Philly 101 Videos, Pinterest, Foursquare Lists, New Foodspotting Guides & 200,000 Fans

PHILADELPHIA, March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) is taking strides to further develop its social media, breaking into the newest and most effective platforms and continuing to refine its current properties. The organization embraced social media early on, and today, GPTMC is a recognized leader in the travel industry, with awards and conference presentations to prove it. Just last month, GPTMC ran a hugely successful Facebook contest, 29 Nights of Dates, which ended with 53,000 entries and 12,000 new fans. Here's the newest social media news from GPTMC, known as Visit Philly to its more than 200,000 social media fans and followers:

1.  Philly 101 Video Series

Starting March 15 and running for 101 days, readers of the insider blog uwishunu.com will see a new Philly 101 video every day. Each video stars a different Philadelphian sharing his/her pick for what people should know about their city. GPTMC will post the one-minute videos to its social media properties—including facebook.com/visitphilly, twitter.com/visitphilly, twitter.com/uwishunu, pinterest.com/visitphilly and youtube.com/visitphilly. The videos' stars (Chef Michael Solomonov, Mayor Michael Nutter, a Rittenhouse Hotel concierge, to name a few) and featured picks will share them with their own networks, reaching an even bigger audience.

2.  Pinterest Account

Pinterest is the newest online craze, and again, GPTMC showed its social media savvy by getting Philadelphia on the site early. Through various boards—essentially, these pin boards act like the ones people use in their homes and offices, except they're online—GPTMC highlights content from visitphilly.com, uwishunu.com and philly360.com along specific themes, such as Iconic Philadelphia, Shop Philadelphia, Philadelphia Sports and Philadelphia Food & Drink. Though GPTMC just started its pinterest.com/visitphilly, it's already paying off in visits to its other online properties. In May, GPTMC will officially announce a Pinterest contest promoting its newest campaign, With Art Philadelphia™.

3.  Foursquare Lists

GPTMC has developed another way to find and share the places people love in Philadelphia—Foursquare lists, curated guides of places visitors should know about. The initial eight lists on foursquare.com/visitphilly include "Free in Philly," "Rooftop Bars in Philadelphia" and "Philly's Great Brunch Spots."

4.  New Foodspotting Guides

GPTMC made Philadelphia the first destination to launch a major program on Foodspotting, and with 1,500 followers, the Visit Philly account surpasses all other destinations, including Ireland and Hawaii, and is on par with other branded pages such as Travel + Leisure. So far in 2012, GPTMC has added five new guides (themed lists of recommended dishes and drinks), taking its total to 25 guides that help people to find and share good food. The mouthwatering additions are: Down-Home Eats: Philly BBQ; Finger-Lickin' Fried Chicken and Wings; Gaybohood Grub; and Old-School Red Gravy Italian Restaurants in South Philly.

5.  200,000 Fans & Followers—And Growing

Last month, GPTMC reached 200,000 fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter. Each day, these people discover reasons to visit Philadelphia—restaurants, exhibits, events, tips, deals and more—on their preferred platform. And once they decide to make the trip, they patronize GPTMC's partners, enjoy a great travel experience and become Philadelphia ambassadors.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region's vitality.

For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit visitphilly.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to HearPhilly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more. Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at (800) 537-7676.