Promoting tourism in Baton Rouge just got a lot more social with a new media initiative.
The Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau recently made it onto the list of the “25 Most Influential Tourist Boards and DMOs Online” on InfluencersInTravel.com for its successful Facebook and Twitter pages.
Theresa Overby, director of communications for the BRACVB, is in charge of all the bureau’s social media efforts.
Overby said the bureau has been using social media to interact with visitors and locals for almost two years.
“We do a lot of listening,” she said. “We see what people are looking for.”
Overby said the bureau created a hashtag six months ago, “#goBR,” for people to use in their tweets.
“If someone has a question, anyone in the community can see it and answer it,” Overby said.
According to InfluencersInTravel.com, the site ranks social media efforts by analyzing “how often information is shared, how often it sparks a conversation and how often content is created that compels others to respond.”
Overby said the website posts new rankings every day, and the BRACVB has been fluctuating in the top 10 for a couple weeks.
Mark Coleman, petroleum engineering junior, said he thinks it’s easier for something to become popular on Facebook or Twitter because of how quickly word spreads on the sites.
Overby said the bureau sends out news releases about the city, asks questions and posts information that might be interesting to its followers.
Noel Guillory, graphic design senior, said she uses both sites to find out what’s going on in Baton Rouge and social media effectively reaches new audiences for organizations.
“It’s an extremely important marketing tool,” she said. “It makes it so much easier to reach young people.”
Overby said she uses Facebook and Twitter in different ways because each medium reaches a different audience.
She said the bureau typically posts on its Facebook page once or twice each day but the real interaction happens on Twitter.
“It’s an ongoing conversation, checking in with who’s talking about Baton Rouge,” she said.
Overby said she thinks it’s important to understand the audience each medium reaches to use it effectively.
For example, she said she doesn’t post a list of future events on Twitter. She posts events happening that day or in the next few days.
“Twitter’s very ‘right now.’ It’s not something people use to plan far ahead,” she said.
 
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected].