Clare Valley Tourism

Social Media Community Management

Social Audience Analysis & Visitor Journey Mapping

To ensure strategic and focussed implementation we first ensured alignment of all content creation and targeting fell in line with the region’s high-value visitor personas, as outlined in our previous work on the Clare Valley Tourism Region (CVTR) Destination Management and Marketing Plan 2019-2024.

It was essential to understand who the region was trying to attract and convert, particularly over winter, and gain deeper understanding on the people who stay the longest, disperse around the region, spend the most, love the experience of the destination (including the towns, natural attractions and tourism businesses) and become strong word of mouth advocates or repeat visitors.

From here, we also analysed the region’s current social media audience – their age and location, when they’re generally online and the types of content they engage with the most. This provided a good picture of who we were targeting, and the triggers needed to catch their attention in a busy and cluttered social media environment.

Metrics & Measurement

Our second step was to establish some baseline metrics and a measurement framework, using both Iconosquare and Facebook Business Manager as key sources for insights and forward planning on CVTR’s Facebook and Instagram.

Analysing the CVTR social media channels’ and results from previous months was critical to benchmarking future performance, so baseline metrics were taken retrospectively around community growth, engagement and reach, in addition to the all-important website traffic data (including outbound leads to operators) on Google Analytics (see below).

By setting the bar from the beginning, this provided a solid platform to track the effectiveness of social media efforts for not only the short term, but also to provide to CVTR with a robust reporting tool that they could use well into the future. As such, a comprehensive reporting template was designed to cumulatively capture and input key data moving forward.

Content Audit & Curation

Following our research around key Winter content themes, we took a deep-dive to source fresh, high-quality, seasonally relevant visuals for use across the channels. This was critical to ensure we had an established library of amazing material to draw and build upon from the very beginning.

To do this, we ‘mined’ for user-generated content on Instagram, searching through a labyrinth hash tags, geo-tags and account tags functions to ensure our content left no stone un-turned.

First, we targeted any content shared with either of CVTR’s two official hashtags (encompassing both Clare Valley and Burra), plus material their account had been physically tagged in. We then utilised geo-tags to find additional content users had shared at key locations around the region.

Research was also put into other non-official (but highly relevant) hashtags that people otherwise used when posting, enabling us to fill more gaps, as required.

Approaches were then made to well-known local influencers and professional content creators, helping us build productive relationships with a talented group of artists that we could activate and encourage to contribute from time to time.

Throughout the process, sharing permission was sought from all creators before images were optimised for social (right size, right medium, with/without enhancements) and banked away in the library, kicking things off with a base library of around 150+ photos and videos to ensure the channels received immediate traction.

Social Channel Management & Reporting

Having curated a swathe of seasonal visuals, it was time to start posting on CVTR’s socials.

A final briefing and kick-off meeting was set up with their team to ensure we were across the very latest intel on operators, upcoming events and promotions, along with any hyper-specific messaging needing to be communicated initially. This was particularly important given the region’s largest annual event (Clare Valley SCA Gourmet Week) was taking place in the initial stages.

Close, regular dialogue was then maintained throughout the period to ensure communications stayed responsive to CVTR’s ever-changing needs, and keep in-synch with any additional messaging being distributed via other channels, including CVTR’s weekly consumer e-newsletters.

From commencement, the key elements of channel management included a minimum of five organic newsfeed posts per week on both Facebook and Instagram, with daily Instagram Stories (including operator resharing and dedicated features) and full daily community management.

Each and every post was carefully captioned and optimised to ensure it was fully tailored for sharing on the relevant channel. In doing so, posts achieved maximum reach, engagement and web traffic, with community interactions and messages being addressed as they arose.

The content schedule was 100% reflective of seasonality, ensuring the audience saw the best of late autumn and winter in Clare Valley, helping to inspire and drive interest in booking a mid-year escape. In doing this, daily weather fluctuations also saw content adapted to better capture and harness community sentiment ‘in the moment’, capitalising on the mood on any given day.

