In the world of digital marketing, content is king.
That's especially so in the world of tourism marketing.
Virtually every country, city, village, town and event is looking for an audience — punters who will foot the bill and keep them afloat for another season or another year.
Being in the tourism game is not an easy go at the best of times and it’s not getting easier.
One of the keys to potential success, according to Kris Puhvel, executive director of Orillia and Lake Country Tourism (OLCT), is content.
During a presentation to Oro-Medonte Township council this week, Puhvel told council OLCT has been using a variety of tools to create content that engages and inspires potential audiences to visit the municipality.
“We did 50 blogs last year and 29 of them were either entirely or partially focused on Oro-Medonte,” Puhvel said. “In the winter, we might not post weekly, but during the busy periods we might post twice a week.”
Puhvel said the blogs are posted the week of or a week ahead of when the event is to take place. He said their immediacy motivates people to attend.
“People use them to make their plans,” he said.
The organization also leverages media and influencer content, oftentimes working with multiple tourism operators to create a package that is then promoted through the OLCT website, the operator websites and the influencer’s various digital platforms — such as Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), etc.
Puhvel said one recent partnership with Hamilton-based CHCH television and Destination Ontario, which featured Glen Oro Farm, reached almost three million people and had an advertising value of almost $130,000.
“We helped organize it and we worked with operators to get their participation,” Puhvel said.
“We’re always keeping an eye on who are the right people to bring here and showcase what we want to showcase, keeping in mind we are a rural destination and one that really embraces the outdoors and agri-tourism," he added.
Leveraging a digital-first approach — about 80 per cent of the organization’s efforts were focused on digital media — OLCT has experienced growth on all of its digital platforms.
In 2023, pageviews for the OLCT website increased 14 per cent to almost 635,000. Users grew 11 per cent to almost 302,000. The organization’s Facebook followers increased five per cent to just over 16,000 and the OLCT’s Instagram audience increased 26 per cent to almost 7,000 followers.
Even though it’s digital first, OLCT keeps one foot in the traditional media space by producing 25,000 copies of its Visitor Guide.
According to Puhvel, the hard-copy Visitor Guide is a ‘keeper’ for many people. The publication is distributed to various locations — tourist information centres, attractions and hotels — throughout the Greater Toronto Area and Golden Horseshoe, and as far south as Windsor.
“Hoteliers can’t keep them in stock,” Puhvel said.
It’s also a key giveaway when the organization attends consumer trade shows, such as the Boat Show or the Cottage Life Show.
