If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, it’s a virtual pinboard for organizing and collecting photos and videos. I’m not going to go in-depth about how to use Pinterest as Mashable put together a nice Beginner’s Guide and there’s also this massive post with instructions, tips and more demographics.

The facts behind CVBs and destinations on Pinterest

Through my research, I found 34 US destinations and 3 International destinations (Croatia, Cuba [does not appear to be the official DMO] and Jordan) with Pinterest accounts. The following comments and stats will only reflect US destinations and are current as of February 21.

There are a total of 5,013 pins and 390 boards from these 34 US destinations. These accounts have “liked” 764 pins and have a combined following of 14,970 followers.

Pins

Savannah has the highest number of pins (751), followed by Columbus (426), Arkansas (354), Monterey (334) and Lake County, IL (306). There are 16 DMOs that have over 100 pins on their account and 18 DMOs with less than 100 pins. My personal opinion is that an account should have at least 300 pins to be taken as a serious Pinterest user.

Boards

For number of boards, Arkansas takes the lead with 33 boards. Behind them are Monterey and Kissimmee, each with 19 boards, and Phoenix and Fargo-Moorhead, each with 18 boards. There are 14 DMOs with 10-17 boards each and 15 DMOs with less than 10 boards each.

As I was researching, I saw many half-filled boards but did not explore the average number of pins each DMO had on their boards. I think each board should have at least 30 pins in order to be useful to Pinterest users.

Likes

Not all DMOs are “liking” pins on Pinterest. This action is not as strong as a repin but is still an easy way to engage with other Pinterest users. There are three DMOs with over 100 likes: Ohio (198), Monterey (178) and Savannah (140). Mesa is the next closest with 86 likes but the majority of the remaining DMOs have less than 10 likes each. In fact, 13 DMOs have 0 likes.

Followers

Visit Savannah has an astounding 12,114 followers alone, leaving a combined total of 2,856 followers among the other 33 destinations. Don’t think that this means there’s an average of 86 followers per destination. There are 5 DMOs with more than 200 followers: Savannah, Wyoming, Corvallis, Indiana and Columbus.

There are 17 DMOs with less than 50 followers each. Most of these accounts are newer to Pinterest. 5 of these 17 DMOs have more than 100 pins each so even though they’re new, they’re very active.

The mother of all Pinterest boards (for the tourism industry)

If you’re as addicted to Pinterest as I am, take a moment and follow some of these DMOs. I’ve created this CVBs on Pinterest board to help. Each pin links to the CVB’s Pinterest account so following your favorite destinations is easy.

Pinterest’ing Resources

Interested in how Amy Brock built the amazing Pinterest presence for Visit Savannah? This DMO Social Media Manager Finds Success as an Early Adopter of Pinterest post features some of her interview with DMAI.

Curious about Joe Vargo‘s Pinterest strategy for Experience Columbus? Travel 2.0′s Troy Thompson interviewed Joe for 5 Questions: Joe Vargo on Pinterest.

Learn what other CVBs are doing with Pinterest by reading the January 19 Pinterest #tourismchat transcript.

Looking for more inspiration? There are some great examples in Sheila Scarborough’s Pinterest and tourism: visual inspiration for your visitors post.

Want to make your site or blog more pinnable? Check out these Pinterest and Blogging tips.

How you can help

If your DMO is just starting on Pinterest or was not included in my CVBs on Pinterest board, please notify me by commenting on this post or email anne@annehornyak.com.

What are they?

A QR Code (Quick Response Code) can be scanned by a smart phone and will take the user to a website, a vCard or compose an email. Most of the uses I’ve seen take users to a website. For some basic QR Code tips, check out this #tourismchat highlights post on QR Codes.

How to use a QR Code

Don’t just slap a code on something. Even though QR Codes are becoming more and more mainstream, it’s essential to provide some type of educational steps for those users who have never seen a QR Code before. Even if it’s a one-liner that says “Scan this with your smart phone.” If you have more room, tell users to download a QR Code reader on their smart phone.

How are brands using them? (the Good)

One of my all-time favorite stores, The Home Depot, uses QR Codes on their flowers and plants. Scanning the code takes you to a site that lists more information about the plant, such as the light, water and spacing needed. Check it out yourself! Click on the photo for a larger image.

A great tourism example is the San Antonio River Walk Tour. The 1.7-mile stretch has 12 points with QR Codes that each link to an audio narration.

