Sheila's Guide To The Good Stuff

We tell tourism clients all the time that they need to occasionally go where the geeks are to really stay up to speed on social media tools and culture.

One of the conferences that we recommend attending at least once is the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) tech conference held every March in Austin, Texas. In 2010 it outsold the SXSW Music festival (generally much better known) for the first time.

With all of the hype and hoopla and buzz about social media influencer outreach, it’s inevitable that some stupidity will ensue.

Enter this video, a guide from A Bajillion Hits for How to be South by South Best….and of course, don’t do as he does OR as he says….

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Two observations bracketing my day today:

Bloggers as Moochers

This morning on Twitter, I noted (tweeting as @TourismCurrents) a press trip announcement for Southern city B&Bs that wants writers with letters of assignment from print publications with “minimum annual circulation of 100,000.”  I thought it was interesting that there was no mention of an online publication as an alternative, with X number of unique visitors per month, X number of email subscribers or some other metric for reach.

I thought this exclusion was short-sighted, and said so.

The response from @gran_tourismo (Lara Dunston and Terence Carter, currently on a long-term worldwide trip sponsored by HomeAway vacation rentals) was that many hoteliers….

“….say they get burned frequently by bloggers who don’t produce goods….Most bloggers can’t demonstrate reach of a [blog] post.” [as compared to the reach of print coverage.]

So, not a great reputation for bloggers out there in the hospitality world that Lara and Terence have seen so far.

Anecdotal, to be sure, but there it is.

Bloggers as Desirable

This evening – also on Twitter – I notice an initiative by @VisitLanai (the Hawaiian island of Lanai’s Visitor Bureau) for a “New Media Artist-in-Residence” program to bring online publishers across the Pacific to experience the island.  First up is my friend Shannon Hurst Lane of the Traveling Mamas. Follow the #VisitLanai hashtag for more.

Now, not 10 minutes after I tweeted about that, a DM (Direct Message – private message on Twitter) popped up on my dashboard from a friend asking me how to get in on the New Media Artist-in-Residence program. 

Here’s the question – while I certainly have my reservations about press trips and fam tours – the fact is that while they ARE work, they are also pretty darned cool when they’re in a cool place (and yo, Hawaii is pretty fab.)

Given the blogger-as-moocher reputation issues raised by Lara and Terence above, who is going to get invites to top-tier places like Hawaii?

I do know this – the Hawaii tourism people know exactly what they have to offer with their beautiful islands, and they will be picky, picky about who they select for invitations to their new media program.  Online publishers who want to go will have to show that they will (unlike what the hotel people complain about) “deliver the goods” and that their online publishing has reach and impact.

Takeaways

If you’re a CVB, DMO or Tourist Board, you’d better know how to evaluate bloggers and their work online.  There are metrics and they can drill down pretty far – further than a lot of specious print circ numbers – but you need to know what you’re looking at with analytics. Do not just invite a blogger to say you invited a blogger, and think you’re now all social media-y and hip.

If you’re a blogger and you want to go on these trips, you’d better be able to pony up some numbers/analytics info about your online presence, and you’d better be ready to say exactly what you plan to “deliver” to your hosts.  PR guy Peter Shankman addressed this tangentially in this post:  Want to get sponsored? You’d better be sponsorable.

I like days that show me two perspectives on online media within 12 hours!

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Thanks very much to marketing expert Simon Salt for some dynamite thoughts in his 3 Myths of Social Media Influence.   The title I’ve given this post pretty much sums up the myths. You should take a sec and click through to read his work….

Simon nails the current “land run” about chasing influential people in social media, and it will get the attention it deserves because if someone like me had written it rather than a marketer, I’d be accused of being “naive” or some such silliness.

I did thoroughly enjoy writing this comment in response:

“Number Three [changes to the mythology that working with influencers is free and so can be counted as earned media] is happening with lightning speed. Many, many of my fellow travel bloggers are well aware of their value to the tourism industry, for example, and a freebie press trip to write a bunch of free coverage for someone else will not cut the mustard much longer, because it does not pay the light bill or put food on the table (emphasis mine.)

