Like many Eastern Seaboard beach destinations, Myrtle Beach was facing the usual seasonal dilemma–the end of summer.  After Labor Day, tourism traditionally slows to a trickle.  The weather is still warm, the many destinations still desirable, the activities still welcoming.  So what’s a Chamber of Commerce to do?

Myrtle Beach turned to the Fahlgren Mortine agency in Columbus, Ohio.  Fahlgren Mortine is one of the largest independent agencies in the country and has a client list that includes McDonalds and Visit Florida.  The agency created a social media campaign  under the banner of “60 Miles in 60 Days” to generate buzz and bring the tourists back to Myrtle Beach after summer’s end.

The campaign wanted to offer visitors all 60 miles of the ‘Grand Strand’ and everything that is connected to it.  Research showed that most visitors love the amenities and activities of the area, but do not book because of lack of information on the destination. So, the agency sent teams to South Carolina to unearth 60 secret spots to tie into the campaign.  Fahlren Mortine then turned to facebook, twitter, bloggers, and the internet to broadcast the message.

The results show that the campaign reached more than 47 million consumers from social media alone.  Blogger posts reached 500,000 followers, tweets reached 3 million, and facebook engaged 50,000 current page followers.  In the Myrtle Beach area the results were a bit more concrete:  accommodations taxes jumped up 220% in September and 31% in October.