Food Bloggers”
Chevy provides loaner cars
to 7 DC food bloggers
We provide a sneak peek of
Frederick Restaurant Week
menu items
Bloggers
tweet, Facebook, and post to
give the scoop (on cars and
food)

47. Party of 3
Courting the Food Bloggers: What they bring to the table
•Geographically Targeted Demographic
•Targeted Audience - Food
•42,925 - Cumulative Unique Monthly Views (UMV)
•12,880 - Cumulative Twitter Followers
Who are these bloggers?
UMV: 13,484 UMV: 1,042 followers
UMV: 1,429 1,813 followers 555
3,409 followers
UMV: 506 409 followers
UMV: 25,000 UMV: 741 1613
UMV: 1,230 followers
1,210 3,364 followers followers

48. Chevy’s job:
Fall Back in Love With Your Car!
“Head out on the
highway
Looking for
ADVENTURE
In whatever comes our
way”
“Get your kicks onBe Wild
-Born to Route
66”
-Route 66
“And she'll have
FUN, FUN, FUN
'Til her daddy takes the T-bird
away”
-Fun, Fun, Fun
Fun • Freedom • Possibility • Adventure

49. Wooing the Bloggers
5 Restaurants ● Eat ●Drink ● Tweet ● Post ●Blog ● Video
“All journeys have secret
destinations of which the
traveler is unaware.”
Martin Buber
We became that secret destination.

50. All fun at first…but where is this going?
Type Results Impressions
Original Tweets 44 124,515
Re-Tweets 13 26,458
Blog Posts 14 70,564
Online News 1 985,062
TOTAL 72 1,206,599
Results: Feel the Love
•Over 1.2 Million Impressions
•Over 14,000 visitors to the Restaurant Week website
•Facebook #3 referrer to website
•Strong blogger referrals
Content• Relationships• Marketing Goals

51. “Say That You Love Me”
“…the culinary offerings are well worth the
40 mile drive. In fact, Frederick has
become one of my favorite dining
destinations.”
“I left Frederick Restaurant Week with
thoughts of returning at least on an annual
basis.”
“Frederick, Maryland - a beautiful little
hidden treasure an hour outside of D.C.”
“Frederick has a super cute downtown
and some intriguing restaurants, I
definitely want to corral a car and head up
there again this summer.”

52. Residual Results & Benefits
5000000
4000000
3000000
2000000
1000000
Residual Results 0
FY11
• Local & regional press FY12
•Invited to DC area foodie radio show
•Restaurant sales up 25%

53. Residual Results & Benefits: Spillover
Frederick “reminded
me how into the
Civil War I used to
be, and motivated
me to make some
trips up to area
battlefields this
summer.”
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” - Martin Buber

54. Drive it home.
Implementing a blogger event for your destination
Time
Budget=$0 Setting up Tour &
Coordination
Show Me the Money
(psst…we didn’t have any for this)

55. Drive it home.
Implementing a blogger event for your destination
Determine: Does it fit into an overall plan?
Define Scope
Pull in Partners
Determine Influencers / Invitees
Plan - hashtags, photo releases, MOU, etc.
Implement
Follow up / Track

56. Drive it home.
Implementing a blogger event for your destination
Tips:
•Ride the wave of success.
•Partner with those more influential than you.
•Disclose what you offer to audience.
Caution:
•Can speak negatively.
•Spread out bloggers so not all sending same posts.

57. Drive it home.
Implementing a blogger event for your destination
Look to Other Audiences
Shopping, antiques, flea markets
Outdoor Adventure
Nightlife
Families Fun
Music
History and Heritage
Festivals & Events
Sports

58. When this is done well…
Who knows where new relationships will lead?

59. Because New Relationships Take You Down New Roads
Visit Frederick’s First
GM Car Loan
Blog about our area
Post via Social Media
Cadillac Escalade Hybrid

60. Visit Frederick’s First Car Loan
Drive ● Explore ● Tweet ● Post ● Blog ● Video
Explore Our Sites
 National Scenic Byways (US15)
 Major product for us
 Images & pics
Entice visitors to come to our area
they can create their own
relationship with our destination.

61. Because that relationship lasts…
“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played
out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can
never break off from the journey.”
-Pat Conroy

62. Thank you!
Any questions will be answered at the end.
Up next: Shannon Morgan – Maryland Life Magazine

63. How to Leverage Surveys For Social Media Success
Maryland Life Magazine’s
Free State’s Finest Campaign
@SLDMorgan
#SoMeT12

64. @MarylandLife

66. Digital Ballot: Hosted by Survey Monkey

70. Social Media Promotion
#FSF12

71. Leveraging Partnerships

72. Leveraging Partnerships With Winners

73. Leveraging Partnerships: Java Rock

74. Benefits
•Generates content for social
media sites
•Increases conversation and
engagement online through a
little friendly competition
•Increases interest in area
businesses & attractions
•Increases website and social
media traffic

76. Frederick Coffee Madness
Exposure
+
Community
Engagement
=
Win

77. How You Can Make This Campaign Work For You
Poll your fans about their favorite
attractions, restaurants, shops, etc., in your region

78. How You Can Make This Campaign Work For You
•Publish the results on
your
blog, website, newsletter,
and/or visitor guide
•Partner with existing
members and winning
businesses to promote
your poll and results

79. How You Can Make This Campaign Work For You
Get creative with social media

80. Engage Your Audience With a Poll Today

81. Thank you! Any questions?
Bryan Barnes (@jbryanbarnes) Shannon Morgan (@SLDMorgan)
Digital Marketing Manager Senior Editor, Online Media,
Maryland Office of Tourism Maryland Life Magazine,
bbarnes@visitmaryland.org www.MarylandLife.com
www.visitmaryland.org www.Facebook.com/MarylandLife
www.facebook.com/TravelMD @MarylandLife
@TravelMD
Michelle Kershner (@mahker)
Marketing and Communication Manager
Tourism Council of Frederick County
301-600-4023
mkershner@fredco-md.net
www.visitfrederick.org
@tourfrederickmd
facebook.com/visitfrederickmd