Our 2016 State Parks Week was sponsored exclusively by Visit Idaho, who used the opportunity to showcase the Gem State’s state park system, building excitement all July with the hashtag #StateParkTreks.

Trekaroo selected key influencers from our Trekaroo Influencer Network (TIN) who either lived in Idaho and/or were familiar with Idaho state parks. These bloggers were handpicked for a multi-part campaign: each blogger and her family wrote about a favorite family memory in an Idaho state park, which was showcased on both their own blogs as well as on Trekaroo. They also participated in live social media during our #StateParkTreks Facebook party, and promoted their blog posts during a fun giveaway. Visit Idaho was able to further promote their state park system in a series of Trekaroo Guides, which outlined itineraries for families visiting Idaho.

Trekaroo Guides

State Parks Week was one of Trekaroo’s first opportunities to utilize the power of our new Trekaroo Guides. This tool on the Trekaroo website is free for all users, allowing parents to create their own customized itineraries for upcoming trips and to organize the points-of-interest they want to include on a vacation. Visit Idaho worked in tandem with Trekaroo to create several guides especially for #StateParkTreks, which were promoted throughout the month of July.

#StateParkTreks Facebook Event

State Parks Week was a great opportunity to host a Facebook event. During these fun 3-hour parties, Trekaroo invites experts on camping, the outdoors, and Idaho to answer questions from readers about their summer getaways. We gave away camping gear, partnering with Coleman, and showcased Idaho state parks with our TIN bloggers, Visit Idaho, and real Trekaroo users who wanted to chime in with their own stories of Idaho outdoor fun. Our Facebook event garnered 97 unique posts within a few hours.

Ruby Rockets produces healthy, whole-food snacks that are great for on-the-go families, and they needed to get the word out to traveling parents.

Trekaroo selected four key influencers from our Trekaroo Influencer Network (TIN), plus one Trekaroo editor, all of whom prioritize healthy eating and live an on-the-go lifestyle with kids. A mix of strong lifestyle, food, travel, and parenting bloggers were handpicked for a multi-part campaign: each blogger and her family sampled Ruby Rockets products, participated in live social media, and wrote about the importance of healthy eating and Ruby Rockets’ role as a provider of whole food snacks.

Live social media Phase

The #RealFoodRocks hashtag was promoted across Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest by Trekaroo and the blogger team. This small influencer team packed a punch on social media reaching close to 1.5 million impressions across all channels combined.

The collaborative and integrated social media game plan worked beautifully as we hoped with very strong engagement through retweets, likes, and comments on social media, further driving distribution to secondary and tertiary audiences.

Blog Tour Phase

The stories published for the Ruby Rockets campaign did a great job of aligning with the brand’s core values of healthy food choices made easy and delightful for kids. The blog content published by Trekaroo and the blogger team demonstrates a solid page views in the first 30 days of publishing. This reach will continue to grow throughout the year and Ruby Rockets can expect to reap the long-term benefit from investing in quality content marketing accompanied by a strong SEO link strategy. The 2:1 ratio of page views to social shares is excellent, demonstrating strong engagement with over half of those who viewed the blog posts either leaving a comment of sharing the post with others. We attribute this to quality editorial that speaks pointedly to the interests of the target audience.

Trekaroo + 4 influencers with a combined minimum audience of 770K Unique Monthly Visitors and 210K Social Media Followers.

The #RealFoodRocks campaign successfully showcased the variety of ways real families are including whole fruits and vegetables into their lives, as well as how they’re introducing their kids to the production of real food through travel and hands-on experiences.

The Shenandoah region is known for its stunning beauty and Go Blue Ridge Travel is a leading resource for planning travel in the region. Go Blue Ridge Travel turned to Trekaroo to help get the word out about the freshly-minted Shenandoah Kids Trail guide. We were charged with building awareness, driving engagement, and boosting long-term referral and SEO around the Shenandoah Kids Trail.

Trekaroo selected five key influencers from our Trekaroo Influencer Network (TIN), all of whom live within Go Blue Ridge Travel’s key target markets (a 3-4 hour drive distance from Shenandoah Valley). A mix of strong lifestyle, food, craft, and parenting bloggers were handpicked to tell the family experience of a weekend in Shenandoah from a variety of perspectives. Coupled with Trekaroo’s reputation for trusted family travel advice and editorial guidance, we delivered a multi-phased campaign.

