CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Nov. 2, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB) excitedly reports that its "Charlottesville, Virginia" Facebook page (www.facebook.com/charlottesvillevirginia) is the world's #1 most talked about City Travel and Leisure page in the world this week, as rated by both Quintly.com and PageData.com.
According to Quintly.com (a web site, which tracks statistics for social media platforms), "Charlottesville, Virginia" ranks as the 5th most talked about "Travel/Leisure" Destination page in the world, trailing only Disney World, Disneyland, Dubai and New Zealand. Another similar source, PageData.com ranks the page the 7th most talked about "Travel/Leisure" Destination page in the world, trailing Disney World, Disneyland, Dubai, Hawaii, Ecuador & Galapagos and New Zealand. With the leaders all being either resorts, states or countries, Charlottesville is the highest ranked City across the globe (please see chart on page 3 of the present document.)
Facebook measures fan engagement with a statistic called "talking about this", which is the sum of comments, shares, and likes of a page's content during a one week span. This week, with over 64,000 people "talking about this", the Charlottesville Facebook page is ranked in the top 1500 most engaged pages in the world, regardless of size or category. Facebook reported in April to have over 42 million pages.
"These statistics confirm that Charlottesville's notoriety is growing fast", says John Freeman, eMarketing Specialist for the CACVB. "Our strategy is simple. Post pictures of our fall scenery, historic sites, downtown, and pastoral beauty. In return we've acquired more likes, comments and shares than any city travel page in the world. We're outshining bureau-run Facebook pages across the globe that have millions of fans and have had millions of dollars pumped into them."
The CACVB's financial investment in Facebook advertising is minimal and the vast majority of fan activity is done organically and not through Facebook advertising. As a comparison, the CACVB spent less than $8,000 so far this year in social media advertising while the state of Connecticut Tourism Office will invest $5.8 million on social media in the next two years.
Kurt Burkhart, CACVB Executive Director, reflecting on the bureau's demonstrated successes in the effective use of social media says that he "is floored by today's Facebook statistics. To compete and win on a world-wide scale is proof that the Charlottesville region is indeed a world class destination." While return on investment in social media is difficult to pinpoint, Burkhart believes the success of the page increases tourism business in the City and County. "Based on studies of other destinations on social media, coupled with our extraordinary success, we are confident that the Charlottesville Facebook page is responsible for millions of dollars in increased visitor spending in our area."
Today, Charlottesville, Virginia's Facebook page counts over 35,800 very engaged fans. Always on the lookout for the next trend in social media, the CACVB also engages fans via Pinterest and has a strong presence on Twitter. The CACVB stepped into the realm of social media marketing in February, 2011.
Brigitte Bélanger-Warner
Director of Sales & Marketing
Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau
434.970.3632 – warnerb@charlottesville.org
About the CACVB
In addition to providing a wealth of information on the area to individual visitors, the CACVB assists tour operators, meeting planners, reunions and other groups to find attractions, restaurants, hotels, and other visitor related businesses. Its mission is "to enhance the economic prosperity of City and County by promoting, selling and marketing the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle, as a destination, in pursuit of the meetings and tourism markets."
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The following files are available for download:
| wkr0006.pdf | |
| [Image] | CACVB Facebook Statistics |