Blog

5 Big Signs You’ve Outgrown Storing Photos in Static Folders

Posted on May 2, 2017May 9, 2017 by Elizabeth Ching

Every day, organizations around the world struggle to find just the right images for their marketing — and find themselves facing a near impossible “treasure hunt”.

They dig through Dropbox, or USB drives, or desktop folders, or their own cell phones, hoping that one picture will be somewhere.

If that sounds like you — just know you’re not alone.

With so many visuals in your arsenal, it can be hard to keep them all organized and find the right ones at the right time.

If you’re experiencing signs of “photo treasure hunt” syndrome, it might just be time for an upgrade.

Here are 5 big signs that you’re ready for a better way to organize your visuals:

1 | Your photos are scattered in multiple places.

We’ll level with you: we know you’re crazy busy. So, having to spend 20 minutes or more out of your day hunting down that image you know would be perfect but can’t seem to find? Probably not ideal for you, your team, or your sanity.

Even within your own computer, you might have photos in the “Download” folder.

Don’t you feel ready to put the frantic USB/Google Drive/email/desktop folder/iPhoto scavenger hunt to rest?

Wouldn’t it be great to have all your photos in one place?

2 | Most of your photos are named “file year-month-day.jpg” because you don’t have time to organize them.

We’ve all felt the frustration of desperately digging through a pile of photos called DC_1112, DC_1113, DC_1114, and so on. You may tell yourself, “Next time I’ll label the best ones…” but next time never seems to happen.

This lack of labels makes images hard to search for, and the lack of description requires you to manually search through each image until you find the right one.

There has to be a better way… right?

3 | You can’t get your hands on a photo when you need it.

There’s one photo you have that’d be perfect for your latest blog post on that Greek Food Festival recap from last week.

But… where did you put it?

You have so many folders, that when the time comes to actually finding a specific photo, you don’t know where to look.

You know you have a folder containing your most recent Food Festival content, but you don’t know which parent folder it’s buried under.

Out of all the photo search inconveniences, this is perhaps the most endless. Because at best, you spend an hour flipping through folders you hope might trigger that “Yes!” moment. Otherwise, you just reach for whichever semi-relevant photo is closest at hand.

4 | Your forgotten photos are just sitting there gathering dust.

Do you have a pile of professional or UGC images lying around gathering dust?

You have so many folders and so many photos in different places, that you just can’t keep track of all the photos you have in your arsenal. You forget about many (maybe most) and don’t end up making the most of what you already have.

Marketers just don’t have the time to dedicate a couple hours to sift and sort through years and years of visual content lying around in the labyrinth that is their computer folders — so the photos you obtained 3 years ago (which might still be perfectly good to use) go unnoticed and untouched.

5 | You get a lot of media requests.

Sometimes media requests from journalists and bloggers can get super specific. You might have an inkling of a photo that might work, but you can’t quite recall what you named it, or where it’s currently living.

It’s tedious and time-consuming tracking down photo after photo, diving in and out of folders trying to find the one you need.

We appreciate that jogging around the office asking colleagues if they might know helps get in your 10,000 steps for the day. But, cardio aside — getting them what they need, when they need it is the backbone of any great media relationship.

Any of these signs resonate with you? It’s time to consider a visual marketing platform. This is how CrowdRiff helps you organize all the visual content in your library so much better:

Search the way you would Google, and find any visual asset in seconds.

Imagine if you could search “Downtown Toronto brunch” or “sunset in April” and find any visual in your library that’d be relevant. In CrowdRiff you can.

Our search works just like Google’s: you type what you need, and we find it for you instantly.

Automatically tag photos with keywords with the advanced artificial intelligence technology.

Anytime you upload a photo (or a batch of photos) into CrowdRiff, Google Vision will “see” the elements in your photo, and automatically tag specific keywords to it. That makes your search later on that much easier.

Organize your visuals in albums (without burying them forever).

Unlike in traditional folders, where you store a photo and it takes on an “out of sight, out of mind” quality, in CrowdRiff, albums are specifically designed for “easy-access” and categorization. That means that once you organize a visual into an album, it’s still accessible at a glance in your library.

Share any number of visuals securely and quickly with custom Share Portals.

Need to share photos or videos with people outside your company? With CrowdRiff Share Portals that’s a breeze. Select any number of photos and videos from your Library, whether owned or social, and CrowdRiff can instantly create a secure portal for you to then link out.

Simplify media requests: use CrowdRiff share portals.

Sound like the kind of upgrade you’re in the market for?

If you’re feeling ready to leave the “treasure hunting” to the pirates, let’s chat.

We’d love to show you a demo of the platform, and how it can keep all your visual content at your fingertips, and lay a solid foundation for you do to some amazing visual marketing.

Let’s chat!

The DMO’s Guide to Attracting More Travelers with Instagram

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Elizabeth Ching

DMOs all over the world carefully groom their Instagram accounts, to show-off the most beautiful, exciting, and inspiring visuals.

Why?

They know that travelers are on Instagram.

With 500 million active users and a visually driven interface, Instagram is rising as the social media platform that can help you promote your destination best.

To help DMOs and travel brands make the most of Instagram, we’ve put together this in-depth guide, with actionable ways to improve your presence and reach on Instagram.

The DMO’s Guide to Attracting More Travelers with Instagram covers all this and more:

How being active on Instagram helps DMOs take advantage of travelers’ visual decision-making patterns
Expert tips on posting and curating the perfect Instagram feed from user-generated content
Best practices around photo rights and #regrams
Creative examples of what other DMOs are doing on Instagram
New and out-of-the-box ways to extend Instagram beyond social media

Make your destination irresistible on Instagram! Download your copy today.

How Visit Savannah & Visit Tybee Work Together to Create Collaborative Content Strategies

Posted on April 25, 2017August 1, 2017 by Elizabeth Ching

Larissa Allen at Visit Savannah and Jess Brannen at Visit Tybee, are both Digital Content Coordinators at their close-knit DMOs.

Both located on the coast of Georgia, and only 20 minutes apart, these two destinations work very closely together. Together Larissa and Jess have created highly collaborative content strategies for their respective blogs — working not only with each other, but with their tourism partners too to create high-quality sponsored articles.

It was incredibly interesting to get a look into their working relationship, and how they’ve each laid a solid foundation to delight and entertain travelers through their content.

Here’s how they do content marketing at Visit Savannah and Visit Tybee.

You’re both Digital Content Coordinators at your respective DMOs. Tell us about Visit Tybee and Visit Savannah, and how you both work together in your roles!

Jess Brannen: It’s funny, actually. Visit Tybee and Visit Savannah were formerly two separate DMOs, but it quickly became clear that our destinations only benefitted from one another’s successes. Over the last year and a half, Visit Tybee and Visit Savannah began creating complementary content strategies to further the goals of increasing visitation to both destinations. It’s definitely a unique dynamic working so closely with another DMO on a regular basis.

Larissa Allen: We cross-promote content on each other’s social channels, too. Many visitors don’t know that Tybee Island is only a 20-minute drive from downtown Savannah. When visitors add Tybee Island to their Savannah itinerary and vice versa, it gives them a reason to stay in the area an extra day or two, which is the ultimate goal for any DMO.

Let’s dive into that content strategy. How do you plan your editorial calendars in terms of posting frequency and topics? What do you take into consideration?

LA: We plan our editorial calendars one month in advance, always keeping in mind seasonality and upcoming events, as well as new restaurants, experiences and tour companies that come to Savannah and Tybee Island.

We pay attention to questions our online audiences are asking and many times we answer those questions by writing an article. Our audiences are made up of inquisitive people who inspire us to write about subjects we wouldn’t consider on our own, like specific moments in Savannah and Tybee Island’s history.

For instance, someone online asked Visit Savannah why the Olde Pink House, a historic and famous Savannah restaurant, was painted pink. So I researched the history of the Olde Pink House, found out the reason for its quirky color and wrote an article about it.

We also try to keep an array of content types on our calendar, including editorial, photo, video, Facebook Live or Instagram stories, so that our audience is always getting fresh, interesting content that gives them the information they crave.

I know that both Visit Savannah and Visit Tybee Island produce a lot of sponsored content with tourism partners for the blog. Can you tell us a bit more about how you approach this?

JB: Unlike some DMOs, both Visit Tybee and Visit Savannah are agencies employed under the area’s Chamber of Commerce. As such, it’s important for our organizations to feature members of the Chamber when creating content. We also sell sponsored content opportunities to local partners. It’s a great way to create visibility for local businesses while providing value to those looking to visit the area.

