Live Tweeting the Idaho Conference on Recreation and Tourism

In case you're wondering about all these items coming up on Facebook, I am live Tweeting the Idaho Conference on Recreation and Tourism, which is being held today at the Shilo Inn. The last two speakers, William Bakker and Ben Vadasz of Think! Social Media, had very interesting things to say. Next up: John Thornton of Google. Stay tuned.

Breakfast is served

WinCo has Entenmann's now. Not an endorsement or anything, but if you're from the East Coast you have may have developed a taste for their pastries (and added a few inches to your waistline.) Has anyone seen Entenmann's in a local store before? I don't believe I have. Anyway ...

McCullough named interim CEO of Greater Idaho Falls Chamber

Kerry McCullough

The Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is has named Kerry McCullough as its interim chief executive officer.

McCullough has served as the programs and events coordinator for the chamber for the past three-and-a-half years. She replaces Robb Chiles, who resigned two weeks ago. While the board looks for someone to fill the position beyond interim status, McCullough will remain involved in the planning of upcoming events including, the annual golf tournament, the Independence Day parade, the Liberty Festival on the Falls and Taste of Idaho.  

Google tourism specialist to speak Wednesday in Idaho Falls

John Thornton, destination marketing specialist for Google, who will speak this morning at the Idaho Falls Shilo Inn as part of the Idaho Conference on Recreation and Tourism.

The Idaho Conference on Recreation and Tourism began today at the Idaho Falls Shilo Inn, but most of the day was taken up with meetings and presentations. The main attraction is Wednesday with an impressive slate of speakers, many of whom will be offering knowledge and advice about social media.

Having never dealt with an actual person from Google, I am particularly interested to hear the presentation from John Thornton, a destination marketing specialist for the company who advises on strategy, new media and digital advertising. Before joining Google, Thornton worked at RKG, a large search engine marketing agency in Virginia. He has extensive experience in digital marketing for the travel industry, working for resorts, airlines and travel agencies, as well as local, state and national tourism boards.

Eager to hear what he might have to say, I found this link --  http://us.sometourism.com/google-john-thornton/ -- from the Social Media Tourism Symposium last fall. A lot of what he had to say could be applied to social media in general.

“Discover your story, build your audience, deepen enagement, make better videos. Try and make … snackable content. Don’t just educate and push – listen – YouTube is actually a two-way medium. Show that you’re paying attention to the comments and reply to videos posted by the community and your credibility and view counts will rise. Be timely. Don’t respond two months later after the community has moved on.”

“Your brand is only whatever I [or others] decide your brand is. Your brand is not whatever you want it to be.”

He also offered tips for what destination marketing organizations need to do on Google+:

• Create and verify your Google + page – put your URL in the about section, contact your Google rep to verify the page
• 
Enable social extensions in Adwords – extend endorsements to Search and realize an average 5-10% search ad CTR uplift.
Add the Google+ badge to your site – For top sites, the G+ badge increased follwers by 38%

• Comments are not conversations – be sure to nurture interactions and conversation as you would on other channels.

Here is a link to the full schedule: http://commerce.idaho.gov/tourism-grants-and-resources/idaho-conference-on-recreation-and-tourism-2013-idaho-falls-.aspx

Idaho Gives raises $578,000 for non-profits

More than 500 nonprofits and charities across the state raked in more than $578,000 May 2 as part of “Idaho Gives,” the 24-hour, online fund-raising blitz.

Organizers estimate nearly 6,200 people made donations to help the cause of hundreds of nonprofits taking part in the inaugural statewide fund-raiser.

Borrowing from an idea in place in many other states, the Idaho Nonprofit Center teamed up with nonprofits across the state to encourage Idahoans to take a moment May 2 to pledge support for the cause of their choice. The fundraising — for groups ranging from Big Brothers Big Sisters to Idaho Youth Ranch and the Boise Bicycle Project — unfolded almost entirely on the web.

In our part of the state, Eastern Idaho Technical Foundation raised $3,043.89.

Lynn Hoffmann, executive director of the Idaho Nonprofit Center, said the final tally and total number of first-time donors helped meet first-year expectations.

“I really felt that if we got a couple hundred thousand dollars I would have thought we were pretty successful,” she said. “So to almost reach $600,000 is amazing.”

The Idaho Humane Society raked in $13,123, taking the top spot among large nonprofits, while both the Idaho Foodbank and Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest also received more than $13,000.