GoSeeTell

Destinations on Twitter – Mar 09 ranking

April 6th, 2009

Putting our monthly ranking of destinations on Twitter was slightly challenging this month as our trusted tool Twitter Grader was uncooperative and had significant down time. Usually we pull the data all on one day (the last day of the month) but because of the problems it took 3 days to get all data.

So, how many destinations in the US and Canada had a Twitter presence at the end of March 2009? We 24 new ones bringing the total we are tracking to 236 (new DMOs are marked in yellow).
We are probably missing some – let us know which ones.

24 tourism organizations now have more than 1,000 followers. Travel Portland added over 1,600 new followers as the buzz for the “Twisitor Center” continued.

And as usual we want to disclose that we work with several of the listed DMOs on various social media and social travel initiatives. Those DMOs are marked with a “*” behind their name.

Destinations	Rank Mar 09	Rank Change	Twitter Grade	Followers	Following	Updates	Change Followers	Average updates / day
TravelPortland*	1	3	99.8	4686	3240	503	1600	3.5
VisitChicago*	2	0	99.8	3917	3733	1385	796	7.8
BaltimoreMD	3	-2	99.8	3631	1898	1395	534	6.0
TravelOregon*	4	2	99.8	1909	1479	1598	593	7.9
visitphilly	5	2	99.7	1812	1710	1547	394	5.5
ExpCols	6	-1	99.6	2010	1278	2757	553	10.3
enjoyillinois	7	3	99.6	1998	1925	744	656	3.8
PositivelyCleve	8	1	99.6	1969	1443	555	548	2.0
ColumbiaSC	9	3	99.5	2184	2378	526	685	5.8
paadventure	10	-2	99.5	1823	1958	988	375	6.5
lehighvalleypa	11	0	99.5	1570	1859	1362	244	7.1
ArizonaTourism*	12	-9	99.4	2129	671	653	608	4.0
MeetMinneapolis	13	1	99.4	1219	717	343	307	2.3
VisitIndiana	14	1	99.4	1219	717	343	581
Travel_Iowa	15		99.4	1187	338	218
ScottsdaleAZ*	16	-3	99.3	1557	1601	193	422	0.6
VisitHoustonTX	17	12	99.3	1166	353	424	663	6.5
visitmusiccity	18	4	99.2	1618	645	247	838	3.9
VisitSanAntonio	19	-3	99.2	1401	1309	388	333	2.0
SpringfieldCVB	20	-3	99.1	1071	1175	687	233	7.6
visitflorida	21	2	99.1	857	438	433	282	0.2
ChooseChicago	22	-4	99	1602	1811	95	340	0.8
VermontTourism	23	-3	99	1162	1326	319	375	4.9
visitkc	24	9	99	858	69	110	425	0.9
VisitVirginia	25	1	99	815	263	222	291	1.2
ashevilletravel	26	-5	99	806	574	623	197	2.6
VisitMesa*	27	-3	98.9	884	1139	964	285	12.6
louisianatravel	28	26	98.7	988	1152	953	596	21.9
enjoyknoxville	29	-1	98.7	950	895	258	356	3.5
renotahoe	30	-5	98.7	707	299	186	166	1.4
InsideSonoma	31	0	98.7	583	120	1002	190	8.6
alabamabeaches	32	29	98.5	972	1079	152	576	2.8
discover_la	33	-3	98.5	671	705	548	185	3.5
travelnevada	34	-2	98.4	700	585	152	248	0.8
visitmilwaukee	35	8	98.4	625	114	33	245	0.6
PCBeach	36	46	98.3	793	989	366	581	3.6
VisitNH	37	-3	98.3	580	345	191	188	1.1
DiscoverDupage*	38	-3	98.2	726	850	166	244	1.9
NewportBeach	39	35	98.2	703	537	194	467	4.4
Visit_Jax	40	-21	98.2	556	163	82	122	-1.4
visitphoenix*	41	12	98.1	589	436	262	211	3.6
VisitFlagstaff*	42	6	98.1	492	175	431	165	4.8
ctccct	43	15	98	705	253	397	305	3.9
travelcoosbay	44	0	98	656	772	345	217	6.1
Hillsborough	45	-7	98	521	432	427	136	2.0
fargomoorhead	46	9	98	520	444	436	175	7.6
PhiladelphiaCVB	47	20	97.9	576	193	19	290	0.5
GeorgiaTourism	48	-21	97.8	1618	2001	44	576	0.5
CSCVB	49	-9	97.8	701	796	18	192	0.1
ColumbiaMOCVB	50	-5	97.8	532	649	305	129	1.9
GrandRapidsCVB	51	-14	97.8	512	479	288	85	3.8
visitfingerlake	52	-1	97.8	462	423	1267	147	10.1
visitmaine	53	53	97.5	707	510	110	513	3.0
PensacolaCVB	54	8	97.5	446	375	279	140	2.8
gorockford	55	9	97.5	397	287	832	153	8.4
VisitTampaBay	56	4	97.5	379	133	517	94	13.3
PossibilityCity	57	-57	97.4	448	248	174	448	6.2
VisitNantucket	58	-12	97.3	834	1144	20	235	0.1
KissHeartofFL	59	25	97.3	425	265	443	260	9.7
GalvestonIsland	60	-3	97.3	414	437	770	102	4.6
Lancaster_PA	61	-20	97.2	745	718	483	310	4.9
chicagonorthsub	62	-26	97.1	681	453	47	200	0.3
experiencewa	63	55	97.1	597	559	341	432	8.7
explorechicago	64	-17	96.9	771	727	315	310	3.6
VisitIdaho	65	-26	96.7	637	52	324	267	4.1
flee2thecleve	66	-16	96.7	600	751	436	191	4.6
chicagonw*	67	-8	96.7	587	568	47	205	0.3
visitsandiego	68	-12	96.6	665	17	35	342	0.1
VisitAnnapolis	69	9	96.6	575	706	156	555	5.4
VisitFairfax	70	-18	96.6	520	519	164	108	1.3
OahuVB	71	15	96.6	499	404	101	227	1.9
MyVancouver	72	-6	96.5	543	266	53	248	0.9
UtahStateParks	73	-24	96.5	510	525	47	84	0.0
insidealaska	74	3	96.5	302	174	312	114	1.9
whatcomcounty	75	-33	96.3	500	581	359	89	1.3
visitnewhaven	76	11	96.3	489	794	396	237	6.1
KentuckyTourism	77	36	96.3	424	48	24	285	0.5
VisitRichmond	78	89	96.1	455	311	40	396	1.3
VisitLongBeach	79	12	96.1	429	262	49	233	1.0
Visit_Wausau	80	29	96.1	359	442	175	216	2.5
VisitVF	81	-1	95.9	309	265	27	65	0.0
TNVacation	82	-14	95.8	453	118	90	201	-0.3
VisitSpokane	83	41	95.8	382	204	73	250	1.6
VisitAustinTX	84		95.8	378	111	37
VaBeachCVB	85	-22	95.7	443	56	27	157	0.2
WilliamsportPA	86	-21	95.7	419	590	21	67	0.3
TravelSalem	87	12	95.7	292	274	235	144	5.1
TravelAlberta	88	10	95.7	254	60	91	105	1.8
ChicagoNShore	89	-10	95.5	450	516	22	115	0.0
SantaClaraCA	90	-5	95.5	240	30	40	84	0.5
AnnArborAreaCVB	91	-19	95.4	404	340	173	151	0.3
visitorlando	92	66	95.4	342	69	26	275	0.7
wisdells	93	27	95.2	295	40	175	181	3.9
Stockton_CVB	94	22	95.2	290	345	79	190	1.9
VisitBtown	95	7	95.2	212	54	161	76	1.9
chattanoogafun	96	-25	95	382	20	32	150	0.1
VisitMissouri	97	-28	95	356	160	31	81	0.0
visit_SMC_SV	98	-22	95	336	366	127	78	1.6
BattleCreekCVB	99	-24	95	323	303	55	52	0.3
visitwv	100	-11	95	305	360	68	86	0.4
ShastaCascade	101	-5	95	289	708	149	136	1.8
visitsunvalley	102	-102	95	266	268	112
NewportRICVB	103	-13	95	261	206	31	55	0.4
VisitVallejo	104	1	95	252	242	224	44	4.0
DestWorcester	105	-10	95	213	168	120	44	0.9
VisitSarasota	106	-18	94	437	268	81	193	0.8
NewOrleansCVB	107	23	94	366	0	173	223	3.8
MinNEcations	108		94	309	453	63
VisitDetroit	109	-15	94	270	176	44	98	0.5
santaclarita	110		94	267	257	159
LakeCoCVB	111	-41	94	261	180	154	7	0.1
VisitTuscaloosa	112	25	94	248	143	92	157	1.4
visitbgky	113	12	94	216	78	119	117	1.4
WCVA	114	-21	94	215	215	175	32	1.6
MarylandTrip	115	-7	94	215	195	81	65	1.5
Lislecvb*	116	-1	94	206	182	14	80	0.4
Ludington_Area	117	-3	94	191	157	183	65	1.4
gotolouisville	118	11	94	180	133	300	101	4.4
VisitJacksonMI	119	-9	94	163	79	21	25	0.4
SedonaAZ*	120	-1	93	361	327	74	202	1.6
VisitAlton	121	-17	93	288	372	24	67	0.1
nycgo	122		93	286	402	30
TravelLaneCo	123		93	271	362	111
wyomingtourism	124	8	93	270	258	41	177	1.4
NebraskaTourism	125	-42	93	265	119	98	85	0.5
MyMyrtleBeach	126	-29	93	264	164	127	114	2.3
flaspacecoast	127	-46	93	263	285	146	41	1.5
TravelWisconsin	128	19	93	263	302	37	168	1.3
southernoregon	129	-38	93	259	182	31	69	0.4
Janesvillecvb	130		93	251	342	73
FortSmithCVB	131	-59	93	249	117	292	39	0.1
WilkesNCtourism	132		93	232	216	180
VisitSouthDel	133	14	93	215	212	171	131	4.4
victoriavisitor	134	28	93	189	34	12	136	0.1
SantaRosaCVB	135	7	93	177	202	40	111	0.5
Visit_Madison	136	-14	93	148	18	0	56	0.0
westhollywood	137	-35	92	2224	9	41	2097	0.2
RoomForDreams	138		92	249	393	74
VisitOakPark*	139	-40	92	225	51	19	79	0.3
tourhendersonky	140	24	92	186	148	54	139	1.4
visitlodi	141		92	180	104	41
MemphisCVB	142	7	92	170	17	16	102	0.5
AlpharettaCVB	143	-22	92	122	59	46	30	0.5
GrapevineGurl	144	-18	92	113	170	324	31	3.1
ecacvb	145	-18	92	113	9	17	31	0.1
ProvidenceRI	146	-40	91	266	156	92	76	0.2
Greenville_SC	147	-13	91	220	37	10	138	0.1
SeeRockCity	148	-37	91	178	50	23	52	0.1
Anaheim_OC	149	35	91	158	129	50	134	1.8
Calistoga	150	-34	91	156	184	235	66	1.7
VisitLongviewTx	151	34	91	123	20	57	94	1.4
columbuscvb	152	-19	91	119	107	35	33	0.2
readingberkspa	153	-1	91	102	1	17	47	0.3
SeeMonterey	154		90	158	248	171
SarasotaCVB	155	-45	90	154	83	93	28	0.1
visit_loudoun	156	-56	90	144	75	173	0	0.0
Clarksville_CVB	157	-37	90	140	32	11	42	0.2
PadreDude	158	-20	90	137	213	47	57	0.1
tourfrederickmd	159	-9	90	120	4	3	55	0.0
SyracuseNY	160		90	118	51	100
oshkoshcvb	161	-3	90	116	33	90	59	2.1
PulaskiCountyVC	162	-30	90	105	112	92	19	0.7
HeritageCVB	163	-22	90	102	79	65	33	1.8
CorvallisScene*	164	-25	90	100	53	91	30	1.3
yakimavalley	165	0	90	97	20	47	56	1.2
Staunton	166		90	94	24	12
CityofSantaFe	167		89	203	93	7
VisitOmaha	168		89	181	14	7
VisitBatesville	169	-39	89	174	190	89	51	0.0
TravelKS	170	16	89	103	51	36	73	0.9
AnnArborAreaCVB	171		89	97	64	3
ILMICanal	172	-21	89	89	89	44	33	1.3
MendocinoCounty	173	-20	89	73	29	14	25	0.2
plumascounty	174		88	130	262	11
HarborCountry	175	-50	88	97	55	20	14	0.0
AmNorthCoast	176	-5	88	91	85	172	42	3.6
VisitGrayling	177	-33	88	68	25	43	8	0.4
HotSpringsCVB	178	-179	87	137	124	38
fife_washington	179	-19	87	137	121	17	71	0.1
WarrenCountyOH	180	-45	87	96	16	12	30	0.2
TuscarawasCoCVB	181	-6	87	80	16	21	40	0.2
dutchesstourism	182	17	87	73	8	16	59	0.5
LansingCVB	183	-43	87	70	8	5	0	0.0
LESIWC	184		87	62	44	298
BarbinIL	185	-37	86	126	76	18	46	0.1
Flagstaff_CVB*	186	-25	86	85	0	0	21	0.0
Visit_Vermont	187	-15	86	82	76	72	34	1.2
BenzieCounty	188	-45	86	80	16	7	16	0.0
visitbemidji	189	0	86	68	17	34	46	0.8
VisitNatchez	190	-53	85	106	45	37	17	0.0
MiamiandBeaches	191	-32	85	101	24	26	45	0.3
SouthHaven_CVB	192	-47	85	76	2	15	19	0.0
MitchellCVB	193		85	73	55	33
McPhersonCVB	194		85	63	17	55
MeetInSaltlake	195	-21	85	63	4	16	22	0.1
Sevierville	196	-14	85	63	2	4	31	0.0
imtourism	197	-30	84	87	61	15	35	0.2
UPTravel	198	-25	84	75	50	32	33	0.4
chgiflorida	199		84	66	79	118
CheyenneWY	200	-23	83	89	39	53	45	1.3
StCharlesIL	201	-46	83	63	19	2	0	0.0
MerriamCVB	202		82	97	131	10
Lenawee_Fun	203	-20	82	58	0	13	23	0.2
TravelRedding	204	-7	82	50	19	29	36	0.6
ClarksvilleCVB	205	-37	81	79	22	7	32	0.0
paradisecoast	206	-36	81	74	9	21	31	0.2
visit_sanjose	207	-29	81	64	0	3	21	0.0
ClareCountyCVB	208	-52	81	51	10	4	3	0.0
BuffaloNiagara	209	-9	81	46	8	3	37	0.0
Ypsilanti	210	-47	80	50	8	13	9	0.0
RoswellCVB	211		80	40	1	17
GenevaIL	212	-43	79	58	3	9	13	0.2
WillmarLakes	213	-20	78	23	3	13	5	0.1
visitsurrync	214	-20	76	48	0	2	26	0.0
VisitAberdeenSD	215	-24	76	40	80	41	15	0.5
BayCityMichigan	216	-37	75	37	5	5	6	0.0
ButteCo	217	-36	75	35	9	3	7	0.0
WelcomeToEden	218	-23	74	44	0	4	19	0.0
VisitPontiacIL	219	-39	74	36	22	3	8	-0.6
Visitflagler	220		74	34	37	24
HollandAreaCVB	221	-45	74	32	4	3	-1	0.0
AshevilleCVB	222	-34	73	30	0	1	6	0.0
DiscoverMonroe	223	-36	73	26	4	5	4	0.1
kingsportcvb	224	-26	71	28	0	0	9	0.0
ExploreMcDuffie	225		70	30	60	17
IowaTourism	226	-30	70	29	0	1	10	0.0
visitbaker	227	-37	70	23	4	6	4	0.0
visitbigrapids	228	-36	70	20	6	4	0	0.0
VisitParksville	229		36	5	3	2
NorfolkCVB	230	-29	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
brandingmontana	231	-29	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
TriValleyCVB	232	-29	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
SaultCVB	233	-29	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
WMTA1917	234	-29	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
VacavilleCVB	235	-29	0	0	0	0	0	0.0
MarshallMN	236	-29	0	0	0	0	0	0.0

