b'FOGHORN FOCUSBECOME YOUR OWN MEDIA COMPANY LeveragingStorytelling to Grow Your ReachSAMANTHA MEHLINGER // LONG BEACH CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAUW hen a recent University of Chicago Harris School of PublicOur content creation strategy followed the principles used by Google Policy study revealed that cities with strong tourism indus- to determine which content it ranks high in search engine results: tries were recovering economically from the pandemic at aexpertise, authority, and trust. We hired local experts and creators to faster rate than others, we at the Long Beach Convention & Visitorswrite our content, create videos, and execute photography: I am the Bureau (CVB) were not at all surprised. former editor of the Long Beach Business Journal, and over the years have amassed connections and knowledge about the small businesses After all, weve watched as Long Beach, a city with miles of sandyand destinations throughout the city; our content editor, Steve Low-beaches, a vibrant dining scene, and plenty to doincluding a trip toery, is a longtime local and former writer for the Los Angeles Times; the iconic Queen Mary or Aquarium of the Pacifichas seen its con- and our communications manager, Lauren Mayne-Leduc, has worked vention center, hotel, and tourist-related businesses rebound almostlocally in downtown Long Beach promoting the area as a destination fully to pre-pandemic numbers. for the past five years. Freelancers include former editors from a variety of local publications.The CVB has played a very active role in attracting those travelers, both for conventions and pleasure, back to our city. As the economy re- Over the past two years, we have published more than 300 listicles, all opened in 2021, we took the opportunity to reassess the demographicsaround our dining scene, things to do, neighborhoods, attractions, we wanted to reach and the methods we were using to do so. Researchmeeting venues, and much more.revealed Millennials were the most likely to travel post-pandemic, and to do so regionally. Key research also revealed that their platform ofWe shared this content primarily through Instagram, but also applied choice was Instagram.it to all relevant social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok. We even translated it to Visit Californias platform with WiththegoalofreachingthisdemographicfirstwhileappealingCrowdRiffs Localhoodwith one story, Cycle City, performing so universally to others, we designed a summer campaign, Long Beachwell that it smashed all the platforms records and resulted in Crow-Days & Getaways, around the Instagram platform, with videos aboutdRiff authoring a case study on our use of Localhood. unique things to do in Long Beach, linking back to original itineraries BACKGROUND PHOTO: SARAH FERRETTIand listicles (articles in list format) on our website.When Instagram pivoted with its answer to TikTok, Instagram Reels, we redesigned our video content to cater to that platformagain, with The program ultimately served as a template for a complete over- incredible results. Reels feeds your content not just to your followers, haul of our communications strategyone that was so effectivebut to whomever the algorithm thinks would be interestedand as a that Visit California recognized our organization in 2022 withresult, consistent use of this platform can have a big payoff. Since we the prestigious Poppy Award for Best Content Marketing in thebegan using Reels in January 2022, our handle @VisitLB has experi-State of California. enced an 18 percent increase in followers. Opposite: The Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau uses Instagram Reels to reach their target audience. FOGHORN 22'