Social Networking by Tourism BC

After reading Jeremiah Owyang’s blog post about what Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO’s) are doing regarding social media, I decided to make a  list of the social networks that Tourism British Columbia participates in.

Social Networks

Here’s TBC’s list:

1) Facebook: In 2008 we created a facebook app called “Gotta Ski BC”, it primarily displayed ski conditions and allowed users post pictures/comment but it lacked the viral aspect so we shut it down.  In early 2009, we launched the HelloBC fan page.  We post BC related news and comments on this page  and try to initiate a dialogue with our fans.  We also participate in other fan pages such as British Columbia and 2010 Winter Olympics, which have a much larger fan base.

Update: We recently partnered w/ LifePoints which is a travel game to encourage users to share their travel/life experiences.  Once the campaign is over I’ll be sure to share our results.

2) Flickr: We had a photo contest via Flickr a few years ago and learned a lot. Specifically within the rules and regs page and ensuring clear communication with what your organization intends to do with the submitted photos.  If not then Flickr photography groups will call you out when it comes to royalty/usage rights. Since then we’ve made it clear that we don’t intend to use any of the photos we received for commercial use and if we do, we will seek approval and provide compensation to the photographer.

We’ve also integrated the Flickr API to Hellobc.com/blogs, which automatically uploads photos submissions to our blogs onto our Flickr account.  Great way to increase our photo content on Flickr and HelloBC.com.

Update: During the 2010 Winter Olympics, we hired Kris Krug, a well known social media consultant and amazing photographer.  It was the right combination and we’re glad to have him on board.

3) Twitter: A weeks ago we started our Twitter exclusive contest, the prize is a trip to Vancouver, BC, and tickets to a few Olympic events.  The results were good and now we’re able to have a benchmark to use in future twitter campaigns.  We also make it a point to stay active within Twitter and respond to our followers.

4) YouTube: This is where we’ve done the most work. We’ve created two styles of online videos and they are Docos and Field Reports.

Docos are highly produced video segments which highlight what the province has to offer. The Doco videos range from destination to activity specific topics.

Field Report videos have less production value and are basically a one person show. The Field Reporter must be able to host, shoot and edit their videos. We wanted a raw, user generated style to the videos. We initially started this project as a pilot but now its become a full time program, which ultimately lead to the opportunity to cover the Torch Relay w/ Coke and VANOC.

5) iPhone: To top it off we’ve also created an iPhone App for visitors who come to BC during/after the Olympics. Check it out and let us know what you think. (I know it’s not considered a social network but it’s a space (mobile) we need to pay attention to)

As a DMO we’ve found participating in social networks vital in generating awareness for our province.  It also creates confidence and buy in within our stakeholders (regions/community DMO’s and industry). The tricky part now it trying to monitor and measure our results/sentiment within the social space. We’re currently looking at a few vendors, if you have any suggestion on the tools you use please let me know.

Update: I’ve chosen to use ScoutLabs as our social media monitoring tool.  So far so good but I’ve also used other tools to supplement my our social media monitoring.  I’ll provide my full list on an upcoming post.