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MARKETING BOOT CAMP: 7 Ideas You Can Steal For Marketing Your LRA for the Future. About DCI. Specializing in economic development and tourism marketing since 1960. Smart Idea #1 TO BUILD A BRAND, FOCUS ON WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT YOU “The calf rarely brands itself.”. Andy Levine, President
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MARKETING BOOT CAMP: 7 Ideas You Can Steal For Marketing Your LRA for the Future
About DCI Specializing in economic development and tourism marketing since 1960.
Smart Idea #1 TO BUILD A BRAND, FOCUS ON WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT YOU “The calf rarely brands itself.” Andy Levine, President DCI
“What are the three leading sources of information influencing your perceptions of an area’s business climate?” Dialogue with Industry Peers 50% Articles in Newspapers and Magazines 46% Rankings 42%
Navy Yard, What Navy Yard? Charleston Bounces Back After Closing of Base
“Charleston is on the rise as a high-tech hub” - Financial Times “Introducing Silicon Harbor: Charleston, SC” - Fast Company “Charleston wants to build a next-generation economy” - USA Today
Smart Idea #2 NEVER STOP IMPROVING YOUR WEBSITE “Never, never, never give up.” Winston Churchill
Never Stop Improving • Websites are easier to change than print collateral. • Keeps search engines interested and people coming back. • Even new websites should be continually improved. • Website improvement should be a line item in your budget.
Develop Fresh Content • Content is the best search engine visibility tactic. • Content is the safest search engine visibility tactic. • 1 billion searches on Google each month. • Global reach – international prospects.
Google Searches per month Industrial site 9,900 74,000 Industrial site selection 73 210 Business tax incentives 5,400 6,600 Commercial property search 1,900 4,400 Business relocation services 480 880
Content Focus = More Visitors • Economic developers that focus on adding new website content get more website visits. Add content regularly 3,430 website visitors per month Don’t add content regularly 465 website visitors per month
Smart Idea #3 DO IT DIGITALLY “Social media is like teenage sex. Everyone wants to do it. But nobody knows how.” Brand Infiltration Boston, MA
A 4-Step Process • Identify people who are passionate about your base andhave large social media followings • Provide content that can easily be shared • Give them incentive to be active • Measure and report back the success
Smart Idea #4 ASK YOURSELF “WHAT WOULD GOOGLE DO?” “If isn’t on Google, it doesn’t exist.” Jimmy Wales Wikipedia Co-Founder
Explore Pay-Per-Click Keywords . Ads Landing Pages
Smart Idea #5 BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH SITE SELECTORS “Over 70% of our projects come from location advisors.” • Charles Hayes, President Research Triangle Regional Partnership
Site Selectors = Low Hanging Fruit Ways to Build Relationships: • Familiarization Tours • Visit on their Turf • Connect at Trade Shows • Communicate Selectively • Special Events
Smart Idea #6 TO IDENTIFY PROSPECTS, ADOPT A PREDICTIVE MODEL “The future will be better tomorrow.” • Dan Quayle • U.S. Vice President
Find the Needle in the Haystack… • Revenue increase • Executive change • Major contract win • New product announcement • Mergers/acquisitions • Change in regulatory environment
Smart Idea #7 TARGET THE UNTOUCHED “I like to go fishing where the other fisherman aren’t.”
Unlikely Target Industries Wyoming: Gun manufacturers Andrews, TX: Radioactive waste Research Triangle: Infectious Disease Research Amarillo, TX: Cheese Processing Muskegon, MI: Tanneries North Dakota: Drones
Thank You! For a copy of this presentation, share your business card with “Steal This Idea” written on the back To receive “This Just In: Relevant News Alerts for Economic Developers,” write “This Just In” on the back dariel.curren@aboutdci.com 212-725-0707 www.aboutdci.com