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Northland Connection

Website Review and Agency Capabilities

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About Atlas AdvertisingAtlas Advertising helps economic developers reach national and international prospect and site selection audiences. We deliver branding, website development, GIS mapping, research, and creative services professionally and with a staff experienced in economic development. Unlike firms with little or no economic development experience, Atlas Advertising uses a proven mix of economic development marketing tactics that generate interest from site selection audiences.

Atlas Advertising is led by a former economic development practitioner and has worked with 48+ different economic development clients in 26 states. Our approach and experience means that our campaigns generate an average of three to ten times the response of other campaigns.

Featured clients:– State of Ohio– Indy Partnership– City of San Francisco– Greater Phoenix Economic Council – Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership

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Outline

1. Why Social Media is important

2. Overview of Social Media tools

3. Social Media and Economic Development

4. Social Media and Business Recruitment

5. Self Directed Training: Using LinkedIn for Business Recruitment 1. Building profiles

2. Building your network

3. Working your network

4. Self directed assignment

6. Wrap up

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What is Social Media?

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Social Media Definition, provided by social mediaAt its most basic sense, social media is a shift

in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal, political and business use. Businesses also refer to social media as user-generated content (UGC) or consumer-generated media (CGM).

Source: Wikipedia

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Why is all of this happening? • Our email inboxes are overcrowded• We don’t trust the media like we used

to. Instead, we trust people who we perceive not to have an agenda.

• We are all voyeurs at heart• We miss our high school friends?

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Why all of this seems so simple…

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Why Social Media is important

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Growth of Social Media (Pew Internet & American Life)

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Interactive Advertising Predictions (Forrester)

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Overview of Social Media Tools

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Overview of Web 2.0 and communication types• “Push”

– Email– Websites– Blogs– Direct mail– You Tube– Podcasts

• “Pull” – RSS– I-Tunes

• “Connect”– Facebook– LinkedIn– Forums

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About LinkedIn

• “A professional network of trustedcontacts.”

• 42 Million plus users worldwide, in 170 industries and 200 countries

• Execs in of the Fortune 500• 60% of incomes over $93,000• Segments:

• Executives: 28%• Networkers/Consultants: 30%• Late Adopters: 22%• Exploring options: 20%

• People with incomes of $200K + were seven times more likely to have 150 plus connections than lower income users.

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Key Features of LinkedIn• Your profile• Your Contacts • Your Connections• Status updates• Groups• InMail Feature• Applications• Advertising• Mobile Access

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Finding people using Google/ LinkedIn

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About Facebook

• “Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.”

• More than 200 million active users, 100 million once a day

• More than two-thirds of Facebook users are outside of college

• Average user has 120 friends on the site

• More than 900 million photos uploaded to the site each month

• More than 1 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) shared each week

• About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States

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Key Features of Facebook• Your Profile• Your Friends • Status Updates• Inbox• Applications• Advertising• Mobile Access

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About Twitter

• “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected by answering one simple question: What are you doing?”

• Usage up 1300% in last 12 months

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Twitter

http://twitter.com

• Your profile• Who you follow• Who follows you• Mobile access

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Social Media and Economic Development

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1. Build each BDR’s LinkedIn network of past deals, site selectors and local brokers, and prospects

2. Build industry-specific networks of prospects and past deals according to each BDR’s industry focus

3. Seed those relationships with the following content regularlya. Slide share presentations of new

datab. Virtual familiarization toursc. Other events

Social Media tactics for recruitment

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1. Same LinkedIn tactics as for recruitment

2. Add a Twitter feed and consider industry-specific Twitter feeds, as well as organizational updates, that can augment monthly or quarterly email

3. Focus on posting current, relevant information along with a link to a story or download

4. Designate a marketing representative to post 2-3 times daily

5. Set an edgy, “insider” tone with your posts.

Social Media tactics for retention and investor relations

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1. Use Facebook as the primary tool, supported by a blog

2. Remove the GPEC brand in favor of a Phoenix wide community persona

3. Post about:a. Networking opportunitiesb. YP eventsc. Job opportunitiesd. Hot spots around towne. New developments

4. Stay away from:a. Latest economic datab. Organizational announcements about GPEC

Social Media tactics for workforce recruitment

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Social Media for Business Recruitment

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1. Site selection professionals2. Corporate real estate execs3. CEO’s 4. Media 5. Other

Who is the audience, and what are they looking for?

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What Industries are Most Actively Expanding or Relocating Today?