For example, I recently wrote a piece for Visit Tybee’s blog titled, “5 Tips for RV Camping on Tybee Island,” which was a sponsored post for a local RV campground. In preparation for the post, I toured the campground, researched their amenities, looked for a unique and valuable angle and photographed the campground with our resident photographer.

Visit Tybee RV Camping — Photo from the Visit Tybee Blog

Once the article was published, I strategized how to share it via social media and crafted unique posts according to each individual social platform. Then our digital content strategist boosted the reach and targeting with ad buys to ensure our content reached the right people.

Do you have any tips for other DMOs that might want to start promoting partners with their content?

LA: Create tiered sponsorship packages so that both big and small businesses are able to partner with your DMO. Some small businesses don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on online advertisements, and that’s okay! A little bit of money spent on promoting quality content can go a long way in the digital world, and you’ll have the analytics to prove it.

JB: It’s really important to make sure the partnership creates value for everyone involved. Creating quality, valuable and consistent content creates an opportunity for a DMO to be seen as an expert on their destination. At the same time, partners get to leverage the DMO’s larger online audience to get eyes on their product or service. If it’s done well, it can be a win-win strategy.

Both Visit Tybee and Visit Savannah’s blogs use a ton of visuals. Can you share how you approach visuals in your content strategy?

JB: It’s no surprise that people are visually inclined. I think, especially in the travel and tourism industry, it’s even more important for our readers to be able to visualize a destination, a tour or a restaurant when planning their trip. We keep that in mind when creating content and we include as much photography or video as needed to really drive our message home.

LA: It’s so true! Visuals are more important than ever, especially quality visuals. Online audiences are savvy and can tell what’s the real deal and what’s marketing. Because of that, we don’t overly edit our photos, which gives Savannah and Tybee Island accurate, authentic representation. User-generated photos, Instagram stories and Facebook Live also help us show Savannah and Tybee Island’s true look — no filter necessary.

Let’s talk distribution. How do you promote your content, and what has been working really well?

LA: Our content is promoted primarily on social media using both paid and unpaid methods. We use the “Rule of Five”: if you create a piece of content, find five different ways to use it. Each time we publish content, we post to all of our social media channels using different language and imagery. Timing is important, too – a one-hour window can make or break an opportunity to maximize engagement.

What are some trends you’ve found in content that have been really popular?

LA: Short videos with striking visuals and easily digestible information. Videos that don’t require having the sound turned on also do well, especially if there are captions.

JB: Listicles! Anything that’s easy to scan through, content that’s visually appealing and short-form video content. It’s all about being authentic and really delivering a raw, captivating experience to engage your audience.

What are some goals looking forward you’re hoping to accomplish with your content?

JB: Creating genuinely helpful and entertaining material is what I’m after with Visit Tybee’s content. I’m also interested in delving further into the idea of experiential content, like first-person video content and full guides to live-like-a-local experiences on Tybee Island.

LA: When it comes to this year’s content strategy, Visit Savannah is focusing on quality instead of quantity. We’re experimenting with producing more in-depth features and profiles, whether it’s through editorial, video or photo content.

Lastly, since both Visit Savannah and Visit Tybee are new CrowdRiff users, how are you looking forward to using CrowdRiff to complement your blog content?

JB: I plan on using CrowdRiff galleries in upcoming blog posts, especially in how-to content. I love the idea of using UGC to illustrate what an activity or tour is like so that readers get an idea of what to expect.

Right on! Thanks Larissa and Jess.

It was a pleasure to speak to these two Digital Content Coordinators at Visit Savannah and Visit Tybee, and take a peek into how these DMOs are approaching content.

Check out Visit Savannah’s blog here, and Visit Tybee’s blog here.

Quick Links

Visit Savannah: Website, Blog, Twitter, Instagram

Visit Tybee: Website, Blog, Twitter, Instagram

Jess Brannen: Website, Twitter, LinkedIn

Larissa Allen: Twitter, LinkedIn

If your DMO is doing something interesting with destination marketing and are interested in being featured give us an email!

Celebrating the Newest Release of CrowdRiff’s Visual Marketing Platform

Posted on April 24, 2017August 18, 2017 by Amrita Gurney

We’ve been dropping hints for a few months now, and the day is finally here!

We’re happy to announce the latest release of CrowdRiff’s visual marketing platform, making CrowdRiff the first visual marketing platform for both UGC and owned visuals.

Speaking at the annual Destination International CMO Summit, CEO and Co-Founder Dan Holowack also shared news of our company’s rapid growth over the last year, including expanding our customer base into Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Meet the Newest CrowdRiff Platform

“Authentic visuals are key in attracting visitors to Winnipeg,” says Cody Chomiak, Director of Marketing for Tourism Winnipeg. “CrowdRiff is an integral part of this strategy because it allows us to curate amazing photos and videos that are generated by our locals and our visitors, and share them on multiple platforms. We now have the power to tell the destination story through the eyes of a tourist, while keeping our digital properties updated with a constant stream of new visual assets. I especially love their new ‘Uploaded Assets’ library. For any DMO that is looking to move to a cloud-based keyword search library, this is it. Now any team member can easily and quickly search for photos and download the best that we have to offer in our collection.”

Marketers today are building their tech stack from multiple technologies rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.

CrowdRiff’s new platform can publish visuals to an ecosystem of apps, from content management systems to digital asset managers and social media management tools, so marketers can use the best visuals across every marketing channel, from websites to digital ads.

To date, CrowdRiff has processed over 100 million photos and videos for travel and tourism brands.

“Visuals are the language of the digital era, and marketers increasingly need photos and videos to connect with their audiences,” says Dan Holowack, CEO. “Our newest platform gives marketers the ability to source, manage and publish all their visuals from one central place — from the Instagram video posted by a traveler to the perfect beach photo commissioned from a professional photographer. I want to say thank you to each and every customer for allowing us to serve you, and for making CrowdRiff the visual marketing platform of choice for travel and tourism brands.”

The 2017 VIZZI Awards: Visual Influence Awards Honoring Outstanding Brands in Tourism and Travel

Posted on April 13, 2017May 9, 2017 by CrowdRiff

Today, we’re excited to announce the inaugural 2017 VIZZI Awards!

Visuals are the language of the digital era. We want to promote great visual storytelling and recognize travel and tourism brands who are using visuals to attract and engage their audiences in creative and impactful ways.

The VIZZI awards are open to any travel and tourism brand — from globally known destinations to smaller regional brands.

Are you or another travel brand you know doing something extraordinary with visual content?

Then head on over to our nominations page for more information, and enter now!

Enter the VIZZIs Today

How Visit Seattle’s Videos Achieved More than 40 Million Minutes of Viewing Time (In Under 2 Years)

Posted on April 12, 2017November 8, 2017 by Lucas Luxton

How do you market a place that has the potential to be all things to all people? How do you communicate a brand message without sounding like a brand trying to communicate a message?

How do you get people to explore a place they think they already know?

These were all questions Ali Daniels, the Vice President of Marketing for Visit Seattle, was considering in 2011 when her organization received funding to promote the city as a leisure destination for the very first time.

There is much that makes the city of Seattle unique, but as Daniels explains it’s a city that many people think they already know.

“When people think about Seattle they think about the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, ferry boats and Starbucks.”

But the story doesn’t end there. “Those are the things we love to embrace, but we want to show them that there’s so much more,” said Daniels.

Visit Seattle knows that it’s also the music city that gave birth to Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis; they know it’s a city with a robust and diverse food industry, and one situated in America’s second largest wine-producing state, boasting over 900 wineries.

Visit Seattle also knew that they couldn’t be the ones to tell the stories of such a unique place directly, as it would lack authenticity, so they devised a solution.

User-Generated Content Campaign: #TwoDaysInSeattle

“Our first campaign that we launched in the beginning of 2012 was called Two Days in Seattle, and we brought social media influencers into the city, gave them a little bit of money, told them to explore and use the hashtag ‘#TwoDaysInSeattle,” said Daniels.

“We know people trust people like them more than they trust people like us that get paid to talk about a destination, so we knew that there was something there with this user-generated content piece.”

It was around this time that video was starting to emerge as the social media’s most popular storytelling medium, which inspired Daniels and her team to adopt the medium for the campaign moving forward.

“We didn’t really have any video content [previously],” she said. “We had a three-minute video, but it was very travel-specific.”

