MARKETING

Co-Op Marketing Opportunities:

We are pleased to offer a second round of co-op marketing opportunities this year as a way to assist our tourism partners who had to halt, delay or otherwise adjust their marketing practices in response to COVID-19. The Seasonal Online Display Program is an opportunity for tourism-facing businesses in Walton County to partner with South Walton and purchase cost-effective advertising during the shoulder season as-needed. The Co-Op Marketing program began in October and runs through March 1.

To learn more about the opportunities available, CLICK HERE or email vswpartners@z-comm.com.

 

2022 Event Marketing Program:

Visit South Walton is now accepting applications for the 2022 Event Marketing Program. This program is intended to support, grow and promote local special events that have the ability to generate overnight stays, strengthen the Visit South Walton brand and enhance the South Walton vacation experience. Applicants whose events are accepted into the program will receive a combination of marketing support and reimbursement for marketing related expenses.

The deadline for submissions is March 26. For more information about the program, CLICK HERE.

 

Book>Direct Accommodations Search Engine: 
Visit South Walton has partnered with Book>Direct to provide accommodation partners with the ability to display real-time rates and availability on visitsouthwalton.com. If you would like to add or update a rental property listing, please email Haley@visitsouthwalton.com.

To view the Book>Direct user interface and its functionality, please visit the STAY page of our website. If you need more information about Book>Direct or signing up as a South Walton partner, contact Lisa Foster, industry relations specialist, at Lisa@visitsouthwalton.com or (850) 333-2728.

 

COVID-19 Response:

Visit South Walton is focused on keeping potential visitors up to date on business changes and any applicable regulations related to COVID-19, including steps to ensure visitor and resident safety.

For those in market already, our focus is providing information on how to keep our community safe, as well as updates on local businesses that are offering adjusted services and are open for business. See an ad example HERE: 

Our goal is not only to inform but to also keep South Walton top of mind with our guests by providing up-to-date information, virtual experiences and pertinent news related to our community.

 

COVID-19 Travel Updates Page Stats:

The main VSW COVID-19 Travel Updates page launched on March 18, 2020 and has seen 311,240 page views (Mar 18- Feb 9), 255,004 of which were unique page views, meaning the page was viewed 56,236 times by users returning to the page for another reference. Forty-six percent of this traffic originated from organic search. Users spent an average time of 1:33 on the page. Specific sub-pages include:

 

December Website Stats:

  • Users & Page Views: 
    • Users who visited the site in December were mostly female (57.2%) between the ages of 55-64 (24.2%) and new users (79.1%). There were more new visitors than returning visitors to the site this month, but returning visitors had a larger increase of 10.2%.
    • Traffic to the site remained relatively stable with a slight increase (5-6%) compared to November in sessions and users. Engagement metrics also remained consistent with the previous month. There were slight increases in pages viewed per session and the average session duration, and negligible changes in bounce rate.
    • Most of the traffic in December came from social and media sources. Programmatic video ads, Weather Channel display ads, Facebook and Pinterest posts in particular accounted for large amounts (65%) of all traffic to the website.
  • Devices:
    • Consistent with previous months, mobile devices were the primary driver of traffic to the site, making up 71% of sessions. While mobile devices brought in the majority of sessions, desktops continued to account for more engaged users with the average session duration, highest number of pages per session and lowest bounce rate. 
  • Geography:
    • In December, users from Texas, Georgia and Tennessee continued to have the most sessions to the website, while Ohio saw the biggest increase (46.2%) and Louisiana saw a decrease (10%). 
    • Top Areas viewing our site: Atlanta, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Nashville and New Orleans.
  • Most viewed pages:
  • Online Visitor Guide Data:
    • Page views on the online Visitor Guide page saw a increase of 31.7% in December.
    • While the average time on page saw a decrease (3.8%), bounce rate saw a significant decrease (42%), indicating that the main sources, Facebook Ads and Google organic search, drove quality traffic to the website.
    • Travel guide page views increased (37%) while average time on page decreased (18.8%). From the travel guide page, the most visited pages were the Visitor Guide page, the Home Page, our Beach Neighborhoods page and the Beach and Bay Access page.
    • In December, there were a total of 321 Visitor Guide requests, a decrease (16.4%) from November. 

 

January Website Stats:

  • Users & Page Views: 
    • Users who visited the site in January were mostly female (60%) between the ages of 55-64 (23.2%) followed by the 45-64 age group (19.3%). New users accounted for 86% of traffic to the site in January, which was a 31.5% increase from December. Returning visitors increased 19.3% compared to the month prior, accounting for 14.1% of all traffic to the website. 
    • Traffic to the website increased in sessions (28.4%) and users (30%). Engagement metrics saw an increase in average session duration (9%) and pages per session (2.6), while the bounce rate remained stable.
    • Top sources for traffic this month were social and display ads, which made up almost half of the overall traffic to the website. 
  • Devices: 
    • Consistent with previous months, mobile devices were the primary driver of traffic to the website, making 75% of total sessions. While mobile devices brought in the most sessions, desktops continued to account for the most engagement in average session duration, highest number of pages per session and lowest bounce rate.
  • Geography:
    • In January, Users from Texas were responsible for the most sessions, followed by Georgia and Tennessee. Ohio accounted for the largest increase in sessions (82.8%).  
    • Top Areas Viewing Our Site: Atlanta, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Nashville and Birmingham. 
  • Most Viewed Pages: 
  • Online Visitor Guide Data: 
    • Page views on the online Visitor Guide page continued to increase (66.7%). Average time on page also saw an increase (6.3%) to 1:40. 
    • Travel Guide page views continued to increase in January (76.5%) and the average time on page increased (8.1%) to 3:19. From the travel guide page, the most viewed pages were the Visitor Guide page, the Home Page and the Plan Your Trip page. 
    • In January, there were a total of 586 Visitor Guide requests, an 82.6% increase from December's 321 requests.

 

Print Publications:
Visit South Walton is proud to offer a family of publications including VISIT, STAY, PERFECT, FOREVER, EXPLORE and SAVOR. CLICK HERE to see online versions of each guide. 

  • VISIT is a revamped version of our Visitor Guide, complete with features on the South Walton culinary scene, lifestyle, events and outdoor exploration.
  • STAY showcases our diverse collection of accommodations, in addition to annual events and the different ways you can "stay" in South Walton.
  • PERFECT celebrates the businesses and events that were honored as our 2021 Perfect in South Walton Award winners. 
  • FOREVER is your guide to weddings in South Walton. Learn about the variety of venues available and all of the ways you can create lasting memories on your big day. 
  • EXPLORE is exactly what you need to get out and discover South Walton's abundance of natural beauty, outdoor activities, live music and dynamic arts and culture scenes. 
  • SAVOR is our spotlight on all things culinary in South Walton, from waterfront and fine dining to coastal casual eats and full restaurant listings. 

  

We'd love for you to share these free guides with your guests. Please contact Industry Relations Specialist Lisa Foster at Lisa@visitsouthwalton.com or (850) 333-2728 to place an order and make arrangements for either pickup at the Visitor Center or delivery to your office or vacation rental. 

 

Beach Flag Magnets:

VSW beach flag magnets are still available in limited quantities in the Visitor Center for pickup. The Visitor Center is open seven days a week, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please contact Lisa Foster, industry relations specialist, at Lisa@visitsouthwalton.com for more information. 

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Visit South Walton
25777 US Hwy 331 S | Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
VisitSouthWalton.com | (850) 267-1216