Pam Mandel and Gary Arndt, for example, have entered into contractual arrangements with two different tour companies; they’ll be paid to provide content, in addition to having their travel expenses covered (on tour company trips.) I expect to see more and more of this as we go from being seen as “bloggers” (wooo, scary) to being seen as “online publishers” (like that crazy Tina Brown, who went off to launch The Daily Beast and now pwns Newsweek.)

[Note to CVBs, DMOs, Tourist Boards and other tourism organizations: you really ought to be considering this with some of your best local bloggers and online champions.]

To be brutally honest, most mainstream entities wouldn’t give bloggers the time of day when I started [my BootsnAll Family Travel blog] in early 2006. Now, we’re the Flavor of the Month because of all the hard work we did to create content and build online networks. Those who want access to what we’ve worked so hard to build can darn well pay to do so.

And yeah, sorry, but the fact is, you’re late. You could have joined me in my sweatpants and T-shirt at 2 am about five years ago, busting tail to figure this stuff out. Your search for shortcuts to get yourself or your company to where I am now is your problem, not mine.

Do the work. Put in the time. Learn the craft and the space. Build the relationships.”

Some tourism folks need to hear such blunt talk.  I tell you as a blogger because as an educator and consultant, I want you to succeed!

Yes, the possibilities for connecting with us are almost endless. On Tourism Currents we advise you to find and connect with those online who know and love your destination. But, from me in my blogger hat, you must understand why many of us may not exactly fall all over ourselves in response to any mass blogger outreach or other quickie stuff.

One at a time. Person to person.  We’re mostly on your side, really, but we have bills to pay.

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In a previous post, I wrote pretty frankly about how to reach out to bloggers, and what makes us crazy.

Since I still get this question a LOT, it might be time to revisit the issue. Because the answer is simple in concept but somewhat time-consuming and difficult to execute, many won’t follow through, but here we go….

The magic bullets are these, from the perspective of one who has been blogging on various topics for almost five years now:

1)  Interact with bloggers on their turf, which usually means their blog, at a minimum, but often now includes Twitter, possibly Facebook, YouTube or Flickr if they’re an avid photographer.  You “interact” by being yourself, and leaving thoughtful comments on some of their blog posts, or bantering on Twitter, or leaving a comment on a few of their Flickr photos that you like. Be where they are, in their online neighborhoods.

Heck, get some cred and start blogging yourself, like savvy PR, marketing and communications practitioners Kami Huyse, Jason Falls, Liz Strauss, Valeria Maltoni, Tom Martin, Shannon Paul and Aaron Strout.

Don’t just parachute in and out of my email IN box or you’ll get nothing but Delete out of me.

2)  Interact with bloggers offline at the events they like to attend; it’s why tech conferences matter to non-techies.

Consider BlogWorld and New Media Expo, South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi), BlissDom, SOBCon, BlogHer, travel bloggers at TBEX, the Midwest’s I_Blog Conference plus numerous lower-key gatherings like Social Media Breakfast or local tweetups, Social Media Clubs and hacker groups.

We do that social networking thing IRL (in real life) too.

3)  Build a human relationship BEFORE you start lobbing pitches. Good practitioners have always known this; the social Web doesn’t change the need to “dig your well before you’re thirsty.”

Brands, think long and hard about why you want to “join the conversation” and how you want to connect what you offer and your company’s values with those “influencers” (getting really tired of this hackneyed term) who have painstakingly built independent voices online.

Bloggers, think long and hard before you let your voice and your blog become just another marketing mouthpiece.  Look for mutually beneficial relationships. Pam Mandel built one with TravelWild and several bloggers connected with Gap Adventures as “Wanderers in Residence.”

Want to know the glamorous story of how online influencers got so much, er, influence?

By busting their tails for many hours….often for little or no money in return….back when everyone thought they were nutballs (including most brands)….to create great content, be a helpful resource and do the networking necessary to become known and yes, influential, in the space you now seek to enter.

Welcome to the salt mines; here’s your pick-axe.

