How Social is Your State Destination Marketing Organization (DMO)? Status: This is the 15th effort with the original being published in June of 2009 - to bench- mark the web and social media presence of state destination marketing organizations beyond web site visits. Background: In July of 2009, Gammet Interactive created the original - point algorithm that featured 28 objects of measurement. That algorithm was then used to create a social media assessment and evaluation of the 50 official U. S. tourism office web sites. In August 2009, the algorithm weighting was slightly changed to correspond with social media usage and growth. There was also another criterion of measurement added to the formula: web site domain in- links via the Yahoo network. The algorithm was again adjusted in July of 2010 with additional criteria to measure Twitter and Facebook influence. Tweaks to the formula were made in January and April of 2011 to measure additional engagement factors and geo-location applications. The scale and weighting of the ranking was once again adjusted in July of 2011 to accommodate the growing number of Likes, followers, and impact of mobile sites and applications. This quarter, Pinterest and Instagram were added based on their influence and current popularity. After visiting the official web site of each state tourism office/destination marketing organization (DMO), Think! Social Media utilized the following 16- points to publish the most current How Social is Your State DMO? rankings: 1) Certified Site Traffic Measurement from Quantcast.com 9) YouTube Presence 2) Presence of Social Media Icons and Links on the Web Site Home Page 10) Content Sharing Via a Social Media Tool like Add This or Share This 3) Google Key Keyword Search 11) Blog Presence 4) In- Links via www.opensiteexplorer.com ) User Generated Content/Review Sites 5) Facebook Presence 13) Mobile Sites & Apps 6) Twitter Presence 14) Google+ Presence 7) Flickr Presence 15) Pinterest Presence 8) Geo-location Involvement 16) Instagram Presence Situation: This evaluation was conducted during 4- day period, during the first week of February 2013. All studies- except for the initial measurement in July of 2009, which was done in a 21- day period have been completed in a 4- day period. The shorter window provides an assessment that is much more accurate in the realms of social media, as it is a moving target and changes daily. We will continue to conduct future evaluations in the shortest time- period possible. We also extended our best effort to find the official presence of each specified DMO on sites like Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, etc. If we did not locate specific social media links on the state tourism web site, we attempted multiple searches on the specific social media outlet. The searches were done methodically with a four- step process, which would result in a consistent attempt to locate the official destination presence. Each search began with the state name, then was followed by the web site URL, the state name followed by the word travel, and concluded with a either the tagline represented on the website or the state name followed by the word tourism. After four searches, we abandoned the process and recorded the score of 0 for that assessment point. The state destination marketing organizations are ranked on the following page in descending order, 1 through 50, with the total score on the far right column. Ties are recorded and noted in the scoring. The total scores listed are based on the weighted scale with values that were determined from an assessment of the social media outlets, popularity and importance of brand awareness.
