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This presentation to Economic Developers who attended TVA's 2014 Economic Developer's Forum, provides detailed instructions on how to build a great website for economic development. This was presented by Ellen Didier, president of Red Sage Communications, Inc.
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Making your way around the board Landing a GREAT Website
9th Annual TVA Economic Developer’s Forum February 27 & 28, 2014
RED SAGE: Experts in Economic Development & Community Marketing
• Economic Development Groups • Chambers of Commerce • Tourism • Downtown Redevelopment • Main Street Programs • Local Governments • National Heritage Area
Awards from:
- Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC)
- American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE)
Our Services for Communities Website Design
• Content Mgmt System • Responsive Sites • Google Analytics • Chambermaster • TravelHero
Community Branding Retail Recruitment Guides Wayfinding Signage Social Media Marketing Content Development
E-Newsletters Blogs Graphic Design
• Logos • Community Print Ads • Flyers • Brochures • Rack Cards • Folders • Tradeshow Banners
? Why is having a strong online presence for your
community important?
The vast majority of research to narrow down a list of potential sites is done online.
Let’s talk BRANDING
We’re Different!
Branding Your Community
Your community brand captures both tangible and intangible qualities that create a community personality and make your community truly unique
Your brand is your reputation and your promise of distinct value
Captures who you are and where you want to go
Examples of Branding
Showcasing your community
through your website
Your Primary Target Markets
Site Selectors Industry Reps
Retailers Stakeholders & Partners: City, County, Utility, Tourism, Chamber, etc.
Industry Sectors
Related secondary markets include residents and tourists
www.???.org BaldwinEDA.com DorchesterForBusiness.com OzarkAlabama.us PlatteCountyEDC.com ChesapeakeVA.biz BuildWebsterCity.com
At a minimum, spell out your
County name for Search Engine
Optimization and usability
Develop Your Site Map Plan the pages of your site Establish a structure that is logical Keep all content within three clicks This also establishes your main navigation
button choices – keep consistent! Look at how other groups have set their
sites up – look at IEDC winning sites or www.communityresults.com
Site Map Example 1
Home Business Climate
Cost of Doing Business
Tax Incen6ves
Exis6ng Industries
Transporta6on
U6li6es
Workforce
Demographics
Workforce Stats
Workforce Training
Technology Center
Job Seeker Resources
Available Sites and Buildings
Available Sites
Available Buildings
Maps Quality of Life
K-‐12 Educa6on
Post-‐Secondary Educa6on
Healthcare
Recrea6on and ANrac6ons
About Us
Staff
Board
Contact Us
Site Map Example 2 Home Doing
Business
Incen6ves
Taxes
Licenses & Permits
Transporta6on
U6li6es
Area Industries
Exis6ng Industry Resources
Workforce
Workforce Stats
Workforce Training
Retail
Retail Demographics
Exis6ng Retail
Available Sites and Buildings
Available Sites
Available Buildings
Industrial Parks
Community Profile
Demographics
Maps
Educa6on
Healthcare
Recrea6on and
ANrac6ons
About Us
News
Contact
Site Map Example 3 Home About Us
Staff
Board
Contact Us
News Local Business Services
Workforce Development
Incen6ves & Financing
Professional Development &
Training
Small Business & Entrepreneurs
Job Search Resources
Site Selec6on Services
Available Proper6es
Incen6ves & Financing
Workforce Development
Industry Concentra6ons
Cost of Doing Business
Leading Employers
Data & Demographics
Demographics & Trends
Transporta6on
Regulatory & Environmental
Workforce
Taxa6on
Government
U6li6es
Living Here
Housing
Educa6on
Cost of Living
Recrea6on
Climate
Healthcare
What types of content? Maps Demographics Available Property
listings Quality of life Staff and contact Existing Industries Workforce Information
Taxes & Incentives Transportation Utilities Business Assistance News Social Media links and
feeds
Designing an Effective Home Page
Your brand Your location – with a map Unique selling points Recent news Contact information Graphics heavy but no flash
How to Write and Program Content
VERY data heavy People don’t read – avoid paragraphs Break pages up visually with sub-heads,
sections or graphics Make sure you are including brand messaging
and covering all strengths
What to include in News New industry announcements Local industry news New Hires Awards Job creation announcements Report releases Either write your own or link to local coverage Ability to share articles on social media
GIS Powered Sites
More robust searching More extensive property data fields Radius-based demographics Exportable reports TVA makes it affordable for small
communities with Local InSite!
