YORK COUNTY — The Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organizations recently announced Yorktown as the winner of its 2025 VIRGO Award in the Best Digital and/or Social Media Initiative category.
The association, which supports destination marketing organizations and the development of tourism and travel professionals in Virginia, announced its award winners at its annual meeting and spring symposium in Harrisonburg in early April.
Yorktown was announced as a winner for its entry — Independence Day Celebration.
According to the county, the York County Economic & Tourism Development implemented a dynamic digital marketing campaign on a tight budget, executing preplanned and real-time content that drove engagement prior to and during the event. Creative strategies included live streams and interactive and spontaneous posts, which led to enhanced participation and excitement. The campaign resulted in resounding success on social media, with an increase in metrics across the board, the county said.
“We could not be more thrilled about this award. York County Tourism’s marketing team works hard to keep our followers and visitors informed about everything they need to know for Yorktown’s Independence Day festivities,” exclaims Deirdre Roesch, Marketing and Communications Manager for York County ETD. “Each year, we begin planning several months in advance, brainstorming creative ways to generate interest in the event — relying on digital marketing trends, analytics, and compelling storytelling through video, email, and social media outreach.”
Historic Yorktown’s Independence Day digital marketing campaign launched in mid-April and ran through July 5, with York County ETD’s marketing team publishing 34 promotional posts highlighting the event — from deadlines and reminders to shopping guides and behind-the-scenes live streams and photographs. On July 4, the marketing team provided real-time storytelling, submitting 24 posts across social media, capturing the excitement of the celebration, it added.
Success was measured by analyzing the engagements, impressions, net engagement rate, net audience growth, website traffic and earned media coverage.
According to the county:
- Facebook and Instagram saw increases in engagements, impressions, net engagement rate, and net audience growth.
- Website traffic surged, with the Fourth of July landing page growing to 3,624 users and 16,920 page views on July 4 — a 333% increase in users and a 363% increase in page views from the previous week.
Judges for the award were industry peers. Submissions were evaluated on the quality of the submission, economic efficiency, and the economic or community impact. The awards were for projects, campaigns, and efforts completed between January through December 2024.
