Farrell: Visitors' bureau uses fashion, lifestyle bloggers at RBC Heritage to attract millennials to Hilton Head Island

Early on Monday afternoon, Caitlin Covington, the lifestyle blogger behind Southern Curls and Pearls, posted a picture on Instagram. It showed her holding a birthday cake-flavored ice cream cone in front of the Salty Dog Cafe on Hilton Head Island.

"I'm a happy girl," she wrote to her 183,000 followers, tagging the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce's Visitor and Convention Bureau's Instagram account and hashtagging "Hilton Head" in the process.

Immediately after Covington's post, the visitors' bureau Instagram account saw a boost in followers, from 2,382 to 2,431.

"LOVE HHI!!!! Got married there :)," one follower commented on Covington's photo.

"Take me there," posted another.

"I wish I would've run into (you) at the tourney @cmcoving! You could have seen firsthand how you inspired my Heritage style!"

Covington, along with three other fashion and lifestyle bloggers, was in town as a guest of the visitors' bureau to experience the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing tournament and, frankly, give the visitors' bureau some of what they have -- which is a reach with millennials.

The bloggers -- Jessica Sturdy from Bows and Sequins, Hallie Wilson from Corals + Cognacs and Grace Atwood from The Stripe, all of New York City, and Covington, who is from Charlotte -- had their travel and accommodations paid for in exchange for guest posting on the visitor bureau's Instagram account and for posting on their own social media accounts and blogs.

All told, the trip cost the visitors' bureau about $10,000, according to spokeswoman Charlie Clark.

"It's a really important part of how we market the destination," Clark said. "There's such a lifestyle aspect to the Heritage. And (these bloggers) have such loyal followings. People want to travel where they travel, stay where they stay."

A lifestyle blog is a rather new concept -- a glossier version of the raw confessionals popular in the early days of blogging, back when the first step to signing a memoir deal was to get loudly fired from your job for writing something a little too honest on your personal site after you got home each night.

While the confessional blogs seek to connect with readers through humor and the commonality of imperfection, lifestyle blogs are more aspirational, cultivating followers who are drawn to the creators' personal aesthetics and daily life choices -- to their "brand," if you will.

Lifestyle blogs have given creative, talented and enterprising girls an outlet to do what, in the past, was only available to a select number and only then after working no-pay internships and having parents willing to foot the New York City bill.

In essence, lifestyle bloggers are taking it upon themselves to create their own magazines, where they are editor-in-chief, running one-person operations with the occasional help of family and friends.

"I was a journalism major," Covington said. "Originally I wanted to be one of those girls who lived in New York, but I didn't make the cut. (With the blog) I could create something of my own that people still read. It's really an empowering thing."

The best ones are able to blog full-time. They make their money through advertising and the kickbacks they get when followers buy something they've promoted on the site. But because their life is what their followers are tuning in for, the work can be overwhelming at times.

"I quit my 9 to 5 to work 24/7," joked Wilson of Corals + Cognacs.

The four bloggers who came to the RBC Heritage were all experts at traveling to help promote various events and destinations.

This was Covington's second trip to Hilton Head. She was here earlier this year for a "girls trip" at the Sonesta Resort Hilton Head with other bloggers. The girls posted photos of the outfits they were wearing, the drinks they had and of the beachfront house they stayed it. Throughout the event, the visitors' bureau saw their Instagram followers increase by 37 percent.

"We would definitely consider doing it again," Clark said.

Follow columnist and senior editor Liz Farrell at twitter.com/elizfarrell and facebook.com/elizfarrell.

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• Farrell: Spectators bring their game faces for 'day drinking' at RBC Heritage
• Farrell: Among Hilton Head Island's fashion set, Lilly Pulitzer is real winner of Heritage

This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Farrell: Visitors' bureau uses fashion, lifestyle bloggers at RBC Heritage to attract millennials to Hilton Head Island."