You can view a version of the mobile site on your desktop. My favorite part, other than the QR Codes, is the section containing historic photos and renderings. There’s nothing quite like viewing vintage photos and then comparing them to the present view to see how time has changed.

Another amazing example is The World Park campaign from New York’s Central Park Tourism. If you’re going to mimic a QR Code campaign, this is the one!

The goal was to attract younger, more-social visitors and provide to them an experience like no other.

The campaign launched on Arbor Day weekend of 2010 and received over 1,800 QR Code scans from tech-savvy visitors in the park.

With more than 50 QR Codes, Central Park was turned into an interactive board game where visitors could answer trivia questions about history, art and music as well as see movie location scenes, photos and fun facts.

The QR Codes (Parkodes™) carried through a park theme by resembling a digital tree.

What NOT to do (the Bad)

I received an e-newsletter that had a QR Code in it. Let’s think about this. The e-newsletter comes in my inbox so I’m already on my computer or on my phone when I read it. It’s much easier for me to click on a link rather than pull out my smart phone, scan the code and then try to navigate a website. Now if I’m reading the email on my phone, it’s not even possible to scan the code. Wasted effort.

I clicked on a QR Code from a flyer for a retail store. I was hoping for some coupon or discount but instead it threw me on their homepage. Even though the site was mobile-friendly, there was too much navigation and I couldn’t even find anything related to the information on the flyer. Huge fail.

Be smart (Don’t be the Ugly)

QR Codes are no longer shiny objects so be smart when and where you use them. Always incorporate the QR into something bigger like a campaign. There’s no reason to put them in your Visitor’s Guide just because it’s 2012.

QR Codes need to be on printed pieces and they need to link to mobile-friendly sites with easy navigation.

Don’t waste a QR Code by linking it to your Facebook page. Even worse would be linking it to a tab on your Facebook page for a contest which, depending on the Facebook app, is probably not even mobile-friendly.

If a user takes the effort to scan a code, lead them to a good site, preferably one that provides a discount or information that they wouldn’t normally see. Give them a digital experience similar to a backstage pass.

Learn more

If you’re looking for more information on how or when to use QR Codes as well as the many options available, check out these slides from interlinkONE’s webinar: Print, Mail, & Mobile: Understanding QR Codes

Troy Thompson also wrote a great post that shares 8 Tips for a Great QR Code Campaign.

Share the love

I’d love to see more examples of how QR Codes are being used, especially in the tourism industry. Please feel free to share examples in the comment section. They can be QR Code campaigns that you love (or hate) or examples that you’ve personally developed for your destination or organization.

Even though Facebook is constantly changing (and I’m way behind in my blog), I wanted to share these #tourismchat highlights here. I think a lot of the tweets in this chat can help you build a solid strategy or inspire you to try new things on Facebook.

Q1: Is your page geared towards leisure tourism only? Do you have separate niche pages?

• jennrush03 We just have the one page for our CVA that’s mainly leisure travel. Our other 2 facebook pages are for events we run.
• scullyano We have one FB page for all leisure, meetings, groups, weddings, etc.
• thefrontrowe Our page is predominantly leisure tourism, but also aimed at growing local advocacy.
• maddenmedia A1: Facebook works best with B2C markets. Might be best to create a custom B2B app/tab dedicated to a specific niche on 1 page.

Q2: How often do you update your Facebook page? What time? Evenings/weekends too?

• emilyforsha Plan is to move toward twice daily, morning and evening.
• maddenmedia No more than three times a day, but we strive for one to two posts per day on pages we administer.
• bobf_vstpgh We generally update no more than 2-3 times per day and try to keep several hours between posts.

Q3: What tabs do you have on your page? Welcome tab, booking engine, etc. Are you tracking links to these tabs?

• oregonkat we do some seasonal tabs for specific events or lodging promotions, gives us an opp to help partners out.
• jccjhiggins Online Travel Guide, Merchandise, Fall in Virginia, and VA Wine Month are our most recent. Yes, tracking them!
• thefrontrowe Welcome, email sign up, guide request, booking engine, Harbor Pass, temporary promotional tabs depending.

Q4: Do you have a booking engine tab on your page? Do you promote or track booking/sales on your page?

• katiecook We do have a booking tab that was provided from ARES. Not seen many bookings yet. But, nice as awareness tool.
• thefrontrowe We have a booking engine. I don’t believe we’ve had many bookings. My hope is that it kickstarts the search.

