The Turks and Caicos Tourist Board in collaboration with Bianca Sands on Grace Bay hosted four social media influencers from August 19 to August 24, 2018 for a marketing campaign designed to promote the resort and Turks and Caicos. The influencers who are based in Montreal, Canada and California, USA have a combined audience of almost 400,000 all of whom are organic followers. The trendy, sought-after influencers have completed many promotional campaigns for brands and luxury destinations worldwide and specialize in travel and leisure content.
Director of Tourism Ramon Andrews stated, “The effective use of social media is a significant component of our overall marketing strategy at the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board. We acknowledge the importance of a strong presence on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook and we’ve seen the tremendous results we can achieve with quality content. By working with social media influencers, the Tourist Board is able to gain exposure and promote Turks and Caicos to a targeted audience”.
The influencers were treated to an authentic Turks and Caicos experience with activities varying from a day trip with Sweet Seas to North and Middle Caicos, a sunset cruise with Sun Charters (Atabeyra), kiteboarding lesson with Kite Provo, volunteering at the Potcake Place, horseback riding with Provo Ponies and a visit to Sapodilla Bay. The visit was complemented with dining experiences courtesy of Crackpot Kitchen, Mudjin Bar and Grill, Bugaloos Conch Crawl and culminated with the Island Fish Fry where they were treated to a private junkanoo experience.
Elisha Jennings, Senior Public Relations Officer of the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board commented, “Our team at the Tourist Board was excited to collaborate with Bianca Sands on this project and help to organize a comprehensive, authentic Turks and Caicos Islands experience for the group. It was extremely important that we utilize this opportunity to gain exposure for our sister islands, North and Middle Caicos and they had an incredible time exploring beyond Providenciales”.
The influencers, Amy Seder (@amydeser), Brandon Burkley (@bburkley), Mel Vandersluis (@mvandersluis) and Mike Homsy (@mhomsy) captured photographs, video and drone footage which will be used in future marketing campaigns by the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board. The group also documented their island exploits live to their audience with Instagram stories.