IndustriesPercentage of

ResponsesHealthcare 22%Alternative Energy 22%Government 11%Education 8%Pharmaceuticals 6%Consumer Products 3%Financial 3%Manufacturing 3%Aerospace 3%None 3%Digital Media 3%Call Centers 3%Billing/Collections 3%R&D 3%Construction 3%Infrastructure 3%

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What Events are Spurring Expansion or Relocation Today?

Important Factors

Percentage of

ResponsesEconomy 24%Not A Lot 12%Trying on a Small Scale 12%M&A 12%Stimulus 8%Cost Cost Efforts 8%Consolidation of Offshore Companies 4%Reorganizations 4%Global Audience is Moving 4%Small Businesses Looking to Get Ahead 4%More Competition 4%Lease Expirations 4%

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What are the Top Five Decision Making Criteria for your Clients in Selecting a Location Today?

Decision Making Criteria

Percentage of

ResponsesAbility to Recruit Qualified Workforce 18%Cost of Doing Business 16%Business Incentives 13%Access to Transportation/ Infrastructure 11%Quality of Life 7%Excellent Real Estate Options 6%Favorable Tax Climate 6%Access to Customers 5%Cost of Living 5%Business Friendly Government 3%Highly Ranked Schools 2%How Saturated is Current Market 2%Vibrant Downtown 1%Weather 1%Population Growth 1%Unemployment 1%Green 1%

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What Was the Most Important Thing an Economic Development Organization Did For You in 2008?

Contributions

Percentage of

ResponsesConcise and Informative Data 30%Fast, Responsive 14%Provided Incentives 12%Provided Clear Branding/ Differentiators 12%Hosted all Site Visits 7%Prepared Professionally 5%Networking Opportunies 5%Maintained Confidentiality 5%Demonstrated Expertise 5%Stopped Sending Printed Materials 2%Valuable Website 2%Threw Land in the Deal 2%

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What Advice Can You Give EDO’s today?

Stick To The Basics

Do Something Outrageous

Be experts in your targeted industries

Be prepared with all the factsFocus On Retention

ED is about Networking, Get Out Of Your Office

How Important are each of the Following as Sources of Information when Learning about a Community?

Sources of InformationAverage Score

Site Visits 4.05 Community Websites 2.85 Existing Relationships w/ ED Clients 2.60 Past Experiences 2.55 National Conferences 2.55 National Data Services 2.50 Community GIS Websites 2.50 Word of Mouth/ Peers 2.15 Calls From Local Officials 1.95 Newspaper Articles 1.85 Email Campaigns/ Newsletters 1.75

Scored on a 5 point scale.

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Stay in front of businesses with slide share, Twitter feeds

Being in their network, having a blog

Maintaining a blog, website, wikis of business info

Coordination with local partners through Twitter

Giving others in the company the ability to learn about the community through

blogs, groups, etc

When in the relationship building cycle should you use Social Media?

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Self Directed Training: Using LinkedIn for Business Recruitment

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1. Education and expertise2. Clients you have worked with3. Full contact information 4. Link/address to Twitter page5. Link to GPEC website6. Slideshare “Slidespace” 7. Membership groups (groups joined)8. Upcoming and past events9. Upcoming sales trips (as events)

Building profiles

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1. Inventory contacts associated with past deals

2. Inventory industry specific contacts3. As a team, set territories4. Import lists into Outlook5. Import contacts from Outlook into

Linked In6. Write a personalized invitation – keep

it simple. 7. Send invitations to those you know

well en masse8. Work your 1st degree connections to

gain introductions to others on your list

Building your contact list and your connections

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1. Status updates2. Joining Groups3. Slide share of new content4. Posting news in Groups5. Hosting and joining events

Working your network

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1. Set a goal for network size and coverage

2. Inventory and categorize your contacts

3. Import into outlook, then LinkedIn4. Set a goal for growing your network5. Send out one mass invitation6. Work key connections to grow your

network.

Next: Working the network

Self Directed Assignment

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1. Social media extends the reach and influence of you and your organization.

2. Because social media is evolving, you can use it now and get great results. It will not be this way for long.

3. By cutting through the confusion on focusing on the right tactics, you can save time.

4. Unlike traditional marketing, your agency or marketing staff can’t do this for you.

Wrap up

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Contact information:

2601 Blake Street, Suite 301Denver, CO 80205

Contact: Ben Wrightt: 303.292.3300 x 210

benw@Atlas-Advertising.comwww.Atlas-Advertising.com