Brianna Francis, VP of Marketing Communications at York County, joins the HootBoard Visitor Information and Destination marketing podcast. We covered many topics around tourism, marketing plan templates, and content creation for promoting a destination. We discussed the importance of in-destination marketing and how it can drive a great user experience. I remind everyone that I didn't pay her to say that since our interactive tourism kiosks help direct traffic to the touchpoints of a destination. :)

0:00 - Intro

1:07 - Brianna takes us through her career path and how she came to be the VP of Marketing Communications.

2:38 - We start talking about DMO Content Creation process, and Brianna gives us insights for presenting the content and make it more consumable.

4:19 - Action Item! - Find your newsletters, blogs, and older content and identify one specific thing that can be identified and used as a singular focus for your visitors. Don’t dilute your content with too much stuff, but focus on a specific thing and talk about it on your blogs, content pages, so that people do not get distracted.

5:16 - “Let’s be the news” Brianna said about creating DMO content that is new and necessary. This is the mindset to help drive content that enables the consumers to know what is happening now and why it is important to them.

6:20 - He taking about getting a pulse on the community and other ways to identify the information that is necessary and worth sharing. We also get into how seasonality can play a role in creating content that resonates with the area.

8:40 - The question is “What do you look for when choosing your next piece of content for your blog or social media?” Brianna speaks to the importance of using analytics tools like Google Analytics to identify what your area is searching for and how that can be used to create new ideas.

10:48 - Staying relevant and following the buzz. We talked about how the news mentioning their location created a lot of interest. This is a good way to identify topics that might add more insight to what they are talking about, or maybe even adding clarifying information.

12:02 - Brianna gives us advice on how to approach working with guest bloggers and micro influencers.

13:36 - We get into the process of pitching, why it is important, how it has changed over the years. We learn what mindset one should consider having when making the pitch.

17:50 - The role politics plays in the tourism industry.

18:57 - In-destination marketing is an important part of the guest experience. We asked Brianna what she thought is an often overlooked part when destination execute its in-destination marketing.

23:37 - Brianna talk about guides and kiosks and how they may be often overlooked when getting full utilization about of your in-destination marketing.

25:06 - I make sure everyone knows that I did NOT pay Brianna to mention the importance of kiosks at a location. :)

25:40 - Brianna gives us two quick reactions and important takeaways to remember.

27:06 - What is the most overlooked thing in in-destination awareness?

28:07 - Brianna let’s us know where to find them online.

28:30 - We start saying our goodbyes. Thank you Brianna!