Rank Q1-13 Destination DMO Site Traffic Social Media Icons Google Site Explorer Facebook Twitter Flickr Rank Q4- Geolocation YouTube Content Sharing Blog UGC Sites Mobile Google+ Pinterest Instagram Totals 1 Michigan 1 3 10 5 6 49 48 11 5 17 5 16 10 5 16 10 8 224 2 Florida 2 3 10 3 10 49 48 5 17 5 16 10 10 6 2 218 3 Colorado 3 3 10 3 10 48 46 5 16 5 0 10 10 8 5 203 4 Hawaii 4 0 10 1 10 57 35 0 11 5 7 10 10 15 10 5 198 5 Virginia 7 0 10 3 8 47 40 5 9 5 16 10 10 6 8 4 193 6 California 5 0 10 5 6 44 42 14 5 6 5 19 10 10 0 8 8 192 7 Oregon 8 3 10 3 6 37 43 5 16 5 16 10 10 0 8 3 187 8 Louisiana 3 10 1 4 41 34 10 5 8 5 16 5 10 10 3 177 8 Ohio 6 3 10 1 6 29 38 5 8 5 16 10 5 5 177 8 Wyoming 14 0 10 3 4 46 33 9 0 14 5 16 10 5 10 10 2 177 11 Georgia 11 3 10 5 4 42 40 11 5 3 5 7 10 5 4 4 170 Massachusetts 9 0 10 5 4 35 39 11 0 2 5 16 10 10 10 10 2 169 Tennessee 10 3 10 3 4 38 32 11 5 8 5 16 10 10 0 2 169 14 New York 0 10 1 6 39 53 11 0 8 5 16 5 0 4 8 2 168 15 Maine 17 3 10 5 6 42 36 11 5 10 5 0 10 10 4 6 0 163 16 Wisconsin 17 3 10 1 6 29 39 11 5 7 5 16 10 10 0 10 0 162 17 Nevada 23 0 10 3 4 41 31 11 0 8 5 16 10 5 10 4 3 161 18 Pennsylvania 21 3 10 1 4 40 42 11 5 9 5 0 10 5 4 10 0 159 19 Oklahoma 15 3 10 5 4 28 30 10 5 15 5 7 10 0 2 158 20 South Dakota 34 0 10 3 4 41 32 8 0 9 5 7 10 10 8 10 0 157 21 Illinois 19 0 10 1 4 33 34 11 0 8 5 15 10 10 0 10 3 154 21 Indiana 23 0 10 5 4 25 40 10 5 8 5 16 5 5 4 8 4 154 21 New Mexico 21 3 10 3 6 42 35 10 0 6 5 0 10 10 0 2 154 24 Arkansas 16 0 10 5 6 31 28 8 0 11 5 16 10 10 0 10 2 152 24 New Hampshire 25 0 10 1 6 40 31 8 5 5 5 16 10 5 0 10 0 152 26 North Carolina 19 3 10 1 6 23 36 11 5 8 5 7 10 10 4 10 2 151 27 Delaware 28 3 10 1 2 34 30 6 5 5 5 16 10 5 4 8 3 147 28 Arizona 32 0 10 5 8 36 41 11 0 8 5 0 10 5 6 0 0 145 29 Idaho 28 3 10 5 4 25 32 8 5 8 5 15 10 10 0 4 0 144 29 Missouri 25 3 10 1 4 24 27 11 5 6 5 16 10 10 0 0 144 29 Montana 28 0 10 1 4 44 32 11 5 8 5 0 10 10 0 2 2 144 32 Utah 33 3 10 5 2 19 31 11 0 7 5 16 10 10 4 10 0 143 33 Maryland 27 0 10 1 1 32 36 10 5 5 5 7 5 5 4 4 142 33 Vermont 31 3 10 3 4 28 35 9 0 14 5 0 10 5 8 4 4 142 35 Kansas 36 3 10 1 4 22 27 9 5 7 5 16 10 10 4 8 0 141 36 North Dakota 35 0 10 5 4 40 35 6 0 8 5 7 10 5 0 4 0 139 37 South Carolina 37 0 10 5 4 36 18 4 0 13 5 16 5 10 4 6 0 136 38 Mississippi 40 0 10 3 4 23 31 9 0 7 5 16 10 10 0 4 2 134 39 Iowa 42 0 10 1 4 25 34 9 5 0 5 16 10 5 0 8 0 132 39 Texas 38 0 10 1 6 25 30 8 5 6 5 0 10 10 4 0 132 41 Alaska 41 0 10 3 4 39 31 6 0 7 5 0 10 5 0 8 0 8 42 Kentucky 39 0 10 3 6 25 28 4 0 11 5 13 5 10 0 4 0 4 43 Nebraska 45 0 10 5 4 34 24 3 0 7 5 0 10 10 5 6 0 3 44 Alabama 44 0 10 1 4 25 30 8 0 8 5 7 10 5 4 2 0 119 44 Minnesota 43 0 10 1 6 22 33 11 0 9 5 0 10 10 0 2 0 119 46 New Jersey 47 3 10 3 2 28 23 11 0 8 5 0 5 5 0 0 0 103 47 Connecticut 48 0 10 5 2 32 26 3 0 2 5 0 10 0 0 6 0 101 47 Washington 45 0 10 1 2 23 33 13 0 0 5 0 5 5 0 4 0 101 49 Rhode Island 49 0 10 3 4 23 13 3 0 2 5 13 10 5 0 0 0 91 50 West Virginia 50 0 10 5 1 21 13 3 0 3 5 2 10 10 0 0 0 83
All-Time Historical Rankings July 2009 to February 2013 Destination Jul- 09 Aug- 09 Sep- 09 Jan- 10 Apr- 10 Jul- 10 Oct- 10 Alabama 32 22 29 30 33 34 32 34 41 41 43 41 42 41 44 44 Alaska 30 37 45 46 49 49 50 50 50 48 47 40 46 45 41 41 Arizona 14 14 9 10 11 10 15 11 16 20 32 32 32 28 Arkansas 20 20 11 13 17 16 16 24 20 23 27 21 21 16 24 California 39 48 42 44 42 41 39 35 23 29 29 24 18 5 6 Colorado 29 13 6 5 3 2 2 3 3 2 4 5 5 3 3 Connecticut 40 43 44 45 46 47 45 43 49 45 45 48 47 49 48 47 Delaware 46 41 47 47 41 39 46 47 40 32 25 27 33 34 28 27 Florida 3 10 5 8 7 8 7 4 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 Georgia 13 27 24 29 34 36 36 23 11 16 14 14 13 21 11 11 Hawaii 27 40 35 31 9 9 8 8 10 10 13 14 6 6 4 4 Idaho 22 26 31 38 39 40 37 36 28 17 19 22 26 18 28 29 Illinois 11 14 7 11 14 14 14 18 13 10 21 26 19 21 Indiana 2 6 10 9 11 16 11 11 17 19 19 30 31 23 21 Iowa 26 35 38 42 48 48 43 21 28 33 34 38 43 43 42 39 Kansas 15 17 22 24 23 21 31 40 26 36 35 41 33 33 36 35 Kentucky 21 32 32 39 47 44 49 48 44 49 48 46 39 41 39 42 Louisiana 18 21 19 20 21 23 20 20 20 9 11 18 23 16 8 Maine 9 16 23 26 36 35 29 13 11 10 11 15 17 15 Maryland 43 34 39 41 44 45 47 43 38 43 44 44 33 36 27 33 Massachusetts 34 44 46 33 29 28 30 39 43 26 21 36 16 19 9 Michigan 7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 Minnesota 36 29 21 22 27 28 27 36 37 34 35 32 40 40 43 44 Mississippi 44 19 25 26 35 35 34 25 33 38 35 30 36 39 40 48 Missouri 48 44 27 34 32 30 25 27 41 30 23 28 23 29 25 29 Montana 50 36 39 43 30 30 23 27 15 30 25 23 19 23 28 29 Nebraska 35 32 34 32 37 37 37 46 48 38 35 43 44 43 45 43 Nevada 5 6 4 6 9 10 14 22 24 26 32 34 29 21 23 17 New Hampshire 23 4 16 18 23 23 32 32 31 38 42 28 26 26 25 24 New Jersey 41 46 49 50 50 50 48 31 49 35 40 44 48 47 47 46 New Mexico 25 22 25 20 13 13 18 18 34 26 31 33 26 26 21 21 New York 33 38 32 16 15 15 9 7 2 7 9 8 7 7 14 North Carolina 8 15 14 16 16 24 16 11 15 6 10 15 16 19 26 North Dakota 16 11 17 18 18 19 18 15 26 25 27 24 31 29 35 36 Ohio 28 25 28 28 26 25 25 30 8 14 15 13 8 9 6 8 Oklahoma 37 39 37 24 30 30 27 11 17 20 18 16 9 14 15 19 Oregon 4 5 2 3 3 3 5 4 6 5 8 5 4 4 8 7 Pennsylvania 1 3 2 5 6 6 2 6 5 8 6 7 8 21 18 Rhode Island 24 30 36 40 44 43 40 45 46 47 49 49 49 47 49 49 South Carolina 45 31 30 35 38 39 40 40 34 41 39 38 36 38 37 37 South Dakota 17 24 17 22 22 21 22 36 19 17 21 17 17 25 34 20 Tennessee 6 8 6 2 3 2 6 9 9 5 5 5 14 9 10 Texas 47 50 48 49 40 42 44 40 44 43 41 37 38 37 38 39 Utah 31 28 9 7 7 13 27 34 37 32 30 23 23 33 32 Vermont 10 18 19 16 25 25 9 26 28 23 23 35 40 34 31 33 Virginia 19 2 7 4 1 2 4 3 7 4 2 3 3 3 7 5 Washington 49 42 41 36 27 27 34 33 32 46 46 46 45 46 45 47 West Virginia 38 49 50 48 43 46 40 49 46 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 Wisconsin 42 46 42 36 20 20 21 18 25 21 17 8 10 11 17 16 Wyoming 9 14 15 18 18 14 16 22 22 30 26 19 20 14 8 Jan- 11 Apr- 11 Jul- 11 Oct- 11 Jan- Apr- Jul- Nov- Feb- 13
