We get it, it’s summertime and away messages are a dime a dozen. However, as a destination, this is when your city has the chance to really make its mark on the ’gram (or anywhere else for that matter). It just takes a little extra strategy prep and some great big calls to action.

In helping our clients generate engagement and adding interest to our own accounts, we’ve found that planning makes perfect. Sure practice does, too, but by planning out your communication efforts at least a month in advance, you have the opportunity to get ahead of the game, create more valuable content and have a stronger understanding of what is coming up in the month.

Plan it out

Don’t let the word “planning” fool you. It isn’t a long, scary process that requires all of your time. In fact, if you have an hour at the end of each month and a calendar, you’re in good shape. For us, half our team sits down and throws out ideas for the month, starting with low-hanging fruit such as national holidays or R&R-specific activities (conferences, workiversaries, etc.). Then we discuss the trends that are happening for our industry and how we can talk about those via social, blogs and eblasts. Lastly, we head to the Googles where we search for made-up holidays — seriously there are a million, and who doesn’t love a good donut day? As a city, you can easily do the same. Write down the national holidays and what your community is doing for them, then read up on what’s going on in the travel world or around town and add that to the list. And if you still haven’t filled in enough days on the calendar, pick a few of your favorite funny holidays to celebrate along the way.

Something to talk about

Now that you’ve done the planning and know what the next month (or two) looks like, it’s time to start creating content. Content can be anything from a photo you shot with your iPhone to an inspirational pin you discovered on Pinterest. That’s right, if writing long-winded blogs (like this one) isn’t your thing, no problem. The point of content is context. It should be on-brand for your destination, timely as far as what’s happening around you and directed toward the right target market at the right time.

Video killed the radio star

If your content game is already strong, have you thought about taking it to the next level? I’m not talking more posts; I’m talking cooler ones. That’s right, instead of a simple static photo, give the hot-as-a-sidewalk-in-summer video trend a try. Every social platform and its mother have video capabilities, but there are also some great FREE apps out there that can make any novice seem like a video pro. We tried out iMotion a few weeks ago, and our donuts never looked better. There are a few more apps listed at the bottom of this blog if you want to really find your inner director.

Ask and you shall receive

With all of this planning, content creating and sharing, what are your goals? My guess is that when all is said and posted, building awareness and a following is great, but more importantly you want action. It can be as simple as liking or sharing a photo or as grand as booking a weekend at your destination. Whatever it is, people aren’t mind readers and oftentimes all they need is for you to ask them. So before you click post, check to see if you can add a nice, strong call to action that says exactly what you want or make it a funny hashtag (#sharethisblog).

Free (iOS) Video Apps

Boomerang

Quik

FilmoraGo (free-ish)

No time to plan and execute your summer strategy? We can help! Contact us for a quick and easy summertime campaign.