Posted in Social Media, Tourism, Twitter, Web 2.0 | 11 Comments »

Southwest Airlines lauches community

March 18th, 2009

Southwest Airlines today very quietly launched their own community and took their social media activities to a new level. The community is accessed through a new tab in the top-level navigation named “Travel Guide”.

In the Travel Guide section users can share travel tips, rate and review destinations, hotels, attractions etc., upload photos and discuss travel experiences in forums.

Features and design are typically Southwest – nothing edgy, no bells and whistles, nothing that we have not seen before, but a very, very solid execution. And Southwest is not afraid what customers have to say: the forum even includes a section where travel on Southwest can discussed – who needs Flyertalk.com.

So far the community is very thin on content and members – Southwest did obviously feel it was not necessary to create a lot of content in stealth mode before opening it to the public. And they are probably right because now that the site is live the content should grow pretty quickly.

Southwest joins a whole group of other airlines that have rolled out community / social networking sites but this takes the game to a new level and raises a lot of new questions.

A community of 100,000,000
Southwest Airlines had more than 100 million enplaned passengers in 2008.

That is a nice pool to tap into when you want to start a community. Obviously enplaned passengers are not unique passengers but even if Southwest has only 50 million unique passengers and manages to entice 1% of those to join the community will have 500,000 members. 5% would mean 2.5 million in the Southwest social network. This is a game changer when it comes to social travel websites.

Content screening
I could not resist to create some content and to my surprise it went live right away. No pre-screening or other delay. Of course content can be flagged by user but overall this is a bold move for a brand like Southwest. It will be interesting to see how the airline will handle self-promotions by hotels and restaurants through “reviews”. And as adding content requires only a registered profile but not entering a CAPTCHA code it is currently pretty easy to write a robot program and create spam messages. Not difficult to remove but still a pain.

