South Walton, Florida — (June 5, 2012) — The 30A network passed 100,000 fans on its popular Facebook page today. The network — which includes 30A.com and SouthWalton.com, along with a half-dozen other popular brands — is dedicated to promoting the small beach towns and laid-back lifestyle found throughout South Walton and along Florida’s Scenic Highway 30A.
“The site is a clubhouse of sorts,” said Southern Living in a recent article about the company’s explosive growth. “30A visitors post photos, comments, or ask about where to find anybody and anything from fishing guides to yoga studios.”
The 100,000 fan milestone is one that few companies reach, and 30A’s audience size ranks it ahead of many nationally known media brands such as Coastal Living (45,442 fans), The New York Post (46,001 fans), The Atlanta Journal Constitution (31,902 fans), Frommer’s (18,218 fans), POLITICO (55,502 fans), The Chicago Tribune (49,014 fans), The Tennessean (18,053 fans) and and NBC Sports (55,458 fans), to name a few.
“About 3 percent of our Facebook fans are locals,” said 30A’s Mike Ragsdale. “And while 97 percent of them reside in the U.S., we have 1,096 fans in Canada, 96 in the U.K., 38 in France, 35 in Mexico and so on.
“It’s the largest community of South Walton and 30A fans in the world.”
Ragsdale said that 30A’s posts often reach 400,000 unique Facebook users per week, and hit a record high of 418,000 unique users during the last week of April.
“73 percent of 30A’s audience are female, which is ideal for advertisers trying to reach families planning a trip to the beach,” said Ragsdale, 
referring to a USA Today article entitled, Savvy Vacation Destinations Market to Moms. “Moms are the ones who make all the travel plans.”
To celebrate the 100,000 fan milestone, 30A offered its fans a limited-edition 100,000 Fans T-shirt for only $10, including all shipping and taxes. The shirt featured the famous 30A logo with a small ‘Like’ button underneath, followed by the text: “You and 99,999 others like this.”
“We’re on a beach bum budget, so unfortunately we couldn’t afford to buy a cool gift for all 100,000 of our friends, so we created this special memento for the occasion,” said Ragsdale. “We’ve sold hundreds of the shirts in the last few days, but didn’t make a dime. It was just our way of saying thank you for supporting 30A and our local businesses.”
