In this presentation, Kim discusses specific strategies and tactics used to build the Arizona Office of Tourism's incredibly successful Arizona Insider program. From market research and website analytics to in-depth auditing and review of social networks, one month after launching the program received 150 applicants and has streamlined the process of delivering fresh, relevant content to the tourism bureau's heavily visited website. This presentation was given at Content Strategy Applied USA on November 17-18, 2014

1. INFLUENCING the
I N F L U E N C E R S
B U I L D I N G A C O N T R I B U T O R N E T W O R K F R O M T H E G R O U N D U P

2. K I M H I G D O N
S O C I A L & C O N T E N T M A N A G E R / / O F F M A D I S O N AV E / / P H O E N I X

3. I M E A N , R E A L LY.
W E H A V E A N E A S Y P R O D U C T T O S E L L

5. W H E R E ’ S T H E
C H A L L E N G E ?

6. M I S S I N G O U T O N T H I S
T H E P R O B L E M

7. W E H A D L O T S O F T H I S
T H E O P P O R T U N I T Y

8. B U T N O T T H I S …
S T I L L P R O B L E M S

9. T O N S O F T H I S
M O R E O P P O R T U N I T Y

10. A N D N O N E O F T H I S
M O R E P R O B L E M S

11. S O L U T I O N I Z I N G ™

12. W H AT W E
H A D
• A huge community of
Arizona advocates existed.
• Analytics uncovered gaps.
• Knowledge that these
stories were already being
told.

13. Why not create a platform for
advocates to tell the stories
people were seeking, to drive
more people to use our website
as a resource?

14. L E T ’ S D O I T.

15. K E Y S T O
L A U N C H
• Establish a vetting criteria
• Application portal
• Exportable database in a
CMS
• Announce via existing
channels
• Plan for the worst, hope
for the best

16. W H AT H A P P E N E D N E X T ?

17. W I T H I N O N E M O N T H , W E
R E C E I V E D 5 5 A P P L I C A N T S , 2 4 O F
W H I C H B E C A M E V E T T E D ,
A P P R O V E D C O N T E N T
C O N T R I B U T O R S R E A D Y A N D
W I L L I N G T O D E L I V E R O N G O I N G ,
F R E S H , E X C I T I N G C O N T E N T F R O M
T H E P E R S P E C T I V E W E N E E D E D .

18. T H E A R I Z O N A I N S I D E R ’ S
P R O G R A M WA S L A U N C H E D .

19. O U R A U T H O R S I N C L U D E

20. N E W S A N C H O R S
P H O T O G R A P H E R S
P R O F E S S I O N A L W R I T E R S
M O M M Y B L O G G E R S
A U T H O R S
R O A D T R I P P E R S
T O U R O P E R AT O R S

21. N E W S A N C H O R S
P H O T O G R A P H E R S
P R O F E S S I O N A L W R I T E R S
M O M M Y B L O G G E R S
A U T H O R S
R O A D T R I P P E R S
T O U R O P E R AT O R S

22. N E W S A N C H O R S
P H O T O G R A P H E R S
P R O F E S S I O N A L W R I T E R S
M O M M Y B L O G G E R S
A U T H O R S
R O A D T R I P P E R S
T O U R O P E R AT O R S

23. N E W S A N C H O R S
P H O T O G R A P H E R S
P R O F E S S I O N A L W R I T E R S
M O M M Y B L O G G E R S
A U T H O R S
R O A D T R I P P E R S
T O U R O P E R AT O R S

24. N E W S A N C H O R S
P H O T O G R A P H E R S
P R O F E S S I O N A L W R I T E R S
M O M M Y B L O G G E R S
A U T H O R S
R O A D T R I P P E R S
T O U R O P E R AT O R S

25. N E W S A N C H O R S
P H O T O G R A P H E R S
P R O F E S S I O N A L W R I T E R S
M O M M Y B L O G G E R S
A U T H O R S
R O A D T R I P P E R S
T O U R O P E R AT O R S

26. N E W S A N C H O R S
P H O T O G R A P H E R S
P R O F E S S I O N A L W R I T E R S
M O M M Y B L O G G E R S
A U T H O R S
R O A D T R I P P E R S
T O U R O P E R AT O R S

27. T H E S E P E O P L E A R E
I N F L U E N C E R S .

28. N O N E O F T H E M A R E PA I D
F O R T H E I R C O N T R I B U T I O N S .

29. W R I T E A B O U T T H I N G S L I K E T H I S
O U R B L O G G E R S

30. A N D T H I S …

31. A N D T H I S …

32. A N D T H I S …

33. A N D E V E N T H I S …

34. T H R O U G H T H E A R I Z O N A I N S I D E R ’ S
P R O G R A M , T I M E S P E N T O N B L O G
C O N T E N T I N C R E A S E D 2 1 2 % , W I T H
A N AV E R A G E T I M E S P E N T O N T H E S E
C O N T R I B U T I O N S O V E R 4 M I N U T E S .
Y O U K N O W W H AT T H I S M E A N S ?

35. P E O P L E A R E A C T U A L LY
R E A D I N G T H I S S T U F F.

36. T H I S C O N T E N T D O E S N ' T J U S T L I V E
O N T H E W E B S I T E , E I T H E R .
I T ’ S U S E D I N T H E V I S I T O R ’ S G U I D E ,
S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T, I N P U B L I C
R E L AT I O N S E F F O R T S , F O R O N E - O F F
C A M PA I G N S I T E S A N D M O R E .

37. Y O U C A N D O I T, T O O !

38. H O W C A N I D O I T, T O O ?
• LISTEN. Without listening, we would have never seen
the opportunity at our fingertips.
• ANALYZE. Don’t just look at what’s working, look at
what’s not. That’s the greatest area of opportunity.
• MAKE THE ASK. People want to contribute to brands
they care about. Start the conversation and see what
happens.

39. - P E T E R D R U C K E R
“The most important thing in communication is
hearing what isn’t said.”

40. R E A D T H E S E S T O R I E S AT
B I T. LY / A Z I N S I D E R

41. @ K I M _ H I G D O N / / K I M . H I G D O N @ O F F M A D I S O N AV E . C O M
Thanks.