MARKETING

Fall Shows and Sponsorships:

This fall, the Walton County Tourism Department built a new partnership with Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival and continued its support for the Emeril Lagasse Foundation as the Weekend Presenting Sponsor of the Carnivale du Vin 2022 event. South Walton came to life in New York for attendees with a front porch-themed experiential area, fresh Gulf seafood dishes from Chef Jim Shirley and team of Jim Shirley Enterprises, and branded Corkcicle commuter cups in South Walton bags. Prospective visitors enjoyed learning about the wonderful activities on the beach and beyond, as well as receiving a piece of South Walton to take home.

In New Orleans, the marketing team was accompanied by Chef Dan Vargo of Fine Coastal Cuisine, Artist Fran Adaro, and Mixologist Austin Doiron from NEAT – Alys Beach.  Attendees raved over Chef’s Beef Short Rib with Gulf Red Shrimp on a bed of Cheddar cheese grits and loved posing in the photobooth with a beautiful South Walton Sunset as the background.

 

 

 

Co-op Program:

Once again, as an extension of the very successful annual co-op program, the Walton County Tourism Department is offering the opportunity to purchase digital paid media programs throughout the year. Partners, both Bed Tax Collectors and Non-Bed Tax Collectors can select one-month flights on Facebook/Instagram, TripAdvisor, or Programmatic Display, and three-month flights on Hulu. Meetings-eligible partners will be able to select one-month flights on Programmatic Display, Dedicated Emails, and LinkedIn.

 

Campaigns will begin 5 weeks after the purchase date. This offers partners the opportunity to anticipate a need for additional promotion and purchase it, providing more flexibility. As with the annual program, the Walton County Tourism Department covers at least half the cost of each placement.

 

 

This program will be available through the online signup system used for the annual program. Within this system, partners can see all opportunities to purchase as needed and upload the needed assets with ease. This turn-key solution provides a one-stop shop for digital media purchases.

 

Please visit https://coop.visitsouthwalton.com/ to sign up or sign in, explore the opportunities and purchase today!

 

Book>Direct Accommodations Search Engine: 

The Walton County Tourism Department 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 fill out the new partner registration form and email to Lisa@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 Walton County accommodations partner, please contact Lisa Foster, industry relations specialist, at Lisa@visitsouthwalton.com or (850) 333-2728.

 

October Website Stats:

  • Users & Page Views: 
    • There were 134,570 pageviews and 78,860 unique users on the website in October. 
    • Users who visited the site in October were mostly female (56.8%), between the ages 25-54 (63.2%), and new visitors (88.5%). 
    • The traffic coming to the website in October was primarily dominated by Social, Organic Search, and Paid Search which combined to account for 73.6% off all traffic coming to the site.
  • Devices:
    • Consistent with previous months, mobile devices were the primary driver of traffic to the website, making up 74.7% of total sessions.
    • Desktops continued to account for the most engagement in average session duration (1:33), the highest number of pages per session (2.0), and the lowest bounce rate (69.4%). 
  • Geography:
    • Top Metros: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, New York and Panama City.  
    • In October, users from Texas, Georgia and Florida were responsible for the most sessions.
  • Most viewed pages:
  • Online Visitor Guide Data:
    • Travel Guide pageviews decreased again in October, as they were down another 27.4% from their mark in September. Engagements on the Travel Guide page also decreased, though Average Time on Page (-23.7%) and Bounce Rate (-1.1%) did not erase gains from prior month. Overall, Bounce Rate dropped to 65.9%, still above the targeted goal of 60%.
    • In October, there were a total of 145 Visitor Guide requests.

 

Social in South Walton:

Through our targeted approach, we are able to share the destination’s story and network to specifically targeted markets, while providing informational and inspirational content to motivate future visitation.

Check out some of the highlights from our channels:

Facebook:

Twitter

  • Total Followers – 17,878 (+41)
  • Total Monthly Impressions – 66,938
  • Total Monthly Engagements – 1,880
  • Total Monthly Retweets – 100
  • Total Monthly Mentions – 91
  • Top Tweet – https://twitter.com/SouthWalton/status/1579427820387696640
  • Content: ok so maybe getting up early enough for this view WAS worth it 🌌”
  • Engagement Rate: 3.1%

 

Instagram

  • Followers – 54,052 (+427)
  • Post Impressions – 172,652
  • Total Monthly Engagement – 18,484
  • Total Monthly Organic Reach – 226,922
  • Top Performing Post – https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cjlg-mau82Y/
  • Content: waves reel video
  • Reach: 21,812

 

 

LinkedIn

 

Don’t forget to tag us (#SouthWalton and @SouthWalton) in all social media posts! Not only does this improve engagement, but it also allows our social team to stay connected to you and your business' news. 

 

Beach Safety Toolkit and Promotional Items:

The safety of South Walton's beachgoers is a priority. In addition to funding the South Walton Fire District's beach lifeguards, the Walton County Tourism Department shares beach safety information in a variety of ways, including beach flags and signs at our beach access points, printed materials (like our beach guides and maps, specialty travel guides/magazines, coasters at local restaurants, beach flag magnets and window clings), beach condition text messages, social media posts, and radio ads.

We've also created a Beach Safety Toolkit page on our website, where partners and local businesses can download a variety of useful information related to beach safety or schedule a delivery or pickup of promo items. 

If you'd like any printed beach safety materials to share with your guests or customers, please contact Lisa Foster, industry relations specialist, at Lisa@visitsouthwalton.com or (850) 333-2728. We can make arrangements for you to pick them up at the Visitor Center, which is open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

  • For current beach conditions and flag updates, text "FLAG" to 31279*

*South Walton Beach Conditions: Message and Data Rates May Apply. Periodic Messaging. For help, text HELP, text STOP to end.

 

Print Publications:

The Walton County Tourism Department is proud to offer a family of publications including VISIT, 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.
  • PERFECT celebrates the businesses and events that were honored as our 2022 Perfect in South Walton Award winners. 
  • FOREVER is your guide to weddings in Walton County. 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 Walton County's abundance of natural beauty, outdoor activities, live music and dynamic arts and culture scenes. 
  • SAVOR is our spotlight on all things culinary in Walton County, 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 pick up at the Visitor Center or delivery to your office or vacation rental.

 

CONTACT US

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