Missoula Sets its Sights on #SoMeT13US (Social Media Tourism Symposium)

We need your help. We need you to vote and to pass this request on to your social networks.

Destination Missoula has thrown our hat in the ring to host the Social Media Tourism Symposium http://www.sometourism.com – also known as #SoMeT13US – this November and we have made it to round one!

SoMeT is one of the country’s premiere social media conferences. During the 6 days the conference was in El Paso last year, 232 attendees generated 6,678 tweets that reached 962,900 people for 10.7 million impressions.

This is priceless PR for not only Missoula, but all of Montana. We will square off against 12 other destinations from around the US in a social media battle. But we are up against some stiff competition, ranging from Tampa/Clearwater, Florida and Milwaukee, Wisconsin to the Pocono Mountains and Eugene, Oregon.

The winning city is chosen via Facebook votes in a contest similar to a Sweet 16, with each city moving further in the contest based on the popular vote.

First round voting is held 10 a.m. MST March 13 and closes 10 a.m. MST March 15 and everyone is eligible to cast a vote for their favorite city.

But we can’t face those destinations alone. We need your help. We need you to vote and to pass this request on to your social networks.

Voting opens on http://www.facebook.com/SoMeTourism March 13-15. Also be sure to follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/visit.missoula and Twitter http://www.twitter.com/visitmissoula.

Additional voting times if we make it past the first round are as noted:

The Elite Eight Tournament will begin with four head-to-head matchups. The destinations will be seeded based on the number of total votes they received in round one. So, the destination with the most total votes in round one, will be the number one seed. They will face off against the number eight seed who received the least amount of votes in the Elite Eight, and so on. We will announce the seedings for the tournament round on the Facebook page by 2:00pm Eastern Time on March 15th. All of the voting for the round two match ups will be done in a 12-hour period. The destination with the most votes will move on to the next round.

The Elite Eight tournament match ups will be:

Monday, March 18 – 10:00am to 10:00pm Eastern Time – #3 v #6

Tuesday, March 19 – 10:00am to 10:00pm Eastern Time – #4 v #5

Wednesday, March 20 – 10:00am to 10:00pm Eastern Time – #2 v #7

Thursday, March 21 – 10:00am to 10:00pm Eastern Time – #1 v #8

The Final Four tournament matchups will be:

Tuesday, March 26 – 10:00am to 10:00pm Eastern Time

Thursday, March 28 – 10:00am to 10:00pm Eastern Time

The Championship Final: Tuesday, April 2 – 10:00am to 10:00pm Eastern Time

Sage

Sage Grendahl

DESTINATION MISSOULA

The Official Convention & Visitors Bureau of Missoula, MT

Mailing Address: 140 N. Higgins Ave., Suite 202

Physical Address: 101 E. Main St.

Missoula, MT 59802

P.406.532.3250 | F. 406.541.9465

http://www.destinationmissoula.org

***

Missoula has thrown its cowboy hat into the ring to host the Social Media Tourism Symposium – commonly known as SoMeT – this November. The Garden City will square off against 12 other destinations from around the United States in a social media battle of the ages.

"SoMeT is one of this country’s premiere social media conferences," said Barbara Neilan, Director of Destination Missoula. "And Missoula is up against some stiff competition, ranging from Tampa/Clearwater, Florida and Milwaukee, Wisconsin to the Pocono Mountains and Eugene, Oregon."

The winning city is chosen via Facebook votes in a contest similar to a Sweet 16, with each city moving further in the contest based on the popular vote. First round voting is held March 13 – 15, with anyone being eligible to cast a vote for their favorite city.

"Living, working and playing here, we know how wonderful Missoula is," said Neilan. "What we need is for everyone else who has a place in their heart for our city to grab their smartphone, tablet or laptop and vote for Missoula."

Vote here: http://www.matr.net/files/SocialMediaTour.pdf

Last year’s conference, held in El Paso, Texas, brought in 232 attendees from all over the world. During their six days in El Paso, they generated 6,678 tweets that reached 962,900 people for 10.7 million impressions.

"You can’t buy PR like that for a community," added Neilan. "It is priceless!"

First round voting is open on http://www.facebook.com/SoMeTourism 10:00 a.m. MST- March 13 and closes 10:00 a.m. MST – March 15. To vote, simply log into Facebook and give Missoula a vote.

http://www.matr.net/files/SocialMediaTour.pdf

"It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Missoula, but it is going to take a village," said Mary Holmes, Destination Marketing Sales Manager for Destination Missoula/TBID. "We need Missoula to ramp up like only Missoula can to turn out the vote and win this one."