56: Past, Present, & Future of Tourism Marketing with Lindsey Steck
Send us Fan MailEveryone's chasing "destination vibes" on social right now. But the real work behind tourism marketing is a lot more technical, and a lot more human, than a pretty feed makes it look.We're joined by Lindsey Steck, Marketing and Communications Manager at Visit Pensacola, to talk about what it actually takes to promote an entire county. She walks us through how a destination marketing organization earns media coverage, builds an organic social strategy people actually use to plan trips, and moves past the scroll-and-forget content everyone else is putting out.We get into the real mechanics of creator marketing and influencer partnerships. How does Visit Pensacola use visitor research to choose the right creators? What do negotiations and deliverables actually look like? Lindsey breaks down why the line between earned and paid media keeps getting blurrier, especially as creators publish through legacy outlets, broadcast partners, and newer platforms.Then we zoom out to platforms and performance. Short form video comes up, along with why Pinterest still drives real website conversions, and why YouTube might be the most underrated long game for travel marketing and SEO as search behavior keeps shifting. If you've been chasing trends or obsessing over likes, this one's a good gut check to focus on saves, web conversions, and real intent instead.