Over the past several weeks, we’ve focused quite a few Layover Live episodes on social media and content marketing, which should be an integral part of your marketing strategy. During COVID-19 especially, sharing destination content through social media is an effective and budget-friendly way to keep visitors inspired, informed and engaged — even if they aren’t ready to travel yet.

In this week’s Layover Live, we interviewed Leroy Bridges, Vice President, Digital and Communications at Visit St. Pete/Clearwater. Jason and Leroy discussed how Visit St. Pete/Clearwater's content and social media strategies have changed throughout the pandemic, engaging ways to share health and safety messaging, how to handle negative social media conversations and more.

Leroy talks about why Visit St. Pete/Clearwater has focused on creating simple and authentic content that allows their audience to escape (virtually, at least), and he highlights the success they’ve had with Facebook Live in particular, emphasizing the importance of sharing content across multiple channels. 


“Keep content simple and showcase your destination as authentically and organically as possible. That’s what people respond to. ...We all have a unique product. At the DMO that is what we specialize in.” 

Leroy also discussed the strategy behind their Sunshine Steward initiative, which aims to educate visitors on how to travel responsibly and what they should expect when traveling during COVID-19. Similarly, they also created “How to Beach Responsibly” content several months ago, which shares tips for safely visiting their beaches. 

 

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