“What we wanted to do is create content that people would look for, not just when they’re thinking about travel.”

And that led to Visit Seattle’s ground-breaking online video channel: VISITSEATTLE.tv

Today, the videos Visit Seattle and its partners have uploaded have been consumed for over 40 million minutes total, spread across seven distinct series. There are two more scheduled for 2017.

These series include:

Been there Made That, which follows visiting artists as they incorporate the city into their works, produced in partnership with Vox Media
Culture Trippers, which pairs locals with visitors who share similar passions, made in partnership with the Matador Network
Project Five by Five, which invites five notable filmmakers to Seattle to find inspiration for a short film about the city, in partnership with Sundance TV
+Play, wherein a group of local children guide viewers through the city’s museums, in partnership with NBC
Sounds by the Sound, which showcases local artists as they perform in the city’s most scenic locations, produced in partnership with Revolt TV.

Visit Seattle also has two series that they produce independently: Seattle First Takes, which shares the stories of first time visitors, and Hey Seattle, which acts as the Visit Seattle’s FAQ section, hosted by Seattle musician and podcaster John Roderick, who answers tourists questions from the desk of a mobile talk show set sitting on a flatbed truck.

While each of these videos differs significantly in their content, there are a few running themes — most notably the brand’s role in the content.

“Seattle is a supporting actor, not the star.”

Producers also try to take cues from the city’s laid-back nature, an intangible but noticeable quality of both the destination and the videos.

“We want it to be authentically Seattle, so it needs to be a little laid back,” said Daniels, describing the city as the kind of place where people wear jeans and Birkenstock sandals to steakhouses and upscale restaurants. “We’re not Vegas, and we would never try to be Vegas, so we’re not in your face. It just has this sort of mellow energy to it, and we find partners that help bring that to life.”

These partnerships are key to making the whole project a success.

“Find a media partner that has the audience that you’re after, and an attitude that matches yours.”

The other key to the project, says Daniels, is a certain confidence in the brand, and a willingness to relinquish control of the messaging in order to achieve greater authenticity.

“That was one of the scariest things, when you put your brand into someone else’s hands and ask them to create something around that,” she said, in reference to those first influencers who were brought in for Visit Seattle’s first campaign. “But that’s what’s been so fun; they tell the story so differently than what we could have ever imagined,” she adds.

The Results

Since the end of 2015 Visit Seattle has produced 128 individual pieces of content, which have achieved a 67% view-through rate; an impressive fete considering videos can last as long as 22 minutes.

Since the start of the campaign tourism has increased and extended later into the season, and hotel occupancy rates held steady at an annual average of 82% in 2016, buts it’s impossible to determine which factors have the greatest influence on the city’s strong tourism industry.

No matter what the impact of the videos has been, however, Daniels and her staff take pride in their ability to showcase the city in a way that is both uniquely authentic and representative of the best it has to offer.

“It’s nice when you love your brand, and when your brand is your home,” said Daniels. “When you have a special connection with it — and I think everyone that works on this project, whether it’s our agency or our partners or my team, feels that there’s something extra special about it — they give it a little bit more than they normally would.”

Header photo credit: @a_jgav28

Further reading:

Google Analytics 101: A Hands-On Guide for Destination Marketers [eBook]

Posted on April 10, 2017May 9, 2017 by Elizabeth Ching

Do you ever scratch your head, wondering how travelers are using your website?

From “Which pages do people engage with?” to “How are people finding my site?” Google Analytics holds the answers you need.

But if you’re just starting out, Google Analytics can be overwhelming.

So we created a helpful tutorial in the form of a downloadable eBook, to decode Google Analytics, and help you be a more effective data-driven marketer.

This Google Analytics eBook will help you discover:

How to track what channels are sending traffic to your site
Who your audience is, what they like to do, read, and buy
The 3 key indicators of engagement, and where to see them in Google Analytics
What goals are in Google Analytics, and how to set them up

And much more!

Google Analytics made easy: Get your copy today:

Creative Inspiration: 5 Ideas to Make the Most of Instagram Slideshows

Posted on April 5, 2017May 9, 2017 by Elizabeth Ching

You’ve just had a huge street festival in your destination.

Balloons, rainbow-colored booths, and delighted smiles from the event dominate your camera roll. There are so many photos you want to share with your followers: which do you post to Instagram?

With Instagram’s exciting update earlier this year, you no longer have to choose just one. As we’re sure you’ve heard, Instagram now allows you to post up to 10 photos or videos in one single post, in a slideshow format!

With this new feature, the kinds of visual stories you tell curious travelers on Instagram have multiplied (times ten!).

Here are 5 travel-worthy ideas for visual stories you can get started with, to get more travelers excited about your destination.

1 | 24 Hours in Your Destination

Instead of posting a one-off photo from another sunny afternoon, try this: create a slideshow that shows what a whole day in your destination could look like.

Perhaps start with some breakfast photos, a day activity (some sightseeing or hiking?), and some shots of fun nightlife. Let your followers envision what it would be like to spend the day enjoying your destination.

For example, see what Meet South Africa’s done here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRK7BCVhqFC/?taken-by=meetsouthafrica

Why it works:

You probably already knew you could take an exciting safari adventure, but did you think of how wonderful spending a beautiful night under the stars in South Africa could be?

The 24h visual story works so well because it allows you to paint a bigger picture of the experience your potential travelers could be having.

From dawn to dusk, use the 24h visual story to show travelers that you can offer them a packed vacation with options worth their while through every moment of their day.

2 | Top Visitor Photos of the Week

DMOs already love sharing and reposting the photos their visitors and locals are sharing on Instagram.

And any marketer knows that once you start browsing through your destination’s UGC, you undoubtedly uncover more photos than you would’ve thought.

After you ask for permission to reshare their photos on your own feed, why not post a slideshow of your favorite Instagrams from that week?

Travelers crave that unfiltered, unbiased view — they want to see what other people are doing. They want a taste of your destination’s culture, and what the people are like. A weekly slideshow of the best user-generated photos can be a great way to give it to them

Capture Minnesota has done just that:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRR2joYjudl/?taken-by=captureminnesota&hl=en

Why it works:

Not only do you highlight the fantastic people that are already excited about your brand, but you incentivize other travelers to share their photos too, for a chance to be in the spotlight. It’s a win-win!

3 | Event Promotion and Immersive Recaps

Events are just naturally lively, fun, and exciting to be a part of. But can one photo really inspire the level of #FOMO (fear of missing out!) you want to instill in those would-be travelers?

With Instagram slideshows, you can get really creative with visual stories around events.

Try choosing images that show the setup, start of the event, highlights, and aftermath. While not everyone can be there in person, many people will happily settle for an in-depth recap.

This is how Visit Rio captures the energy of Carnaval on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRAxO_DhGIP/?taken-by=visit.rio

Why it works:

Sometimes just one photo isn’t enough to recap everything that went on in an amazing event or festival! Take your followers along for the journey they missed — immerse them in festival spirit with multiple photos.

4 | Themed Round-ups

Some people are latte lovers, some people are museum junkies, others are natural adventurers (and most are a mix of all sorts!).

So why not curate a slideshow to appeal to each of these interests.

Pick a theme, like street art, hiking trails, or even latte art and create a round-up slideshow, featuring photos from all over your destination.

For example, Discover Hong Kong takes us on a tour of some unique art installations found throughout the city during #HongKong Arts Month. Bright, vibrant colors greet us in the most unexpected places. This nod to modern art and sculpture serve as the perfect way to delight and would be a perfect scavenger hunt for the creatively inclined.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BR2xN6uj6f3/?taken-by=discoverhongkong

Why it works:

These kind of themed round-ups captivate the inner hobbyists inside us all, and show all the different ways your destination can satisfy these interests.

5 | Virtual Photo Tour

Travelers love exploring — but they want to know there’s something worth exploring first.

Use Instagram slideshows to create a virtual “photo tour” of your destination. Maybe take your travelers on a tour of Main Street let them envision themselves there and all that there is to see and do.

Or choose a neighborhood, unique park, or popular site, and start snapping up a flurry! Walk through your chosen destination as if you were a tourist, and bring your followers along through Instagram.

Don’t forget, you can put videos into your slideshows too!

Why it works:

A photo tour is great for setting the stage for travelers considering your destination. There’s something magical about strolling through a new city for the first time and taking in new sights. You can give them a small taste of that with your Instagram slideshow, and leave them wanting the real thing!