How%Social%is%Your%DMO? % %Scoring%Parameter%Definitions: Quantcast:)Quantcast)is)used)to)determine)whether)or)not)a)site)is)Quantcast)certified)to)measure)site)traffic.)This)is)done)for)two)reasons.)First,)so)DMO s)can) legitimize)their)site)traffic)in)a)transparent)and)public)process.)these)numbers)can)then)be)accessed)and)utilized)by)stakeholders,)legislators,)and/or)possible)site) sponsors/advertisers.)it)can)also)give)a)dmo)some)benchmarks)in)terms)of)how)they)measure)up)to)other)organizations)in)their)geographic)area,)competitive)set) or)budget)structure. Google:)Google)is)used)to)determine)the)reach)of)the)site)by)entering)in)the)location)name)into)the)Google)search)box.)Based)on)where)the)DMO)site)ranks)on)the) results)page,)determines)the)score)they)are)awarded.)we)initially)just)searched)the)state)name)followed)by)travel,)but)based)on)some)popularity)trends)in)travel) focused)on)discounts)and)deals,)we)changed)the)search)criteria)to:)state)name)followed)by)vacation)deals. Open)Site)Explorer:)The)site)L)Open)Site)Explorer) )is)a)link)popularity)and)backlink)analysis)tool.)we)formally)used)the)backlink)tool)from)the)yahoo)search)engine,)but) encountered)some)consistency)issues)in)past)reports.)this)is)an)important)factor)to)determine)the)reach)of)the)web)site)and)how)well)it)is)being)shared.)backlinks)also) help)determine)the)search)popularity)of)the)web)site. Facebook:)First,)we)check)to)see)in)the)DMO)has)a)Facebook)presence)represented)on)their)homepage.)If)it)is)located)on)their)site)they)will)receive)points.)On)the) Facebook)site,)we)look)for)a)Fan)Page)and)determine)how)it)is)utilized.)Items)measured)are)the)number)of)Likes,)DMO)photos,)fan)photos,)videos.)Each)of)these) categories)receives)points)based)on)the)amount)participation.)to)measure)engagement)and)relevance,)we)look)at)the)last)three)page)posts)and)score)them)on)date) posted)and)fan)page)interaction.)there)is)a)new)percentage)score)for)engagement.)we)used)the)number)of)people) Talking)About)This )on)the)page)and)then)divided) by)total)number)of)likes.)the)scale)for)number)of)likes)has)also)changed,)as)a)few)states)dmo s)have)reached)more)than)500,000)likes. Twitter):)The)first)step)is)to)determine)if)there)is)a)Twitter)presence)recognized)on)your)web)site)with)an)icon)or)link)to)your)Twitter)stream.)We)then)review)your) Twitter)stream)and)measure)the)number)of)followers.)We)no)longer)measure)the)number)of)tweets,)as)we)are)attempting)to)focus)the)measurements)toward) engagement.)the)scale)for)number)of)followers)has)also)changed,)as)a)few)states)dmo s)have)reached)more)than)100,000)followers.)other)measurements)from Twitter)include)how)many)times)the)DMO)was) listed,)klout)influence)score) ))www.klout.com) )and)the)klout)numbers)in)the)areas)of)amplification)and)network) Influence.)These)areas)directly)impact)engagement.)The)next)step)is)the)Twitter)measurement)called)Kred) ))www.kred.com) )the)kred)influence)score)is)how)you) imapact)your)network)with)content.)the)kred)outreach)score)measures)your)replies,)retweets)and)follows)on)twitter.)the)most)recent)addition)to)the)overall)twitter) score)is)the)influence)number)given)from) )www.followerwonk.com))l)based)off)the)organization s)influence)and)engagement)on)twitter.)) Flickr:)If)the)DMO)has)a)branded)account)on)Flickr,)it)receives)points.)If)there)is)an)account)for)the)destination,)the)more)photos)within)the)set)will)receive)more) points.)a)dmo)would)need)to)have)created)an)account)for)all)users)to)upload)photos)of)the)destination.)there)are)many)groups)and)sets)that)may)have)the)same) name)as)a)destination;)however,)this)would)have)to)be)administered)by)a)dmo)member)in)order)to)receive)points.)points)are)also)given)for)all)images)tagged)with)the) state s)name.