Make it Responsive to all Devices
Showing up in Search Engines “county name” economic development Your organization name
How to increase your odds of showing up
Before you write your content, write down a list of key phrases you want to show up for:
County name
Organization Name
County + economic development
Region name + economic development
Existing industry name (Mercedes)
City name
City/county/region name + maps
City/county/region name + available
property
How to increase your odds of showing up
Then make sure these words are heavily used throughout your content, page titles
Use Pay Per Click to expand visibility on broader search terms such as “Alabama Industrial Property” or “Automotive Manufacturers” or “Automotive Megasite”
Use Blogs and Social Media actively Make sure other sites link back to yours
Main Rules for Websites
KEEP IT UPDATED
Make it useful and informative for all audiences
Make contact info easy to find
Be sure all elements work on mobile devices
Use Google Analytics
Drive online visibility with Social Media
Best for local community engagement
Best for broader communica6on, or crisis communica6on
Best for online networking, prospec6ng, and professional development
Best for video marke6ng – hos6ng videos that can be embedded on your website
Linked In: If nothing else, participate here Make sure your key employees listed on
your website have link to Linked In profile Participate in groups Communicate with site selectors active on
Linked In – respond to posts etc. Link to news articles on your website
(drive traffic)
Make sure all key employees have profiles and actively build connections
Search for and actively participate in industry groups locally, nationally,
internationally
LinkedIn groups are a great way to monitor buzz and trends
Communicate and engage with site selectors online
Make status updates of your own to show up in feeds
Twitter Communicate news or share ideas
Search key phrases to tune into news and conversations (#EconDev)
Expect a small group of active followers
Good for announcements, crisis communication and for monitoring trends
Using # and @ Use @ to mention an organization or individual
by name – this shows up in their feed (and is very desirable) @RedSageAL
Use # to highlight topics to show up in searches such as #EconDev #SiteSelection #Branding
Create your own #hashtag for an event or campaign such as #TVAforum2014 or #SageAdvice – use to create buzz at an event
Search for topics to monitor trends (#hashtags)
Engagement and relationship building with your local market primarily
More personal, informal and friendly
Know your goals for using this:
Top of mind in local market Sharing local business news, or building
support for a local issue Cross sharing/SEO opportunity
Promote action on community issue
Share local economic development news
Highly recommend starting to incorporate video into your efforts, if you are not already doing this
YouTube
Greenville, SC http://www.youtube.com/gogadc
About GADC video Industry profiles Testimonial videos from young
professionals
Jacksonville-Onslow, NC
Follow industry leaders on social media and on their blogs
Promote those already championing for you Be an active follower by retweeting, sharing,
and commenting Actively participate in LinkedIn Groups Continuously find and add LinkedIn
connections
Growing your audience: Follow to be followed
Know what is being said Whether you use social media or not,
people will still be talking about your organization and your community online
Monitor all social media platforms for comments and respond to comments as quickly as you can
Set up alerts for your company name, products, and other identifying keywords
Set up alerts associated with your competitors
Set up alerts for terms associated with your industry
www.Google.com/Alerts
Trackur.com – starts at $325/year to find out any time your community is
mentioned in social media
If at all possible, respond to negative posts rather than deleting them from your feeds
Do not get into a “he said she said” argument if the post was negative – respond professionally and move it offline
Respond quickly to any negative posts
Don’t forget to promote social media engagement
Links and feeds on your website Icons on your business cards and print
materials Actively promote and link to from e-
newsletters Anywhere you market yourself – make
sure you are promoting social media
Download this presentation at www.slideshare.net/ellendid4
Please connect with me! www.RedSageOnline.com
twitter.com/ellendidier twitter.com/RedSageAL
facebook.com/redsage linkedin.com/in/ellendidier