Ancillary revenue
Southwest is not getting into the community business because they love social media so much. With their own community they can now do something they can not do on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr or any other social media sites they are currently using: they can make money. Not totally unimportant if you are an airline in these days.
How will they make the money? Look at this from a SEO perspective alone. Lots and lots of content will be created and the Google spider will come and visit over and over again. Search for a Las Vegas hotel review and you might see a Southwest Airlines Travel Guide instead of Tripadvisor. But wait, there is more! Take the traffic and monetize it with ads. But not just any ads – use the additional data you have collected about member interests during the sign-up process for some targeting. Your favorite destination is San Diego? Have a look at this – coincidentally a special deal from your hometown to Southern California. Oh the possibilities …

Pressure on airlines
The Southwest community is overall pretty unsophisticated as far as the features go: no good search engine, just simple Google maps, very few “social” tools to connect with other members etc. But the fact that Southwest as the social media leader in the airline space (Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr) has decided to roll out a community – as simple as it is – adds significant pressure on other carriers to follow suit. Virgin Atlantic will roll out their Vtravelled community in June. They will not be the last.

Pressure on destinations and DMOs
Other airlines are not the only ones that will feel the pressure. As a Southwest customer I will soon be able to get travel insights and user-generated-content on Southwest.com. One less reason to go to a DMO (destination marketing organization) website. One more website the DMO has to screen to stay on top of what visitors are saying about the destination.
Overall social networking micro-sites are growing rapidly (this is just another example). Each of these travel-themed micro-sites makes online life for the DMO more complicated.

Consumers want to share and connect and if DMOs do not offer the right tools and the right content consumers will find it elsewhere. Southwest Airlines is a powerhouse when it comes to tourism marketing in the US. The content created on Southwest.com has the potential to shape travel decisions similar to what Tripadvisor has done for hotels. Few DMOs can afford to stand on the sideline while this is happening. They must – and will – offer consumers their own alternative for the content they are seeking – ratings, reviews, photos, videos etc.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Destinations on Twitter – Feb 09 ranking

March 2nd, 2009

As we do every month we list all destinations that are using Twitter and rank them using Twitter Grader.

February brought many changes to our ranking including a new Nr. 1: @BaltimoreMD put – literally – a lot of skin in the game, became the first destination with more than 3,000 followers and moved up to the top spot.

Congratulations to Tom and everybody else in Baltimore!

If you have not followed the “fail whale” tattoo story, you can read up on it here and also see a video of the “fail whale” finding it’s home on a nicely shaved leg. A must read for anybody who wants to see another great example of how to create a buzz with social media.

@VisitChicago and @TravelPortland (disclosure: we manage that account) also broke through 3,000 followers. @TravelPortland gained a lot more followers through the PR and attention created for the Portland Twisitor Center and @VisitChicago is just lucky to have somebody managing the account who really gets social media.

We will have a separate blog post later this week to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of trying to get as many followers as possible (a topic that has cause good debate in the past).

Overall we are now tracking more than 208 destinations in the US and Canada.

Here is the ranking for destinations as of February 28th. For some destinations grader did not return results so we estimated the grade (those grades are in italics).

Destinations	Rank Feb 09	Rank Change	Twitter Grade	Followers	Following	Updates
BaltimoreMD	1	3	99.93	3097	1885	1227
VisitChicago	2	-1	99.9	3121	3286	1166
ArizonaTourism	3	-1	99.8	1521	605	541
TravelPortland	4	1	99.7	3086	2925	406
ExpCols	5	-2	99.7	1457	1102	2470
TravelOregon	6	1	99.6	1316	1129	1377
visitphilly	7	-1	99.5	1418	1591	1392
paadventure	8	1	99.4	1448	1739	806
PositivelyCleve	9	1	99.4	1421	1208	498
enjoyillinois	10	2	99.4	1342	1403	637
lehighvalleypa	11	-3	99.4	1326	1989	1162
ColumbiaSC	12	-1	99.3	1499	1968	365
ScottsdaleAZ	13	0	99.1	1135	1120	175
MeetMinneapolis	14	0	99.1	912	626	280
VisitIndiana	15	1	98.9	638	299	721
VisitSanAntonio	16	7	98.8	1068	1063	331
SpringfieldCVB	17	-2	98.8	838	1043	474
ChooseChicago	18	33	98.7	1262	1998	73
Visit_Jax	19	19	98.6	434	342	122
VermontTourism	20	0	98.5	787	861	183
ashevilletravel	21	-4	98.5	609	476	549
visitmusiccity	22	12	98.4	780	432	137
visitflorida	23	-2	98.3	575	417	427
VisitMesa	24	-5	98.2	599	749	610
renotahoe	25	-7	98.2	541	242	146
VisitVirginia	26	-2	98.1	524	236	189
GeorgiaTourism	27	44	98	1042	1999	31
enjoyknoxville	28	9	97.8	594	650	159
VisitHoustonTX	29	34	97.7	503	295	243
discover_la	30	-8	97.7	486	600	451
InsideSonoma	31	-5	97.7	393	89	761
travelnevada	32	-7	97.5	452	321	130
visitkc	33	16	97.5	433	43	86
VisitNH	34	-5	97.4	392	192	160
DiscoverDupage	35	12	97.2	482	672	113
chicagonorthsub	36	5	97.2	481	456	38
GrandRapidsCVB	37	-6	97.2	427	454	181
Hillsborough	38	-8	97.2	385	340	370
VisitIdaho	39	17	97.2	370	49	210
CSCVB	40	61	97.1	509	657	15
Lancaster_PA	41	7	97.1	435	427	347
whatcomcounty	42	-14	97.1	411	497	323
visitmilwaukee	43	-10	97.1	380	72	15
travelcoosbay	44	-2	97	439	468	175
ColumbiaMOCVB	45	-13	97	403	490	253
VisitNantucket	46		96.9	599	1147	17
explorechicago	47	10	96.9	461	498	213
VisitFlagstaff	48	-13	96.9	327	122	298
UtahStateParks	49	-22	96.8	426	525	47
flee2thecleve	50	-6	96.8	409	495	308
visitfingerlake	51	-11	96.8	315	268	985
VisitFairfax	52	-7	96.7	412	676	129
visitphoenix	53	7	96.7	378	361	162
louisianatravel	54	48	96.6	392	472	339
fargomoorhead	55	-9	96.5	345	393	223
visitsandiego	56	23	96.5	323	17	33
GalvestonIsland	57	-21	96.5	312	316	641
ctccct	58	-3	96.4	400	170	288
chicagonw	59	-5	96.4	382	389	38
VisitTampaBay	60	-21	96.3	285	115	145
alabamabeaches	61		96.2	396	621	75
PensacolaCVB	62	-10	96.2	306	245	200
VaBeachCVB	63	-10	96.1	286	54	21
gorockford	64	-3	95.8	244	170	598
WilliamsportPA	65	-22	95.7	352	507	14
MyVancouver	66	-16	95.7	295	194	27
PhiladelphiaCVB	67	-1	95.7	286	92	6
TNVacation	68	-3	95.7	252	86	97
VisitMissouri	69	-7	95.6	275	160	31
LakeCoCVB	70	6	95.4	254	177	151
chattanoogafun	71	-3	95.4	232	19	30
AnnArborAreaCVB	72	-13	95.3	253	223	166
FortSmithCVB	73	-4	95.3	210	117	290
NewportBeach	74	1	95.2	236	83	71
BattleCreekCVB	75	-17	95	271	289	46
visit_SMC_SV	76	-4	95	258	324	82
insidealaska	77	-7	95	188	108	260
VisitAnnapolis	78		95	20	6	4
ChicagoNShore	79	13	94	335	427	21
VisitVF	80	-6	94	244	258	27
flaspacecoast	81	-17	94	222	286	103
PCBeach	82	-9	94	212	211	266
NebraskaTourism	83	16	94	180	109	83
KissHeartofFL	84	-1	94	165	116	172
SantaClaraCA	85	4	94	156	26	27
OahuVB	86		93	272	279	49
visitnewhaven	87		93	252	465	225
VisitSarasota	88	21	93	244	191	58
visitwv	89		93	219	288	56
NewportRICVB	90	-13	93	206	205	21
VisitLongBeach	91	14	93	196	123	22
southernoregon	92	-12	93	190	164	19
WCVA	93	-15	93	183	199	129
VisitDetroit	94	-4	93	172	140	31
DestWorcester	95	1	93	169	149	96
ShastaCascade	96	-14	93	153	353	99
MyMyrtleBeach	97	-3	93	150	99	64
TravelAlberta	98	-12	93	149	43	42
TravelSalem	99	5	93	148	135	91
VisitOakPark	100	-12	93	146	37	11
visit_loudoun	101	-34	93	144	75	173
VisitBtown	102	-9	93	136	29	107
westhollywood	103	-22	93	127	9	35
VisitAlton	104	28	92	221	361	21
VisitVallejo	105		92	208	230	111
visitmaine	106		92	194	133	25
ProvidenceRI	107	-10	92	190	151	86
MarylandTrip	108	-8	92	150	120	38
Visit_Wausau	109	-3	92	143	160	106
VisitJacksonMI	110	-26	92	138	79	11
SarasotaCVB	111	-13	92	126	81	90
SeeRockCity	112	-25	92	126	28	20
KentuckyTourism	113	32	91	139	28	11
Ludington_Area	114	12	91	126	134	143
Lislecvb	115	-12	91	126	123	4
Stockton_CVB	116	-8	91	100	12	25
Calistoga	117	-26	91	90	50	187
experiencewa	118		90	165	204	97
SedonaAZ	119		90	159	167	28
wisdells	120		90	114	35	65
Clarksville_CVB	121	-14	90	98	31	6
AlpharettaCVB	122	-10	90	92	53	33
Visit_Madison	123	-8	90	92	2	0
VisitSpokane	124		89	132	133	29
visitbgky	125		89	99	49	81
HarborCountry	126	-15	89	83	55	20
GrapevineGurl	127		89	82	54	238
ecacvb	128	-15	89	82	8	13
gotolouisville	129	-1	89	79	43	176
NewOrleansCVB	130		88	143	0	68
VisitBatesville	131		88	123	192	89
wyomingtourism	132	3	88	93	4	1
PulaskiCountyVC	133	-14	88	86	110	73
columbuscvb	134	-12	88	86	95	29
Greenville_SC	135		88	82	15	8
WarrenCountyOH	136	-13	88	66	8	6
VisitTuscaloosa	137		87	91	81	54
VisitNatchez	138	-21	87	89	41	37
PadreDude	139	-29	87	80	130	43
CorvallisScene	140	4	87	70	49	56
LansingCVB	141	-46	87	70	8	5
HeritageCVB	142	-26	87	69	34	16
SantaRosaCVB	143	-23	87	66	26	26
BenzieCounty	144	-23	87	64	16	7
VisitGrayling	145	-15	87	60	23	31
SouthHaven_CVB	146	-21	87	57	2	15
TravelWisconsin	147	-29	86	95	65	0
VisitSouthDel	148		85	84	97	47
BarbinIL	149		85	80	76	14
MemphisCVB	150		85	68	14	1
tourfrederickmd	151		85	65	2	3
ILMICanal	152	-25	85	56	21	9
readingberkspa	153	-6	85	55	2	9
MendocinoCounty	154	-30	85	48	6	8
VisitOmaha	155		84	64	1	0
StCharlesIL	156	-42	84	63	19	1
ClareCountyCVB	157	-28	84	48	10	4
visitorlando	158		83	67	66	6
oshkoshcvb	159		83	57	26	30
MiamiandBeaches	160	-18	83	56	13	17
fife_washington	161		82	66	83	15
Flagstaff_CVB	162	-26	82	64	0	0
victoriavisitor	163		82	53	19	9
Ypsilanti	164	-33	82	41	8	13
tourhendersonky	165		81	47	9	16
yakimavalley	166	-81	81	41	16	13
VisitRichmond	167		80	59	81	3
imtourism	168	-12	80	52	42	10
ClarksvilleCVB	169		80	47	18	6
GenevaIL	170	-37	80	45	9	3
paradisecoast	171	-31	80	43	6	16
AmNorthCoast	172		79	49	57	70
Visit_Vermont	173		79	48	44	39
UPTravel	174		79	42	18	22
MeetInSaltlake	175	-29	79	41	4	13
TuscarawasCoCVB	176		79	40	10	15
HollandAreaCVB	177	-40	79	33	4	3
CheyenneWY	178	-29	78	44	34	18
visit_sanjose	179	-25	77	43	0	3
BayCityMichigan	180	-37	77	31	5	5
VisitPontiacIL	181	-40	76	28	3	21
ButteCo	182	-44	76	28	9	3
Sevierville	183	-23	75	32	2	3
Lenawee_Fun	184	-34	74	35	0	8
AnaheimOC	185	-37	74	24	1	1
VisitLongviewTx	186		73	29	10	19
TravelKS	187	-32	72	30	24	12
DiscoverMonroe	188	-36	68	22	4	3
AshevilleCVB	189	-38	66	24	0	0
visitbemidji	190		66	22	13	13
visitbaker	191	-32	65	19	4	6
VisitAberdeenSD	192	-35	64	25	79	26
visitbigrapids	193	-54	64	20	6	4
WillmarLakes	194		64	18	3	11
visitsurrync	195	-33	63	22	0	2
WelcomeToEden	196	-35	62	25	0	3
IowaTourism	197	-39	59	19	0	1
TravelRedding	198		56	14	8	11
kingsportcvb	199	-46	53	19	0	0
dutchesstourism	200		45	14	0	2
BuffaloNiagara	201		42	9	8	3
NorfolkCVB	202	-39	0	0	0	0
brandingmontana	203	-39	0	0	0	0
TriValleyCVB	204		0	0	0	0
SaultCVB	205		0	0	0	0
WMTA1917	206		0	0	0	0
VacavilleCVB	207		0	0	0	0
MarshallMN	208		0	0	0	0