It’s time to level up your visual storytelling game with Instagram slideshows

With the power now to publish multiple photos and videos into one post, your visual stories just got a whole lot more immersive.

These are just 5 ideas for Instagram slideshows we came up with — but it doesn’t stop there!

Keep thinking outside the box and getting creative with how you build that visual influence with travelers.

Good luck!

5 Ways a Visual Marketing Platform Outperforms an Instagram Plugin on Your Site

Posted on March 30, 2017February 1, 2019 by Lucas Luxton

When you’re looking for authentic visuals to display on your website, social media is an absolute goldmine.

So some DMOs add UGC aggregators, in the form of widgets and plugins, to their site that pull in photos from Instagram. But are these free tools enough to realize the full potential of your visual content?

Not exactly.

DMOs that rely on a plugin or social widget actually miss out on important opportunities to connect with travelers.

Here are five things that happen when you upgrade from a simple UGC aggregator to a full-fledged visual marketing platform like CrowdRiff.

1 | Stop driving traffic away from your site

Instagram plugins might look great, but they contribute to a major problem for DMOs by directing traffic away from their website.

Here’s the thing: we know you’ve got click-worthy photos.

Whenever someone clicks on a photo in a widget or plugin, they’re redirected to Instagram. So although these social hubs look pretty, they interrupt your web visitor’s experience, and reduce the time spent on your website.

How a visual marketing platform does it better:

A visual marketing platform allows you to embed Instagram galleries directly on your web page. So visitors can explore your visuals without going anywhere.

Take a look at the Visit Eau Claire’s stunning homepage UGC gallery:

Website visitors can scroll through the gallery and easily get more context by clicking to see the full-screen image.

This also allows curious users to view the original description, comments, and hashtags without ever leaving your site.

Fact: Customers using CrowdRiff’s visual marketing platform have seen bounce rates decrease by 20% and time on site shoot up 400%!

2 | Spice up your visuals with various sources

A plugin might connect to your Instagram and show off your own collection of photos. Some DMOs even set it up to feature a stream of photos from a particular hashtag.

But the options with a plugin are limited.

What if you want to include images from more than one Instagram profile? Or from multiple hashtags? Or even from more than one social media platform?

There’s also a lot of content that an aggregator simply can’t find – content that your travelers want to see!

How a visual marketing platform does it better:

A visual marketing platform connects you to a much wider pool of UGC so you can show travelers what your destination looks like from every angle.

Sourcing your galleries from a combination of travelers, locals, influencers, and partners means you’ll never miss an opportunity to share an image that might inspire future travelers.

For example, the Royal Ontario Museum has curated a phenomenal gallery of visitor photos for their latest Blue Whale exhibit — from Instagram and Twitter.

CrowdRiff can find photos from specific hashtags, users, and keywords so you can find the type of visuals you want for every page of your website. Plus, we give you access to more UGC by source images from all over Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

3 | Take control by curating and moderating content

Incorporating UGC into your visual branding is crucial and showcasing UGC on your website is a step in the right direction. Afterall,85 percent of consumers find visual UGC more influential than brand photos or videos.

However, when your Instagram widget simply pulls the stream of photos associated with the hashtag you specified, you’re kind of giving the public free reign to post content straight onto your website.

Whether it’s a low-quality image, an unflattering depiction of your destination, or a random selfie, this raw stream of UGC can potentially distract from the rest of your amazing content.

How a visual marketing platform does it better:

If you want more control over which images appear on your website, a visual marketing platform is exactly what you’re looking for.

CrowdRiff might source a thousand photos into your collection each day — but you hand pick the ones you want to create a gallery with and embed on your site.

Not only do you have the power to weed out unsavory or irrelevant photos, but you can style visuals to match your branding.

4 | Create themed galleries for specific website pages

Where does your Instagram widget display visuals on your website? Typically, if you’re using a widget or a plugin, you’ll only host images on the homepage.

So when travelers visit any other part of your website, they no longer have the opportunity to explore and enjoy your visual content.

Having one social hub is better than none, but a single gallery can’t make an entire website visually immersive by itself.

How a visual marketing platform does it better:

Expand your visual marketing to include multiple themed galleries across your website.

Since you curate images to put into galleries, you can create specific galleries for different website pages, destination attractions, or themes.

Hammock Coast curates unique user-generated content to position South Carolina as the perfect destination for very specific experiences.

For instance, they’ve dedicated an entire gallery to golf (the sport of choice for many visitors) and another gallery to weddings.

Another great example is the Christmas-themed gallery Explore Branson created for the holiday season!

5 | Share the spotlight with your tourism partners

Can your Instagram plugin help you promote your tourism partners? We didn’t think so.

A social widget is a good starting point for upping your visual marketing game but doesn’t offer the features a DMO needs to help its partners and local businesses thrive.

How a visual marketing platform does it better:

Using a visual marketing platform opens up many possibilities that don’t exist with a simple social hub, such as promoting your tourism partners directly through visual content.

Whether you want to link to their website or another page on your on site with more information, CrowdRiff makes it easy to overlay any photo in a gallery with a direct link.

Nassau Paradise Island leverages this opportunity to promote local restaurants, activities, and hotels. Customers can scroll through the gallery until they spot something that catches their eye.

For instance, I was intrigued by this beautiful oceanview. Simply hovering over the image revealed a clickable call-to-action that directs visitors to discover details about the resort itself.

Looking at examples like this, it’s no surprise that using CrowdRiff to insert CTAs drive 20% of web traffic to tourism partners, including local businesses and attractions.

Visual UGC is about more than painting a pretty picture

Sourcing and showcasing user-generated content goes beyond decorating with your website with appealing images. That’s why using an Instagram plugin, browser extension, or social widget just doesn’t cut it.

Luckily, there is a more scalable, versatile solution DMOs, attractions, and museums can turn to instead: a visual marketing platform.

Tools like CrowdRiff make it possible for you to center your overall travel marketing strategy around powerful visuals created by your community.

CrowdRiff helps customers see incredible ROI like:

And more!

Let us show you how we can help. Book a demo today!

7 Key Takeaways from the 2017 DMA West Tech Summit

Posted on March 23, 2017August 1, 2017 by Amrita Gurney

I just got back from my first DMA West Tech Summit held in beautiful Salt Lake City. It was my first time at the Summit and also my first time in Utah.

Beautiful evening in @VisitSaltLake pic.twitter.com/27ff29niAW

— Amrita Gurney (@AmritaGurney) March 17, 2017

I had heard good things about the event, and now I know why. It’s a perfect size gathering, small enough to really get to know people, and large enough that there is a variety of topics to appeal to different interests and skill levels.

In case you missed it, or just want to get a quick summary to share with your team, I’ve put down some thoughts on what I took away from the talks.

I didn’t make it to every session, so if I skipped any important points, Tweet me and let me know!

1 | Facebook is in, Snapchat is out.

The marketers on stage as well as those I spoke with were focusing on Facebook (and Instagram as part of the Facebook family), whether for its audience research tools or ads or live video. The volume and quality of data Facebook is producing is hard for marketers to ignore.

While many DMOs still use Snapchat, it’s harder to extract insights and measureable impact from that platform.

https://twitter.com/sachieyorck/status/842821763427790848

Jurek Lipski from Sparkloft made a really good point about how Facebook manipulates its algorithm to focus on the products they are pushing. So if you share the same content on an organic post versus as a live video, the latter is going to get way more views. Food for thought.

2 | Video, especially live video, is hot.

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last year, you know that video is continuing its meteoric rise as a media channel.

No longer just about YouTube, video is being created and consumed on every social platform, from Twitter/Periscope to Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp. The challenge is that this is yet another medium destination marketers need to get comfortable with.

But on the upside, anyone with a decent smartphone can create video content, from live streaming a local parade to creating engaging Instagram Stories that show off a region’s parks.

Wow those @VisitSeattle videos at #DMAWestTechSummit are stunning. Something I want to strive for.

— Dan Rosenbaum (@danjrosenbaum) March 16, 2017

3 | The data shows that digital marketing and social media delivers.

Digital marketing folks still have work to do to be understood by senior management and Board members.

Digital and social is still siloed from others to be integrated into a DMO’s overall marketing and business goals. Digital marketers need to communicate and educate their colleagues on how digital contributes to the bigger picture.

One stat that was shared from a recent study by Miles showed that for every unique web visitor a DMO attracts, $37 is generated. So if you spent $10k on getting 10k new website visitors, you would generate $370,000 dollars for your destination.

