Skift Take

Influencers are increasingly important for DMOs looking to reach and engage with its audience over social media. Overall they are also considered as a good ROI.

Last week we launched the latest report in our Skift Research service, The State of Destination Marketing 2017 accompanied by our comprehensive Data Sheet: Digital Destinations Global DMO Survey Results 2017.

Below is an excerpt from our Skift Research Report. Get the full report here to stay ahead of this trend.

One way that destination marketing organizations (DMOs) promote their brands is through teaming up with influencers, and around 44 percent report a very high or good return on investment (ROI) from working with influencers, such as bloggers, Instagram stars, and others with a large presence on social media.

“Influencers are like an extension of our sponsored-content efforts, allowing us to reach audiences where they are consuming media in a voice that is natural, native and non-DMO,”  says Greg Newland, executive vice president, marketing and communications at Travel Portland in Oregon.

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However, as with all aspects of digital marketing, DMOs need to be strategic when it comes to running programs with influencers. Traditionally, DMOs and influencers have often worked together on an ad-hoc basis, in which bloggers or others with large followings request free stays or press trips in return for coverage on their blogs and social media channels, and many of the respondents we surveyed expressed trouble in finding appropriate influencers; there were even complaints that influencers were too “high maintenance.” Others have had more success with influencers; for example, the Tempe Tourism Office recently hosted a group of four influencers, which resulted in over two million total impressions.

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Tags: dmos, influencer, marketing, research reports, social media, tourism

Photo credit: Destination Cleveland Cavaliers Destination Cleveland

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