With the evolution of social media, channels like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, blogs and even LinkedIn are influencing the public’s travel plans and goals more than ever. We at Visit Durango partner with local businesses to host social media influencers, bloggers and content creators to reach new audiences, refresh imagery and tell Durango stories.
These three types of collaborations are often difficult to differentiate, so we thought we would briefly describe each and how they can benefit your business and/or attraction.
Successful social media influencers have an engaged audience who view them as an expert in their area of focus and who reach their audience via consistent and branded social media content. We typically partner with travel influencers who serve as a guide to their followers and offer recommendations and tips. This is a great way to reach potential visitors and inform them in areas like trail etiquette and safety before their arrival. A helpful tip when researching influencers to partner with is to try to find ones that have a niche audience. Those who try to appeal to the masses tend to not have as engaged an audience as those who speak to a passionate few.
Bloggers are in a way the original influencers. They tend to have a loyal readership and their blog has a dedicated subject matter like travel, lifestyle, fashion, food, etc. Partnering with bloggers is an easy way to get a new perspective on your business and/or attraction and have a story told that will inspire the blog’s readers. Bloggers can also help improve your website traffic by either linking to your site on their site or posting a guest blog on your site.
Content creators are a product of the ever-evolving social media influencer world. As a social media presence, for essentially all businesses, has become a necessity, there is also a need for fresh content. Like influencers, content creators are experts at creating imagery and video that is captivating and drives viewership. When you partner with a content creator you can use their photo and video skills to create a gallery of your business and/or attraction that you can repurpose on your own social media channels and website. They oftentimes can also serve as models to add more life to your imagery.
Partnering with influencers, bloggers or content creators can not only help you reach new audiences and improve your online presence, but as partners can serve as brand ambassadors and collaborators for years to come.
Rachel Welsh is public relations and communications manager at Visit Durango.