4 | DMOs fall short in engaging with visitors when they are in the destination.

DMOs are succeeding in driving visitors to a destination, but once the visitor is in market, many DMOs are failing to continue to serve those visitors outside of their visitor center.

The folks at Visit Stockton are using Chatbot software to have real-time conversations with visitors via text, when they are in market. So, if you are in Stockton and want to know if it’s going to rain tonight, you can text a number, and amazingly, the texts are answered by rotating members of the Visit Stockton staff.

Chatbots are cool. But real responses from real people can keep DMOs relevant & unique. Choose how/where you use each. #DMAWestTechSummit

— Emily Forsha (@emilyforsha) March 17, 2017

https://twitter.com/sachieyorck/status/842464228535496704

5 | The DMO marketing tech stack is made up of multiple vendor solutions.

DMOs, like their counterparts at other brands, need to get comfortable with building a marketing tech stack from multiple vendors, rather than expecting one platform to deliver it all. Integrations and ecosystems exist that make it easier for different vendor platforms to tie together.

There is no single solution that will do everything a destination marketing team needs and smart marketers can see through attempts by vendors to push a single-platform-for-all approach.

6 | Storytelling and brand are where DMOs can rise above the competition.

That is, against products like Google Trips and Airbnb Neighbourhoods come into the travel market. Marketing a destination is as much about the inspiration and experience as it is about transactions.

We saw wonderful video storytelling from the Visit Seattle team, who created hundreds of videos in less than 18 months for their Seattle.tv channel. And our friends at Yakima Valley showed how transforming their website to a more visual experience led to a 3x increase in time on site while also reducing their photography budget by 90%.

https://twitter.com/sachieyorck/status/842846691359424512

There is a place for DMOs to be the curators of their brand story, whether that content is being created by themselves or visitors and locals.

7 | Size doesn’t always matter.

One of the most positive takeaways for me from the DMA West Tech Summit is that there was really smart creative marketing being done by destinations of all sizes.

It does help to have bigger budgets, but smaller size marketing teams are doing a great job of focusing on what their destination is really about, and who they want to target. And using a creative mix of ideas and tools like the video marketing strategies shared by TwoSix Digital to the live video tutorials in the Emerging Social Platforms lab.

Some final thoughts

As much as the DMA West Tech Summit was packed with great marketing content, what I loved most were the people I met and the experiences I had.

The pre-event networking ski day was a ton of fun, even when I was falling down alongside my friend Miguel from Visit Stockton and Andy from Noble Studios. And the social at Squatters Brewery was where I got to taste some yummy honey and lavender craft beer while looking out at the snow-capped mountains. It doesn’t get much better than that.

I want to give a shout-out to the organizers of the Summit, in particular Teresa, and our hosts at Visit Salt Lake City for pulling off an excellent event. I will definitely return next year, and can’t wait to hear what destination will play host next year.

Interested in destination marketing technology? Get our free eBook on Understanding the DMO Marketing Tech Stack.

An Actionable Guide To Running A Social Media Contest

Posted on March 8, 2017May 9, 2017 by CrowdRiff

Social media contests are more than just a fun excuse to hand out free swag to your followers.

A well-organized contest excites and engages your audience. It can also inspire a ton of awesome user-generated content (UGC) for your destination.

We created this step-by-step guide to help DMOs and travel brands maximize the benefits of running a social media contest. So no matter which of your followers takes the title, your organization can host a winning contest!

Immediate benefits of social media contests

In the short term, contests generate a lot of buzz and catapult your brand into the social spotlight.

The engagement boost from a successful contest allows you to:

Increase exposure for your branded hashtag
Encourage travelers to share visual UGC on social media
Generate hype around your destination
Grow your following and gain momentum on different social media channels

Big-picture benefits of social media contests

While social media contests are short-lived events, in the long term, they can help:

Build long-term relationships with your audience. A successful contest hashtag can encourage travelers to share photos long after a winner has been named.
Create a steady stream of visual UGC around your brand. The more amazing visuals that exist in your destination, the more likely potential visitors will see them and get motivated to book a trip of their own, especially during travel micro-moments.
Establish you as a visual influencer. You are the catalyst for all the photos people are sharing, and the curator for the best.

A step-by-step guide to running a social media contest

Let’s take a look at what goes into a winning social media contest. The guide below is illustrated by incredible photos and real-life tips used in a contest by Visit Albuquerque.

Step 1 | Set a unique hashtag

When coming up with a hashtag for your contest, choose something that travelers and locals will still want to use once the contest is over.

An ideal hashtag is 10-15 characters, easy to remember, and clearly associated with your destination. Ask yourself, would a local come up with this on their own and use it instinctively?

Here are some hashtag formulas to borrow inspiration from:

#(airport code)+now. Example: #PDXnow
#thisis+(your destination). Example: #thisisCLE
#picture+(abbreviation of your town). Example: #PictureABQ
#my+(your destination). Example: #myhouston

https://www.instagram.com/p/8TFpt8RiH-/

Step 2 | Define a clear goal

Make it easier to visualize your desired outcome by setting a goal.

Pick one or two of the following suggestions as your main objective:

Successfully introduce a new hashtag
Increase hashtag use by X%
Attract X more followers
Boost engagement (comments, likes, etc.) by X%

If you choose too many goals, it might be difficult to measure, and report the success of your campaign.

https://www.instagram.com/p/8gghSatV1P/

Step 3 | Brand your social contest

Branding is a critical to promoting your contest. Use images to spread the word by creating a banner that can be placed on your website, social media profiles, and in your destination newsletter.

Here are some easy ways to brand your contest:

Design a set of visual assets for your contest (I.e. a banner for your website and social media, shareable social photos, etc.)
Include details on how and when to enter, and add a CTA like “Share now with #hashtag!”
Publish your banner to your website. Switch out your Twitter and Facebook cover photos to your contest banner
Make your announcements on social media, and pin them to the top of your social feeds
Continue to post visuals with contest information leading up to and during the contest

Step 4 | Post your contest rules online

Share the rules of your contest on your profile pages along with your announcement. It’s important to check with your legal team to make sure the guidelines are foolproof, but don’t forget to keep it easy for your followers to understand.

Looking for an example? This is Visit Albuquerque’s announcement here.

Step 5 | Set a timeline

Figure out your timeline so you can start building interest well in advance of the start date. Communicate when the contest will begin and end – as well as when you will announce the winner!

A few days before the contest closes, use callouts like, “Only 2 days left to enter! Don’t miss your chance to win!” Reminding your followers that the clock is ticking might even lead to a spike in entries as the deadline approaches.

Step 6 | Announce and promote your contest

Now that you’ve hammered out the details, it’s time to officially announced your social media contest!

Post about it on your blog, social channels, and website, and with your contest’s visual assets.

And whenever you post about the contest on social media, link back to the original announcement on your website. This makes it easier for visitors to find all the details, guidelines, and launch date.

[Pro Tip] Tap into the power of local Instagram influencers. CrowdRiff can help you discover popular UGC and surface the most influential Instagram users in your area!

Step 7 | Engage with contestants and the community

Schedule posts to spark engagement and keep the conversation going throughout the contest duration. You can write out scripts to make it easier to communicate with contestants at every stage of the campaign.

Try to come up with conversation starters designed to target:

Followers who you want to enter your contest
Current participants
Contestants from last year or followers who attended previous events (if your contest is centered around an event.)
Travelers using hashtags related to your destination so you can invite them to enter your contest

Step 8 | And the winner is…

Now for the fun part: choosing a winner!

Make sure you decide ahead of time how to select the winner. We recommend sorting entries by the number of likes and comments received. Plus, filtering photos by popularity makes it easy to find high-quality UGC that you can use to inspire potential customers to book a trip.

Don’t feel pressured to pick a winner based on the numbers alone. If a particular image catches your eye but didn’t get a lot of engagement, it can still be your winning photo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/8bhicDxtqy/

This stunning image was the winner for #PictureABQ’s contest in 2015. Want to see what it was up against? Check out the top ten photos from the contest on Visit Albuquerque’s blog.

Ready to hold a winning social media contest?

Coming up with the rules and timeline for your social media contest is the easy part. Monitoring, promoting, and managing your contest can be a bit more tricky. Find out how a tool like CrowdRiff can make this a breeze for you! Let’s chat.

First published January 21, 2016. Header photo creds: @absolut_lee

10 Destinations Winning at Visual Influence on Instagram

Posted on March 1, 2017September 13, 2017 by Elizabeth Ching

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder… but judging by the popularity of some Instagram feeds, beauty may be a bit more universal than we thought.

