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BEMIDJI 鈥� Social media has the power to bring people together and , the community鈥檚 tourism bureau, tapped into this potential and shared their results during a recent

Visit Bemidji consistently promotes the town and its many community events on its Facebook, Instagram and TikTok pages to a large, dedicated following.

Its Facebook page garnered 1.3 million views on posts in 2024; its Instagram account, considered a top priority, has grown considerably with more than 5,000 followers and its TikTok page, established in July of 2024, exploded in popularity with 1.2 million total views and at least five viral posts of 50,000 views or more.

Social media, alongside the normal modes of marketing, has helped draw in a large crowd of tourists to Bemidji.

Here is how Visit Bemidji鈥檚 small team of four, consisting of Josh Peterson, executive director; Brady Laudon, assistant director and social media manager; Sydni Miles, sales coordinator and office administrator; and Dean Beattie, visitor experience representative, have accomplished this feat of growing and sustaining Bemidji鈥檚 tourism industry in 2024.

Tourism at the beginning of 2024 struggled thanks to little snowfall during the winter months.

鈥淲e kind of flat-lined this year,鈥� Peterson said during the Dec. 16 council meeting. 鈥淭hree months of not having snow kind of shows us the impact of how important snow is to our local tourism. We had a strong summer and fall, so we bounced back.鈥�

This rebound can be partially credited to a strong selection of summer and fall events held in Bemidji, like Unicon 21, Bemidji鈥檚 largest event of 2024. The two-week gathering brought more than 1,200 unicyclists from across the globe to Bemidji for the International Unicycling Federation World Championship and Convention, which hadn鈥檛 been held in the U.S. for 22 years.

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

Visit Bemidji was able to showcase its creativity when it launched a TikTok page with a video following Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox as they rode unicycles past Bemidji landmarks before stopping at all to promote Unicon 21.

The video collected a few thousand views, kickstarting the TikTok page.

鈥淲e couldn't do this report without talking about Unicon, it was a huge success,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥淭he Sanford Center did a survey of the competitors and there鈥檚 some great data that we look forward to diving into to figure out strengths, weaknesses and where we can go from here.鈥�

鈥淚t was two weeks of craziness but everyone I talked to (was) just in love with the Bemidji experience,鈥� he added. 鈥淥ver 28 countries were represented during Unicon.鈥�

At-Large Councilor Audrey Thayer expressed gratitude for Unicon 21 as it highlighted the area's culture in more ways than one.

鈥淭he people wanted the tribes in front and that was amazing to see,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's the first time I've ever seen that in the city where they actually look for the tribes to be there and then put them in front. (They) actively made that effort (and) that said a lot about our city, for diversity for all people.鈥�

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

Visit Bemidji hopes to keep writing success stories like Unicon 21 by continuing to creatively market the Bemidji area while using the tools at their disposal.

And with 2024 ending with a white Christmas, Visit Bemidji remains optimistic for what's to come in 2025.

While Visit Bemidji strives to market itself on social media, its efforts go beyond Instagram and TikTok.

It also creates advertisements that don't just promote Bemidji, but embody it by working with the local arts scene to feature locations and people that keep its effort authentic.

These ads are widely publicized, seen in places like Paramount Plus, IHeart Radio stations in the Minneapolis area and, most recently, the NBC Macy鈥檚 Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The Visit Bemidji team continually evolves as well, as seen with the use of TikTok in 2024 and an increased use of a drone for scenic photography and videography from the sky.

They do it all from the comfort of Bemidji.

鈥淎ll (of) the marketing is being done in-house, organically, with the equipment that we have,鈥� Laudon said. 鈥淲ithout the staff that we have here, we wouldn't be able to make it happen. We're lucky to be in Bemidji. We're very thankful.鈥�

Peterson also noted the ways that Visit Bemidji's efforts compare to those of other tourism bureaus in the state.

鈥淥n that note 鈥� we're outperforming major players like Duluth and Explore Minnesota,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e're excited with what we're able to accomplish.鈥�

Visit Bemidji鈥檚 increased output and results are thanks to a willingness to think, and explore, outside of the box. This includes their relatively new and yearly trip to the Minnesota State Fair.

Contributed

During their report, they stated that the fair is an expensive endeavor that is well worth the effort as they鈥檝e noticed a correlation between visiting the fair and increased fall tourism numbers.

The state fair sees an average of 1.9 million visitors every year and Visit Bemidji is the sole tourism bureau to set up a booth.

Members of the city council have joined in on the fun, with some remarking that the fair is one of their favorite times of the year since the inclusion of the Visit Bemidji booth.

All of these efforts combine to help place Bemidji on the map and ensure it stays relevant at the national level.

After the presentation concluded, the council expressed appreciation for Visit Bemidji鈥檚 efforts.

鈥淚 come from an ad agency background. I know how they make their money,鈥� Ward 3 Councilor Ron Johnson said. 鈥淭hey buy the ads and they get like a 10% markup, and then they get the money for (a) creative (team) to do them. That's how we used to run 鈥� and that's all done in-house now. It's done really quality.鈥�

Ward 4 Councilor Emelie River expressed similar sentiments.

鈥淥ur community really appreciates all of what is done to bring people in,鈥� she said.

Annalise Braught / Bemidji Pioneer

Bemidji Mayor Jorge Prince noted that the tourism bureau is known throughout the state for its quality work.

鈥淚 thank you guys for the bang for our buck that you give the city and our community,鈥� he said. 鈥淚'm in a lot of different spaces with a lot of different elected officials. I hear positive comments about our tourist bureau and we're kind of the envy of many other cities. When we do that with such a small staff, that's a credit and testimony to everybody that's involved. Thank you for that.鈥�

Prince also made sure to thank Visit Bemidji for providing reliable and consistent financial support for the city.

鈥淵our budget is $550,000, so 22% roughly of all the dollars that are coming in are being allocated directly to city-associated things,鈥� Prince said. 鈥淭hat's a very high percentage. I'm not going to forget that. I'm also going to be grateful for that.鈥