Blog This Not That:

Engaging Online Influencers

Michelle Kershner Visit Frederick

Brittany Diehl Downtown Frederick Partnership

Two Case Studies

•Frederick Restaurant Week Sneak Peek Tour

•Instagram Photo Walk

What is Influencer Marketing?

•Focus is placed on specific key

individuals rather than the target market

as a whole.

•It identifies the individuals that have

influence over potential buyers, and

orients marketing activities around

these influencers.

-Wikipedia

A Word on Journalism -

“Usually if it's newsworthy, I'll cover it. But it's not a favor, or in exchange for

anything (such as money or a gift). It's because I'm a journalist and it's my job

to cover newsworthy information.”

– Journalist, 2013 Frederick Restaurant Week Tour

Examples: Bloggers, consultants, industry

analysts, celebrities, active community

members, social media enthusiasts —

people who influence your buyers’

decisions.

Go Ahead, Talk About Us!

Twitter @TourFrederickMD

@DwntwnFrederick

@FredRestWK

Instagram @VisitFrederickMD

@DwntwnFrederick

@FredRestWK

What IS Instagram? “Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social

networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos,

apply digital filters to them, and share them on a variety of social

networking services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. A

distinctive feature is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to

Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 16:9 aspect

ratio now typically used by mobile device cameras. Users are also able

to record and share short videos lasting for up to 15 seconds.”

-Wikipedia

“When it’s hard to communicate in words, sometimes photos

make the task easier, especially when you're bumping up against

Twitter character limitations or struggling with self-consciousness

as you attempt to express yourself fully on Facebook, where

everyone and your distant aunt is on your friends list.”

-Zohra Ashpari, PC World

Instagram: The Basics

Nitrogram, 2014

• 150 million active users

• 16 Billion photos shared

• 1.2 Billion likes daily

• 55 Million photos shared daily

• Mobile platform- available via Apple App Store, Windows

Phone Store & Google Play

MediaBistro, 2014 thephoblographer.com

What’s a hashtag? The # symbol, called a

hashtag, is used to mark

keywords or topics in a

Tweet. It was created

organically by Twitter users

as a way to categorize

messages.

-Twitter Fun Fact: The most popular hashtag on Instagram is #nofilter

(TrackMaven)

Enhance, Optimize

& Share

• Enhance & adjust

with filters, extra

darkness & frames

• Create catchy

captions & make

photos searchable by

using hashtags

Instagram

Handle, AKA,

username

Instagram can be accessed on a phone, tablet or

computer, however photos can only be posted using a

mobile device.

Measuring Results on Instagram

• Trial & Error: what does your

audience respond to? Observe

likes, comments & gained

followers to help determine the

types of photos your audience

is interested in.

• Track statistics with Statigram

Instawalks, Instagram Meet Ups & More!

• Instagram events are everywhere - some are formal,

some are informal; some large, some small.

• The concept has gotten so popular that Instagram

has paired up with Meetup to help facilitate

Instagram Meetup’s all over the world

• Most are organized casually and with just a few

steps- why not host your own?

Instagram Walk Tips from • Meet at a bar or park: Start casually and discuss your favorite filters and photo techniques with

other Instagrammers

• Photowalk: Pick a route in your city and spend an hour or two snapping photos with other

Instagrammers

• Scavenger Hunt: The NYC Instagram crew organized a photo scavenger hunt — over 50 people

participated, snapping photos of everything from “someone eating a hot dog” to “5 or more

strangers in a conga line.”

• Keep it simple: The goal is to get other Instagrammers together to meet one another, so meeting

in a bar or park is a great option for your first meetup. There’s always time to organize more

elaborate meetups!

Organized

Instagram Meetups

happen in more

than 575 cities

worldwide.

#instawalk is tagged over 44,000 times on Instagram!

The Art of Marketing: Artomatic @ Frederick

Inside Artomatic

Artomatic@Frederick creates community, builds audience and expands economic

development by transforming available space into a playground for artistic expression. Unjuried

events showcase creative work in visual art, performing art, music, dance and film.

• Month-long exhibit

• Over 300 artists occupying more than

40,000 square feet

• Featuring art of all kinds using every

medium imaginable (including silk-

worms!)

• Live performances

• Tourism Council & Downtown Frederick

Partnership charged with marketing the

event

Why Host an Artomatic Photo Walk?

• Bring recognition to Artomatic. What better way to showcase

40,000 square feet of unique artwork than with a platform like

Instagram?

• Create lasting (& “in real life!”) connections. By inviting our

Instagram connections, we were able to establish connections

that go beyond ‘liking’ each other’s photos.

• No-cost marketing. Because we were able to leverage our

relationship with an organization who had already organized a

sneak-peak event and we used social media and email

marketing to target possible participants, our event budget

ended up $0.

Implementation

Make it exclusive: by giving your participants a sneak-

peak, behind-the-scenes look, or VIP access, you’re

adding an extra level of enticement to participate in your

event. Make your attendees feel like they’re getting

something really special.

