VisitShenandoah.org - overall visits are up 11% YoY:
240K sessions
885K page views
Average time on site is just under three minutes. Top cities of origina:
1. Washington, DC
2. Chicago
3. New York
4. Arlington
5. Virginia Beach
6. Charlottesviille
7. Philadelphia
8. Harrisonburg
9. Charlotte
10. Atlanta
The most popular content on VisitShenandoah is:
1. Things to Do
2. Family Fun
3. Places To Stay
VisitSkylineDrive.org - traffic up 68% YOY. Over 67% was "new" to the site
192,603 users
406,681 page views
Average time on site is just under two minutes
The top states of origin are:
1. Virginia
2. DC
3. Maryland
4. Pennsylvania
5. New York
6. New Jersey
7. North Carolina
8. Illinois (Chicago top city with 655% increase in traffic YOY from 605 to 4,555 visits)
9. Florida
10. Ohio
The most popular site content on VisitSkylineDrive is:
1. Top 10 List
2. Plan Your Visit
3. What To See
We continue to work at increasing visitation to the sites which in turn generates more referrals to member sites.
Creative & Digital Campaign
In 2017, SVTA launched a four-season “Epic Experiences Ahead” experiential marketing campaign designed to cross-appeal to Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer audiences. Due to overwhelming success of this program, which is driving online traffic to our members, we continued to run this campaign in 2018.
Between March 2019-December 2019, SVTA achieved over 9 million impressions by retargeting visitors who had previously looked at our websites.
Retargeting helps build visibility for the Shenandoah Valley, by increasing the frequency and awareness of our brand/region. We are reinforcing our destination marketing with an audience that has already showed demonstrated interest in visiting our region.
The call-to-action in our digital advertising asks viewers to VisitShenandoah.org. The year over year growth in online sessions from our top domestic market, Washington, DC - is 12% and the year over year growth in sessions from our top international market, Canada, is 5.5%.
SVTA continues to refresh and refine our online digital campaign for maximum exposure and effectiveness.
Email Communications
Since launching the “What’s Happening in the Valley” e-newsletter on September 2017, qualified subscribers have increased from 1,668 to 9,838 from website opt-ins and trade show leads.
The newsletter goes out monthly with banner advertising opportunities for members to promote special events or lodging offers. Email SVTA@mysvta.org.
Representing Our Members
SVTA attended the ABA (American Bus Association) marketplace in January, 2019 and was represented by Cheryl Everidge, Justin Kerns and Katie Campbell. These folks have been attending ABA for more than 20 years combined. They met with 29 tour planners and presented an overview of each of the regions in the valley. Leads were forwarded to all members in February for additional follow-up.
SVTA Awarded $50K VTC Marketing Grant
SVTA was awarded a $50,000 Marketing Leverage Grant in August 2019 from the Virginia Tourism Corporation for our “Let's Go. Epic Experiences Ahead” campaign scheduled to launch in March, 2020. This campaign will be targeting Millennials and Baby Boomers by promoting authentic, off the beaten path experiences that reflect the Shenandoah Valley’s core identity. Visitors will be encouraged to come back to the Valley again and again, to try out new experiences in one of the most beautiful landscapes of America.
The grant will be invested in expanded digital and PR promotions.
AAA Mid-Atlantic Partnership
The Shenandoah Valley has partnered with AAA Mid-Atlantic on digital marketing efforts, with four seasonal eblasts featuring the Shenandoah Valley each year. This email list goes out bi-monthly to 485,000 subscribers and is shared on AAA’s Social Media channels 2x-3x each month. It is mailed bi-monthly to 800,000 households in the VA, DC Metro, and MD regions.
The digital section is performing on average a 0.43% CTR with an average of 1,819 engagements per send.
Public Relations & Social Media Marketing
The Shenandoah Valley enjoyed another robust year of media coverage in both traditional (print) and online stories, which collectively reached millions of readers who are looking for ideas on where to travel. These included stories in Southern Living, Redbook Magazine, Forbes, Business Insider, US News & World Report, Boomer Magazine, USA Today, Thrillist, Brides Magazine, Lonely Planet, and more.
For the fourth year in a row, SVTA attended the Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Association (MATPRA) Media Marketplace and spoke with writers/bloggers/journalists about travel opportunities and stories in the Valley.
Social Updates
Facebook
Page likes on January 1, 2019: 2698
Page likes on December 31, 2019: 3550
é31.57% increase
Twitter
Followers on January 1, 2019: 423
Followers on December 31, 2019: 695
é64.30% increase
Instagram
Followers on January 1, 2018: 541
Followers on December 31, 2018: 1359
é151.20% increase
Travel Guide
We invested over $20,800 in travel guide paid distribution resulting in 150,000 travel guides distributed via VA Welcome Centers and Rest Areas, individual online requests, 11 travel trade shows and 750 locations in high traffic areas in Virginia with FPIS. In addition, many of our member businesses display the travel guide at their locations.
In 2017, SVTA launched a four-season “Epic Experiences Ahead” experiential marketing campaign designed to cross-appeal to Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer audiences. Due to overwhelming success of this program, which is driving online traffic to our members, we continued to run this campaign in 2018.
Email Communications
SVTA was awarded a $50,000 Marketing Leverage Grant in August 2019 from the Virginia Tourism Corporation for our “Let's Go. Epic Experiences Ahead” campaign scheduled to launch in March, 2020. This campaign will be targeting Millennials and Baby Boomers by promoting authentic, off the beaten path experiences that reflect the Shenandoah Valley’s core identity. Visitors will be encouraged to come back to the Valley again and again, to try out new experiences in one of the most beautiful landscapes of America.
The Shenandoah Valley has partnered with AAA Mid-Atlantic on digital marketing efforts, with four seasonal eblasts featuring the Shenandoah Valley each year. This email list goes out bi-monthly to 485,000 subscribers and is shared on AAA’s Social Media channels 2x-3x each month. It is mailed bi-monthly to 800,000 households in the VA, DC Metro, and MD regions.
collectively reached millions of readers who are looking for ideas on where to travel. These included stories in Southern Living, Redbook Magazine, Forbes, Business Insider, US News & World Report, Boomer Magazine, USA Today, Thrillist, Brides Magazine, Lonely Planet, and more.
We invested over $20,800 in travel guide paid distribution resulting in 150,000 travel guides distributed via VA Welcome Centers and Rest Areas, individual online requests, 11 travel trade shows and 750 locations in high traffic areas in Virginia with FPIS. In addition, many of our member businesses display the travel guide at their locations.