Q5: What types of posts get the most interactions on your page?

• mobethann Fill in the blanks.
• cupoflocalsugar fans seem to love pictures.
• jccjhiggins Have had recent success with the “caption this” idea and a pic. Agree w/ @mobethann that fill in the blanks are good.

Q6: Are you producing content to live on Facebook (tabs, apps) or do you send users to your/other websites?

• jccjhiggins For the most part, our tabs are a shorter replication of existing site content.
• ELearningU A little bit of both! Good to provide fans with what they want on FB, but also give additional info on site.
• maddenmedia FB is so dynamic u don’t need to send them anywhere really. It’s best to focus on hitting targets where ever they may be

Q7: How often are you posting photos? Are you using them uniquely?

• Joe_ExpCols I do photo essay blogs, & post the same photos on FB. Gets better interaction than posting a link to blog post.
• jccjhiggins Typically, 2 out of 3 posts include a photo. Could be tied to a Q or a link or a fill in the blank. Peeps love photos!
• maddenmedia We post photos at least 1-2 times per week. It’s never a specific formula, but we strive to create engagement

Q8: Do you use FB Questions, Events or upload videos directly to your page?

• maddenmedia We use FB questions here and there, I like the viral component and advantage it carries.
• carannmcc Have found that FB questions don’t get a lot of feedback, but we use lots of videos.

Want to learn more? Check out the entire chat transcript.

I found this 7 Things Highly Productive People Do post via twitter and think it can help.

So the first item on the list (#1 work backwards from goals to milestones to tasks) is definitely doable with a little practice. Start by setting a timeline for the main goal and then break everything down into steps. I can manage that.

The next one (#2 stop multi-tasking) seems like it would have an adverse effect but is worth trying.

I completely agree with #3 (eliminate distractions) and #6 (work on your own agenda) but I’m not sure about #4 (scheduling emails), at least not in my line of work. I see value in #5 (use the phone) but I much prefer email over phone. I hate bothering people unexpectedly and not having an electronic trail.

I will be trying #7 (work in 60 to 90 minute intervals) as I think the could be the answer to many of my problems. I know people in a regular office take “water cooler” breaks and I don’t have that here. I also have to track my time for each task so I hate wasting time off the clock but maybe working for 9-10 hours each day wouldn’t seem as depressing if I’m able to accomplish other things, like walking my dogs, during my breaks. The life/work balance has always been hard for me.

What time-saving tips work for you? Do you have other tips to share?

You can browse, search the site by theme or select a specific color and see what color combinations go with it. I love the “pin it” button to share on Pinterest. You can also share via twitter, Facebook, stumbleupon, email or even download the image.

Take a look around the site and let the colors inspire you!

I’m 34 and I have mono. Again. And the symptoms are much worse than when I had it in college.

Sure, many people make fun of mononucleosis by calling it the “kissing disease” but it’s nothing to laugh at.

• I’ve had a low-grade fever every day for the past three weeks. Every. Day.
• Slight nausea started before the fever and was extremely intense while on antibiotics.
• I’ve been on Amoxicillin, Azithromycin and even Rocephin via IV infusion. None of the antibiotics helped.
• My tonsils were so inflamed that I had problems swallowing and breathing.
• I just finished a course of Prednisone, which should have reduced my swollen tonsils but it’s still painful to swallow.
• I had migraines from a severe sensitivity to light.
• I still get horrible headaches if I’m awake for more than 4 hours at a time.
• I’m taking 3-5 naps throughout the day. The fatigue is unbearable.
• It takes me nearly an hour to fall asleep each time.
• I’m much weaker. My arms constantly ache, especially when trying to sleep.
• Gatorade is the base of most meals. A loss of appetite has resulted in forcing meals in between naps.

Now the good news:

• The swelling in my lymph nodes is finally starting to reduce a little.
• My eyelids are no longer swollen.
• The white patches on my tonsils have drastically decreased from the Prednisone.
• My thermostat is set 2-3 degrees cooler than normal, which hopefully will be reflected in my NISPCO bill.
• I’ve had a few days without nausea.

Yes, the list is short but not dealing with nausea on a daily basis is a HUGE plus for me.

Many sites say that the major symptoms last for 2-4 weeks, longer for older adults. It’s been 4 weeks since the fever started but I’ve only dealt with extreme fatigue and strep-like throat for 2 weeks. The fatigue seems to be getting worse so I’m hoping that things will turn around soon.