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One of my favorite thinkers in the social media, tech and tourism arena is Canadian consultant Todd Lucier.

We’ve only met in person a few times, but our heads are always locked in agreement on issues like the connection between mobile technology and tourism and the need for video content in your destination marketing.

Todd popped this video rant up on his site (direct link to it on Vimeo) and I think it’s a great way to illustrate his passion for dragging recalcitrant towns and businesses into understanding WHY they need to wake up to people’s desire to have simple Web access when they travel.

This Week in Tourism, November 19 – 2010 from Blue Canoe Video on Vimeo.

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I got an email invite on 24 September for a press trip/fam (familiarization) tour in early November.

Y’all know I’m not much into group fams, right? Right.

Bunch of people mostly looking at the same stuff, on a forced timetable and usually little or no understanding by the host of the social media skills I bring to the table.  Plus, they get a bunch of free content and coverage and I get….nothing that pays my bills.

The fam location and focus did interest me, though, and because sometimes a fam trip leads to amazing things or supports destinations I care about, I decided to overlook my general dislike of Jurassic PR and responded quickly that I’d attend.

Nothing heard back. Silence. Crickets chirping.

I pinged them after a few days, saying, um, is this thing still on?

Heard back that sure, they would let me know if I was “selected.” This, after their original email that said the trip was “planned especially for you.”

Meantime, I’m comparing notes with another writer and photographer friend who was also invited and who was also bemused by the, er, breezy handling.  You know how PR folks compare notes about the content creators who are invited to visit their town?  Well, the shoe goes on the other foot, too.

Today, I got an email at the end of the day that said, Oh boy, you’re invited on our press trip.  The one that lasts four days in another state and starts in a week.

Nope, it’s not happening even if they rolled a private jet up my suburban cul-de-sac.

I’ve made other plans for that week to meet with some tourism folks in that same niche, in that same state, but one-on-one and with an eye to a business partnership.

You know, social media training for tourism. That thing I do for a living.

I don’t need free travel or free hotel rooms or free trips. I need professional courtesy.

I’m sure they’ll be fine without me.

Is this an unreasonable approach? Happy to hear down in the comments.

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The Web means you can live anywhere (even a small town or rural area) and still be connected to the world.

The Web means that any venue with good WiFi, even an historic Art Deco theater in a revitalizing downtown, can host a meeting for interesting people with something to share.

Social media means that a Kansas guy who uploads a pump jack photo on Twitter just for fun can be noticed by a smart, well-connected entrepreneur in Oklahoma, who also happens to know the guy who runs the 140 Characters Conference tech events worldwide (yes, that’s the back story on how the 140 Conference SmallTown ended up in Hutchinson, KS.)

I think this ties into all sorts of timely issues – how technology is making “flyover country” more visible and relevant in the modern world, creative approaches to economic and downtown development, the importance of rural broadband access in a connected world, the rise of the creative class outside of big cities and how Web connectivity lets you live anywhere you want to live.

I know the person in this short video below:  it’s Cody Heitschmidt, the guy who makes things happen in Hutchinson.

He is much too modest and self-deprecating, but I’ll say it  –  he sees future possibilities for his town way before others do.

I very much look forward to joining him in Hutch on November 1, 2010 when the rest of the world gets to meet him, too.

Here’s the direct link to the video, and if you want to attend the 140 Characters Conference SmallTown, use code 140disc when you register here, and save $40 off of the ticket price.

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Not that we’re COUNTING the days until our BlogWorld Tourism Track, or anything….

Update: Well, this is annoying, but the “I’m Going” button keeps running into a digital brick wall. Phooey. Here’s the link to the Eventful page instead.

When your organization is called a “Convention and Visitor’s Bureau” or “Tourist Board,” it’s hard to see why you should reach out to locals as part of your destination marketing strategy.

What’s the point, right?

They don’t stay in hotels, they don’t “count” in the statistics of people coming in to visit your town (a measure of how well you’re doing) so why bother?

Here is why – because in today’s more connected world, it is critical to realize that your locals have online networks with worldwide reach.  You never know who they know on Facebook, Twitter or through their blog.

