Why should consumers care or be connected to a destination rather than a third party like TripAdvisor or Yelp? What information or content can you provide that consumers can’t get anywhere else? These questions are at the heart of the future of DMO web sites and social media. Getting user generated content is great, but what do we do with it? How do we integrate it into what we do as marketers? This presentation will show you strategies to get user generated content integrated into your web sites, marketing, and advertising so that you can provide the answer – “yes, our contest is the only place you can get this information. That is why you need to stay connected to our destination.” David West was hired as Vice President of Marketing at the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau in 2009. Since, West built an integrated marketing campaign using the elements of member co-branded advertising, public relations, social media, mobile texting and live cameras through New York and Philadelphia media that raises awareness and drives traffic to PoconoMountains.com, while ensuring the integrity of the Pocono Mountains brand. West has won HSMAI’s Adrian Gold and Silver, a US Travel Association NCTDO destiny awards, and was the 2011 HSMAI top 25 extraordinary mind in sales and marketing. Previous positions include Marketing Director at Bucks County CVB, professor of Tourism and Hospitality at Temple University School of Tourism and Hospitality Management and Drexel University School of Business.

1. a social media campaign
of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau

2. Campaign Goals
• Strengthen Pocono Mountains’ social media presence,
increase page engagement and growth
• Develop and encourage the use of a consistent hashtag
across Facebook and Instagram
• Leverage the use of this hashtag to curate user-generated
content (UGC) from Instagram
• Build an engaged community on Instagram

3. About the Community
Social media users share for different reasons:
– Value & entertainment (94%)
– Promote causes (84%)
– Nourish relationships (78%)
– Self-fulfillment (69%)
– Define identity (68%)
mobilemarketingwatch.com

4. About the Campaign

5. Challenges
• Obtaining the right to use tagged photos
– “Seen” customer engagement
• Working through changing privacy policies
– Instagram’s messaging policy

6. Use of User-Generated Content
• Social Media – Obviously J

7. Use of User-Generated Content
• Website

8. Use of User-Generated Content
• Advertising

10. Impact
• >185,000 Facebook fans
• >1,800 Instagram followers
• >15,000 tagged photos

11. Takeaways
• There are many creative ways to get
permission to use user generated
content, find the one that best works
with your brand
• Find fast and efficient ways to
integrate your user generate
content, that people are passionately
tagging, so that you can keep your
outlets fresh and engaging

12. The Future of DMO Sites and User
Content
• So why should a potential visitor care
about a DMO site? What value do
you provide me?
• What is the most valuable “asset”
you have?
• What information can I only get from
you?

13. Question…
• How many of you, use a DMO site in
your own travels?
• Why or why not?

14. Thoughts…
• User generated content is an asset
that few can copy or integrate as
well as you can.
• It provides valuable unique
information that you can weave
stories around

15. More Thoughts…
• Your expertise are the blogs, insider
information, etc.. That make you
valuable.
• The question is, how well do you
market the assets that make you,
the DMO, valuable?
• And what makes a listing more than
just a yellow page?

16. Thank You
• David West
• David@Michigan.Org
• @DavidBWest