Shores & Island Ohio showcases travel, tourism opportunities

An integral part of marketing tourism in the Shores & Islands Ohio region is allowing people with voices — whether via traditional print media, blogs or social media — to share their experiences with their readers and followers. As part of our overall marketing objectives and public relations, we aim to host a number of travel writers and influencers each year to tour and enjoy our destination. In exchange for a hosted visit, these journalists share about the sites they visited, places they stayed, restaurants they dined in and unexpected discoveries while a guest in the region. It's an easy way to spread the word to thousands of readers, viewers or casual social media scrollers that Shores & Islands Ohio is where it's at. Sometimes these journalists reach out to us and ask us to assist with their visits, and sometimes they are invited because we have seen something in them that we like: a content-creation style, a video or photo expertise or a way with words that makes their visit to our destination an appealing prospect to those they share with. Some media guests visit with their friends or family, each offering a different perspective on things to do. They might bring kids and do family-friendly activities, or maybe they come for a romantic getaway and experience things for couples. Some travel with their girlfriends or multi-generations to show a bit of how there is something for everyone. We try to work with each one to customize an itinerary that will ensure they have a great visit and gather amazing or unexpected content to share. At least once a year, we try to host a media tour as well, offering multiple media guests the opportunity to collaborate with each other, learn something about the region and gather story ideas for their professional work. So far in 2022, Shores & Islands Ohio has hosted 15 media guests from Ohio and surrounding states. One travel writer even visited from Toronto to share how the destination is a great getaway to his readers in Ontario, Canada. Just this month, a well-respected blogging conference returned to Cedar Point for its ninth year of education and fun. Bloggy Con is a weekend workshop for online content creators of varying topics and backgrounds. Sessions included such topics as search engine optimization, email marketing, creating standard operating procedures for your business, social media, podcasting and authenticity. Nearly 100 bloggers attended the two-day event. Shores & Islands Ohio sponsored the group's welcome bags and conference badge lanyards, and I had the opportunity to join Tony Clark, Cedar Point's director of communications, in welcoming the conference to Sandusky and shared a bit about our destination attractions and activities. Prior to the conference, Shores & Islands partnered with Miller Ferry to Put-in-Bay and Middle Bass Island to co-host a pre-conference media tour of Put-in-Bay. Travel writers from Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio enjoyed a whirlwind tour of the island which concentrated on what we considered to be some of the island's most "Instagram-able" spots. Tour stops included Heineman's Winery & Crystal Cave, East Point, Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial, The Goat Soup & Whiskey and the new Put-in-Bay sign at South Bass Island State Park. As we head into the fall and winter seasons, we are continuing conversations with writers and online content creators to showcase what Shores & Islands Ohio has to offer for visitors in these seasons, which are less known than summer opportunities. We look forward to planning guest itineraries that showcase our extensive outdoor recreation, seasonal events and fun and the attractions that are open year-round.