The physical symptoms are bad but the worst part for me is all the frustration that comes with the disease. I’m not big on watching tv and I get bored with movies. I’ll sometimes play on Pinterest while “watching” tv but that’s the extent of my online life now. For someone who built her professional credibility on twitter and in Facebook groups, it’s sad to see this decline but I just don’t have the energy to maintain it now. And for future reference, jokingly referring to mono as the “kissing disease” to those infected only makes things worse. I’m exhausted, irritable and frustrated. Please tread lightly.

When they get a review like this from a travel professional:

Amy Brock is the epitome of a Tourism Geek. If you’re in the tourism industry, put her on your watch list!

Facebook accounts for 95% of social networking time on the web in the U.S. according to an analysis of comScore data provided to us by web publisher Ben Elowitz of Wetpaint.

If your business or organization is not already on Facebook, now is the time to create your business page. Seize the day!

Have you managed any social media contests for your DMO? What were the results?

• @pagetx Yes. We’ve done Flickr photo contests for 2 yrs. Increased social fans, engagement, & # of photos in group. Success!
• @MontanaTia We did our first giveaway this summer via facebook and increased the # of fans on our page.
• @SarahElam Yes, we’ve done 2 very successful ones on FB. One geared towards outdoor fun, one on shopping. Increased fans & exposure!
• @stefanieksays Yes, had amazing results w/ Facebook contest especially if supported with ads. See fans sticking around even after it ends.
• @emilyforsha Flickr photo contests and some ticket giveaways on Twitter. Great engagement on both. Flickr gets us great content.
• @ParadiseMeeting Our social media contests have been free nights at hotels. The response was phenomenal! Everyone wants to visit Florida.
• @catherineheeg Facebook contest to gain fans and photos. Now working on a web-based contest to gain exposure to Trvl. agents

What were the goals for your social media contests?

• @stefanieksays email address acquisition/phone number acquisition is always a big goal for clients I have worked with.
• @catherineheeg goal was to gain more photos to be used in future marketing campaigns. Fans increased as well.
• @CygnetUpdates consider results/goals that go beyond raw numbers. Are people continuing to engage AFTER the contest ends?
• @SarahElam Increased fan base and general vb exposure…and fan interaction!
• @pagetx Our goals were increased awareness of region & getting more photos in our Flickr group. Wanted active shots, not scenery.
• @jeremy_harvey Definitely increase fans (& keep them), but also get some good interactions and conversations going!
• @ShuttersSecrets We’ve seen the best results from contests where people have to do more than “like” us. Continued engagement is key.
• @seanmdixon Recent (and awesome) side effect of last FB campaign: 150+ written FB Recommendations.

Which platforms or networks are best for contests? With which goals?

• @pagetx I’ve only used Flickr for contests. Promoted via Facebook/Twitter, but avoided paying for 3rd party apps that way.
• @WhosYourAnnie If gaining high quality photos, flickr is great. Engagement = Facebook. Fast & Short giveaways = twitter.
• @emilyforsha Flickr is great for photos because the pro photographer community is there. FB for engagement.
• @stefanieksays have had the most success w/ Facebook for achieving all goals, on Twitter ran into more people not following back, etc.
• @jeremy_harvey I like FB the best, but I guess it depends. We used YouTube for people to submit cast videos to be in our web series.
• @VacationFun Little contests on FB wall for interaction – big like-gated welcome page sweeps for likes/leads – Twitter to promote it

What’s a good duration for the contest?

• @WhosYourAnnie Flickr contests can be longer; Facebook = 2-3 weeks; Twitter = 1-2 days? What do you think?
• @pagetx Our Flickr contest ran too long. 1.5 months. I’m going to chop off at least 2 weeks for the next one.
• @stefanieksays If there is a high barrier to entry than I like to do at least a month, for sweepstakes less- two to three weeks
• @catherineheeg I’ve built them to run for several months with monthly and a grand prize = Engagement.
• @CygnetUpdates Flickr=1 mo RT @WhosYourAnnie: A4: Flickr contests can be longer; Facebook = 2-3 weeks; Twitter = 1-2 days

Does prize value affect the amount of entries?