Travel photos are some of the most popular subjects on Instagram — serving to both inspire the hearts of travelers, and help DMOs attract new visitors.

However, while anyone can share a pretty image of, say, a sunset and a caption, there are some DMOs really going to the extra mile to stand out and create experiences with their visuals.

Here are 10 destinations that are winning at visual influence on Instagram.

1 | Tourism Ottawa

Tourism Ottawa shares gorgeous photos taken by visitors with fascinating facts about each place photographed. They also take care to only include photos that tie into the current season. Take a peek! As you scroll down their feed, you can watch the seasons change.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPDqwx_Bava/

2 | South African Tourism

By using their hashtag #wowsouthafrica, South African Tourism collects stunning UGC photos from tourists visiting their country’s breathtaking landscape and diversity. Browse their photos, and you’ll be saying “Wow South Africa” yourself.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQfC9HHgP2Y/?taken-by=meetsouthafrica&hl=en

3 | Destination British Columbia

While their hashtag #exploreBC attracts some seriously beautiful images of British Columbia, Destination BC is best known for their #guestagrammer Instagram takeovers. Not only do their guests take stunning photos, they offer personal stories and anecdotes, giving their pics a lot of extra personality.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO6B01TjsUW/?hl=en

4 | Visit Denmark

Visit Denmark’s Instagram is literally breathtaking — and it’s 100% curated UGC or social media takeovers. From nature to expansive skies, art, and architecture, Denmark’s feed gives you everything you’re looking for when you think “European charm”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQypZMWllSs/?taken-by=govisitdenmark

5 | Visit Kent

Visit Kent’s feed is an excellent balance of both the majesty of the castles, seaside cliffs, and quaint country homes, and the life of the locals. They also use their platform to stage giveaways that feature local goods and attraction.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOXARUdDSKQ/

6 | Visit Carmel

Carmel-by-the-Sea is a quaint town on the coast of California, that’s stunning thousands on Instagram. There is something charming, romantic, and unmistakably fairytale-esque about this destination’s feed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ_PMv9D2XZ/?taken-by=visitcarmel

7 | Visit Brasil

From the mountains to the cities to the coast, Visit Brasil features almost exclusively UGC, along with explanations about each photo, including historical information on museums, parks, famous buildings, and more

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPHWr4Cgvmv/

8 | Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism

This Instagram feed conveys a very clear experience: adventure in the great Canadian wilderness. From jumping snowboarders to gorgeous white snow landscapes and mountain biking shots, Nelson Kootenay Lake is calling to all the adventurous at heart with their visual influence.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ8NBDFDSgV/?taken-by=nelsonkootenaylake

8 | Discover Hong Kong

With bright colors and bold photography, Discover Hong Kong’s Instagram captures the energy and fast-paced lifestyle that defines the dense city. From street food to cityscapes, alleys, and mountainous terrain, they showcase more than just the polished side of Hong Kong, but the true local lifestyle too.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO3p8mphyq3/?taken-by=discoverhongkong

9 | Morocco Tourism

The use of color in this DMO’s images gives their feed an unforgettably eye-catching, consistent flow. Showcasing cities, local events, and the country’s natural beauty, Morocco is a destination with lots to explore and experience.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFy_7r1ylbK/?taken-by=morocco_tourism

10 | Visit Connecticut

Visit Connecticut does a fantastic job of curating beautiful UGC, with serene shots of the natural land, as well as its distinct colonial buildings. This account shows a side of Connecticut that a lot of people outside the state don’t know yet.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWqTdiCFtz9/?taken-by=ctvisit

Key Takeaways for Your Instagram Feed

Take advantage of great user-generated content. Your locals and visitors are taking amazing shots — don’t let them go unnoticed! Having a hashtag exclusively for photos of your destination is a great way to encourage people to share photos, and gives you a way to keep track of them.
Tell a story. Don’t forget the caption! Offer engaging insights into your location, like fun things to do, historical facts, etc. with each photo you share. The more context you offer, the easier it is for your potential visitors to envision themselves at your location.
Consistent colors create a beautiful look. Focusing on featuring clusters of warm and cool colored photos at the minimum together can create a consistent visual flow when a visitor looks at the full grid of your photos.
Takeovers can really up engagement and offer a local perspective. Let the people have their say! Allowing visitors, local photographers, influencers, bloggers, and more to share the story of your location from their perspective offers a diverse range of insights and experiences that may not have otherwise made it onto your Instagram feed.

Now it’s your turn to shine

Show your audience that you can be counted on to show them the best there is to see in your destination, by building up your visual influence on Instagram.

That means curating on-brand UGC in addition to posting your own photography, and inspiring your followers with the best of both worlds.

Take inspiration from these DMOs. Keep sharing and capturing what makes you extraordinary, and your audience (and visitor count!) and visual influence will continue to grow.

Interested in other ways DMOs are building their visual influence? Here’s an eBook featuring 10 DMOs using visual content in really creative ways.

Header image creds: @chinpua

How to Capitalize on Travel Micro-Moments with Visuals

Posted on February 23, 2017August 2, 2017 by Amrita Gurney

Having a world of information at our fingertips has changed the way travelers think about, research, and book vacations.

So how can you as a DMO keep up with this shift? It’s time to pay attention to micro-moments.

What is a micro-moment?

Micro-moments are spontaneous moments of inspiration when consumers are looking for the answers they need in order to take some specific action.

For example,

“Where should I eat lunch?”
“Where should I take my vacation next month?”
“What is there to do in [your destination]?”

Micro-moments are fast and fleeting – so the answers need be easy for customers to access and digest.

That’s why visuals are the perfect medium to communicate at these moments. A picture speaks a thousand words and, more importantly, does so in an instant.

For travel marketing, micro-moments present an opportunity for DMOs to provide travelers with inspirational images that motivate them take the next steps in planning their adventure.

These travel micro-moments break down into three main categories that DMOs can direct their visual marketing towards: I-want-to-get-away moments, time-to-make-a-plan moments, and let’s-book-it moments.

1 | I-want-to-get-away moments

We’ve all been there. Wistfully daydreaming about taking that next getaway. Unsure of the specifics – like when or how these dreams might become reality – but certain that adventure is calling!

Would-be travelers experiencing these I-want-get-away moments often don’t have solid plans, brand loyalties, or set travel dates. Which means they’re open to any possibilities that catch their eye.

They might not even know where they want to go yet. According to Google, one in three travelers haven’t chosen a destination when they first start thinking about taking a trip.

How DMOs should respond: Get on their radar!

Share stunning visuals on social media. Did you know that over half of consumers dream about vacationing when on Facebook, even if they haven’t planned a trip yet? Travelers in the dreaming phase are the perfect audience for inspirational visuals. Why not unearth the gems that your visitors are already posting? Curate a collection of top-notch images to create a stunning visual experience to ensure your destination shines and stands out on social.

Create more visual content. Today’s travelers love consuming visual content that sparks ideas for their own travel plans.

That’s why Marriott Hotels created an entire online magazine and visual content hub, Marriott Traveler, to cater to potential customers in their I-want-to-get-away moments. Complete with visual articles and plenty of video, Marriott gives travelers the content they want to see, when they want to see it.

When responding to this micro-moment, your goal is to make people feel something.

Travelers are still deciding on their destination, so if you can use visual content to inspire, excite, or compel them to want to visit, you’ll be at the top of their mind once they’re ready to make a plan and start booking their trip.

2 | Time-to-make-a-plan moments

These moments are when travel plans begin to take shape. At this stage, customers are thinking more seriously about where they want to go as well as what they want to do once they get there. They’re seeking real-world examples of what their trip might look like.

How DMOs should respond: Show travelers the experience you can offer

Create visual neighborhood guides. Give travelers a taste of each part of your city by offering image-driven neighborhood guides. Promote local hotspots, activities, and events to help travelers develop a clear picture of what your destination has to offer. Provide concrete examples of what people like to do and see when they visit different pockets of your destination.

(Psst! If you’re new to creating neighborhood guides or want more tips on how to do it, we’ve got the perfect blog post to get you started!)

Turn visuals into trip planning tools. Curate visual content featuring popular activities and possible itinerary items from locals and travelers, like Travel Manitoba has done here on their blog.

Destination BC’s visual trip planner is another great example of how brands can connect with potential visitors in moments of inspiration.