As usual please let us know who we are missing, @anneh632 already found 5 new destinations on Twitter. Please keep them coming.

Also, if you destination is not yet listed on TwisitorCenter.com please follow the account so we can follow back and your destinations will show up on the map with destinations that twitter.

Posted in Social Media, Tourism, Twitter | 8 Comments »

Twitter DMO / CVB Ranking Jan 09

February 1st, 2009

More tourism organizations found their way to Twitter in the first month of 2009. We now track over 160 in the US and Canada. (If we are missing some, please let us now – add as a comment or D @coldinpdx on Twitter).

Highlights:

We found 164 official Twitter accounts for destinations in the US & CA
@VisitChicago is still the most followed DMO
10 organizations have over 1,000 followers
Of the top 20, 3 accounts average more than 10 tweets per day (@ExpCols, @lehighvalleypa, @paadventure)
All counts combined have over 36,000 followers and have posted over 22,000 updates.
Combined the accounts we were tracking already in Dec 08 added more than 11,000 followers in January 09

As usual we used Twitter Grader to create the ranking. Changes in rank are for accounts we were already tracking in December 08, change is Jan 09 vs. Dec 08.

Three destinations appear to have stopped using Twitter: @TriValleyCVB, @SaultCVB and @WMTA1917.
–>

Destinations	Rank Jan 09	Rank Change	Twitter Grade	Followers	Following	Updates
VisitChicago	1	0	99.7	2047	2157	802
ArizonaTourism	2	4	99.5	1084	519	437
ExpCols	3	2	99.4	1015	898	2217
BaltimoreMD	4	-2	99.3	1475	2546	990
TravelPortland	5	31	99.3	1310	1407	248
visitphilly	6	-3	99.3	1113	1314	1226
TravelOregon	7	1	99.3	932	790	1126
lehighvalleypa	8	-4	99.2	1089	1771	914
paadventure	9	-2	99.1	1073	1381	556
PositivelyCleve	10	0	99.1	1066	1053	466
ColumbiaSC	11	6	98.9	1088	1979	238
enjoyillinois	12	0	98.8	821	909	393
ScottsdaleAZ	13	0	98.7	831	924	164
MeetMinneapolis	14	-3	98.5	693	618	238
SpringfieldCVB	15	-6	98.5	674	748	349
VisitIndiana	16	0	97.9	436	233	602
ashevilletravel	17	-3	97.7	427	316	475
renotahoe	18	-3	97.5	433	213	106
VisitMesa	19	1	97.4	457	580	412
VermontTourism	20	4	97.3	490	560	128
visitflorida	21	-2	97.1	414	419	419
discover_la	22	-1	96.6	363	482	391
VisitSanAntonio	23		96.5	480	887	169
VisitVirginia	24	5	96.4	317	157	156
travelnevada	25	-3	96.2	336	269	111
InsideSonoma	26	-3	96.2	264	55	525
UtahStateParks	27	-9	96.1	371	528	47
whatcomcounty	28	0	96.1	342	466	278
VisitNH	29	-3	96.1	279	129	134
Hillsborough	30	-5	95.8	294	280	312
GrandRapidsCVB	31	0	95.6	319	396	120
ColumbiaMOCVB	32	-5	95.6	307	401	210
visitmilwaukee	33	0	95.6	275	72	11
visitmusiccity	34		95.3	373	248	61
VisitFlagstaff	35	0	95.3	222	57	223
GalvestonIsland	36	-6	95.2	245	264	523
enjoyknoxville	37		95	389	522	116
Visit_Jax	38		95	228	115	64
VisitTampaBay	39		95	218	106	131
visitfingerlake	40	-6	95	190	162	613
chicagonorthsub	41	4	94	312	428	33
travelcoosbay	42		94	289	445	78
WilliamsportPA	43	-2	94	280	508	11
flee2thecleve	44	-12	94	257	284	217
VisitFairfax	45	-8	94	253	288	106
fargomoorhead	46	2	94	247	366	163
DiscoverDupage	47		94	243	333	79
Lancaster_PA	48		94	235	179	170
visitkc	49	-3	94	233	41	72
MyVancouver	50	34	94	215	12	21
ChooseChicago	51	-13	94	192	120	46
PensacolaCVB	52	-13	94	188	161	154
VaBeachCVB	53	-4	94	184	54	21
chicagonw	54	-2	93	239	274	34
ctccct	55		93	233	133	181
VisitIdaho	56	0	93	228	22	130
explorechicago	57		93	220	234	120
BattleCreekCVB	58	-16	93	206	256	39
AnnArborAreaCVB	59	-16	93	178	159	156
visitphoenix	60		93	174	154	53
gorockford	61	-4	93	151	116	465
VisitMissouri	62	-22	93	149	46	31
VisitHoustonTX	63		92	201	98	116
flaspacecoast	64		92	178	261	95
TNVacation	65		92	160	85	97
PhiladelphiaCVB	66		92	146	31	5
visit_loudoun	67		92	144	75	173
chattanoogafun	68	-15	92	143	14	24
FortSmithCVB	69	-25	92	136	75	222
insidealaska	70	-20	92	113	58	208
GeorgiaTourism	71		91	255	659	10
visit_SMC_SV	72		91	152	164	56
PCBeach	73		91	146	152	212
VisitVF	74	-27	91	135	119	24
NewportBeach	75		91	134	73	44
LakeCoCVB	76	7	91	130	84	70
NewportRICVB	77		90	154	204	16
WCVA	78	-27	90	143	164	105
visitsandiego	79		90	141	17	31
southernoregon	80	-18	90	129	116	13
westhollywood	81	-26	90	101	8	30
ShastaCascade	82	-28	89	114	354	94
KissHeartofFL	83		89	110	103	107
VisitJacksonMI	84	-25	89	110	79	9
yakimavalley	85		89	110	79	9
TravelAlberta	86		89	98	38	39
SeeRockCity	87		89	84	25	17
VisitOakPark	88	-20	88	91	31	9
SantaClaraCA	89		88	84	25	20
VisitDetroit	90	-30	88	78	37	22
Calistoga	91	-33	88	73	37	185
ChicagoNShore	92	-28	87	130	149	16
VisitBtown	93	-28	87	95	27	71
MyMyrtleBeach	94		87	88	76	51
LansingCVB	95	-32	87	70	8	5
DestWorcester	96	-18	86	108	113	64
ProvidenceRI	97		86	101	114	50
SarasotaCVB	98		86	77	71	79
NebraskaTourism	99		85	94	90	48
MarylandTrip	100		85	89	64	27
CSCVB	101		85	89	64	27
louisianatravel	102		85	85	79	49
Lislecvb	103	-32	84	85	58	4
TravelSalem	104		84	70	42	50
VisitLongBeach	105		84	66	38	5
Visit_Wausau	106		84	62	52	68
Clarksville_CVB	107	-41	84	62	31	5
Stockton_CVB	108	-38	84	52	4	19
VisitSarasota	109		83	90	134	15
PadreDude	110	-36	83	62	53	40
HarborCountry	111	-44	83	58	56	20
AlpharettaCVB	112	-51	83	58	45	29
ecacvb	113	-40	83	53	8	12
StCharlesIL	114	-42	82	63	19	2
Visit_Madison	115	-29	82	60	2	0
HeritageCVB	116	-37	81	57	30	16
VisitNatchez	117		80	56	41	35
TravelWisconsin	118		79	63	65	0
PulaskiCountyVC	119		79	60	87	35
SantaRosaCVB	120	-51	79	43	25	25
BenzieCounty	121	-45	78	37	14	6
columbuscvb	122		77	52	62	17
WarrenCountyOH	123	-32	77	35	8	4
MendocinoCounty	124	-49	77	33	6	6
SouthHaven_CVB	125	-43	77	32	3	13
Ludington_Area	126		76	49	88	75
ILMICanal	127	-50	76	42	22	9
gotolouisville	128		76	38	17	54
ClareCountyCVB	129	-26	76	32	10	4
VisitGrayling	130	-49	75	33	20	22
Ypsilanti	131	-43	75	31	8	13
VisitAlton	132	-37	73	35	20	15
GenevaIL	133	-53	73	35	10	3
wyomingtourism	135		72	32	4	1
Flagstaff_CVB	136	-42	70	36	0	0
HollandAreaCVB	137	-47	70	24	4	3
ButteCo	138	-53	70	23	9	3
visitbigrapids	139	-52	68	20	6	4
paradisecoast	140		66	23	7	11
VisitPontiacIL	141		65	21	3	21
MiamiandBeaches	142	-42	64	23	13	14
BayCityMichigan	143	-54	64	21	5	5
CorvallisScene	144		62	25	31	8
KentuckyTourism	145		62	21	11	4
MeetInSaltlake	146	-49	58	16	4	11
readingberkspa	147		58	16	2	4
AnaheimOC	148	-56	58	13	1	1
CheyenneWY	149		55	18	17	5
Lenawee_Fun	150	-54	54	21	0	7
AshevilleCVB	151	-58	54	18	0	0
DiscoverMonroe	152		48	11	4	3
kingsportcvb	153	-55	45	13	0	0
visit_sanjose	154		44	15	0	3
TravelKS	155		41	9	6	2
imtourism	156		36	6	3	5
VisitAberdeenSD	157		34	10	79	8
IowaTourism	158	-59	29	6	0	1
visitbaker	159		26	4	3	2
Sevierville	160		25	8	0	0
WelcomeToEden	161		16	5	0	0
visitsurrync	162		14	4	0	2
NorfolkCVB	163	-59	0	0	0	0
brandingmontana	164	-59	0	0	0	0

(Full disclosure: we work with Travel Portland on their social media strategy and are currently managing the Twitter account for @TravelPortland).

Posted in Twitter | 16 Comments »

If you’ve got it, flaunt it

January 22nd, 2009

Apparently, “that which does not kill us only makes us stronger”, so in a time when budgets are tightening and consumer confidence is declining an unprecedented emphasis is placed on creativity and differentiation.

And a few brands are raising to the occasion and using their, shall we say assets, to gain attention in new, authentic and honest ways. Whether or not you would deem these strategies effective or complete flops they are at the very least unexpected.

25 years and still red hot

The story and brand attributes of Virgin Atlantic are widely known, and that is precisely why this ad, celebrating what at times seemed like an impossible milestone, is so effective. See for yourself:

Anniversary commercial

However, you do not have to take my word for it, Richard Branson, explains his airline’s success:

Who’d have thought 25 years ago that Virgin Atlantic would be the leading airline player it is today?

Now, we use 38 aircraft to fly six million people a year to 30 destinations around the world.

Our 9,000 staff have built an airline that, after 25 years, is still red hot; an airline that focuses on being the best, not the biggest, and injects customer service and innovation into its daily philosophy.

By emphasizing the same brand attributes that have engaged and intrigued audiences for 25 years, Virgin Atlantic created a spot that is both authentic and entertaining to consumers.

Philadelphia: a good sport with a sense of humor

All things considered it could have / should have been a really tough week for the great people of Philadelphia.

First of all their beloved Eagles lost to the Arizona Cardinals, which is rough enough, but to make matters worse their twitter account (@visitphilly) was forced to use a Cardinals logo as their avatar for the week.

This costume change was part of a friendly wager they engaged in with our friends at the Arizona Office of Tourism (@ArizonaTourism) prior to the game. While this could have been a convenient time to take a Twitter time-out the account has been active all week, dressed as the Arizona mascot.

Then while minding their own business the City of Brotherly Love was the butt of some of political humorist, Jon Stewart’s jokes.

The original blog post is witty and well written; so there is no need for me to rewrite it for you, find all the details here.

Once again the city responded in stride, willing to let it go, but not before they got a couple of their own good-hearted digs out against Stewart. “Well, Jon, we’re used to this kind of thing and we know how to respond: Philadelphia, the city that bleeps you back.”

Proving that having a sense of humor and sharing your personality especially in the world of social media can only serve to boost your brand and inspire your enthusiasts to rally behind you.

No visitors, no problem

Ontario Tourism has created a contest that Algoma hopes will put it on the map.

The Great Ontario Outdoors Adventure of a Lifetime contest will hand out a week-long adventure for four through Algoma’s wilderness and along Lake Superior’s northeast shore.

And the big winner will be the area’s tourism industry, says the executive director of Ontario’s Algoma Country.

It is the lack of visitors, serene surroundings and available excursions that make Algoma the perfect location for this adventure seeker’s dream vacation. While it is yet to been seen if this promotion will be enough to put Algoma on the map, as they hope, the honesty regarding their tourism is refreshing.

Additionally, Ontario has turned what most deem as a negative, a lack of visitors, into the centerpiece of their promotion. In the current economic climate there is no better time than the present to position negatives as positives.

Rather than try to recreate the wheel with your marketing efforts try using attributes, situations or even perceived weaknesses that your brand currently possesses and repackage them in new ways in order to gain attention and build authenticity.

What do you think, are there other great examples that we missed? Please let us know.

Thank you to MPR529, Rubenstein and mike_miley for photos.