It’s important to note that as six new website articles were simultaneously being written (refer to Content Creation section below), social channels published relevant and highly impactful visual leads that drove users back to the website to learn more.

What our Storytelling Looked Like...

Over the course of the next two months, storytelling reflected every aspect of a late autumn and winter holiday to Clare Valley, combining powerful imagery with creative captions that inspired users to dream, plan, book and stay longer.

Encouraging visitor dispersal was also at the heart of the strategy, with the lesser-known Burra and Goyder sub-regions also being spotlighted to raise awareness of the diverse range of experiences on offer.

• Late autumn brought a kaleidoscope of colour as we settled into cosy nooks.
• Burra’s icons illuminated at sunset as the Pink Lake went prehistoric.
• Cyclists hit the Riesling Trail as road trippers found the path less travelled.
• Clare Valley SCA Gourmet Week made a splash as visitors unlocked local history.
• Crisp country mornings heralded the start of Winter.
• Vines lay bare and beautiful as cellar doors stoked their fireplaces.
• Storms swept through pastures as silo artists brightened the mood.
• Dusk danced across the outback as locals flocked to Point Pass.
• Red wine flowed and hearty food warmed our souls.
• Campfires crackled as we drove right into a dream.
• The kids got lost in school holidays as Watervale became a watercolour.

Our extensive preparation produced immediate results, with all key social media and website metrics rising significantly. As the channels built momentum, and visitors travelled to the region, we continued sourcing fresh new user-generated material on a daily basis, which was then optimised and shared as part of the mix.

Large local and national influencers also frequently shared content with their audiences, extending the content/region’s reach to valuable new audiences of millions.

A comprehensive monthly Social Media Report was delivered to CVTR for both May and June, addressing all key results areas in line with earlier planning and benchmarking. This data was also later rolled into a final project report on our conclusion.

Staff Training & Follow Up

In the last week of our tenure on the social accounts, a training session was held with CVTR’s social media staff as well as other key personnel from Regional Development Australia Yorke & Mid North (encompassing the wider Clare Valley and Southern Flinders Ranges) before they officially took back took control of the accounts.

The training covered key aspects of best practice social media community management, including (but not limited to):

• How to build a social media library – source content and seek user permission, download and optimise user generated content.
• Key relationship building tips to maximise potential of local business, content creators and influencers
• How to schedule and optimised posts in Facebook Creator Studio and Iconosquare
• How to write engaging captions for better storytelling
• How to optimise posts for amplification through influencer channels.
• Community management 101
• Understanding key metrics on Facebook and Instagram and their alignment to the marketing strategy
• Where and how to measure and develop the monthly Social Media Report using Facebook Insights, Iconosquare, Google Analytics and Desktop Qualitative Metrics.
• Provision of additional tips for optimisation, increased engagement, reach and web traffic.

The training session was recorded, saved and sent for staff reference, along with the entire backlog of visual content (images and videos) that had been sourced and optimised for future social media use. With such an extensive library, many of these images are still being used today and will be a fantastic resource for future winter promotional activities.

 

Website Marketing & Storytelling

An equally important part of the project was to optimise the website with some key content that would support the activation, but optimising current relevant content, and identifying gaps in content based on the region's visitor personas.

Website Audit

To do this, we first audited the content on clarevalley.com.au using the following qualifying parameters:

• Winter content needs (based on the Region's Visitor Personas)
• Gaps in required content for Visitor Personas across their travel journey
• Gaps in key experience content that will drive demand in Winter
• Engagement levels of current content that supports the Visitor Personas motivations, challenges and needs for planning a trip to the region in Winter.

Upon auditing the website, a report was presented to the Project team highlighting:

• Current Content that required optimising
• Content that required to be developed new

Content Creation

From there, the following 6 articles were identified for optimisation/new development, including the sourcing and approval of imagery.