The BC Explorer displays curated user-generated content from Instagram using the popular #ExploreBC hashtag. People who are researching and planning their trip can scroll through and click on these images for ideas on what to do and see in British Columbia.

3 | Let’s-book-it moments

This is it – the moment when your customers are ready to make their dream vacation a reality. At this point, travelers are looking for specific information to help in booking their trip.

DMOs can take advantage of these micro-moments by simplifying the booking process and making it as easy as possible for customers to take action.

How DMOs should respond: Place the next steps within visuals

Put links in your Instagram Stories. If you have a verified account, it’s easy to add links to your Stories. For example, when people swipe up on your Story, you can take them to a webpage where they can book directly. Your Story’s purpose is now two-fold: inspire viewers with the content itself (perhaps an ocean view or stunning sunset) and give them an easy way to take the next step to book their trip.

[Pro tip] If you don’t have a verified account, you can still make the most of your Stories by tagging other Instagram accounts and using hashtags. Showcasing a local museum on your Story? Link their Instagram handle!

Take advantage of Instagram ads. Try retargeting people who have been visiting your website (as these consumers are more likely further along their research journey) with Instagram ads. These ads pack real hit because they pair inspirational photos with built-in calls-to-action. Use the CTA to lead to a page where customers can go ahead and book. This takes advantage of the wanderlust you’ve inspired to encourage them to book in the moment. Here’s a handy guide on Instagram ads from our friends at Hootsuite if you want to learn more.

Add CTAs as overlays to your photos. When someone gets inspired by the beautiful photos on your website, you want it to be easy for them to take the next step. For instance, Visit Stockton uses CrowdRiff to embed calls-to-action within their image galleries. This connects customers who are primed to purchase with the websites where they can book recommended hotels and packages.

An irresistible visual experience can put your destination on the map

As you read this, your next visitors are experiencing travel micro-moments.

Whether they’re fantasizing about their next getaway or finalizing their itinerary, you can provide visual content to help fill in the gaps. Leverage these micro-moments with images that feed your audience’s travel bug, show why your destination is a must-visit, and encourage travelers to bring their dream holiday to life.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and seize the micro-moment!

Header photo creds: @melanie_patrone

Recommended Reading

Coming Soon: Intuitive Publishing Workflow to Do More in Fewer Clicks

Posted on February 22, 2017May 9, 2017 by Dan Holowack

When CrowdRiff is sourcing thousands of great visuals for you every day, you’re always coming across new photos that you want to use across several marketing channels.

Now, imagine if you could send any photo to every channel you want in just one step.

Well with our newest product update, it’s possible! Introducing, a fast and streamlined workflow that lets you publish your photos out of CrowdRiff and in front of the eyes of any curious traveler — in fewer clicks.

Send multiple assets to multiple places with just one click

You might discover a photo in CrowdRiff and decide it’s perfect for numerous marketing channels. Social media, website, and maybe even for your newsletter.

With this new workflow, you can send your photos everywhere you need them in a matter of seconds.

With the new publishing workflow, you can do all this and more in one step:

Add a photo to any number of CrowdRiff Galleries on your site
Send it to Buffer to queue for social sharing
Comment on the original photo to tell the poster to check out their awesome photo featured your website

Whether it’s one photo or a hundred, accomplish everything you want to do within a single, intuitive workflow.

Keep track of where you’ve used any visual asset

Of course, with such a simple way of getting your visuals out there, you’ll need a way to keep track of where they’re all in use.

In the new CrowdRiff, each photo you use will have a record of where you’ve used it.

Which specific Gallery do you feature this photo in? Have you already commented on it on Instagram, or shared it on social media?

This handy record lets you see all that information.

Sometimes you just want to make sure you’re not overusing one photo. Other times, like when policies or licenses change, you need a swift way to see all the places a specific image is in use and swap it out.

With the new CrowdRiff platform, you can instantly identify the places a photo is currently published, and make any changes in a matter of minutes.

New intuitive workflows that work the way you do

From listening to our customers, to finding unexpected ways to delight them, we’re all about building CrowdRiff to align with the way marketers work best.

The new CrowdRiff features highly intuitive workflows (such as this publishing one) and an impressive user interface, all to better enable you to build and captivate your audience with visual influence.

Stay in the loop for more product updates, and be the first to know when we’re ready to launch the newly finished CrowdRiff.

Why You Should Update Your Website Visuals Regularly

Posted on February 17, 2017August 2, 2017 by Elizabeth Ching

As a DMO, you always make an effort to update the information on your site, so that everything is fresh and relevant. But what sometimes gets overlooked is the visual information you’re conveying.

Consumers today are visual decision makers. Visuals make an impression even before they’ve had a chance to read what’s on a web page.

Keeping outdated visuals on your website is like wearing a 70s jumpsuit to give a presentation in 2017. You can say all the right stuff, but people can’t hear your words over your outdated (albeit rockin’) old-school style.

So don’t neglect your visuals! Here are the top reasons why you need to update your website visuals regularly.

Relevant visuals resonate

Think about the visuals you showcase on your homepage.

Now, how many would you say are generic, one-size-fits-all, year-round photos?

These are by no means bad, but don’t forget the value of targeted, relevant visuals.

Case in point: this past holiday season, Explore Branson unveiled a fantastic Christmas themed website, complete with Christmas activity guides and a holiday photo gallery on their website.

Anybody looking for a holiday vacation in Branson would be showered with relevant holiday content that spoke exactly to the experience they were looking for.

And while you don’t have to refresh your entire website design to the scale that Branson did to stay relevant, what you can consider is this: update your website visuals with the seasons, so that your site’s look stays current and fresh every time of year.

Visit Telluride also does something creative to keep their visuals relevant to web visitors.

Telluride is a small but popular ski destination in Colorado — meaning travelers are looking for drastically different experiences in winter vs. summer.

So, on their website, they allow you to toggle between “winter view” and “summer view”.

The website magically transforms to show visitors the specific seasonal visuals that are relevant to them.

Update your website visuals and ensure your photos reflect what travelers want to see the most – at the right time.

Show that you’re on top of the latest that’s going on in your destination

In the digital age, people expect to get the most current information in real-time.

If someone comes to your website and it feels outdated (the pictures are always the same or they don’t look like they were taken recently), they might decide to look elsewhere for a source that looks more updated.

So how can updating your visuals regularly help you stand as a plugged-in source?

Travel Portland has a great way of doing this. On their homepage, they have a “Happening Now” section where they feature photos that locals and visitors alike are taking in Portland “now”. These photos are always within a week old.

This says to travelers, “We’re always looking through photos people are sharing here, and curating the best to show you.”

Even if it’s adding one new photo to an existing photo gallery, that shows visitors that you’re paying attention and making an effort to keep all your information fresh.

[Pro Tip] If you use an image slider on your website, try add upcoming events to it. It’s a great way to keep people excited about what’s going on at your destination – and show them the latest happenings right from the get go.

E.g. This was Victoria BC’s Valentine’s Day themed slider image:

You’ll rank higher on Google

If you are trying to improve your DMO’s search engine rankings, updating visuals can help.

You are likely already optimizing your site for keywords and putting a content strategy in place to help travelers find you. One SEO tactic that you probably didn’t know before is — you guessed it — refreshing your visual content.

Google smiles upon sites that keep updated with fresh, new content. And that includes your visuals.

Whether that means switching out autumn’s homepage image to one better fit for winter, or swapping your regular homepage photo gallery to a themed one, Google’s site crawlers will see this as an update.

When you update your visuals regularly, it doesn’t just offer web visitors a better experience — it lets Google know you’re up to date and deserve to be ranked up top.

If you’re looking for a free tool for periodic quick health checks on your website performance and SEO, you can check out FirstSiteGuide.

See how these DMOs are keeping fresh and creative with their visual content.

Updating your website visuals regularly isn’t always the easiest thing to do. We have lots of experience helping DMOs do just that, and we’ve learned a thing or two about keeping visuals fresh.

So we rounded up 10 amazing visual influencers, including Visit Stockton and Yakima Valley, that are using their visuals in really unique ways in this free eBook. Get it here and get inspired!

How to Create Neighborhood Guides that Speak to Travelers

Posted on February 10, 2017April 17, 2018 by Shri Jamadagni

Travelers today don’t want to travel like tourists.

Some don’t just want to visit the landmarks that everyone goes to see — they want personalized experiences too.

They want to explore different neighborhoods, wander the streets, and experience a destination through the eyes of a local.