Posted in Industry Observations, Social Media, Tourism, Twitter, Web 2.0 | 1 Comment »

Are you ready for Island Idol?

January 12th, 2009

Tourism Queensland yesterday launched a big user-generated-content campaign: the Australian version of “Island Idol”. Visitors are invited to submit a casting video on www.islandreefjob.com and apply for the job of Island Caretaker in the Great Barrier Reef:

The Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef is a newly created position. There are a few minor tasks that need to be taken care of, but the most important duty is to report back to Tourism Queensland (and the world) and let us know what’s taking place on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

The promotion was launched on a very nice (but flash heavy) microsite and supported by a very clever PR campaign.

Videos are submitted to the site but hosted on YouTube. About 30 videos have been submitted so far. Tourism Queensland will select 10 candidates and the public can select one wildcard candiate. All will be flown to Queensland where the final selection will be made. And one lucky winner will get to live in the Barrier Reef for 6 months and be paid to go sailing, snorkeling etc. and blog about it. Oh, the salary: A$150,000 for six months.

Another destination that launched a video contest today was Discover LA. For the launch of the new “That’s so LA” campaign consumers are asked to submit a video (or a photo) for a chance to win one of 5 LA weekends and $1,000 in cash. Videos are uploaded on the site and also hosted on DiscoverLA.com. Very few videos have been submitted but some of the ones that have been uploaded look like they might infringe on copyright for music used in the background (but then – I am not a lawyer.)

And the third destination to launch a YouTube video contest is CapeTown Tourism. The contest does not indicate whether it is the work of the official Capetown Tourism organization or somebody else. Users can submit a video to win 2 tickets on a cruise that departs on Feb 14th. Winners for the contest will be announced just 2 weeks before on Feb 2nd. Does not give the winner a lot of time to pack …

Overall thoughts:

The Tourism Queensland campaign is not cheap but beautifully executed. Great idea, great website, great YouTube integration, great PR. They will get their money’s worth, even with the high cost involved. By hosting the videos on YouTube Tourism Queensland minimizes the risk of copyright infringement plus benefits from the power of YouTube – the YouTube channel for the contest was the 4th most watched channel in Australia today. By hosting the videos themselves Discover LA misses out on the viral opportunities YouTube offers.

But YouTube alone is not the way to go as the Capetown contest shows. I challenge you to find the information about the rules and the prize on the site. Without a microsite to support it is hard to run a video contest on YouTube.

The biggest challenge for video contest is the high hurdle for engaging people. If you do not get a lot of people really excited about the idea and/or about the prize you will not get a lot of videos.

So don’t do a video contest it if you can not do it right.

Anybody wants to guess how many videos will be uploaded on
- Feb 2nd when the Capetown Tourism contest closes
- Feb 22nd (or earlier if more than 30,000 applications are received) for the Queensland contest
- June 1st, when the Discover LA contest closes?

Your thoughts on video contests in general?

Posted in Industry Observations, Tourism, Web 2.0 | 1 Comment »

Followers or posts – what is more time-consuming?

January 12th, 2009

Using our monthly statistic about destinations on Twitter we thought it would be interesting to analyze the number of followers and number of posts in more detail.
One school of thought on Twitter is that if you write tweets are people find interesting and helpful, your number of followers will grow. So lots of time should be spend on creating good content.
But reality is different. Try to build a following this way and unless something else happens (e.g. media talking about your Twitter efforts) it will take a long, long time to get to a larger number of followers.

Quite a few destinations therefore conduct follow-unfollow campaigns to grow the number of their friends.

But this is also time-consuming and has to be done right as Twitter will shut down accounts that have a big imbalance between followers and being-followed.

We use the followers/updates rating as a metric that we track each month for the accounts we manage. It tells us how successful we are in creating good content and in growing our following. We only looked at destinations that were on our list on Dec. 31st and had posted more than 10 updates.

Comparing these ratios between different accounts is not as meaningful when you look at them only as a snapshot and not as development over time.

Here is how to read this: WilliamsportPA twittered 10 times and got 219 followers. GoRockford on the other hand twittered 264 times and had on 12/31 only 71 followers. The ExpCol account that is fed by an RSS sent 1863 updates and had 705 followers. Paadventure has more followers and got there with only 221 updates.
(Full disclosure: we are working with TravelPortland – Nr. 34 on the list – on developing and implementing their social media strategy which includes Twitter activities)

	Destinations	Followers 12/31/2008	Updates 12/31/2008	Followers / Updates Ratio
1	WilliamsportPA	219	10	21.9
2	UtahStateParks	322	47	6.9
3	chicagonorthsub	121	18	6.7
4	VisitVF	112	19	5.9
5	VaBeachCVB	102	21	4.9
6	chicagonw	107	25	4.3
7	renotahoe	337	82	4.1
8	choosechicago	136	34	4.0
9	westhollywood	84	21	4.0
10	BattleCreekCVB	134	34	3.9
11	paadventure	841	221	3.8
12	chattanoogafun	76	20	3.8
13	ScottsdaleAZ	420	114	3.7
14	VisitMissouri	114	31	3.7
15	HeritageCVB	33	10	3.3
16	HarborCountry	56	17	3.3
17	VermontTourism	204	66	3.1
18	Stockton_CVB	34	12	2.8
19	GrandRapidsCVB	185	67	2.8
20	MeetMinneapolis	476	180	2.6
21	VisitDetroit	54	21	2.6
22	VisitChicago	1272	516	2.5
23	travelnevada	237	104	2.3
24	ColumbiaSC	330	151	2.2
25	SpringfieldCVB	573	267	2.1
26	AlpharettaCVB	53	25	2.1
27	enjoyillinois	482	235	2.1
28	visitkc	113	56	2.0
29	VisitNH	195	101	1.9
30	ArizonaTourism	670	348	1.9
31	PositivelyCleve	748	396	1.9
32	VisitFairfax	175	93	1.9
33	LakeCoCVB	26	14	1.9
34	TravelPortland	226	126	1.8
35	VisitMesa	280	166	1.7
36	VisitGrayling	26	16	1.6
37	lehighvalleypa	852	551	1.5
38	SantaRosaCVB	37	24	1.5
39	Ypsilanti	20	13	1.5
40	BaltimoreMD	1157	759	1.5
41	fargomoorhead	109	72	1.5
42	WCVA	118	84	1.4
43	VisitVirginia	167	124	1.3
44	ColumbiaMOCVB	205	157	1.3
45	VisitBtown	49	39	1.3
46	PensacolaCVB	123	104	1.2
47	whatcomcounty	197	168	1.2
48	PadreDude	42	37	1.1
49	ShastaCascade	97	87	1.1
50	flee2thecleve	183	166	1.1
51	VisitIdaho	74	70	1.1
52	VisitFlagstaff	128	140	0.9
53	visitphilly	856	1032	0.8
54	AnnArborAreaCVB	111	139	0.8
55	ashevilletravel	332	423	0.8
56	Hillsborough	195	251	0.8
57	discover_la	246	325	0.8
58	TravelOregon	646	883	0.7
59	visitflorida	280	411	0.7
60	DestWorcester	32	47	0.7
61	VisitIndiana	257	487	0.5
62	GalvestonIsland	220	421	0.5
63	InsideSonoma	189	372	0.5
64	FortSmithCVB	99	203	0.5
65	insidealaska	71	146	0.5
66	ExpCols	705	1863	0.4
67	visitfingerlake	129	413	0.3
68	Calistoga	56	180	0.3
69	gorockford	71	264	0.3

So the learning form this? You need to spend time on tweets and on growing your number of followers. And you need to develop metrics to measure the efficiency of your twitter efforts over time.

What are your thoughts on this?

Posted in Social Media, Twitter | 2 Comments »

Facing budget cuts? Talk to your politicians on Twitter!

January 8th, 2009

When we were doing a social media workshop for Convention & Visitor bureaus in Michigan last year we had one participant who was very doubtful that Twitter would be useful for him. We discussed the various ways Twitter can be a useful tool. Besides using it to listening to customers and talking to them we pointed out that Twitter can also be a great tool to talk to media and politicians. Why? Because if you want to pitch a story to a newspaper or talk to your congressman via “traditional” channels, you face a lot of competition. If you use Twitter, you are – at the moment – one of very few using this medium. Hence you have a much better chance of being heard.

At our workshop we quickly did a search for Michigan politicians on Twitter (this was before Twittersearch was castrated) and wouldn’t you know it – the head of the Ways & Means committee for the Michigan house was on Twitter. Not an unimportant contact when it comes to state budgets.

Fast forward to today (Jan 7th): the Florida Tourism industry started a Twitter account to share their thoughts on the proposed 40% cut of the Florida tourism budget (see story here). Why are not more tourism organizations doing this? Get on Twitter and tell your story – economic impact, job creation, tax revenues etc. If you use traditional media you compete with banks, the automotive industry and – who knew – the porn industry (see story on CNN here) who are all lobbying for money and all have much deeper pockets.

Are you following your politicians on Twitter? Have you ever talked to them on Twitter? Why not?