• Step 1: Engaged Frederick Gorilla, who was

already planning to host a sneak-peak, VIP

event to kick off Artomatic

• Step 2: Invite influencers- we identified

Instagrammers who had large followings and

were very active and sent them personalized

invitations. We also reached out to our

followers and invited them to attend.

• Step 3: Collect RSVPs. By requiring

attendees to pre-register, we had an idea of

how many participants to expect on event day.

• Step 4: Hold event!

The Rules

• Encouraged to have a public account. Photos from open accounts

are trackable. Since only public photos were viewable to us, only

those with public accounts were eligible to win a prize.

• Use these hashtags:

• #FPWartomatic

• #artomaticfrederick

• #downtownfrederick

• #visitfrederick

• We also encouraged participants to tag and followour own handles.

This not only help us track photos, but also broadened our every-

day Instagram audience and helped us start lasting connections

with our participants.

Hashtags helped us to easily track participation.

Photos tagged with the above hashtags

appeared before our eyes as the event began.

Challenges

Why might someone not have an open

account?

• A user can’t be forced to have an open

account, meaning we couldn’t track

EVERY photo taken

• Photos did not belong to us, so unless

we asked participants to send us their

photos, we could not easily save them

for our own use.

Results "I had a great time learning the

social aspects of Instagram

and the #Hashtag. I felt it

made me and my wife more

engaged during the event, as

we were seeking out more

creative ways to capture the

exhibits and share with others"

-Hunter, #FPW Participant

• 168 photos tagged within an hour- photos

showed unique perspectives and featured

many different aspects of Artomatic

• 50 participants

• GREAT feedback- in an informal poll of

participants, feedback came back positive.

Our attendees had a great time while helping

us to promote Artomatic.

A Delicious Love Story:

Frederick Restaurant Week

#FredRestWK

Frederick Restaurant Week Goals

Encourage local community to participate

in Frederick Restaurant Week

Entice DC and Baltimore residents to drive

less than one hour to Frederick to

participate

Establish Frederick as a dining destination

Get some buzz on Restaurant Week

Build positive relationships

#FredRestWK March 3-9, 2014 Fixed-Price Meals at

Mouth-Watering Prices

#FredRestWK

The Plan

“Sneak Peek Frederick Restaurant Week”

We provide a sneak peek of

Frederick Restaurant Week

menu items.

Writers tweet, Facebook,

Instagram and post to give

the scoop to their audiences.

Just finished 3rd Sneak Peak

Tour.

First Sneak Peek tour partnered with GM to bring DC-area

food bloggers to Frederick via GM cars. #FredRestWK

The Plan How did we discover and

identify influencers?

Year 1:

Chevy Partnership/DC Only

Year 2:

Local/regional bloggers,

publications’ digital outreach

designees, attendees from year

before

Year 3:

All those invited in past, referrals

from past attendees, traditional

media, additional research

What did we look for? •Good fit!!

•Credibility

•Quality Content

•Frequency of Engagement

•Professionalism

•Passion

•Reach

•Long-Term/Future Potential

•New Market?

“I am very picky about choosing other brands that I want to represent. I only ever promote or

work with brands that I would personally buy or believe in and have the same ethical

standards as.” – Anonymous #FredRestWK

Party of 3 Courting the Influencers: What they bring to the table

•Geographically Targeted Demographic - DC

•Targeted Audience - Food

•Y1: 42,925 - Cumulative Unique Monthly Views (UMV)

•Y2: 12,880 - Cumulative Twitter Followers

Look at Year One Attendees

UMV: 1,429

UMV: 506

UMV:

1,210

UMV: 741

UMV:

555

UMV: 25,000

409 followers

3,409 followers

1,230 followers 3,364 followers

1,042 followers UMV: 13,484

1,813 followers

1613

followers

#FredRestWK

The Details: Setting the Mood

•Restaurant participation

•Invitation

•Dine at 3-5 restaurants

•Limited Spots

•Swag Bag

•Prize: 2 $50 Gift Cards

#FredRestWK

Adjusting Over Time

Divided groups after first

year to have diverse

posts and experiences.

Gathered at beginning

and end as a group.

#FredRestWK

Wooing the Writers 4-5 Restaurants ● Eat ● Drink ● Tweet ● Post ● Blog ● Video

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”

-Martin Buber

Goal: To become that secret destination. We are worth the drive.

#FredRestWK

Wooing the Writers– What Worked 4-5 Restaurants ● Eat ● Drink ● Tweet ● Post ● Blog ● Video

“Everything about the tour

was great! We were all

treated like rockstars and

made to feel very special.

I loved that each chef came

out to tell us about the history

of the restaurant, the menu

and the dishes we were

tasting.

There was a lot of attention to

detail and we were

pampered!”

“Everything was great, from

the way the schedule

was organized, to the

small groups trying a

selection of restaurants, to

everyone gathering at the

end to eat together.” #FredRestWK

Wooing the Writers– What Worked 4-5 Restaurants ● Eat ● Drink ● Tweet ● Post ● Blog ● Video

Detail-oriented

Advanced Information

Access to Chefs

Chance to network IRL

Build Relationships: With

Us, With Each Other, With

Restaurants.

