Professional Speaker on Social Media, Tourism & Travel

• Get More Out of Your 24 Hours: Create More Content in Less Time – Better content marketing with less time and effort, and how to get more posts out of your online content using video and photos.

• Anatomy of a Successful CVB or DMO Blogging Program – “Soup to nuts” on blogging, from creating great posts to getting people to find and read them.

• It’s Wednesday, So What Are You Posting on Facebook? Building a Social Media Content Calendar for Next Week – This is a 75-90 minute hands-on workshop that steps you through a planning process for online content. Attendees walk out with a draft plan for the next week.

• Help Me Get More Out of LinkedIn – Too many people ignore this platform until they need work and change their LinkedIn bio to, “Looking for new opportunities,” but an active personal profile and brand LinkedIn Page are keys to long-term success.

• No Budget? No Problem! Digital Marketing Moves to Make Now That Get the Most Bang for Your Nonexistent Bucks – Best no-cost moves to make right now for more success on each major social platform.

• Social Media and Digital Marketing for Economic Development – Good fit for Main Streets, downtown development organizations, and EDCs.

• Social Media for Small Businesses – Help your tourism partners get the basics right and get found online.

• Social Media Content Ideas for Heritage and Cultural Tourism – Based on the Eight Rural Culture Elements from the Kansas Sampler Foundation, so perfect for small towns and rural destinations.

• News You Can Use: Latest Trends in Social Media and Digital Marketing – always good for either a keynote or breakout session.

• What Do They Find When They Google You? Online Reputation Management – How listening and responding (in a timely manner) to the social media discussions that matter can help your online reputation and image. Includes examples of great monitoring/responses.

• Promoting Your Special Events and Festivals on the Social Web – We’ll explore some innovative ways to promote special events online using tools like Twitter hashtags, Facebook, video, and mobile-friendly technology.

• Hosting Wired Press Trips/Fam Tours —  Bloggers are a new kind of online publisher, and they can connect you with new audiences. A fam tour is still a great way to share your destination with them, but wired writers have some unusual needs and perspectives. Learning their digital ways can result in tons of instant coverage for your destination.

• Finding Your Social Media Champions —  Oh, if only there were some people out there online (like bloggers or influencers) to help us spread the word….  Well, they are out there (they may be locals living right under your nose in your town) and they want to help. Find them, approach them in the right way and give them the tools they need.  I’ll show you how.

(Note: I occasionally partner with my Tourism Currents partner Leslie McLellan to present on tourism topics.)

• Keynote, Heartland Byways conference (plus a workshop) in Manhattan, Kansas.
• Keynote, MITBCA (Malaysia International Tourism Bloggers Conference and Awards) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Keynote, Lehigh Valley Regional Tourism Annual Meeting (plus a workshop) in Allentown, PA.
• Keynote and breakouts at four Oklahoma Travel Industry Association conferences, in Tulsa, OK, and Oklahoma City, OK, plus LT Governor’s Travel & Tourism Summits in Sulphur, OK, El Reno, OK, and Ardmore, OK.
• Led the two-day tourism track at the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Government Social Media Summit, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• Keynote and breakouts, destination marketing summit for Visit Lake Placid and the Adirondacks in northern New York.
• Custom partner training and tour guide media training for Visit Vicksburg, MS.
• Panelist at DMAI (Destination Marketing Association International – now Destinations International) annual conference, on blogger outreach, in Las Vegas, NV.
• Featured speaker for National Travel and Tourism Week for Visit Prince William County & Manassas CVB in Woodbridge, VA, Bastrop County in Bastrop, TX, and Visit Seguin in Seguin, TX.
• Featured speaker at ICTT India (International Conference on Travel Technology) in Kovalam, Kerala, India.
• Digital marketing full day workshop for Missouri Main Street in Jefferson City, MO, plus a breakout at their Annual Conference in Kansas City, MO.
• Breakout speaker at Destination Downtown Main Street and downtown development conference in Monroe / West Monroe, LA.
• Breakout speaker at the Texas Midwest Community Network annual conference in Abilene, TX.
• Two breakouts at NTA (National Tour Association) Contact in Anchorage, AK, and three other breakouts for NTA at their TREX event in Reno, NV.
• Breakout on B2B social media trends for the IITA (International Inbound Travel Association) Summit in San Diego, CA.
• Two breakouts for the PBA (Pennsylvania Bus Association) Annual Conference in Jamestown, NY.
• Worked with the Tourism Currents team and the Webster City, Iowa Area Chamber of Commerce – workshop and webinar series to make the whole town and surrounding Hamilton County more social- and tourism-savvy.
• Months-long project with the Tourism Currents team and Sarah T. Page Consulting on social media marketing training for the Texas Historical Commission’s 20 Texas state historic sites.
• Months-long project with Tourism Currents on social media marketing strategy, content planning, and tourism partner training (our Roadmap Package) for Great Plains Country – southwest Oklahoma regional tourism and economic development.
• Year-long Tourism Currents social media education program for Wisconsin Main Street and their partners – online course, webinars, email mini-course.
• Keynote and breakout session at Visit Pittsburgh’s Be Digital Pittsburgh Summit, Pittsburgh, PA.
• Keynote and breakouts, Midwest Byway Conference, Richmond, IN. Breakouts at Heartland Byways conferences in Leavenworth, KS.
• Breakfast keynote and a breakout session for the National Travel & Tourism Week tourism partner summit in Kenosha, WI.
• Breakout speaker at Iowa’s state tourism conference, Sioux City, IA, and again in Des Moines, IA.
• General session speaker for the Central Texas I-10 Alliance regional tourism organization’s annual Summit in El Campo, TX.
• Faculty instructor at annual Travel and Tourism College with TTA (Texas Travel Alliance) in both Bastrop, TX and College Station, TX locations.
• Custom half-day social media workshop for the Maryland Milestones/Anacostia Trails heritage region, Maryland.
• Breakouts on finding online social media champions and influencers, Missouri Governor’s Conference on Tourism, Lake of the Ozarks, MO.
• Breakout on social photography, Pure Michigan state tourism conference, Grand Rapids, MI.
• Two panels at day-long Houston, Texas Tourism Summit.
• Webinar on business travel and social media marketing trends for the GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) North Central Chapter in Minneapolis, MN.
• Speaker for MarketingProfs virtual event, on what all marketers can learn from the travel and tourism industry.
• Breakout session, along with my Tourism Currents business partner Leslie McLellan, at the Signature Travel Network annual sales conference, Las Vegas, NV.
• Breakout sessions with Leslie McLellan at the national Main Street Now conferences in both Kansas City, MO, and Seattle, WA. Also spoke solo at Main Street Now in Richmond, VA.
• Custom small business workshop for the Gonzales, Texas Chamber of Commerce.

