Maria Sidoti, Director of Digital Marketing at the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau has been a driving force behind the evolution of Miami’s digital presence for over two decades. With a background that initially had little to do with technology, Maria has helped digitally amplify Miami’s status as a world-renowned travel destination through passion and a lifelong commitment to continuous learning. In this interview, Maria shares insights into her life as a marketer, the challenges of her role, and the digital marketing trends that are shaping the future of the tourism industry.
Maria’s path to digital marketing
Hi, Maria! Can you start by sharing a bit about yourself and your journey? What drives you in your position today as an experienced digital marketer?
Sure. What got me to where I am today is my passion. When I’m interested in something, I am passionate about it, and I strive to achieve good things. I started as the Advertising Coordinator for the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau 22 years ago, with no background in website development or statistics. As the company evolved, my department expanded, and we had the opportunity to relaunch our website. Our first website was in Dreamweaver, and then we moved to Sitecore.
I took on the website launch and just ran with it—I loved it. I was very involved with building that website and the more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. A few years later we decided to switch to Kentico. With Kentico, especially now with Xperience by Kentico for our recent relaunch, we’ve stayed up to date with the latest versions because it’s easy to roll them out. Over time with the changes, I kept learning and evolving with the technology. I just became the Director of Digital Marketing last October. I get to make decisions regarding the website, which is very exciting.
Don’t be afraid to try new things. If you break something, it can be fixed. The key is to be willing to experiment and learn from the experience.
It seems like you didn’t have a technical background initially. Was getting up to speed with the technical aspects of your job the hardest part?
It was a bit challenging, yes. Understanding meta descriptions, page titles, SEO, how Google credits the website, how the crawlers crawl everything (whether you want them to or not)—it’s all been a fun journey. My background was actually in elementary education; I was going to be an elementary school teacher. But I detoured and ended up with an advertising coordinator job, and now here I am.
How would you explain your digital marketing role to someone unfamiliar with your role?
I’d say I bring stories to life. Pages on the Miami and Beaches website encourage people to travel and spend time in the destination, whether they're here for a layover flight or coming in for a cruise. Whether they have just a couple of hours to shop or go to a restaurant, or they’re here for a few weeks. I try to make Miami a welcoming place for everybody looking for somewhere to go for vacation. That’s what I do on a day-to-day basis in the office.
A passion for travel and tourism beyond marketing
You mentioned passion earlier. Did you have a passion for travel and tourism before joining the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, or did it develop over time?
Who doesn’t want to travel the world? I’ve always wanted to explore. I’m of Italian descent and have always dreamed of visiting Italy. My first job in travel was with Sandals Resorts, where I worked in reservations. They sent us to the hotels so we could sell the product with firsthand knowledge, and I loved it. I went to Saint Lucia, Antigua, all over Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the Turks & Caicos—which is beautiful. So, I got to travel a lot.
When I joined the Convention and Visitors Bureau, I thought I knew Miami, having lived here my whole life, but I’ve learned so much more about the destination through my work. I focus on creating visually appealing content that resonates with someone planning their Miami vacation. I always think about what I would want to see if I were in their position. It’s been a great experience.
What are the key trends in digital marketing that you’re excited about?
AI is huge right now—for video, for photos, for content, for everything. Our editors are using it. We write headlines, text, button text. It’s great. If I don’t have an image that fits my landscape, I can expand it using generative AI.
I love all the new technology and gizmos and gadgets that I can put on the site. I plan to add virtual reality/video tours of neighborhoods on the site next year. We face the challenge of promoting all 34 municipalities as well as other areas and neighborhoods—totaling about 54 altogether, which can be overwhelming, but we're figuring it out little by little.
Facing industry challenges
What are some challenges that play into your day-to-day work?
Political influences can bring unexpected requests that don’t always make sense for the website’s goals. Figuring out how to implement those requests in a way that’s logical for visitors is a challenge. The content team has to crank out articles and my team has to build them. We’re always asked to do new things, right? Recently, we added an ADA tool on our site called Recite Me and we are also launching an AI Assistant or chatbot to the site with SATISFI.
Another challenge is getting the rest of the organization to understand the website’s purpose and how to effectively use it. From our chairman to our press people, everyone has requests, but not everyone understands the process involved in executing those requests.
Greater Miami Convention & Visitor Bureau Testimonial
An interview with Maria Sidoti
How do you differentiate Miami from your competitors?
Promoting current and annual events and major attractions also helps set us apart. And let's not forget our beaches. Miami Beach and South beach are world-renown beach destinations, and in my opinion, there is no competition there. We also have the new Brightline train system which runs from Orlando to West Palm Beach, to Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami. We encourage visitors to come for a visit with this quick and easy way to travel.
We promote events like Taylor Swift's, who is coming to Miami in October with her Eras Tour. She has been on our website for about 6 months now because of the lift the event gives our site. We also had Lionel Messi come to play for Miami. The effect soccer and his coming has had on Miami has been phenomenal. We have the World Cup coming. We had FIFA, as well as the Formula 1 race. These great events happening in our destination have really helped elevate our website.
Working with Xperience by Kentico
How has Xperience by Kentico helped you face challenges?
Xperience by Kentico has been fantastic for reusing content across the site, making updates easy, and ensuring the website is reliable. Versioning and the ability to publish content at specific times have been particularly helpful. My editors love the ease of building searches and creating new content without needing a developer.
The migration went well from Sitecore to Kentico, and later to Xperience by Kentico. In Sitecore, I used to break the site often, but with Kentico, that’s no longer a problem. The platform is user-friendly and reliable, which has made a huge difference.
Maria Sidoti’s journey from advertising coordinator to Director of Digital Marketing shows the power of passion and curiosity for creating successful digital strategies. Her ability to adapt, learn, and embrace new technologies has helped her successfully promote the best things Miami has to do in an ever-evolving industry.
Discover more insights about the latest trends in tourism and check out our recent ebook to get in-depth advice on becoming a digital marketing pro in the tourism industry, just like Maria.