) YouTube:)In)order)to)receive)points)for)YouTube,)the)DMO)will)have)had)to)create)an)account)or)channel)for)destination)and)upload)videos.)We)measure)the)score) based)on)the)number)of)videos)on)the)youtube)page)and)the)number)of)subscribers)to)that)specific)page. Content)Sharing:)While)examining)the)DMO s)website,)we)check)for)the)use)of)sharing)tools.)points)are)awarded)if)there)is)a)place)on)the)page)that)makes)it)easy)for) the)user)to)share)the)information)within)their)network. Blogging:)The)use)of)blogs)are)also)very)important)in)the)formula.)The)score)is)based)on)recognition)of)the)blog)on)the)website)and/or)if)there)is)a)news)or)information) feed)frequently)updated,)along)with)an)area)designated)consumer/user)comments.)there)will)also)be)more)points)awarded)if)the)blog)had)been)updated)frequently) with)consistent)content.)we)also)review)blog)comments)for)the)last)three)posts)to)help)measure)engagement. GeoLlocation:)Due)to)the)growing)presence)of)geoLlocation)applications,)we)have)added)that)into)the)grading)process.)We)are)currently)just)applying)a)credit) for)participation)with)a)geollocation)link)added)on)the)front)page)of)the)web)site. Review)Sites:)We)review)the)DMO)site)for)the)use)of)any)user)generated)content)or)reviews.)Testimonials)or)user)generated)content)are)recognized)and)scored) accordingly.)also,)any)branded)review)site)for)ugc)featuring)the)destination)will)allow)for)additional)points.)this)includes)integrated)independent)review)sites. Mobile:)We)look)for)a)mention)or)link)of)a)mobile)site)on)the)home)page.)Then)we)did)a)Google)search)via)an)Android)based)mobile)device)to)find)a)mobile)site.)The) next)measurement)was)done)for)apps.)points)were)awarded)if)the)app)was)linked)on)the)web)site)and)searches)were)also)done)in)the)apple)itunes)store)and)the) Android)Market)to)locate)any)specific)applications.)If)the)apps)were)found,)points)were)awarded. Google+:)We)scored)this)based)of)the)amount)of)images)and)videos)included)in)the)official)Google+)page.)There)is)a)score)for)engagement)and)relevance)as)we) reviewed)the)date)content)was)posted)and)page)interaction. Pinterest:)The)current)score)is)based)off)of)Pinterest)page)followers)and)total)pins.) ) Instagram:))We)score)this)application)based)on)the)amount)of)photos)that)have)been)taken)by)the)account)and)total)followers)on)Instagram.)) After)all)of)these)numbers)are)counted,)they)are)placed)into)a)spreadsheet)and)then)applied)to)measurement)set.)Each)organization)is)then)ranked)in)order) from)highest)to)lowest.)