• Digital marketing session at the America Outdoors annual conference and outfitter expo in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Breakout sessions about online presence and podcasting, at two different Texas Historical Commission Real Places heritage tourism conferences, Austin, TX.
• Breakout session about DMO blogging for the Kentucky Travel Industry Association annual conference, Owensboro, KY.
• Breakouts at Texas Downtown Association annual conferences in Granbury, TX, Georgetown, TX, Denton, TX, and San Marcos, TX.
• Two breakouts at the Heartland Byways conference for scenic byways and heritage highways, in Council Bluffs, IA.
• A full day of custom training for Visit Joplin partners, Joplin, MO.
• A full day of custom training for Wisconsin Main Street partners, Kenosha, WI.
• Breakout at the Building Community conference for Midwest DMOs and travel bloggers in Clear Lake, IA.
• Breakout on “Social Media for B2B: LinkedIn and More” plus roundtable sessions “The Company Page: Key Steps to Improve Your LinkedIn Storefront” and “Most Valuable Way to Spend an Hour? Twitter Chats!” at the Simpleview Summit, Tucson, AZ.
• All-day social media for tourism custom training, Huntsville-Madison County CVB, and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL.
• All-day custom social media training for staff and partners, Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana CVB.
• Two workshops for the city of Uvalde, TX Main Street staff and partners.
• Half-day workshop for Discover San Angelo, TX and their partners.
• Half-day workshop for the city of Kemah, TX, and their tourism partners.
• Influencer marketing panel for Visit Wilmington, DE.
• Five different panels at the annual Tempest Tourism Academy user conference in Philadelphia, PA, Long Beach, CA, Louisville, KY, and Pittsburgh, PA.
• Breakouts, Nebraska state tourism conference, North Platte, NE, and the Wyoming state tourism conference in Cheyenne, WY.
• Breakout speaker on social photography, Hawaii Social Media Summit, Honolulu, HI.
• All-day social media for tourism custom training, City of Granbury, TX.
• Custom social media training workshop for Visit Philadelphia, the Oklahoma City CVB, the Tyler, TX CVB, the Galveston TX CVB, and Visit Kansas City, MO, plus partners.
• Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) travel blogging conferences in New York, Keystone, CO, Toronto, Cancun, and Bloomington, MN.
• 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014 Symposium on Social Media in Tourism – SoMeT – in Loudoun County, VA, Tunica, MS, Huntsville, AL, and Nashville, TN.
• Texas Travel Industry Association (TTIA) annual Texas Travel Summit in Galveston, TX, and Corpus Christi, TX plus a custom webinar for them on content marketing and a LinkedIn presentation at one of their regional workshops.
• Two breakout sessions for destinations, tour operators, and tour suppliers, Educational Travel Community conference, Boston, MA.
• Webinar on blogger outreach, TIAK (Travel Industry Association of Kansas.)
• BlogWorld and New Media Expo 2010, Las Vegas NV and 2011, Los Angeles CA. My Tourism Currents business partner Becky McCray and I organized and ran BlogWorld’s first Tourism track.
• South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) tech conference in Austin, TX.
• E-Tourism Summit 2011, 2013, and 2016 in San Francisco, CA.
• The SOBCon business and social media conference/think tank in Chicago, IL.
• Texas Association of CVBs (Convention and Visitors Bureaus) annual conferences in Lubbock, Killeen, The Woodlands, El Paso, Sugar Land, TX and College Station, TX.
• Social Media Tulsa conference in Tulsa, OK (three times.)
• Austin’s featured speaker for the worldwide Creative Mornings topic theme “Bravery.”
• Texas Coastal Bend Regional Tourism Council in Port Aransas, TX.
• National Travel & Tourism Week featured speaker for Laredo, Texas CVB staff and partners.
• Keynote, Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) Lone Star Chapter in San Antonio, TX.
• Texas Conference for Women, Social Media Roundtable, Austin, TX.
• Red Carpet Country annual tourism conference (with Becky McCray) in Alva, OK.
• Texas Festivals and Events Association (TFEA) annual conference in Houston, TX.
• Texas Leadership Institute tourism seminar and Governor’s Small Business Forum in Bastrop, TX.
• International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) training conference in Austin, TX.
• BlogHer blogging conference, Chicago, IL.
• TRAPS (Texas Recreation and Park Society) in Garland, TX.
• Austin Women in Tech in Austin, TX.
• PeopleFund (economic development) in Austin, TX.
• InnoTech tech conference in Austin, TX.
• Chambers of Commerce for Rockdale, Jewett, and Brownwood, TX.
• Metropolitan Breakfast Club in Austin, TX.
• Mass Communications Conference, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX.
• Webinars for the Texas Travel Industry Association, Association for Women in Communications (AWC) National Headquarters, Destination Marketing Association International’s empowerMINT, Girlfriend’s Guide to the Business of Blogging, and the UpTake travel site’s blogger network.
• Local panels for AWC Austin, Refresh Austin, Social Media Breakfast, the Writer’s League of Texas, RISE Austin, the Young Women’s Roundtable, Freelance Austin, Kingsland (TX) Genealogy Society, and the University of Texas Undergraduate Writing Center.

