Inspiring Tourism Through Social Media

Chad WiebesickDirector of Social Media and Interactive Marketing

@wiebesick #PMGC12

What Has Changed Since 2011• Pure Michigan’s social media following has grown significantly.

– Facebook has grown from 200,000 fans to 360,000 fans.– Twitter has grown from 10,000 to 26,000 followers.– Blog gets nearly 1,000 visits each day.

• Multi-faceted social media program including: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest, Google+, blog

• Three primary channels:– Facebook is where the community meets– Twitter keeps the community informed– Blog celebrates Michigan’s treasures

– Pure Michigan has 2nd most number of Facebook fans of any state tourism page in the nation #PMGC12

Pure Michigan Social Strategy

• Participate in conversations

• Use the right social network for your business

• Remember to integrate social

• Empower fans to become brand advocates

– Your fans are the voice of your brand #PMGC12

P: Participate in Conversations

• #MiWiMittenBattle• #Mich175• #313Dlove

U: Use The Right Social Site For Your Business

• Top tips to gain Pinterest followers– Network with others– Add “Pin It” button to your

website– Use quality photos– Be mindful of Pinterest rules

– Pinterest drives more traffic than Google+ YouTube and Linkedin combined #PMGC12

– Pinterest is the fastest-growing website of all time #PMGC12

R: Remember To Integrate Social Media

• Michigan.org website relaunch– Responsive design– Deeper social media integration– Blog is now part of the website

and not separate– Downloadable and shareable

photos

– Michigan.org is the nation’s most visited state tourism website for 5th year in a row #PMGC12

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• Interactive map• Trip planner

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E: Empower Fans To Be Brand Advocates• Facebook Timeline

– Add business milestones– Fans can email Page admins– Tabs are now displayed as apps and

thumbnail image can be customized – Highlight posts to make them double-

wide– Any post made by the Page can be

pinned to the top of the wall for 7 days

– Americans spend more time on Facebook than any other web site #PMGC12

– Pure Michigan has 2nd most number of Facebook Fans of any state tourism page in the nation

• Facebook app for fans to download Pure Michigan photos– Facebook Timeline Cover– Twitter background– Desktop wallpaper– Mobile device background

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Ways to Participate With Pure Michigan

• Contribute a guest blog post• Add events and property to michigan.org website• Participate in a Google+ hangout• Engage across targeted channels such as

– Pure Michigan Car Culture– Pure Michigan Talent Connect

• Put an ad in the Featured Deals e-newsletter• Join us on the social web!

– Michigan.org has over 12,000 attractions in its database #PMGC12

Contact Me

Chad WiebesickDirector of Social Media and Interactive MarketingEmail: wiebesickc@michigan.orgTwitter: @wiebesick