Fun!

Year 2 Group

#FredRestWK

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

Content• Relationships• Marketing Goals

Results: Feel the Love (Year 1) •Over 1.2 Million Impressions

•Over 14,000 visitors to the Restaurant Week website

•Facebook #3 referrer to website

•Strong blogger referrals

#FredRestWK

Year 2 Results

Year 2 Results: •102 #FredRestWK on #Instagram Feed

•10 Blog Posts

•Reached 5,539 organically via FB during RW

(120% increase)

•Twitter Reach: 410,949 / @FredRestWK

mentions

#FredRestWK

Year 3 Results

Year 3 Results (Short Term): •59 #FredRestWK tags on Instagram in less than 72 hours

•800 “likes” on Instagram

•Reach=5,352 followers on Instagram

•FB Page likes up 7.5% (one week stats)

•2,887 Weekly Total Reach via Facebook (one week stats)

#FredRestWK

“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.”

“Frederick has a super cute downtown

and some intriguing restaurants, I

definitely want to corral a car and head up

there again this summer.”

“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.”

#FredRestWK

Changing Perceptions One Bite at a Time

I just wanted to say thank you so much

for hosting me this weekend in Frederick.

I must say-- I had never been and you

really changed my perception of the

quality of food the town has to offer. It

was a very well organized tour, and I had

a great time. I did go ahead and post

about it on my blog today... I hope to

nudge a few DC snobs to head out there

for Restaurant Week :)

– February, 2014

#FredRestWK

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” - Martin Buber

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.”

#FredRestWK

Residual Results & Benefits

Residual Results

• Local & regional press

•Invited to DC area foodie radio show

•Restaurant sales up 25%

0

1000000

2000000

3000000

4000000

5000000

FY11

FY12

#FredRestWK

Show Me the Money (psst…we didn’t have any for this)

Budget=$0

Time Setting up Tour & Coordination

Bring it home. Implementing a blogger event.

#FredRestWK

Bring it home. Implementing a blogger event

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

#FredRestWK

Look to Other Audiences Retail Store Tech Products Services Nightlife

Families Fun

Music

History and Heritage

Festivals & Events Sports Comp Tickets, Behind the Scenes Tours, New products, etc.

Bring it home. Implementing a blogger event

#FredRestWK

Tips:

•Target appropriately!

•Ride the wave of success.

•Partner with those more

influential than you.

•Encourage bloggers to

disclose what you offered

to their audience.

•Be specific in your offer

Caution:

•Can speak negatively

•Choose your

representatives wisely!!

Bring it home. Implementing a blogger event

“The biggest decision comes from

whether or not the pitch fits my point of

view. I've learned to say no (even to

paying opportunities from well-known

brands) if it doesn't.”

Whether or not they appear to disclose paid relationships (either via

money or product/experience). Watch the influencer's activity

before pitching. How is the writing? What's the point of view and

voice? How is the social media etiquette, and is the influencer

*good* at creating conversation online?

There are many bloggers that will do ANYTHING for a buck. I

would be wary of bloggers that don't show brand loyalty (i.e.

will promote 10 different brands of yogurt). #FredRestWK

Top 10 Tips Top ten tips via http://econsultancy.com/

1. Get their name right

2. Know who you are talking to

3. Suitable content

4. Speak their language

5. Make it simple

“Look for bloggers that you feel fit with your brand. It

definitely pays to choose bloggers with a large

following, but they're not ALWAYS the best to

represent your brand. Make sure that they don't

contradict your brand and promote viewpoint/products

that are opposing.”

#FredRestWK

Top 10 Tips

6. Be flexible – bloggers have the luxury of being their

own editors - let them put their stamp on it and don’t be

too controlling.

7. Add value – Share insights, information and content.

8. Provide access – Give them something they couldn’t

have got on their own, including audience reach.

9. Listen – pay attention to what the bloggers are saying

and be attentive at all times.

10.Cultural sensitivities – be aware of cultural differences

when dealing with international markets.

“Be a real person.

Send an email that

has a catch, unique,

personal subject.

Engage in social

media. Be responsive.

Understand the

blogger/influencer's

point of view before

pitching. Don't expect

content for free.”

#FredRestWK

“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

Because that relationship lasts…

When this is done well…

Who knows where new relationships will lead?

Because New Relationships Take You Down New Roads #FredRestWK

“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

And those relationships last…

Questions?

Michelle Kershner

Marketing and Communication Manager Tourism Council of Frederick County

301-600-4023 mkershner@fredco-md.net www.visitfrederick.org

@tourfrederickmd

facebook.com/visitfrederickmd

Britt Diehl

Promotion & Social Media Manager Downtown Frederick Partnership

301-698-8118 brittany@downtownfrederick.org www.downtownfrederick.org

@DwntwnFrederick

facebook.com/DowntownFrederick