Issue link: http://frankenmuthcvb.uberflip.com/i/1331179
With in-person visitor traffic coming to a halt in March 2020, we could no longer rely on signs in our Visitor Center or word of mouth to communicate with the public. Creating strong messaging through digital channels like email and our website became incredibly important for communicating with our guests. The new frankenmuth.org website went live in mid-January 2020 with a slew of new features such as "related content" blocks, a more visually appealing and searchable calendar of events, optimized member listings, and more. While the first few months of the launch did not go as expected due to the events of 2020, it was a blessing to have such an efficient website at our disposal for the months that would follow. We utilized our new website features to create several web pages on the spot to help our local businesses as COVID-19 regulations came down the funnel – these included a visitor information page giving our guests up to date information about restrictions at the time and PDF links promoting takeout and buying local. Our team made daily updates in the early days of the pandemic to ensure our guests could stay informed. Our new site also allowed us to engage better with our members, specifically in the form of helpful resources. We created a resource center full of downloadable signage businesses could use as restrictions were lifted to inform guests and present a unified message across Frankenmuth. We also included links to business assistance programs and documentation for developing a Preparedness & Response Plan. This went over so well that we continued this same outreach into the Christmas season by creating a holiday toolkit for members. In 2021, some of our website goals included developing more blog content, improving our member listings, and creating more dynamic content elements to keep guests engaged and on the site longer. No matter what happens in this new year, frankenmuth.org will continue to strive to be one of the leading tourism websites in Michigan and promote safe travel to Michigan's Little Bavaria. Website 1,160,576 total sessions with 83.5% of those being new visitors 2,811,636 total pageviews Thursday, July 2, 2020 was the highest traffic day on the website with 9,611 visitors 75% of users viewed the site on a mobile device or tablet "Things To Do" was the most popular page, aside from the Homepage, with 222,831 pageviews 10