Skift Take

Most destinations are still trapped in a cycle of poorly made YouTube videos and print ads, causing them to miss out on major opportunities awaiting in today's most popular social and visual apps.

DiscoverLA recently wrapped up a campaign that highlights celebrities’ and locals’ experience and love for the city.

But when looking to spread the word on the #LAStory campaign and collect new submissions, the tourism board ditched traditional media buys for a new kind of influencer.

DiscoverLA started reaching out to Instagram influencers whose followings can make a single post more valuable than an entire magazine ad, but the cost of a single photo can start at $1,000 in this growing underground economy.

Instead DiscoverLA’s vice president of digital marketing, Bill Karz, tried to trade a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a few Instagram posts. Karz reached out to the Getty Center with the goal of getting the influencers’ photos off a smartphone and into the city’s most renowned cultural institution. The plan worked.

During one of the Getty Center’s summer concert series Saturdays Off the 405, the influencers’ photos tagged with #LAStory were projected onto the actual Getty Center throughout the event.

DiscoverLA worked with 15 Instagram influencers including Rosewood Creative co-founder Matt Bauer and photographers Jessica ZollmanDan Marker-MooreLauren Randolph, and Pete Halvorsen, to spread awareness of the campaign.

Their individual followings range from 38,000 to more than 234,000 people.

In total, the #LAStory campaign resulted in 25 million organic social media impressions over three months, half of which were said to be a direct result of the influencers’ involvement.

Below are some examples of the influencers’ #LAStory posts:

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The Daily Newsletter

Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.

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Tags: instagram, los angeles, marketing

Photo credit: Photographer Dan Marker-Moore shares the hashtag #LAStory (top right) on his Instagram page. Dan Marker-Moore / Instagram

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