To get you started I have prepared a (very ugly) list of some politicians who I found on Twitter (surprisingly there is no complete list anywhere, if you find one, let me know. The Twitter Fan Wiki lists many branches of the US government and their Twitter accounts but some of the accounts for politicians are fake).

Name	State	Twitter Account
Rep. John Boozman	AR	http://twitter.com/JohnBoozman
Rep. Jeff Flake	AZ	http://twitter.com/JeffFlake
Rep. KevonMcCarthy	CA	http://twitter.com/kevinomccarthy
Rep. Mike Honda	CA	http://twitter.com/mikehonda
Rep. Nancy Pelosi	CA	http://twitter.com/nancypelosi
Sen. Barbara Boxer	CA	http://twitter.com/Barbara_Boxer
Sen. Hillary Clinton	CA	http://twitter.com/hillaryclinton
Rep. George Miller	CA	http://twitter.com/boblatta
Rep. Christopher Shays	CT	http://twitter.com/ShaysCongress
Sen. Chris Dodd	CT	http://twitter.com/SenChrisDodd
Sen. Joe Biden	DE	http://twitter.com/joebiden
Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen	FL	http://twitter.com/IRL
Rep. Kendrick Meek	FL	http://twitter.com/kendrickbmeek
Sen. Elect Matt Rector	GU	http://twitter.com/MattRector
Rep. Neil Abercrombie	HI	http://twitter.com/neilabercrombie
Rep. Tom Latham	IA	http://twitter.com/TomLatham
Sen. Charles Grassley	IA	http://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley
President-elect Barack Obama	IL	http://twitter.com/BarackObama
Rep. John Shimkus	IL	http://twitter.com/RepShimkus
Rep. Dan Burton	IN	http://twitter.com/danburton
Rep. John Yarmuth	KY	http://twitter.com/Yarmuth
Rep. Candice Miller	MI	http://twitter.com/candicemiller
Rep. Peter Hoekstra	MI	http://twitter.com/petehoekstra
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter	MI	http://twitter.com/ThadMcCotter
Rep. Keith Ellison	MN	http://twitter.com/keithellison
Rep. Michelle Bachmann	MN	http://twitter.com/MicheleBachmann
Rep. Roy Blunt	MO	http://twitter.com/RepRoyBlunt
Sen. Scott Rupp	MO	http://twitter.com/Senator_Rupp
Rep. Dennis Rehberg	MT	http://twitter.com/dennyrehberg
Senator Tom Udall	NM	http://twitter.com/tomudall
Rep. John Kuhl	NY	http://twitter.com/RandyKuhl
Rep. Bob Latta	OH	http://twitter.com/TomLatham
Rep. Jim Jordan	OH	http://twitter.com/jiminhofe
Rep. John Boehner	OH	http://twitter.com/johnboehner
Rep. Tim Ryan	OH	http://twitter.com/timryan
Rep. Bob Latta	OH	http://twitter.com/boblatta
Sen. Jim Inhofe	OK	http://twitter.com/jiminhofe
Rep. Earl Blumenauer	OR	http://twitter.com/repblumenauer
Rep. Greshman Barrett	SC	http://twitter.com/greshambarrett
Rep. Joe Wilson	SC	http://twitter.com/CongJoeWilson
Rep. Robert Inglis	SC	http://twitter.com/bobinglis
Sen. Jim DeMint	SC	http://twitter.com/jimdemint
Rep. Joe Wilson	SC	http://twitter.com/CongJoeWilson
Rep. Don Kopp	SD	http://twitter.com/Rep_Kopp
Rep. John Culberson	TX	http://twitter.com/johnculberson
Rep. Michael Burgess	TX	http://twitter.com/michaelcburgess
Sen. John Cornyn	TX	http://twitter.com/JohnCornyn
Rep. Eric Cantor	VA	http://twitter.com/EricCantor
Rep. Randy Forbes	VA	http://twitter.com/Randy_Forbes
Rep. Robert Wittman	VA	http://twitter.com/RobWittman

Now go and find your local politicians and connect with them as well. Can you imagine 40 or 50 constituents contacting a politician on the same day to talk about a specific subject? Maybe also tell the press about it … I guarantee this would get noticed.
It will be interesting to see what Florida Tourism will make out of the Twitter account, it would be nice if they would add a description and a link to a website so people can find out more information. Oh, it would also help to follow some Florida politicians and media. But overall a great step in the very right direction.

Feedback and comments as always very welcome. Leave them on the blog or find me at @coldinpdx .

Posted in Industry Observations, Tourism, Web 2.0 | 3 Comments »

Which state gets the most out of Twitter?

January 6th, 2009

If you have any interest how other destinations are having success with Twitter make sure to read a very insightful comment from @paadventure on yesterday’s blog post. Thanks for sharing!

Based on your feedback we have added more destinations to our growing list of tourism organizations on Twitter.
@travelynnmo pointed out a very good point: many destinations have several Twitter accounts “powered” by different staff members. While this is a very valid strategy we are tracking (at the moment) just the main Twitter accounts as otherwise this exercise would get out of hands. But please share with us all accounts your organization is using, then we can start a separate list.

So, are more and more tourism organization starting to chirp?

See for yourself:

The two phases for growth were certainly influenced by a hands-on social media workshop we did for DMOs in Michigan at the end of September and a workshop ChicagoPlus did for it’s member DMOs in December.

And for sure we are still missing many other tourism organizations that are using Twitter. To make it easier for you to tell us which ones we are not tracking we have prepared an overview per state (US & CA).

We have added new destinations over the last days to the list, however we do not have data for them for number of followers and updates, even if they joined before Dec. 31 of 2008.

While the number of followers in itself can be a misleading indicator (quality vs. quantity) I find it nevertheless impressive that of the DMOs we are tracking @VisitChicago or @BaltimoreMD have more followers than all DMOs from Florida and California combined.

Destinations	City / State	First tweet	Followers 12/31/2008	Updates 12/31/2008
insidealaska	Alaska	7/29/08	71	146
Total Alaska			71	146

ArizonaTourism	Arizona	6/27/08	670	348
ScottsdaleAZ	Scottsdale, AZ	10/2/08	420	114
VisitMesa	Mesa, AZ	11/18/08	280	166
VisitFlagstaff	Flagstaff, AZ	10/15/08	128	140
Flagstaff_CVB	Flagstaff, AZ	-	17	0
visitphoenix	Phoenix, AZ	7/17/08
Total Arizona			1515	768

MyVancouver	Vancouver, BC	10/10/08	24	8
Total BC			24	8

discover_la	Los Angeles, CA	9/4/08	246	325
InsideSonoma	Sonoma, CA	7/3/08	189	372
ShastaCascade	Shasta Cascada, CA	5/29/08	97	87
westhollywood	West Hollywood, CA	11/10/08	84	21
Calistoga	Calistoga, CA	9/2/07	56	180
SantaRosaCVB	Santa Rosa, CA	10/1/08	37	24
MendocinoCounty	Mendocino County, CA	10/1/08	29	6
ButteCo	Butte County, CA	10/1/08	20	3
AnaheimOC	Anaheim, CA	7/23/08	12	1
TriValleyCVB	Tri Valley, CA	7/23/08	0	0
Total California			770	1019

visitflorida	Florida	7/24/08	280	411
PensacolaCVB	Pensacola, FL	5/20/08	123	104
MiamiandBeaches	Miami, FL	12/29/08	2	3
Total Florida			405	518

VisitIdaho	Idaho	11/4/08	74	70
Total Idaho			74	70

VisitChicago	Chicago, IL	10/3/08	1272	516
enjoyillinois	Illinois	10/15/08	482	235
choosechicago	Chicago, IL	9/10/08	136	34
chicagonorthsub	Prospect Heights, IL	12/3/08	121	18
chicagonw	Woodfield, IL	12/3/08	107	25
gorockford	Rockford, IL	11/21/08	71	264
ChicagoNShore	Chicago North Shore, IL	12/3/08	70	8
VisitOakPark	Oak Park, IL	12/3/08	50	6
Lislecvb	Lisle, IL	12/3/08	49	4
StCharlesIL	St. Charles, IL	12/3/08	40	2
ILMICanal	I&M Canal, IL	12/3/-8	34	9
HeritageCVB	Herritage Corridor, IL	12/3/08	33	10
GenevaIL	Geneva, IL	12/3/-8	29	3
VisitGrayling	Grayling, IL	10/3/08	26	16
LakeCoCVB	Lake County, IL	12/18/08	26	14
VisitAlton	Alton Riverbend Area, IL	11/17/08	14	5
DiscoverDupage	Dupage, IL	12/3/08
CSCVB	Chicago Southland, IL	11/21/08
VisitPontiacIL	Pontiac, IL	11/17/08
explorechicago	Chicago, IL	1/6/09
Total Illinois			2560	1169

