Situation & Challenge
Lincoln County, or Fossil Basin, Wyoming, is situated in the southwest region of the state. Historically heavily reliant on coal, the area had to adapt in early 2019 when the major employer, the coal-fired generator, was closed. Fossil Basin had struggled for some time to identify and curate a strong tourism identity, and in 2019 it became even more important. The area didn’t have branding, a website, physical materials to distribute, or a social media presence, and the budget to build this branding infrastructure was necessarily restricted.
Strategy
The Herrmann Global team recognized that the fossils of Fossil Basin were an underutilized magnet for travelers. We developed a strategy to confirm this theory, then build an informed marketing plan accordingly. The website—complete with new branding, and social media accounts were launched in December of 2019, and the response immediately confirmed what an asset the fossil quarries and their stories are for Fossil Basin.
The Herrmann Global team set out to make this the fossil capital of the world. This tagline was already in the area’s arsenal; we simply leveraged it in the most direct and efficient manner possible: digitally. Within the budget set by a community in a pinch, Herrmann Global created a complete online experience through storytelling in the form of blogs, seasonal videos, a social media audience and community, and intuitive design.
Results
- Website pageviews: Approximately 22,000 since January 2020, with over half of the pageviews being to fossil digging-related content
- Average Facebook post engagement: 10% (industry average is 3-5%)
- Average Instagram post engagement: 20% (industry average is 2-5%)
- Facebook campaigns generated over 15K link clicks to the website with an average cost-per-click (CPC) of $0.15
- The average CPC for Facebook ads promoting fossil digging was $0.05
- Facebook campaigns reached over 300K people generated nearly 600K impressions
- Comments on social media indicating high interest and/or intent to visit
