MARKETING
Walton County Tourism Reveals New Brand:
Walton County Tourism is excited to unveil the new brand for Walton County north of the Choctawhatchee Bay – Authentic Walton. The project followed a multi-step branding process involving stakeholder research, ideation, trademark search and adoption. We appreciate all who participated in the brand positioning study as the findings directly informed the strategic direction for the brand. Authentic Walton encompasses what was uncovered in the surveys as what makes our area so unique – traditional values, welcoming sense of community, genuine and true to its roots.
Walton County Tourism staff members joined with Walton County Commissioners during the brand reveal at the Best Western Crossroads Inn in DeFuniak Springs. Pictured from left, Nicole Barefield Everett, Kory Rogers, Lisa Bulriss, Kelli Carter, District Two County Commissioner Danny Glidewell, Lisa Foster, District One County Commissioner William "Boots" McCormick, Ashlyn Temples, Matt Algarin, Summer Padgett and Darrelesha Kelly.
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 Darrelesha Kelly, database specialist, at Darrelesha@WCFLTourism.com or (850) 267-1216.
November Website Stats Users & Page Views:
- There were 123,368 pageviews and 62,115 new users on the website in November.
- Users who visited the site in November were mostly female (62.7%) and were over the age of 55 (46.5%).
- The traffic coming to the website in November mostly came from Organic Search, and Paid Search which combined to account for 52.1% off all traffic coming to the site.
Devices:
- Mobile devices were the primary driver of traffic to the website, making up 71.2% of total sessions. Desktops continued to account for the most engagement in average engagement duration (0:54), the highest number of pages per session (2.2), and the highest engagement rate (50.4%).
Geography:
- Top Cities: Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Nashville.
- In November, users from Texas, Georgia and Florida were responsible for the most sessions.
Most viewed pages:
- The most viewed pages on the site in November, after the Home page, were the South Walton’s Snorkel Reefs page, the Self-Guided Holiday Light Tour blog, and the Winter Events page.
- Of the top 10 most viewed pages, the Alys Beach page (0:27) and the Miramar Beach Neighborhood page (0:27) had the longest average engagement duration.
Online Visitor Guide Data:
- Travel Guide pageviews were down again in November, as they decreased by 2.3% from their mark in October.
- In November, there were a total of 107 Visitor Guide requests, which is 9 more than there were in October.
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 – 331,167
- Total Monthly Reach – 2,310,940
- Total Monthly Engagements – 32,541
- Total Monthly Post Reactions – 29,396
- Total Monthly Link Clicks – 99
Visit South Walton:
- Top Performing Post – https://www.facebook.com/244572334372229/posts/713793117450146
- Content: “This #SouthWalton sunset is pure magic. ✨”
- Impressions: 82,099
Walton County Tourism:
- Top Performing Post – https://www.facebook.com/122102077460590/posts/288453887492074
- Content: “The Walton County Tourism team had a blast in the Windy City at Chicago Gourmet – and we're still savoring the experience! 🍴Events like this are a great opportunity for our team to share more about our wonderful destination with Chicago locals, visitors and fellow culinary enthusiasts.”
- Impressions: 701
Twitter/X - Visit South Walton
- Total Followers – 18,173
- Total Monthly Impressions – 60,886
- Total Monthly Engagements – 1,494
- Total Monthly Retweets – 148
- Total Monthly Mentions – 92
- Top Tweet – https://twitter.com/SouthWalton/status/1720924054566138125
- Content: “Consider your Saturday evening: Booked ✅ Check out our events page to find your ideal itinerary for this weekend: Events in South Walton, FL
- Engagement Rate: 11.76%
Instagram - Visit South Walton
- Followers – 56,848 (+50)
- Post Impressions – 20,946
- Total Monthly Engagement – 12,916
- Total Monthly Organic Reach – 843,311
- Top Performing Post – https://www.instagram.com/p/CzxDjH2KcfM/?fbclid=IwAR1_B_IGGWWZQsR6QPOr-lEAaSbFPJkcfpkMmL0Xe1fLmOLwsnDF8aCGWB
- Content: “now THAT'S what we call star gazing 💫📸: @susangunnphotography
- Reach: 10,157
LinkedIn Stats:
- Followers – 1,654
- Post Reactions – 265
Visit South Walton:
- Top Performing Post – https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:7129951381741830145/
- Content: “POV: You just wrapped your final meeting of the day to THIS VIEW 🌅 If that's not reason enough to start planning your next meeting in #SouthWalton, find a few more reasons why it's the ideal destination here: Visit South Walton | Meetings + Conferences #meetings #eventprofs #meetingprofs #meetingplanners #eventplanning”
- Reactions: 21
Walton County Tourism:
- Top Performing Post – https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7128139464337494018/
- Content: “Our team had a blast bringing a taste of Walton County to Chicago Gourmet! 🍴 Events like this are a great opportunity for our team to share more our wonderful destination with Chicago locals, visitors and fellow culinary enthusiasts. #ChicagoGourmet”
- Reactions: 33
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 |
     Walton County Tourism 25777 US Hwy 331 S | Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 VisitSouthWalton.com | (850) 267-1216 |