Yukon town looks to social media to re-brand itself

The central Yukon town of Faro wants to shed its mining image for something more hip and artistic.

The town’s mine shut down in 1998, but even now it's still known for what it mined – lead and zinc. Erica Ward, the town's executive assistant, is on a mission to update that image.

"I'm trying to promote the artistic side of Faro, that we do have a thriving arts community here," she said.

To help her spin Faro into a dynamic community, one which celebrates the arts and other endeavors, Ward looked south of the border and found a website called Tourism Currents. It specializes in revitalizing small towns, with social media applications.  

"It's basically a whole crash course on social media for small business and for tourism," said Ward.

She says the course is paying off.

"We've had people who they see a tag about the Yukon and so they start to follow and, you know, people express ‘Hey I've always wanted to go there’… we had quite a good response so far, with people saying ‘Yes I want to come up there’," she said.

Ward says responses on Twitter and Facebook allow her to track the number of people visiting the town's pages. She says the number is climbing.

Ward says more tourists can provide money along with incentives to create interesting things to do and see.