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HAMILTON- The Bitterroot Valley is a part of Montana that is sometimes left out when it comes to raking in dollars from tourists, but leaders there and state tourism officials started brain-storming to try to change that.

More than 10 million people visit Montana every year and the Montana Department of Commerce is suggesting that businesses use social media to promote their business and to attract tourists.

"We decided in designing these workshops, that we wanted to do more outreach and actually get into the communities and see what their needs and their challenges were in promoting their tourism product," the Department of Tourism's Pam Gosink commented.

The workshop help Friday at the Bitterroot Valley Inn was the first held in the state and business owners and community members shared ideas on how to attract people to the Bitterroot Valley.

The ideas included putting up new signs on the highway, using YouTube, doing virtual tours of the attractions in the valley and also creating mobile apps.

Gosink suggests for small businesses to work together to bring more people into their communities. "Work with your local convention visitors bureau, or chamber of commerce and your tourism region."

Montana Department of Commerce officials are making these workshops available to all communities in the state who want to find a way to boost their local economy.

Commerce officials will be back in Hamilton later this month to present recommendations on how to better market the Bitterroot Valley.