• (ongoing)  Educational webinar work with the National Scenic Byway Foundation; Tourism Currents is the Foundation’s preferred training partner.
• Speaking at the Nebraska state tourism conference in Gering, Nebraska.
• Attending the Texas Downtown Conference in Nacogdoches, Texas.
• (tentative) Tourism partner workshop on digital marketing and social media for Visit Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
• (tentative) Speaking at the Jefferson Highway Association annual conference in Alexandria, Louisiana.

• From attendee survey feedback after my TACVB (Texas Association of CVBs) Annual Conference 2023 presentation on social media content ideas for heritage and cultural tourism:

“She did an excellent job, would love to see her again.” “Loved it! Especially appreciated that she had her slide deck ready to share.” “She was an awesome speaker; so energetic and very engaging. LOVE THIS ONE.”

• From Jaye Stimson O’Donnell, Assistant Economic Development Director for the City of Mesa, AZ, after my 2022 National Main Street conference presentation in Richmond, Virginia, on social media for economic development:

“Your presentation was GREAT. Nailed it. I loved the content, the honesty, the examples, and the delivery. You are entertaining and very funny.”

• From breakout sessions at 2022 NTA (National Tour Association) Contact in Anchorage, Alaska – speaker feedback survey –

“(Question) What did you like most about this seminar/topic/presentation?

Everything! She is amazingly dynamic!! She was fun and easy to listen to, but gave us practical insight. So interesting to listen to. Examples provided. She had lots of energy. Lots of ideas. Sheila’s energy in her presentation keeps your attention. She presents the topic in an understandable manner. Sheila is frank and practical! I like her no nonsense approach. Sheila was very engaging and a great speaker, knows what she is talking about

(Question) How would you improve this seminar?

Bring her back!!”

• From Liz Strauss, online culture strategist, speaker and founder of the SOBCon and Genius Shared business conferences

“Sheila Scarborough lights up a room with information and personality. Can’t wait to be there when I know she’ll be speaking. Every time she delivers on her promise of fun, fast-paced, actionable content. I walk away inspired to start doing great things with my business.”

• From Patrick Jones, Executive Director & CEO, International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association (IBTTA)

“Sheila Scarborough rocks! Great story teller. Relevant. Knows and cares about her audience.”

• From Julie Tereshchuk, writer, Editor-in-Chief at Texas Lifestyle Magazine and Board of Directors member, Metropolitan Breakfast Club (“Austin’s premier speakers’ club since 1984”)

“In person, Sheila’s dynamism and sense of humor combine with her subject matter knowledge to make for a compelling speaker with a level of energy seen only amongst the best speakers and presenters.

In webinars, I’ve sat through many presentations feeling little empathy and connection with the speaker, particularly when they were just a disembodied voice on the end of a phone link. I had the opposite experience with Sheila Scarborough, who hit the perfect note in an online environment which demands a more nuanced set of skills than those of an in-person presentation.”

• From students at a recent TTA (Texas Travel Alliance) Travel & Tourism College – my recent sessions include DMO blogging and building a digital marketing content calendar –
  

  “Great presentation. Learned a lot about blogging which we currently do not do.”
  “Lots of useful information. I always appreciate her thoughtful road maps.”
  “She’s always a great speaker!! Great nuggets of info :)”

  “Awesome personality!”
  “Great presentation for people that have not begun a social media/editorial calendar.”
  “Great tips. Now I just need to make myself do this. I certainly have all the tools, thanks to Sheila. Wonderful session.”

• From Mary Jo Manzanares, Director of the TBEX travel blogging conference:

“It’s people like you who help us up our game in the education department.”

• A tweet from from Kristi Carmon Huskey, Marketing Manager for the Huntsville-Madison County [Alabama] Convention and Visitors Bureau:
  

  “Had a fabulous day with everyone getting our social on from the best teacher ever, @SheilaS. #SocialHSV”

• From attendee surveys after a MarketingProfs webinar about what all marketers can learn from the tourism industry:

“Even though it centered around the tourism industry and I am in the financial industry, I walked away with great ideas. Nicely done!”

“This was one of the best presentations I’ve seen in the past couple of years; it was very thorough, and very useful.”