VisitIndiana	Indiana	8/27/08	257	487
Total Indiana			257	487

IowaTourism	Iowa	11/11/08	4	1
Total Iowa			4	1

visitkc	Kansas City, KS	9/26/08	113	56
Total Kansas			113	56

DestWorcester	Worchester, MA	11/10/08	32	47
Total Massachusetts			32	47

BaltimoreMD	Baltimore, MD	7/30/08	1157	759
MarylandTrip	Maryland	12/31/08
Total Maryland			1157	759

GrandRapidsCVB	Grand Rapids, MI	9/29/08	185	67
BattleCreekCVB	Battle Creek, MI	9/29/08	134	34
AnnArborAreaCVB	Ann Arbor, MI	9/29/08	111	139
VisitJacksonMI	Jackson, MI	9/29/08	80	8
VisitDetroit	Detroit, MI	9/29/08	54	21
AlpharettaCVB	Alpharette, GA	9/19/08	53	25
LansingCVB	Lansing, MI	9/29/08	48	5
HarborCountry	Harbor Country, MI	9/29/08	56	17
BenzieCounty	Benzie County, MI	9/29/08	28	6
SouthHaven_CVB	South Haven, MI	9/29/08	19	9
visitbigrapids	Big Rapids, MI	9/29/08	17	4
Ypsilanti	Ypsilanti, MI	9/29/08	20	13
BayCityMichigan	Bay City, MI	9/29/08	18	5
HollandAreaCVB	Holland, MI	9/29/08	18	3
Lenawee_Fun	Lenawee County, MI	10/8/07	17	7
SaultCVB	Sault, MI	9/29/08	0	0
ClareCountyCVB	Clare County, MI	9/29/08	0	0
WMTA1917	West Michigan, MI	9/9/08	0	0
Total Michigan			858	363

MeetMinneapolis	Minneapolis, MN	5/5/08	476	180
VisitBtown	Bloomington, MN	11/17/08	49	39
Total Minnesota			525	219

SpringfieldCVB	Springfield, MO	9/3/08	573	267
ColumbiaMOCVB	Columbia, MO	10/10/08	205	157
VisitMissouri	Missouri	9/25/08	114	31
Total Missouri			892	455

brandingmontana	Montana		0	0
Total Montana			0	0

ashevilletravel	Asheville, NC	3/12/08	332	423
Hillsborough	Hillsborough, NC	2/20/08	195	251
ecacvb	Elisabeth City, NC	10/1/08	36	9
AshevilleCVB	Asheville	-	19	0
Total North Carolina			582	683

fargomoorhead	Fargo, ND	10/16/08	109	72
Total North Dakota			109	72

VisitNH	New Hampshire	9/12/08	195	101
Total New Hamsphire			195	101

renotahoe	Reno / Tahoe, NV	4/3/08	337	82
travelnevada	Nevada	4/2/08	237	104
Total Nevada			574	186

visitfingerlake	Finger Lakes, NY	9/3/07	129	413
Total New York			129	413

ExpCols	Columbus, OH	5/18/08	705	1863
PositivelyCleve	Cleveland, OH	5/26/08	748	396
flee2thecleve	Cleveland, OH	5/31/08	183	166
WarrenCountyOH	Warren County, OH	11/26/08	17	2
Total Ohio			1653	2427

TravelOregon	Oregon	5/2/08	646	883
TravelPortland	Portland, OR	12/1/08	226	126
WCVA	Washington County, OR	8/4/08	118	84
southernoregon	Southern Oregon, OR	11/15/08	72	8
CorvallisScene	Corvallis, OR	12/16/08
travelcoosbay	Coos Bay, OR	12/28/08
Total Oregon			1062	1101

visitphilly	Philadelphia, PA	7/29/08	856	1032
lehighvalleypa	Lehigh Valley, PA	10/10/08	852	551
paadventure	Pennsylvania	10/13/08	841	221
WilliamsportPA	Williamsport, PA	1/3/08	219	10
VisitVF	Valley Forge, PA	7/23/08	112	19
Total Pennsylvania			2880	1833

ProvidenceRI	Providence, RI	12/8/08
Total Rhode Island

ColumbiaSC	Columbia, SC	11/12/07	330	151
MyMyrtleBeach	Myrtle Beach, SC	11/12/08
Total South Carolina			330	151

chattanoogafun	Cattagooga, TN	10/10/08	76	20
Clarksville_CVB	Clarksville, TN	10/9/08	46	5
kingsportcvb	Kingsport, TN		12	0
Total Tennessee			134	25

GalvestonIsland	Galvaston, TX	6/21/08	220	421
FortSmithCVB	Forth Smith, TX	10/19/07	99	203
PadreDude	South Padre Island, TX	7/17/07	42	37
Total Texas			361	661

UtahStateParks	Utah State Parks	10/1/08	322	47
MeetInSaltlake	Salt Lake City, UT	11/10/08	8	8
Total Utah			330	55

VisitVirginia	Virginia	9/15/08	167	124
VisitFairfax	Farifax, VA	9/2/08	175	93
VaBeachCVB	Virginia Beach, VA	7/29/08	102	21
Stockton_CVB	Stockton, VA	8/26/08	34	12
NorfolkCVB	Norfolk, VA	-	0	0
Total Virginia			478	250

VermontTourism	Vermont	9/7/08	204	66
Total Vermont			204	66

whatcomcounty	Whatcom County, WA	10/17/08	197	168
Total Washington			197	168

visitmilwaukee	Milwaukee, WI	11/6/08	160	9
Visit_Madison	Madison, WI		22	0
Total Wisconsin			182	9

But these can’t be all! Who else are we missing?

We want to know, even if this growing list is becoming more and more work …

Posted in Industry Observations, Social Media, Tourism, Twitter, Web 2.0 | 10 Comments »

Fastest growing destinations on Twitter

January 6th, 2009

Yesterday we published our monthly ranking of US tourism organizations on Twitter. Over the next days we will analyze the data some more and see if Twitter is really having an impact on tourism or if it just a fad.

In this post we rank the 50 destinations that picked up the most followers in December of 08.

Pennylvania picked up almost 500 new followers, followed by Cleveland and Chicagoland.

Soon several DMOs will have more than 1,000 followers and if you look at the average number of daily updates this means that it will be possible to make several thousand contacts with consumes every day.

Rank Dec	Destinations	Change Followers	Average updates / day	Followers / Updates Ratio
1	paadventure	491	3.6	3.8
2	PositivelyCleve	392	6.1	1.9
3	VisitChicago	319	7.6	2.5
4	lehighvalleypa	307	7.6	1.5
5	SpringfieldCVB	229	6.1	2.1
6	TravelOregon	211	7.2	0.7
7	enjoyillinois	209	3.1	2.1
8	TravelPortland	208	4.1	1.8
9	ScottsdaleAZ	207	1.8	3.7
10	visitflorida	184	4.5	0.7
11	ArizonaTourism	165	2.8	1.9
12	BaltimoreMD	146	6.5	1.5
13	visitphilly	146	5.6	0.8
14	MeetMinneapolis	144	2.0	2.6
15	GrandRapidsCVB	138	1.5	2.8
16	ExpCols	106	12.1	0.4
17	whatcomcounty	105	2.2	1.2
18	ColumbiaMOCVB	103	3.5	1.3
19	WilliamsportPA	100	0.2	21.9
20	renotahoe	98	1.1	4.1
21	discover_la	97	2.7	0.8
22	VisitFairfax	87	1.3	1.9
23	flee2thecleve	85	2.4	1.1
24	VisitIndiana	84	4.0	0.5
25	ColumbiaSC	79	0.9	2.2
26	InsideSonoma	70	3.6	0.5
27	visitmilwaukee	69	0.1	17.8
28	VermontTourism	65	0.8	3.1
29	VisitNH	58	0.6	1.9
30	travelnevada	54	0.5	2.3
31	ashevilletravel	53	1.6	0.8
32	southernoregon	50	0.1	9.0
33	VisitVirginia	48	0.7	1.3
34	fargomoorhead	48	1.5	1.5
35	visitkc	45	0.6	2.0
36	VisitFlagstaff	43	2.5	0.9
37	UtahStateParks	42	0.1	6.9
38	WCVA	41	1.0	1.4
39	visitfingerlake	36	4.0	0.3
40	AnnArborAreaCVB	32	0.8	0.8
41	BattleCreekCVB	31	0.2	3.9
42	FortSmithCVB	29	1.5	0.5
43	VisitMissouri	26	0.0	3.7
44	VaBeachCVB	25	0.1	4.9
45	PensacolaCVB	24	0.7	1.2
46	insidealaska	21	2.2	0.5
47	Hillsborough	20	1.4	0.8
48	chattanoogafun	20	0.2	3.8
49	HarborCountry	20	0.1	3.3
50	VisitJacksonMI	16	0.0	10.0

And here is a quick look at the growth rates for the three most followed and three fastest growing destinations over the last 3 months.

Most followed:

Fastest growing:

Of course now we all want to know what @paadventure did on December 2nd when they picked up 200 new users in just one day.

And don’t forget: if you work for a tourism organization and have not participated in the “Social Media in Tourism” survey then please click here and give us your thoughts. The survey will close at the end of this week.

Posted in Tourism, Twitter, Uncategorized, Web 2.0 | 8 Comments »