Transcript: Adam Stoker: [00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the destination marketing podcast. I'm your host, Adam Stoker. And as always, we've got a great show for you today. It's going to be a little bit different. We've got kind of a special announcement that I'm really excited for. I've got two guests and they are the hosts of our new show, Influencer Marketing for Destinations and we're really, really excited about it. So first of all, I've got one of the co-hosts. Her name is Jacqueline Crane and Jacqueline, welcome to the show. Jacqueline Crane: [00:00:31] Thanks. It's nice to be back. Adam Stoker: [00:00:33] Yeah, you're a return guest. And so, most of our listeners should know who you are by now, but just in case they don't, tell us who you are. Jacqueline Crane: [00:00:40] Yeah. So my name is Jacqueline Crane, as you already said, I am Director of Long-form Content and PR here at Relic and Influencer Marketing is just one of those services that falls under that umbrella. So I'm really excited to talk about it today. Adam Stoker: [00:00:54] Great. And you also administrate our destination marketing podcast network, right? Jacqueline Crane: [00:00:57] Yes. We have been bringing on a lot of destinations to make their own podcasts and it has been so fun to learn about them all. And to help host and just create this fun podcast network for listeners all over the world. Adam Stoker: [00:01:11] Not today's episode topic. We could go for a long time about that, but it's been kind of fun to watch it come to life. Jacqueline Crane: [00:01:18] It has. Adam Stoker: [00:01:19] Yeah. And then our other guest is Jess Darrington. Jess, you also have been on the show before. Welcome back. Jess Darrington: [00:01:26] Thank you. Yeah, it's been a while. I think we recorded that last show maybe probably over a year and a half ago now. Adam Stoker: [00:01:31] It was before COVID, I think. Jess Darrington: [00:01:33] Oh yeah, for sure. Well, I'm excited to be back on the show with you. Adam Stoker: [00:01:36] Yeah, it's good to have you and Jess, why don't you tell everybody what you do for us as well? Jess Darrington: [00:01:40] Of course. So I am the Social Media Manager here at Relic. And then I also, like Jacqueline said, I help out with the Influencer Marketing, as that kind of ties into social media marketing. Then on the side, I also do my own influencing as I have my own company called Part-Time Tourists and that's kind of how we got started together. Adam Stoker: [00:02:00] Yes, yes. And I'll never forget hearing you speak at the Utah Tourism Conference and coming up afterward and saying, “Okay, Jess, what's it going to take? What are we got to do to get you doing this for us?” Jess Darrington: [00:02:10] Yes. I was so excited that you extended that offer because it has been an amazing time working with Relic. Adam Stoker: [00:02:16] Yeah, a lot of fun for all of us and really valuable. So yeah, this is going to be a great show. We're announcing your new show today. Before we get into the subject matter of your show and everything, which we've already kind of teased, I want to hear we’ve already heard your dream destination and your favorite trip you've been on from when you guys were on the show before. How about this time you tell us, what trip are you dying to take when you feel comfortable after COVID is all said and done or as close to it as it can be? Let's start with Jacqueline. Jacqueline Crane: [00:02:45] Cool. Well, I don't know if we've really thought about this, to be honest. I mean we've been thinking about a lot of the drive markets of course, things that we can do that are close by. But I've been pushed out of my comfort zone a little bit and my sister actually lives in Tennessee and she'll be graduating with her master's degree at the end of July. So I'm really hoping, cross my fingers, that we can go out and visit and see that. Adam Stoker: [00:03:09] Okay. And so where in Tennessee is she? Jacqueline Crane: [00:03:12] Yeah, so she lives in Knoxville and so yeah, gorgeous area. I'm really excited. Hopefully, we can go out and see it. Adam Stoker: [00:03:19] Yeah, I hope you do because Knoxville is one of my favorite destinations. I'll tell you everywhere you need to eat. Jacqueline Crane: [00:03:25] Yes. Adam Stoker: [00:03:26] And we'll make it a fun trip. Jacqueline Crane: [00:03:27] I love it. Adam Stoker: [00:03:28] Good. Good. Well, I'm excited for you to be able to take that. When is it when she graduated? Jacqueline Crane: [00:03:32] End of July. Adam Stoker: [00:03:33] End of July. All right. All right, well we got some progress here with the vaccinations and everything so that you guys can safely do that. How about Jess? What trip are you dying to take? Jess Darrington: [00:03:44] Oh my goodness! So many. I have a running list. Adam Stoker: [00:03:47] Yeah, you travel a lot, Jess. Jess Darrington: [00:03:48] I think the two trips that we're really looking forward to, not we look forward to every trip but ones that we’re planning are either choosing between Hawaii or Alaska. I've never been to Alaska before. My husband has and fell in love with it. So we're considering going there or taking our baby. Who's just six months now to Hawaii where that was one of our favorite places that we've vacationed to. So we're trying to decide between those two which one we want to take this summer. Adam Stoker: [00:04:17] Oh six months. I can't believe your baby is six months old already. Jess Darrington: [00:04:21] I know it's so sad. They grow up too quick. Adam Stoker: [00:04:24]They do. Well okay so both of those destinations that you mentioned, I've got a soft spot for I actually think a lot of people even here at Relic don't know that I drove tour buses in Alaska for a summer. That was my first foray into the tourism industry. Jess Darrington: [00:04:40] Interesting. I had no idea. What part of Alaska? Adam Stoker: [00:04:44] So I drove the stretch from Fairbanks to Skagway, it's like a three-day trip and you see a lot along the way. I also drove the stretch from Fairbanks to, there's a small little town called Eagle Alaska and you've got to drive for like I think 40 miles on this dirt road that gets a little hairy because there's a bunch of really aggressive truck drivers going the other direction and it was kind of a wild adventure for my guests. But that's another story for another day as well. But tell me, Jess, in each of those destinations, so Alaska and Hawaii, tell me which one or which part of each of those destinations because they're both giant destinations? What specific thing are you hoping to do there? Jess Darrington: [00:05:30] I think now that we have a baby, I have become obsessed with wanting to show him every single state. So my goal is to get to all of the 50 states by the time he's three. So not only is it right just checking off the list but I kind of wanted him to experience the nature and the outdoor scene. We really love hiking. Not so much camping, glamping, we’re glampers, but to get outdoors and to help him see you know, the beautiful Alaska. A terrain or even get into the ocean in Hawaii. Those are the main things that we're looking for. Adam Stoker: [00:06:05] Now, how many three-year-olds do you think there are in the United States that can say they've been to all 50 states? Jess Darrington: [00:06:10] I don't know. I don't know. But I'm hoping we can help him get that. Adam Stoker: [00:06:15] We've got to get in touch with the Guinness Book of World Records and see if we're close to the record there. Jess Darrington: [00:06:22] There we go. Adam Stoker: [00:06:23] Awesome. Tell us your baby's name. Jacqueline Crane: [00:06:27] Brigham. Adam Stoker: [00:06:28] Brigham. Brigham, awesome. Okay. Brigham Darrington. Jess Darrington: [00:06:32] Yeah, he's got his Instagram. He's got his own Instagram. Jacqueline Crane: [00:06:35] I love following him. Jess Darrington: [00:06:36] He does. Adam Stoker: [00:06:37] Oh my gosh, Jess. Okay. What's his handle? We're going to let everybody who listens to this show find your baby. Jess Darrington: [00:06:43] Yes. His handle is @whereisbriggs. Briggs is spelled B-R-I-G-G-S. Adam Stoker: [00:06:47] Where is Briggs @whereisbriggs on Instagram. Okay. All right, everybody look him up. That would be pretty amazing if he became this micro-influencer at six months old. That'd be pretty cool. Jess Darrington: [00:07:00] Very cool. Adam Stoker: [00:07:02] Okay, well let's dive in today. So we've got this new show. The precipice of the show is, we've talked a lot about how the destination marketing podcast is a really good kind of holistic view of marketing for destinations and we cover a lot of different topics. But we don't really get to go deep into any specific topics, at least on a consistent basis. There's a lot of different people that work in the Destination Marketing Organization. And so the question is how could we create content that's more complete for each person within the destination marketing organization? You guys both had a real interest in doing something as it pertains to influencers. Jess, I'll start with you and then we'll go to Jacqueline. But why was that an interesting topic for you guys to want to start a show around that? Jess Darrington: [00:07:50] Well, I think Influencer Marketing is a big topic to tackle, but if you make it more specialized Influencer Marketing specifically for Destinations, I thought that it would be really valuable for both influencers and destinations wanting to work together and maybe just not knowing how to do it. So I kind of wanted to help facilitate that discussion and also subsequent collaborations between influencers and those destinations. Adam Stoker: [00:08:19] Well, you've got a unique insight into that because you are doing influencer work for destinations outside of your role overseeing our social media at Relic. Right? Jess Darrington: [00:08:30] Exactly, yeah, so it's kind of cool for me to start this podcast with Jacqueline, just because I've seen both sides of the table. I've been the influencer, so I know how to work with destinations, but I've also been on the other side of the table as well as working with social media for destinations specifically for Relic and helping those influencers have a good time in their destinations. So I was really excited to co-host with Jacqueline on this podcast. Adam Stoker: [00:08:56] Yeah, that's really interesting and I think that's going to be fun to listen to your kind of behind-the-veil insight there. How about you, Jacqueline? What was exciting for you about this topic? Jacqueline Crane: [00:09:07] Yeah, it was really exciting because over the past few years as I've been working with influencers, it's a lot of time commitment honestly to find these influencers to research about them come up with an itinerary, find a contract and get that settled before they even arrive on their trip and then it all snowballs from there. So I think I've learned a lot of things over the past few years and there's a lot of things that I see that are good and there are other things where it's like, I wish a few influencers knew a little bit more about this, at least from the destination side. And so this has been really fun to collaborate with Jess and to really speak to both destinations and influencers on how to create more profitable and more beneficial partnerships for this type of marketing. Adam Stoker: [00:09:53] Great. And I know that Influencer Marketing also I mean the rate at which it's growing right now and not only how many destinations are looking at influencers, but how many influencers are trying to work with destinations, there's a lot to sift through. Jacqueline Crane: [00:10:09] That's one of the reasons why Jess and I have decided that for our episodes, we offset a lot of things. So we do internal episodes where it is just me and just talking about our experiences and the trends and things that we're seeing in the industry, but also having destinations and influencers on as guests so you can hear it from their side as well. Adam Stoker: [00:10:31] Okay, great. Who is going to want to listen to this show? So those that are listening right now, who is this going to be most appealing for? Jess Darrington: [00:10:37] I think this is going to be most appealing for the destination if you are interested in hiring influencers to come out and then also if you are an influencer in the travel industry. Those are the two markets that we're trying to target with this podcast. Adam Stoker: [00:10:51] Awesome. That's really interesting. You guys are going to be targeting not only destinations but also influencers so that both sides can learn how to work with one another a little bit better. How about within the DMO, what job title within the DMO is going to find this the most interesting? Jacqueline Crane: [00:11:06] That's a great question. I think there's a lot of social media managers out there who are doing this influencer marketing work and that falls under that umbrella. Some destinations may even have a person specifically for influencer marketing. Then there's a whole other segment like our clients here at Relic, there just maybe there is a one-person team and they just, like I said, influencers are a lot of work and they just don't have the time for it. So this is not only helping them be more efficient and effective, but I'm also offering help if they need it. This is the perfect resource. Adam Stoker: [00:11:39] Great, great. So let's get specific then and Jess, I'll start this question at you, but let's talk expectations. What should people expect kind of to hear and to experience as they listen to the Influencer Marketing for Destinations Podcast? Jess Darrington: [00:11:55] I would hope that they expect to come to learn. I think we have had a ton of valuable guests already on our show and just the knowledge that they've shared. So I would hope that our audience comes wanting to learn how to do influencer marketing better and also get actionable steps on how to do it. I hope that we are able to provide a lot of valuable content to them, that they are able to take action immediately after listening to our shows. Adam Stoker: [00:12:21] Great, Jacqueline anything to add there? Jacqueline Crane: [00:12:23] Jess did a great job. I mean that sums a lot of it up. I think it's also really exciting to create this community as well. An influencer marketing is all about creating a community that loves travel and tourism and that's what we do on both sides of the table. So I think creating a community where we can collaborate about this, about this topic and share our successes is really fun and exciting as well. Adam Stoker: [00:12:47] Great. So you guys have already recorded an episode of this show, right? Jacqueline Crane: [00:12:53] Yeah. At this point, we have recorded episode six, so it should be coming live any day now. Adam Stoker: [00:12:58] Okay, awesome. So it's up. It's going. Who is your first episode? Like you had a guest on for your first show? Right? Jacqueline Crane: [00:13:04] We actually didn't. So our first episode was very much internal. Like I said, we offset those internal episodes and with guests. So Jess and I really set up the expectations of the episode and all of the fun topics that you can expect to hear while diving deep into it already and then we have guests on as well. So those are in a few of the other episodes. Adam Stoker: [00:13:24] Okay, so your first, your pilot episode was really kind of setting the table, setting expectations for the show. So if you want the complete description of what the show is going to be, make sure you listen to that pilot episode. Jess, who was your first guest on the show? Jess Darrington: [00:13:38] We had an amazing guest from Garfield County in Utah. Her name is Falyn and she joined us on the show and she provided a ton of valuable information from the destination point of view. So definitely check out Episode 2 where she joined us on that show. Adam Stoker: [00:13:53] Jacqueline, what did we learn from Falyn on that show? Jacqueline Crane: [00:13:56] Yeah, Falyn is definitely one of the unique executive directors of a DMO like I said who is very much just a very small team trying to make it all work. So actually as one of Relics’ clients, she gives a really unique perspective on how agencies can help balance and how she works with us to make Influencer Marketing happen and what that collaboration with three parties looks like both the influencer, the agency and the destination. Adam Stoker: [00:14:22] Great. What other guests have you guys had on? Jess Darrington: [00:14:25] We actually just got done finishing on Episode 6 so I'll give a little spoiler alert. Adam Stoker: [00:14:30] Oh boy. You heard it here first. Jess Darrington: [00:14:34] We had, we had Sarah on from Visit Southern Idaho, she helps with their influencer marketing and she shared a ton of valuable information for both destination and influencers on what they should see in the media kit, certain red flags that she looks for, certain metrics that she gauges to see if an influencer will be a good fit for her destination and additional information there. So that was the most recent guest that we love chatting with. Adam Stoker: [00:15:02] Great. So people should go check out what Sarah from Southern Idaho has to say. Jacqueline Crane: [00:15:08] Yeah. Adam Stoker: [00:15:09] Great. Anything else you want our listeners to know about your show before they go check it out on their own? Jacqueline Crane: [00:15:14] We are also not only doing the show, but we also have social media platforms that are going along with it. Like I said, so we can take that conversation offline and really create a community about this topic. So you can also find us on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Adam Stoker: [00:15:30] Great. People that are listening to the Destination Marketing Podcast, they already know how to find a podcast. Right? But where can those that want to listen find the Influencer Marketing for Destinations Podcast? Jacqueline Crane: [00:15:44] Yeah, definitely. It's on all of the major podcast platforms. So iHeart Radio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and anywhere where you do find those podcasts. Adam Stoker: [00:15:55] Okay. All right, well thanks to both of you for coming on and telling us a little bit about your new show. I can't wait to listen. Jacqueline Crane: [00:16:00] Yeah, it's our pleasure. Jess Darrington: [00:16:01] Yeah. Thank you. Adam Stoker: [00:16:02] Okay so as you guys can tell, this is a show you can't miss especially if you're doing influencer marketing for your destination. It's a complicated thing. It's something that takes a lot of work and these guys are going to cut those corners for you so that you don't have to spin your wheels. Make sure you check out the Influencer Marketing for Destinations Podcast hosted by Jacqueline Crane and Jess Darrington. It's going to be a fantastic show. Don't miss it. [End of Transcript]
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