• @HeidiTown I have found that prize value does NOT reflect the amount of entries. I find ppl like t-shirts & beer.
• @CygnetUpdates Yes & if it’s too big it becomes ALL about the prize & then they’re gone. Q6: Does prize value affect the amount of entries?
• @ParadiseDeals The prize value may affect the amount of entries…Who wants to win a keychain? lol
• @WhosYourAnnie I think up to a level. A getaway package will probably get the same interaction if the hotel is $$ vs $$$$.
• @pagetx Yes, I think it can affect # of entries. It’s a fine line between just wanting the prize & wanting to be engaged with you.
• @catherineheeg Prize has to be relevant to the audience. Interaction is key motivation for many.

Which apps did you use to facilitate your contests? And what are you doing to make them sharable?

• @WhosYourAnnie I’m a fan of woobox. It allows you to give bonus entries for sharing & liking other pages.
• @SarahElam We used WildFire and were quite happy with it.
• @catherineheeg Used Offerpop and Wildfire.
• @stefanieksays love Woobox; it offers so many bonus entry options, bonus for liking partner pages, bonus for sharing, etc
• @VacationFun Static HTML iFrame tabs was any easy wat to start with a like gated contest
• @stefanieksays Woobox is very easy to use and pretty inexpensive; they charge by fan size (>20k – $29.99 a month, 100k- $99)
• @FSAustin We used Offerpop for our last contest and liked it. Only downfall is no mobile entries
• @stefanieksays Woobox also offers a microsite that has all of the FB functionality (required like, etc) that is mobile friendly

What tips do you have for successfully managing social media contests?

What’s the most creative use you’ve experienced with QR codes in tourism?

• @maddenmedia  I’ve seen them used on visitor signs to download maps of the area, especially for hikers.
• @JoeGiessler We’ve incorporated our ‘hi’ logo into some QR code designs & used it on banners at trade shws to link to FB/mobi site
• @TomMartin on personalized DM: scan>>personalized microsite w/personalized video inviting MP to host meeting in city
• @WhosYourAnnie I love the @VisitSanAntonio River Walk QR Code tours: http://t.co/cFcTvlTj
• @thompsonpaul using a QR code to visitor content/apps on the door of a Visitor Info Centre for when they’re closed
• @WhosYourAnnie here are a few other QR Code/tourism examples via @travel2dot0: http://t.co/SFg5Waiy
• @JoeGiessler An Ohio wine fstvl used them at lines so ppl could get info on the winery they were ab to try while waiting

What’s the most creative use of QR codes in non-tourism campaigns?

• @xSiteable Love the World Park campaign example. http://t.co/K4Xx3aLt
• @TomMartin Best three non-tourism uses I’ve seen http://t.co/Q5bzVgM7
• @theresaoverby Great QR on the planting instruction card of perennials at Lowe’s this season. Fun info.
• @xSiteable I’m a big fan of how the Lion Nathan Wine Group wines used QR codes: http://t.co/UI7vNJAN Real VALUE for the consumer!
• @pagetx I liked REI’s QR use: http://t.co/90oBGm9J Sent you to a live hashtag stream of how people spent their dividend check.

Have you used QR Codes before? Where?

• @theresaoverby Mainly in print. Most successful is on airport/concierge signage directing visitors to mobile site.
• @maddenmedia We used them at an outdoor festival to giveaway subscriptions. They were on pavement vinyl stickers and sandwich boards.
• @thompsonpaul Used unique QR codes on Transit Bench ads to try to track engagement from different locations
• @theresaoverby The Louisiana Marathon will use individual QRs on race bibs to access personal race results.

What type of print pubs have you used/seen them in? (VG, rack cards, etc)

• @pagetx Festival use => post on banners @ festival site with discounts at downtown shops. Drives attendees into town.
• @WhosYourAnnie @pagetx what about pre-festival. Link to a musician’s youtube vid so people know if they want to hear that group.

What are you tracking for your QR Codes?

• @TomMartin clicks, 2nd clicks, requests for additional info, and time on site post scan
• @theresaoverby  Only clicks right now. That’s why @44doors Capture is so darn sexy to me! I’m a stats geek!

And finally, here are some of my favorite tweets from the chat:

• @CajunMama I would love to see QR codes at attractions or historic sites that link to video or interview w/ backstory. Educational.
• @Joe_ExpCols That’s smart! QR is best for intercepting people already in market, showing & delivering your resource instantly.
• @TomMartin  QR Code is all about context. Needs to move buyer one step closer to sale

QR Codes are become more mainstream but we need to be more and more creative in how they are used. There must be a benefit to using them. Whether it’s added knowledge, behind the scenes info or coupons, consumers almost expect a reward now for scanning the QR Code. Don’t let them down.