How%Social%is%Your%DMO? % %Glossary Quantcast(www.quantcast.com..Quantcast.is.a.web.site.that.is.based.on.viewing.the.statistics.of.other.Web.sites..Quantcast.Corporation's.prime.focus.is.to.analyze. the.internet's.web.sites.in.order.to.obtain.accurate.statistics..quantcast.rates.web.pages.by.ranks..participating.websites.voluntarily.insert.quantcast.html.code. inside.web.pages.they.wish.to.have.included.in.statistics..this.code.allows.quantcast.to.keep.track.of.the.traffic.directed.towards.those.web.sites..(source:.wikipedia) Facebook(www.facebook.com.(Facebook.is.a.popular,.free(access.social.networking.website.that.is.operated.and.privately.owned.by.Facebook,.Inc..Users.can. join.networks.organized.by.city,.workplace,.school,.and.region.to.connect.and.interact.with.other.people..people.can.also.add.friends.and.send.them.messages,. and.update.their.personal.profile.to.notify.friends.about.themselves..(source:.wikipedia) Twitter(www.twitter.com.(Twitter.is.a.free.social.networking.and.micro&blogging+service.that.allows.its.users.to.send.and.read.other.users'.updates.(otherwise.known. as.tweets),.which.are.text(based.posts.of.up.to.140.characters.in.length..updates.are.displayed.on.the.user's.profile.page.and.delivered.to.other.users.who.have.signed. up.to.receive.them..senders.can.restrict.delivery.to.those.in.their.circle.of.friends..(source:.wikipedia) Flickr(www.flickr.com.(Flickr.is.an.image.and.video.hosting.website,.web.services.suite,.and.online.community.platform..It.was.one.of.the.earliest.Web.2.0. applications..in.addition.to.being.a.popular.web.site.for.users.to.share.personal.photographs,.the.service.is.widely.used.by.bloggers.as.a.photo.repository.. (Source:.Wikipedia) YouTube(www.youtube.com.(YouTube.is.a.video.sharing.website.where.users.can.upload,.view.and.share.video.clips..Unregistered.users.can.watch.the. videos,.while.registered.users.are.permitted.to.upload.an.unlimited.number.of.videos..(source:.wikipedia) Open.Site.Explorer..www.opensiteexplorer.com..Open.Site.Explorer.is.powered.by.Linkscape,.SEOmoz's.web.index..Linkscape.is.built.in.a.similar.fashion. to.the.indices.of.major.search.engines,.starting.from.a.seed.set.of.trusted.sites.and.crawling.links.to.discover.new.content..(source:opensiteexplorer.com) Google.Plus(..www.google.com/+/(.Google+.integrates.all.social.services.as.Google.Profiles.while.also.adding.services.like.Circles,.Hangouts.and.Sparks.. (Source:.Google.com) Pinterest(.www.pinterest.com(.Pinterest.is.a..pinboard(style..social.photo.sharing.website.that.allows.users.to.create.and.manage.theme(based.image.collections.such. as.events,.interests,.hobbies.and.more..(source:.pinterest.com) Think!.Social.Media..www.thinksocialmedia.com Think!.Social.Media.is.a.boutique.digital.marketing.agency.with.a.laser.focus.on.the.tourism.industry.and.its.roots. in.social.media..the.organization.is.comprised.of.a.group.of.individuals.who.are.extremely.passionate.about.innovation.in.tourism.and.hold.a.high(level.of.experience. in.their.respective.fields. The.rankings.are.developed.out.of.the.Think!.Social.Media.USA.office..For.more.information,.or.to.forward.any.comments.and/or.suggestions,.contact.Dave.Serino.directly.at.. DaveS@thinksocialmedia.com.or.post.them.publicly.on.the.comments.sections.at.((www.thinksocialmedia.com/blog.to.create.a.conversation.with.others. For%more%on%Social%Media%&%the%Tourism%Industry,%follow%@ThinkSM%on%Twitter%and% Like %them%at%http://www.facebook.com/thinksocialmedia
Symposium on the Use of Social Media in the Tourism Industry November 6-8, 2013: North America Location TBD www.sometourism.com July 17 & 18, 2013: SoMeT13 Australia: Wollongong, Australia Follow the event on Twitter: @SoMeTourism & #SoMeT13US, #SoMeT13AU For updates, postings and photos: www.faceboolk.com/sometourism For event photos: www.flickr.com/sometourism For event videos: www.youtube.com/sometourism Like and Engage Here: Presented By: