West Volusia Tourism Bureau participates in Social Media Internship Program
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For more info:
Renee Tallevast, West Volusia Tourism Bureau
386.734.0162 rtallevast@visitwestvolusia.com
March 31, 2010
For Immediate Release
DeLand/Deltona - Greater West Volusia County Region
West VolusiaTourism Bureau participates in
Social Media Internship Program
The West Volusia Tourism Bureau is partnering with Daytona State College on a new, hands-on educational experience in online social media networking. Created and directed by Bill Denmark, the Social Media Internship Program is exploring the relatively new frontier of social media as a tourism promotion tool. Flagler County's tourism office is also a participant. According to Denmark, "this pilot has been very successful. The college has shown interest in repeating the program and we are talking to other schools."
Students will experience first-hand and then discuss a variety of attractions, resources and events on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as well as YouTube and Flickr. They will grow their own networks of 'friends' and 'followers', and then refer them to the tourism bureau's online network. The intended result will be to provide a fast-growing audience of people and businesses learning and forwarding information about all there is to see and do in the area.
Intern Melanie Saul-Perry recently shared her excitement for an activity in Deltona: "Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day for our walk at the Lyonia Preserve. The sun is shining strong. The walk is from 1-2:30 today if anyone still wants to go." Another intern, Carrie Van Tol, raved about an event she attended in DeLand: "Had such a great time at the Florida Wildflower Festival yesterday! Spoke with members of the native plant and wildflower societies. Bought ironweed, clover, and beach dune daisy seeds. My yard is going to be beautiful this year!" Having established and grown its own social media presence over the past year, the tourism bureau felt a partnership with Daytona State College on this project would be a good opportunity. "In these difficult economic times and operating on a modest budget, the bureau is always looking for creative, low-cost ways to effectively promote the area," said executive director Renee Tallevast. "Social media has proven to be an economical - essentially free - tool for marketing the region to a broad audience regionally, nationally and internationally. Mr. Denmark's intern program has been a way to leverage personal experiences into a constant stream of good public relations for our area. It has also been a valuable learning experience for tourism bureau staff since social media applications are limitless and constantly changing." Overall, the goal of the program is to increase and enhance social networks, and ultimately, the tourism bureau believes it will help drive visitors to vacation in West Volusia.
For more information on the Daytona State College Social Media Internship Program, contact Bill Denmark at 386-314-5047/ adman2u@cfl.rr.com or Renee Tallevast at the West Volusia Tourism Bureau at 386-734-0162/ rtallevast@visitwestvolusia.com.
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