Live social media Phase

Working with the Go Blue Ridge Travel team, we crafted the ideal family weekend itinerary for each blogger based on their blog’s focus. During their visits, influencers showcased their unique Shenandoah Valley experiences via photos and video on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Engaging with local partner businesses, fellow influencers, Go Blue Ridge Travel, and Trekaroo, they sparked authentic social conversations in real time. Influencers used the #BlueRidgeBucket hashtag so that Bucket, the mascot of Shenandoah Kids Trail, would own this hashtag and set the stage for future use.

Blog Tour Phase

A month later, during peak summer travel season, Trekaroo and all five participating influencers, launched the Shenandoah Kids Trail Blog Tour.  Each blogger wrote a story about their unique experience of the region, plus practical reviews on Trekaroo. An additional three travel guides – historic & natural fun on the Kids Trail, 48 Hours in Shenandoah County, and Shenandoah Valley Summer Music & Theater Festivals— published on Trekaroo, providing additional trip planning advice. An exciting giveaway sponsored by Massanutten Resort, a favorite family resort in Shenandoah Valley, incentivized readers to engage with multiple stories to discover the breath of experiences to be enjoyed in the region. The editorial team worked closely with bloggers to ensure that each story was unique, well written, and promoted the Shenandoah Kids Trail guide as a go-to resource for planning a family trip to the Shenandoah region.

THE SHENANDOAH KIDS TRAIL INFLUENCER TEAM OF 5, REACHED AN AUDIENCE OF 1.3 MILLON WHO ENGAGED AND SPREAD THE MESSAGE TO A GREATER AUDIENCE OF 4.6 MILLION

IN JUST THREE MONTHS THE SHENANDOAH KIDS TRAIL NOW RANKS #1 and TREKAROO RANKS #2 FOR THE KEYWORDS “SHENANDOAH KIDS”.

The #BlueRidgeBucket campaign successfully painted a varied and vibrant picture of the array of activities awaiting families in the Shenandoah Valley, and educated potential visitors in key markets on utilizing the Go Blue Ridge Travel Kids Trail to plan their own multi-day vacations.

Our client, Nancy Craun of GoBlueRidgeTravel.com, had this to say:

Having five professional Mommy bloggers with their families descend on the Shenandoah Valley made the diversity of family trips REAL here in the Shenandoah Valley.  With Trekaroo added to our own google/ social media blitz a 253% increase over the previous year was achieved. Hats off to Trekaroo for a job well done!

In 2014, Trekaroo teamed up with Mom It Forward Media to host a blog tour. We identified 15 bloggers within Trekaroo and the Mom It Forward Network to visit KOA Campgrounds around the country. Trekaroo influencers and Mom It Forward bloggers shared photos and live updates via social media, and returned to author a blog post that brought the KOA experience to life through the lens of their specific blog. Homeschool bloggers shared about lessons learned while camping at a KOA, food bloggers shared their favorite camping recipes prepared at the KOA and so on.

Following the success of the previous year, in 2015, Trekaroo and KOA partnered once again, this time using the Trekaroo Influencer Network (TIN) to run the campaign. This allowed Trekaroo to streamline project management in-house and reach further into the family blogosphere to handpick top influencers. Trekaroo rounded up all the 2014 and 2015 stories on our KOA landing page, building successfully on the momentum of the past year. TIN bloggers focused on telling personalized stories ‘behind the yellow sign’, showcasing what made each camping trip a truly special family experience. During both campaigns, bloggers amplified each other’s stories via social media using #CampKOA. Additionally, a KOA giveaway incentivized readers to hop from one story to the next.

THE KOA INFLUENCER TEAM OF 15, REACHED AN AUDIENCE 2.2 MILLON WHO ENGAGED AND SPREAD THE MESSAGE TO A GREATER AUDIENCE OF 3.1 MILLION.

The blog tour successfully showcased a varied KOA experience through authentic storytelling. Meanwhile, a consistent brand message was conveyed throughout the campaign through a cohesive message to discover “What’s Behind the Yellow Sign.”

View the full Trekaroo KOA Pinterest Board on Pinterest.