MARKETING
Chicago Gourmet:
The South Walton marketing team continues to make leisure shows a focus in 2023. During September, the Walton County Tourism Department sponsored Chicago Gourmet, a four-day foodie event in Millennium Park. With a presence at all five of the weekend’s events, South Walton came to life for attendees with a front porch-themed experiential area, fresh gulf seafood dishes from Chef Drew Dzejak of Alys Beach and Chef Nikhil Abuvala of Roux 30a, Nanbu Noodle Bar, and The Daytrader Tiki Bar and Restaurant; attendees also received branded Corkcicle giveaways in South Walton bags.
The Walton County Tourism team, from left: Rebekah Walden, Zehnder’s Katherine Simon, Kelli Carter and Ashlyn Temples, gathers at Chicago Gourmet, where potential future visitors received a piece of South Walton to take home; they especially loved fresh gulf seafood from both Chef Drew Dzejak and Chef Nikhil Abuvala.
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. We especially would like all bed tax collectors to review their rental property listing(s) to ensure we have the most current details in our database.
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@WCFLTourism.com or (850) 333-2728.
September Website Stats Users & Page Views:
- There were 240,011 pageviews and 131,190 new users on the website in September.
- Users who visited the site in September were mostly female (54.0%) and between the ages 35-54 (41.6%).
- The traffic coming to the website in September mostly came from Display, Organic Social, and Organic Search which combined to account for 69.2% off all traffic coming to the site.
Devices:
- Mobile devices were the primary driver of traffic to the website, making up 74.1% of total sessions. Desktops continued to account for the most engagement in average engagement duration (0:45), the highest number of pages per session (1.8), and the highest engagement rate (48.2%).
Geography:
- Top Cities: Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Miramar Beach, Fla.
- In September, users from Texas, Illinois, and Georgia were responsible for the most sessions.
Most viewed pages:
- The most viewed pages on the site in September, after the Home page, were the Beach Safety page, the 2024 Perfect in Walton County Awards page, and the Thank You page.
- Of the top 10 most viewed pages, the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort page (3:28) and the Beach Safety page (3:03) had the longest average time on page.
Online Visitor Guide Data:
- Travel Guide pageviews were down in September, as they decreased by 26.1% from their mark in August.
- In September, there were a total of 188 Visitor Guide requests, which is 9 less than there were in August.
Social in Walton County:
Through our targeted approach, we can 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 Stats:
- Total Followers – 331,117
- Total Monthly Reach – 2,751,356
- Total Monthly Engagements – 71,887
- Total Monthly Post Reactions – 22,971
- Total Monthly Link Clicks – 97
Visit South Walton:
- Top Performing Post – https://www.facebook.com/244572334372229/posts/675977971231661
- Content: “GRAYT views of #GraytonBeach ✨📸: @destin30arealestate on Instagram”
- Impressions: 199,250
Walton County Tourism:
- Top Performing Post – https://www.facebook.com/122102077460590/posts/250712744599522
- Content: “We're thrilled to share that last night, Walton County Tourism won a bronze Flagler award in the Tourism Advocacy category for our Walton County Tourism rebrand. Thanks to VISIT FLORIDA for the honor 🏆! Congrats to the entire Walton County Tourism team and thank you for all your hard work 👏”
- Impressions: 925
- Twitter - Visit South Walton
- Total Followers – 18,143
- Total Monthly Impressions – 98,111
- Total Monthly Engagements – 3,150
- Total Monthly Retweets – 281
- Total Monthly Mentions – 81
- Top Tweet – https://twitter.com/SouthWalton/status/1699453147234656532
- Content: “RT if you can hear this picture 🔊🌊”
- Engagement Rate: 5.86%
- Instagram - Visit South Walton
- Followers – 56,757
- Post Impressions – 161,722
- Total Monthly Engagement – 16,506
- Total Monthly Organic Reach – 264,471
- Top Performing Post – https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cxd8xJzraAL/
- Content: “Gracing your timeline with 1️⃣6️⃣ seconds of #SouthWalton’s 1️⃣6️⃣ beach neighborhoods. Which one is your favorite? 🏖️”
- Reach: 16,504
LinkedIn Stats:
- Followers – 1,605
- Post Reactions – 330
Visit South Walton:
- Top Performing Post – https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7110633418874331136/
- Content: “👋 Hey meeting planners! Did you know it's easy to get your team to #SouthWalton for meetings? Explore our PDF to learn more and reach out to our sales staff at (850) 267-1216 or meetings@visitsouthwalton.com if you're interested! Visit South Walton | Meetings + Conferences #meetings #eventprofs #meetingprofs #meetingplanners #eventplanning”
- Reactions: 18
Walton County Tourism:
- Top Performing Post – https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:7105686378952237057/
- Content: “We're thrilled to share that last night, Walton County Tourism won a bronze Flagler award in the Tourism Advocacy category for our Walton County Tourism rebrand. Thanks to VISIT FLORIDA for the honor 🏆! Congrats to the entire Walton County Tourism team and thank you for all your hard work 👏”
- Reactions: 57
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 Walton County'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, travel guides, coasters at local restaurants, beach flag magnets, stickers and window clings), beach condition text messages, social media posts, and radio ads.
There is 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@WCFLTourism.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 4:30 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.
| CONTACT US |
     Visit South Walton 25777 US Hwy 331 S | Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 VisitSouthWalton.com | (850) 267-1216 |