Cobranding Partnerships: How Small Cities Boost Tourism Through Social Media
In today’s competitive tourism landscape, small cities often face an uphill battle competing against larger destinations with big budgets and national reach. But small cities hold a powerful advantage: authenticity.
By partnering with local businesses through cobranding strategies, small cities can amplify their stories, engage wider audiences, and attract travelers who crave experiences rooted in community.
To explore how, I asked marketing professionals and experts for their insights.
Expanding Reach Through Authentic Collaboration
“The biggest benefit for a small city partnering with local businesses on social media is the ability to expand reach while telling a more authentic, community-driven story. In my role, I’ve seen how effective this can be through partnerships with Visit Lauderdale, where we co-create content like property tours and campaigns that highlight the destination. While Fort Lauderdale isn’t a small city, these efforts show how transformative cobranding can be for smaller destinations. The key is to avoid partnerships that feel transactional, as the future of tourism marketing will continue to favor genuine storytelling that blends the voice of the city with its local businesses.”
Businesses as the Heartbeat of Storytelling
“A city’s brand lives in the stories people tell. Local businesses are the heartbeat of those stories, bringing authenticity and character that no campaign can manufacture. When cities co-create with them on social media, they’re not just marketing a destination—they’re building belonging, trust, and pride that draw people in.”
Humanizing Destinations with Story
“Cobranding between small cities and local businesses can be a powerful tool for tourism, especially when paired with strategic social media. These partnerships humanize the destination, showcasing authentic experiences that resonate with travelers seeking more than just a place, they’re looking for a story.”
Balancing Benefits and Pitfalls
“One of the biggest benefits of co-branding with local businesses is the authentic connection it creates, showcasing a city’s unique personality while engaging both residents and visitors. Collaborative social media campaigns or behind-the-scenes content can boost tourism and build community pride. A key pitfall to watch for is appearing to show favoritism or officially endorsing a private business, which can be frowned upon by an impartial public or governmental entity. When done thoughtfully, co-branding is a powerful tool for small cities to promote their local flavor and tourism.”
Building With, Not Just For, the Community
“It is imperative that small cities use collaboration as key industry stakeholders, to best market their city. Working toward a shared goal of increasing awareness and visitation to the destination is mission, and a rising tide helps all. The biggest benefit when municipalities work with their local businesses is that you craft the opportunity to leverage both brands to the consumer. Telling the story of the destination is the best way to attract more visitors, and the city needs to work and be lock step with their industry stakeholders so that you can best promote the entire destination. Small cities also have the benefits, while working with partners and local businesses, to showcase not only the experiences of the small and charming city, but the amazingly kind and hospitable people inside your community that your guests will be visiting.
Social media can be used much more powerfully when sharing multiple brands and providing a real perspective of what your city has to offer. Engaging residents is key, because destination marketing happens outside of your market, to bring guests into your market. So, the residents do not always know of your incredible efforts and content used to market your city. Sharing that creative, and telling the local community how and where you’re marketing, makes them become ambassadors of the destination and its partners as well, and champions of the city for how they market the destination with the world.
Pitfalls to worry about fall mostly around advocacy and education to the community, or lack there of. Engaging the keyholders of the community, from elected officials, to the taxpayers, and everyone in between, is how cohesive and supportive destination marketing is achieved, especially in a small city. The future of cobranding is bright, as you see many local communities truly building their brand with their community, not just for their community.”
The Power of Data: Why Cobranding Works
Here’s Why it Works:
Statistics show that cobranding strategies backed by social media aren’t just creative but they are also highly effective. Travelers are increasingly influenced by authentic, community-driven storytelling rather than traditional advertising.
72% of travelers say they are more likely to visit a destination after seeing user-generated content on social media.
68% of millennials and Gen Z travelers actively seek out “authentic experiences,” preferring local dining, cultural events, and small businesses over chain establishments.
Travelers trust local voices: Nielsen research shows that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from individuals, even if they don’t know them personally, vs. branded content.
When a small city partners with its local businesses, it taps into both the reach of tourism marketing and the authentic voice of community entrepreneurs. A joint post between a city tourism account and a beloved coffee shop, boutique, or brewery doesn’t just double exposure; it multiplies trust.
Social media algorithms also favor shared content and cross-tagging, meaning collaborative posts often perform better than single-source campaigns. This can stretch limited city marketing budgets much further, creating measurable ROI through impressions, engagement, and ultimately visitation.
Three Strategies for Small Cities:
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Share behind-the-scenes content, staff highlights, and customer experiences from local businesses.
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Use joint campaigns, shared hashtags, and co-hosted events to cross-pollinate audiences.
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Show your community how you’re marketing the city so they can amplify it.
“Cobranding succeeds when small cities and their businesses stop marketing at people and start marketing with them.”
The most powerful cobranding campaigns don’t just promote a destination, they create a sense of belonging that visitors want to experience firsthand. For small cities, that sense of authenticity isn’t just an advantage; it’s the foundation of their tourism success.