Locals don’t stay in hotels, but their visiting friends and relatives do.  Locals recommend your restaurants, shops, museums, parks and music venues to visitors. They talk up the wonders of your town and region….or, well, they badmouth them.

Why does the Austin, Texas CVB have a relatively easy job of selling their city? Partly because tech-connected and very vocal locals NEVER shut up about how great it is there! From the online silence of some of the other cities, you’d think there was no other worthy town in Texas. There’s even a Twitter hashtag appended to tweets about great things in and around the Live Music Capital of the World – #WhyAustin.

The Ripple Effect of spreading buzz and excitement about your town starts with the people who live right down the street.

I had a CVB ask me recently how to start connecting with bloggers. I told them to go to Google Blog Search and type in “YourCity blog” and see what pops up for blogs about/written by locals in that town.  When I did it, I found some really trenchant, well-written blogs by locals. No, they aren’t travel or parenting blogs (the current flavor-of-the-month that many PR people are looking for) but I found posts that indicated the authors really care deeply about that town.  The CVB should know those guys.

You connect with your local newspapers, TV and radio stations:  add to that mix your Web-based content publishers (yes, whether they themselves realize it or not, they are writers and publishers, too.)  Look on Twitter for people who list their location as your city. Find them on Facebook. Ask around.

Then, have them into the CVB and get to know them.  Tell them what you do, what you want visitors to know and how they can help by becoming your online champions.

Two examples:

1)   My own Round Rock (Texas) CVB had some local bloggers and social media-savvy people in for a casual weekday breakfast taco gathering recently and a chat about their “Sports Capital of Texas” branding efforts.  They also demo’d the CVB Twitter stream, Facebook Page and YouTube channel and asked for feedback and suggestions.

I attended this gathering (yes, I knew all the geeks there since I’m one of them, and many attend Jelly Coworking Round Rock with me) and it was a lot of fun. Think of it as a free focus group for market research, if “fun” doesn’t interest you.

We even started our own hashtag:  #WhyRoundRock

2)   The Beaumont (Texas) CVB has locals in on a regular basis to talk about what the CVB does, how they can help and make sure they see the town through a visitor’s eyes.

They include a whirlwind tour of some major regional attractions, many of which the locals themselves have never gotten around to visiting (I love Becky McCray’s post about this phenomenon - Never Been There.)

Here’s a video telling you more about Beaumont’s tour for locals….direct link to it in case the embed box isn’t working….

Think about how you could do something like this in YOUR town.

I’ll cut to the chase, because BlogWorld conference pass prices go up after September 16.

Why tourism and travel professionals need to go to BlogWorld and New Media Expo at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Oct 14-16:

1)  Because to really grasp what social media and tech can do for your marketing and communications, you need to go where the geeks are.

2)  Because our Tourism Track gives you a full day of training in social media for tourism…how to listen to the conversations that matter online, better video for tourism, blogger press trips/fam tours and more.

3)  Because it will be participatory, hands-on, no fear training with me and my Tourism Currents co-founder Becky McCray, PLUS….

***  Ann Peavey from the Seattle, Washington CVB (she’s @SeattleMaven on Twitter)

***  Mike Bersabal from the Pensacola, Florida CVB (he’s @Mike_VstPcola)

***  Jeff Hurt, meetings and conference expert, from Velvet Chainsaw Consulting (he’s @JeffHurt)

***  Stephanie Molina from the Beaumont, Texas CVB (she’s @Beaumartian)

4)  Because at BlogWorld, you’ll be able to get your tourism organization in front of thousands of bloggers, podcasters and video bloggers from around the world.  Denise Wakeman from The Blog Squad calls it THE social marketing event of the season. Wired PR Works calls it one of her must-attend events.

If you want attention from online content creators (travel, food, parenting and every other sort of blogger) you have to know who’s who, speak their language and be where they can find you.

That means be in Las Vegas October 14-16.

If you use code TC20 you can knock 20% off of the price of any pass.

Click here to check it out and register – we would absolutely love to see you there!