Sean Benesh

10/08/2025

The most effective influencers are not defined by follower counts. They are defined by trust.

For rural tourism leaders, that is good news. Authentic voices who share genuine stories about your community are the ones who inspire real travel decisions.

If you are exploring influencer marketing for your town or region, it is easy to assume success comes from follower counts or fancy production value. It does not. The real currency of influence is trust.

10/07/2025

How do we tell our town’s story in a way that feels authentic and engaging?

By showing you what life here really feels like.

The morning light on a main street diner. The quiet stretch of trail before sunrise. The smile of someone who’s called this place home for decades.

That’s what draws visitors in.

Marketing slogans can feel hollow. We’re looking for moments that feel real.

And that’s where quality photography makes all the difference. It captures the textures, faces, and places that words alone can’t. It helps people see your story before they’ve lived it.

Powerful storytelling helps travelers see themselves in your town long before they set foot in it.

10/06/2025

An influencer is not just someone with 100,000 followers. An influencer is anyone whose story can shift awareness, spark curiosity, or inspire a visit.

Why does this matter for rural tourism? Because traditional advertising is harder than ever. People skip commercials, block ads, and scroll past promotions. What they do not skip is someone they trust sharing a genuine story.

Read more: https://www.seanbenesh.com/blog/influencer-marketing-for-rural-tourism-what-every-small-town-needs-to-know/

10/01/2025

When you hear influencer, you might think of celebrities or TikTok dances. But here is the thing: influencers already exist in your community. They are also out there, ready to visit your community and tell your story.

A 2025 study shows they shape travel decisions before, during, and after a trip. That is power rural destinations can harness.

Influencers are not just social media celebrities. They are trusted voices whose stories shape where people travel. For rural tourism leaders, understanding influencer marketing can open new doors to awareness, visitors, and growth.

09/23/2025

Every small town feels the pressure to compete with bigger destinations. But here’s the truth: you don’t have to be the next Sedona. You don’t have to be everything to everyone.

You just need to be known for something.

When you define who you are and who you’re for, the right visitors start finding you.

09/22/2025

In Gallup, New Mexico, a volunteer-built trail system and a few mountain bike events helped generate over $25 million in local economic impact over a ten-year span. And they’re not alone.

Across rural America (and beyond), communities are discovering that trail infrastructure is economic infrastructure; supporting local businesses, creating jobs, and giving young people a reason to stay.

In this latest article, I explore:

▪️How trail systems scale with low-cost, high-reward investment
▪️Why mountain biking is a powerful tool for rural revitalization
▪️What Gallup can teach other communities about economic momentum

A decade ago, Gallup, New Mexico wasn’t exactly known as a trail town. It was a rural hub on the edge of the Navajo Nation, surrounded by wide desert, mesas, and sandstone formations, but not much in the way of tourism buzz.

09/20/2025

We’ve been discussing this topic in both my Intro to Photography and Intro to Digital Media classes this week ...

For social media, when you know exactly who you’re trying to reach, everything changes.

Your photos start attracting the right people. Your captions speak to real desires. Your story becomes something they want to be part of.

Whether you’re promoting a race or a small town, you’re not just selling an event or destination; you’re offering an experience they’ve been searching for.

You’re not trying to reach everyone. You’re trying to resonate with someone.

Ask yourself: Who is this really for?

09/19/2025

It’s been an absolute blast working with a number of rural communities on branding, storytelling, and social media. Most of these are off-the-beaten-path destinations with limited budgets.

For rural destinations, growth doesn’t hinge on bigger budgets. It hinges on deeper connections with visitors, locals, and the stories that set your town apart.

09/18/2025

If you’re organizing a race, you already know how much energy goes into the logistics. But the energy you put into telling your story online? That’s what turns an event into a movement.

That’s when riders start tagging friends, resharing posts, and sliding into your DMs with questions. They begin to feel connected. Invested. And by the time race day rolls around? They’re already part of it.

Social media isn’t extra. It’s part of the work of growing your race, year after year.

09/16/2025

If you’re a rural leader looking at tourism as a way forward, trails and gravel roads can be so much more than recreation. They can be your economic engine.

But the hardest part is often knowing where to start. That’s why I created Trail Towns from Scratch: How Small Communities Can Revive Their Economy Through Trails, a free ebook that breaks down how communities can leverage trails to attract visitors, grow businesses, and tell a new story about who they are.

It’s practical, grounded, and built for communities just like yours.

Download: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hkyc6kldkaejl24vaogen/Trail-Towns-from-Scratch-ebook.pdf?rlkey=9zdfvki3jqohip5a5qn8vwr52&dl=0

09/15/2025

What happens when your work takes you to 20+ cycling races in one summer, sometimes as the coffee guy, other times as the photographer, and often both?

You get a front-row seat to the beauty and chaos that make these events so special.

This summer, I packed up the Nacho the Van, hit the road, and brewed coffee or shot photos at gravel, MTB, and road races across the West, from the Oregon Coast to the Arizona desert.

Each event was a story in itself. Some mornings, I was pouring coffee at sunrise. Others, I was knee-deep in grass, chasing racers with a camera. It was equal parts exhausting and energizing, and reminded me why I love doing what I do.

From the high desert of Bend to the Arizona borderlands, I spent the summer serving coffee and capturing the grit and beauty of over 20 cycling races. Gravel, MTB, road — each one brought new stories. This is a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road with a camera in hand and kettles always boi...

09/09/2025

What kind of digital media content performs best for rural destinations?