A DMO’s neighborhood guide can help travelers do just that. While a Google search might list out some must-visit spots, your guides can show them these spots in curated groups, and give them a taste of what each area has to offer.

Here’s how to create helpful neighborhood guides that’ll get travelers bookmarking your website (and destination!), and clicking “Book Now!” sooner.

1 | Brainstorm some key places you want to highlight in each neighborhood

In addition to the most popular attractions in each area, think about things visitors might not otherwise be aware of.

Is there a fantastic hole-in-the-wall joint most tourists overlook? A cafe that offers hosts performances every Thursday? Or maybe you can highlight that Insta-worthy wall of street art people like taking photos against.

These are the sort of unique tidbits of information you can provide people, that are really helpful and let you showcase your knowledge as an authority of your destination.

This is also a great opportunity to think given your tourism partners a boost. Are there some smaller or newer noteworthy businesses that you could send foot traffic to? Include them!

2 | Reach out to locals for recommendations

You don’t have to come up with everything yourself — ask locals for suggestions!

How? To start with, send out a call for recommendations on social media.

Where would you have your last meal in San Francisco? You can tell a lot by a person's answer. https://t.co/WsTpGziYiV

— Only in SF @ (@onlyinsf) January 23, 2017

Give locals a chance to highlight the secrets that are so good they don’t mind sharing.

The best part about asking people who live and work in each neighborhood for their suggestions is that you then have direct quotes (and possibly pictures) that you can include in your neighborhood guides.

You can also browse social media to see where people are posting pictures — and therefore where they’re hanging out the most.

“There’s so much going on you find little nuggets of things that are happening in town, new public art, new murals, new stuff happening… you can have your finger on the pulse of what’s going on.”

Wes Rhea, CEO of Visit Stockton

3 | Look for great visuals to feature

So you’ve got your ideas — now to showcase them.

People make decisions based on the visuals they see. That’s why it’s important to have plenty of amazing visual content to sprinkle throughout your guides, and exert some visual influence!

Now, you probably already own some photos to use in your guides, but chances are, they’re not enough to create a true visual experience. Where can you go to get more photos?

People are taking and sharing thousands of great photos in your destination every single day.

What if you could tap into that? Sometimes it’s just a matter of asking. If you spot a photo you’d like to use, ask for permission to borrow it. For example:

Our customers typically see a 60% approval rate in their rights requests. That means for every 5 people you ask, 3 of them will say “yes please!”.

If you use CrowdRiff galleries, you can showcase the original social photos straight on your website, without having to download the photos first.

The great thing about user-generated content is that it really adds that authentic local “flavor” travelers look for and trust.

4 | Putting it all together

Now that you’ve got all your pieces, how should you stitch them together?

Create a layout that puts your visuals first

Of course, your neighborhood guide’s exact layout will depend on your brand design, but one thing to keep in mind is this:

Make visuals the center of your neighborhood guide. Captivate and inspire everyone who reads your guide, with great photo and video content.

Your average reader might only read only 20% of a web page, but they’ll view every photo.

So step back and let the visuals do the talking for you.

Tell a story

While we recommend visuals being the main driver of your neighborhood guide, text helps anchor your guides.

Travelers don’t just want to know where to go. They want to know why they should go.

Instead of just listing where to find each spot within a neighborhood, try throwing in some backstories and interesting tidbits about each place.

How did this popular family restaurant come to be? Is there a top-secret sauce? A remarkable line-up to boast?

Just like how visiting Buckingham Palace would be significantly more exciting after you’ve watched The Crown on Netflix, charming your readers with stories makes a visit more meaningful (and your neighborhood guide a more interesting read!).

5 | Adding the calls to action

Now you’re almost done! The last thing you need to do is make your guide actionable.

After you’ve charmed and delighted them with the content of your neighborhood guide, don’t leave your inspired traveler hanging. Give them calls to action so they can take the next step.

If you’re talking about a restaurant, give them a way to make their reservation.

If you’ve shown them a great local theatre, provide the link to where they can buy their tickets.

If you’ve told them about an awesome bike trail, a simple “Learn More” linking to that park’s website can give them the information they need and help prolong their interest.

Some DMOs like Beverly Hills and Hammock Coast overlay CTAs on their photos. So as people explore and engage with their galleries, they’re prompted to take action.

This kind of CTA makes a lot of sense, because people engage with visual content more than text.

With these CrowdRiff CTAs Hammock Coast was able to drive 20% of their traffic to their tourism partners.

Need some inspiration?

Here are some great neighborhood guides to get some ideas from.

Visit Denver:

Airbnb:

On the Grid:

Now it’s your turn.

As a DMO you have a unique advantage over sites like Instagram, Yelp, TripAdvisor.

You have a wealth of insider knowledge you can translate into your guides, and the ability to curate the photos your locals and travelers are sharing.

Pair your little-known backstories with authentic photos and actionable inspiration, and you create a neighborhood guide speaks to the way travelers want to experience your destination.

Header photo creds: @cascadia_pacifica

Solutions

Vision

UGC

Creators

DAM

Industries

DMOs

Hotels & Resorts

Museums

Tour Operators

Attractions

Company

About Us

Careers

Contact

Learn

Customer Stories

Webinars

Ebooks

Knowledge Base

1 | Your photos are scattered in multiple places.

2 | Most of your photos are named “file year-month-day.jpg” because you don’t have time to organize them.

3 | You can’t get your hands on a photo when you need it.

4 | Your forgotten photos are just sitting there gathering dust.

5 | You get a lot of media requests.

Search the way you would Google, and find any visual asset in seconds.

Automatically tag photos with keywords with the advanced artificial intelligence technology.

Organize your visuals in albums (without burying them forever).

Share any number of visuals securely and quickly with custom Share Portals.

Sound like the kind of upgrade you’re in the market for?

The DMO’s Guide to Attracting More Travelers with Instagram covers all this and more:

You’re both Digital Content Coordinators at your respective DMOs. Tell us about Visit Tybee and Visit Savannah, and how you both work together in your roles!

Let’s dive into that content strategy. How do you plan your editorial calendars in terms of posting frequency and topics? What do you take into consideration?

I know that both Visit Savannah and Visit Tybee Island produce a lot of sponsored content with tourism partners for the blog. Can you tell us a bit more about how you approach this?

Do you have any tips for other DMOs that might want to start promoting partners with their content?

Both Visit Tybee and Visit Savannah’s blogs use a ton of visuals. Can you share how you approach visuals in your content strategy?

Let’s talk distribution. How do you promote your content, and what has been working really well?

What are some trends you’ve found in content that have been really popular?

What are some goals looking forward you’re hoping to accomplish with your content?

Lastly, since both Visit Savannah and Visit Tybee are new CrowdRiff users, how are you looking forward to using CrowdRiff to complement your blog content?

Right on! Thanks Larissa and Jess.

Quick Links

Meet the Newest CrowdRiff Platform

Marketers today are building their tech stack from multiple technologies rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.

To date, CrowdRiff has processed over 100 million photos and videos for travel and tourism brands.

“When people think about Seattle they think about the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, ferry boats and Starbucks.”

User-Generated Content Campaign: #TwoDaysInSeattle

“We know people trust people like them more than they trust people like us that get paid to talk about a destination, so we knew that there was something there with this user-generated content piece.”

“What we wanted to do is create content that people would look for, not just when they’re thinking about travel.”

And that led to Visit Seattle’s ground-breaking online video channel: VISITSEATTLE.tv

“Seattle is a supporting actor, not the star.”

These partnerships are key to making the whole project a success.

“Find a media partner that has the audience that you’re after, and an attitude that matches yours.”

The Results

But if you’re just starting out, Google Analytics can be overwhelming.

This Google Analytics eBook will help you discover:

1 | 24 Hours in Your Destination

Why it works:

2 | Top Visitor Photos of the Week

Why it works:

3 | Event Promotion and Immersive Recaps

Why it works:

4 | Themed Round-ups

Why it works:

5 | Virtual Photo Tour

Why it works:

It’s time to level up your visual storytelling game with Instagram slideshows

Recommended reading:

1 | Stop driving traffic away from your site

How a visual marketing platform does it better:

2 | Spice up your visuals with various sources

How a visual marketing platform does it better:

3 | Take control by curating and moderating content

How a visual marketing platform does it better:

4 | Create themed galleries for specific website pages

How a visual marketing platform does it better:

5 | Share the spotlight with your tourism partners

How a visual marketing platform does it better:

Visual UGC is about more than painting a pretty picture