All Episodes

July 18, 2024 24 mins

In this week's discussion, Emily chats with Rachel Greiner, the marketing and social media manager at Experience Grand Rapids. She joins to share her strategies for promoting the city and attracting both locals and out-of-town visitors. She discusses the Brewsader app, which highlights the city's breweries and encourages people to visit them all, and the Flights of Flavor program, which showcases food and drink flights at local establishments. Rachel emphasizes the importance of being a go-to resource for information about events and attractions in Grand Rapids, and she shares upcoming developments for the city. Listen in to hear more about how Experience Grand Rapids executes on a goal of fostering connections and community through digital marketing!


TUNE IN FOR TOPICS LIKE:

1:09 Rachel’s career history and landing at Experience Grand Rapids

3:53 Definition and explanation of DMO’s

4:45 Different audience tiers and catering to each of them through marketing

7:38 Brewsader App: highlighting Grand Rapids’ brewery scene

11:31 Flights of Flavor: sharing local food and drink flights

13:12 Evaluating growth and measurements of success

14:33 Strategy mix to attract visitors and locals alike

17:52 Trends in the destination marketing industry

19:38 Using a calendar of events as a marketing tool

21:59 What’s next for Experience Grand Rapids


Listen to this week’s Local Marketing School conversation!

Other episodes you'll enjoy if you enjoyed Rachel’'s episode:

#1: The Power of Everyday People in Influencer Marketing | Charise Flynn & Emily Steele, Co-Founders at Hummingbirds

#9: Integrating Into the Community and Keeping Social Media Fun | Hannah Kirkpatrick, Fareway


Don't hesitate to reach out! We'd love to hear from you on Instagram and find out which episodes you're enjoying the most. Your feedback is so important to us! Please take a moment to rate the show and leave a review - it supports our ongoing Local Marketing School journey and helps us develop more content that addresses what you’re hoping to learn more about!


Connect with Rachel: LinkedIn | Instagram

Find Experience Grand Rapids: Website | Instagram | Facebook


Connect with Host Emily: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Local Marketing School on Social: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube 

Follow Hummingbirds on Social: ⁠Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook


Ready to work with local influencers? Download our free guide! 

Curious what type of influencer you should be working with? Take our quiz! 

This podcast is produced by Hummingbirds. Learn more abo

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.