“We’re always looking at who’s the right person to come here and showcase what we want to showcase,” Orillia and Lake Country Tourism officials say.
In the world of digital marketing, content is king.
This is especially true in the world of tourism marketing.
Virtually every country, city, village, town, and event is looking for spectators, participants who will pay to keep the event going for another season or another year.
Joining the tourism industry isn’t easy even in the best of times, and it never gets any easier.
One key to potential success is content, according to Orillia Lake Country Tourism (OLCT) Executive Director Chris Puchbel.
In a presentation to the Oromedonte County Council this week, Puchbel told the council that OLCT uses a variety of tools to create content that attracts potential viewers and encourages them to visit the municipality. Ta.
“Last year we wrote 50 blogs, 29 of which were completely or partially focused on Oro-Medonte,” Puchbel said. “During the winter he might not post every week, but during the busy season he might post twice a week.”
Puchbel said the blog will be posted the week or week before the event. He said that immediacy motivates people to participate.
“People use them to plan,” he said.
The organization also leverages media and influencer content, often working with multiple tourism operators to create packages that can be distributed across the OLCT website, operator websites, and influencer content. Promote through digital platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).etc
Puchbel said a recent partnership between Hamilton-based CHCH Television and Destination Ontario featured Glen Oro Farm, reaching about 3 million people and having an advertising value of about $130,000. Stated.
“We helped organize it and worked with the carriers to get their participation,” Puchbel said.
“We brought it here to showcase what we want to showcase, keeping in mind that we are a rural destination and a destination that truly embraces the outdoors and agritourism. “We’re always looking at who is the right person to do that,” he added.
Leveraging a digital-first approach where approximately 80% of the organization’s efforts were focused on digital media, OLCT has grown across all digital platforms.
In 2023, page views on the OLCT website increased by 14% to approximately 635,000. The number of users increased by 11% to approximately 302,000 users. The organization’s Facebook followers increased his 5% to just over 16,000, and OLCT’s Instagram audience increased 26% to nearly 7,000.
Despite being digital-first, OLCT has one foot in the traditional media space by producing 25,000 visitor guides.
According to Puchbel, hard-copy tourist guides are a “guardian” for many people. This publication is distributed throughout the Greater Toronto Area and Golden Horseshoe, and as far south as Windsor, to tourist information centres, tourist attractions, hotels and other locations.
“Hoteliers can’t keep them in stock,” Puchbel said.
This is also an important perk when organizations participate in consumer trade shows such as boat shows and cottage life shows.
