Tennessee’s tourism story stretches far beyond whiskey and country music. With ninety-five counties and countless experiences—from beaches and lakes to award-winning chefs and family-friendly adventures—the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development faced a massive scale challenge.

Their five-person team needed to uncover stories across the entire state and transform them into stunning, authentic vertical video. Producing enough content to represent every region, season, and audience felt impossible.

“To try and curate content for all of our counties was going to be a huge lift,” Amanda reflects. “You can’t be everywhere at the same time. CrowdRiff helped us fill that gap.”

The team also sought content that felt deeply local—made by people who reflected their audiences and could capture Tennessee’s landscape, culture, and personality through an authentic POV.

“It’s more impactful when you see someone who looks like you and has the same interests as you representing a brand, but authentically,” Amanda says.

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To scale storytelling across all ninety-five counties, Amanda’s team partnered with CrowdRiff Creators for custom vertical video captured by local talent. “It was just another way to expand our storytelling with travelers,” she adds, “utilizing vertical video which has taken root and is so much more engaging."

In early 2024, Amanda worked with CrowdRiff to build an evergreen library of content that would support posting 2–3 Reels and TikToks per week. One of the first shoots—A Day at a Tennessee Beach—set the tone for the program.

‍“You wouldn’t think Tennessee has beaches because we’re landlocked but we do – and they lead you to our beautiful lakes.”
The creator exceeded expectations: “She brought her children, which is great because we now use the videos for a lot of the family content we’re planning for next year.”

The strong results encouraged Amanda to begin batching creator requests for the entire year, including food, culture, and outdoors. A Knoxville shoot enabled her to build a seamless visual itinerary, and outdoor content like white-water rafting on the Coe River introduced dynamic POV storytelling.

“The creator just knocked it out of the park and he continues to create awesome content for us.”

Another successful shoot, featuring The Mad Herbalist, required almost no editing: “We just added some text and sent it out and it performed really well.”

Through each project, Amanda leaned into creator-led storytelling.

‍“We get the best content when we ask a creator to take us to their favorite coffee shop… I love to let creators take ownership because I know they’ll do a great job.”

The collaboration with CrowdRiff has transformed Tennessee’s content production—expanding reach, increasing posting frequency, and amplifying authentic stories across the state.

When Amanda’s team began working with CrowdRiff Creators, they produced 1–2 reels per month. By the end of 2024, that number rose to 4–6 reels per month, with CrowdRiff-sourced UGC included in virtually every post.

This steady influx of content fueled major visibility gains. One standout example was 9 Whimsical Destinations in Tennessee, which earned 1.5 million views and over 50,000 likes.

The improved consistency, authenticity, and diversity of perspectives also strengthened audience engagement across social platforms.

Looking ahead, Tennessee’s content strategy continues to scale. “There are so many amazing chefs that people may not know about,” Amanda says. “We’ll cover high-profile chefs and local mom-and-pop restaurants – great experiences that offer a true taste of Tennessee culture.”

With shoots underway highlighting distilleries, whiskey traditions, rooftop bars, rural eateries, and more, the team is poised to tell even deeper, more vibrant Tennessee stories—powered by local creators who bring their own experiences to the lens.

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