"Will it play in Peoria?" Ever heard that phrase? It’s a classic way to ask if something will appeal to a broad audience based on how well it’s received in Central Illinois. Turns out understanding what’s universally appealing is likewise the goal of Discover Peoria, also known as the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Burea, which represents six counties and five cities. And to attract a broad audience – from leisure travelers and sporting events to local customers and national conventions – Discover Peoria transformed their online presence with Vibemap. Our collaboration aimed to enhance their digital engagement and reach. So, how did our partnership play with Discover Peoria?
Background on A Long-Term Partnership
Vibemap works with destination marketing organizations and cities from New York to San Francisco, from Vancouver to Guadalajara…but our longest and most dynamic partnership is with Discover Peoria. They market to a diverse local crowd—city dwellers, suburban families, rural residents in the 400,000+ Peoria area – and also audiences in the Midwest, greater North America, and around the world. Our mission with Discover Peoria? Building the digital infrastructure that makes sure everyone finds events nearby, local businesses, and things to do that match their vibe.
Integrating Vibemap with Discover Peoria’s Digital Ecosystem
Our journey with Discover Peoria started with managing and maintaining their business listings and creating interactive maps at both the county and city levels, especially focusing on Downtown Peoria and its convention center. We integrated the Vibemap platform into Discover Peoria’s existing SimpleView CRM and CMS, showing how smoothly Vibemap can fit into various customer relationship management and content management systems.
Migration to a New CMS: Enhancing Design and Functionality
Eventually, Discover Peoria decided it was time for a website change—they wanted to transition to a new CMS but keep their SimpleView CRM. Vibemap stepped in to help with this migration to a WordPress-based CMS. The result? A website with a fresher design, better functionality, and a more user-friendly experience. See for yourself at https://peoria.org. This upgrade also helped improve their local SEO ranking factors.
Managing and Expanding Online Presence
We didn’t stop there. Vibemap continues to manage and maintain Discover Peoria’s website, expanding our role to include events data management. We gather events data from all over the Peoria Metropolitan Area and curate an event calendar on Discover Peoria’s website. Our team worked closely with Discover Peoria to train the Vibemap Events AI, ensuring events are accurately categorized and properly placed. Community members and Discover Peoria staff can still add events, with staff having the final say on what goes live through an approval queue.
Guides and Digital Passports: Enhancing Visitor Engagement
To support Discover Peoria further, we created in-depth content guides for places to go and things to do in the Peoria area, including a special guide for the area around the convention center in Downtown Peoria. These guides help convention-goers and visitors discover local businesses, restaurants, and attractions, giving the local economy a nice boost.
We also host a digital passport for Downtown Peoria on our free mobile app, available on iOS and Android. Participants find nearby places that “match their vibe” and explore IRL through Vibemap’s gamified experiences like digital passports, badges, scavenger hunts, challenges, and missions. Users earn points, levels, and badges, which can lead to rewards like local swag, gift cards, dinners, and weekend getaways. These features not only enhance user engagement, but also promote local specials and deals, increasing the amount of time customers spend in places (aka “dwell time”) and boosting the local economy.
Building Direct Relationships with Super Fans
One of the coolest things we offer our partners, like Discover Peoria, is the ability to engage directly with their visitors and residents. We provide valuable information about the most engaged individuals, the “super fans” of their city. This first-party data is crucial for building meaningful relationships and enhancing local reach, offering a direct connection that’s priceless in today’s digital world.
Leveraging Local SEO and Listings Management
Vibemap’s comprehensive business listing services ensure that Discover Peoria's website is optimized for local search results. By integrating localized SEO strategies, we enhance their local directory listings and business directory list, ensuring better visibility on search engines. Using tools like geo-fencing marketing and reputation management software for agencies, we help Discover Peoria maintain a strong local presence and improve their local search result rankings.
Enhancing Business Visibility and Engagement
Through our robust listings management and local online marketing strategies, we help Discover Peoria increase their visibility on platforms like Google. This includes optimizing their "find my business on Google" functionality and leveraging local influencers to boost their local reach. Our efforts in counting customers and analyzing retail foot traffic statistics provide valuable insights into how to get a small business noticed and how to promote a business online.
Conclusion: Elevating Peoria: A Digital Triumph
Discover Peoria is a great example of Vibemap’s dedication to boosting local engagement and digital presence. Their digital transformation shows what’s possible with strategic partnerships and innovative solutions. Our ongoing collaboration has significantly boosted their online presence, and driven traffic, engagement, and economic growth. As we continue to innovate and support our partners, we look forward to more successes and applying what we’ve learned to new opportunities. Because our services absolutely play in Peoria!
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