I physically took the 4th of July off from work, blogging, computers, etc. and spent it with my family. But, I couldn’t escape Web 2.0 marketing trends even though I tried! We don’t watch a ton of TV in our house, but the kids needed to cool off from being outside and Mom and Dad needed a few minutes to relax. So, we turned on some fine holiday programming. A commercial came on that showed a great example of using television media to promote user generated online content - my curiosity was peaked.

mfmn_logo.jpgAn ad for ExploreMinnesota.com came on and the message revolved around the website and a new section called My Favorite Minnesota. Well, I had to grab the laptop and check this out (exactly what the producers of the commercial were going for, I’m sure). Although I live in Minnesota, I had never visited the site.

I was impressed! The site features Minnesotans talking about their favorites on topics such as resorts, golfing, shopping, festivals, activities, etc. The site is very user friendly and the images, linked lists and videos are very well done. Way to go Minnesota! User generated content in this context is an absolutely great way to drive traffic and interest in your topic. I actually got sucked into reading everyone’s bios and watching all the videos.

Awhile back I wrote a post about marketing a state. The post focused around Iowa’s excellent campaign to promote the area as a great place to live and work. It’s fun to see Minnesota - Iowa’s friend rival - coming up with a nice campaign of their own!

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