The MRBTA marketing team continues to work hard on the new destination website. We are keen to ensure that the website promotes our region in a dynamic, fresh and exciting way, and appeals to a wide audience. With this in mind, we have approached a number of writers and bloggers with different interests and backgrounds, and who feel passionately about the region, to help us to bring the destination to life.
How will it work?
The bloggers will be asked to create stories based on their own interests and passions, with the idea that this will translate into engaging, shareable website content – think about the cool stuff that shows up in your Facebook newsfeed! They will be like our in-house journalists, and will come to us with ideas around the latest stories to cover on the website. The bloggers will tell us which of our member businesses they feel most excited about visiting, and we’ll then contact them to ask whether they’d like to be involved. Member businesses will be invited to contribute free of charge product in exchange for coverage.
How will the articles be shared?
The articles will be published on the margaretriver.com blog and will be displayed on relevant website landing pages. So if your business is a restaurant in Busselton, your coverage will be displayed on the ‘Restaurants & Cafes’ and ‘Busselton’ website pages. The articles will then be shared via the online networks of the tourism association and via the bloggers themselves, where appropriate.
Can I see any examples?
If you’d like to see examples of where similar approaches have been used successfully, take a look at the blog for Tourism Queensland, Visit Manchester’s ‘See what the locals like’ and Tourism Australia’s ‘Best Job in the World’ campaign.
From previous work within our own tourism associations, we’ve found that the ‘Top 10’ list-style articles (or ‘listicles’!) work well, so we’re likely to feature this kind of article quite frequently.
How do I put my business forward for consideration?
We would love to hear from you with story ideas for the website. Fill in this simple form to submit your idea and we will add your idea to the story pool to be considered by our bloggers.
In addition to working with guest bloggers, there will be a number of ways to promote your business via the new destination website. Keep an eye on your member newsletter for further details.
Who are the bloggers?
The bloggers selected to work on the initial stage of the new destination website are as follows:
Anthony Pancia
Anthony Pancia moved from Sydney to Margaret River 15 years ago. He came for the waves but soon discovered there’s much more to this region than that. He has a background in print journalism but is thoroughly enjoying feature writing and the ability to really tap into a issue or character.
Website | Instagram
Jacinta Keeble
Jacinta Keeble is a proud mother, wife and writer, grateful to call the South West home. She is passionate about real food and appreciates fresh produce from her local region. Jacinta loves exploring the South West, finding hidden gems and sharing them on social media.
Website | Instagram (Real Food Adventures) | Instagram (South West Life) | Facebook (South West Kids)
Johanna Castro
A gypsy heart and a geologist husband brought travel writer Johanna Castro from Cape Town to Bunbury in 2008. Exploring the South West region soon became a passion which led on to writing for The West Australian, Fodor’s Travel Guide and various tourism agencies. In 2010 she began blogging and created ZigaZag (focusing on South West Australia) and Lifestyle Fifty. Jo’s contributed to over 40 publications and lived in 11 different countries but her gypsy heart is now content as she continues to discover and write about the fabulous produce, fine wines and beautiful scenery of WA.
The ZigaZag Mag | Lifestyle Fifty | Facebook (The ZigaZag Mag) | Facebook (Lifestyle Fifty) |
Twitter | Instagram (Lifestyle Fifty) | Pinterest | LinkedIn
Mia Lacy
A wordsmith by trade, an avid amateur photographer and sometime instagrammer, Mia Lacy spent most of her life in Cairns where she often wrote travel articles promoting the reef and rainforest. She recently moved to South West W.A. and is just loving being an indulgent tourist and discovering this gorgeous part of the world piece by piece.
Website | Facebook
Shelley Guy
Shelley has spent 30 years freelancing, primarily as a TV commercial Producer but also as a Writer and Yoga Teacher. Having lived in numerous places around Australia, and travelled extensively around the world, she has called her patch of paradise near Dunsborough home for the past 14 years. While she revels in every aspect of life in the south-west, Shelley is most drawn to the coast, particularly Yallingup where her husband operates a vibrant coffee van business, and where she teaches summer yoga with views to the main surf break. It’s a life that’s full, fun and one great adventure.
Facebook (Yoga at Yallingup) | Facebook (Pronto Cinto)