How to help your communities harness the power of digital marketing

1. Digital Marketing
for Community Developers
How to help your communities harness
the power of digital marketing

2. The Info
Zero cost marketing
Reasons for digital marketing
The Millennial challenge
Brain Drain to Brain Gain
The Experience
5 marketing mindsets
3 marketing support strategies
Why Lunch N’ Learns don’t work
Top marketing tactics

3. Zero Cost Marketing
An important concept to understand

4. Marketing is not a Cost
Peter Drucker
“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer,
the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions:
marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation
produce results; all the rest are costs.”
Q. How much should businesses budget for marketing?
A. Minimum 7-8% of gross annual revenue, according to the SBA

5. Why Marketing? Everyone knows what we do.
Because the next generation is never
the same as the one before
• How do new people in the
community learn about you?
• How do people interested in
visiting or living in the
community find out about it?
• How do you build customer
loyalty? Hint: customer loyalty
is not a given with the millennial
generation.
People die and
babies are born

6. Why digital marketing?
The importance of digital to our hometown communities

7. Everyone is a digital customer.
87% of US adults are online.
The likelihood that an
offline customer talked to
an online user?
82% of people talk to family and friends
before making a decision. (Nielsen)
VERY HIGH!

8. Not just young people
Generational differences
are narrowing
27% of consumers over the age of 55
feel brands are too focused on
targeting younger people

9. 78% of small town America is online.

10. Majority of rural users are on social Media
67%
of rural Internet users
are on Facebook

11. Impact of online technologies on rural areas
The world is within reach.

12. 17-34

13. Brain Gain
THEY’RE LOOKING FOR YOU.
Urban to Rural migration
• University of Minnesota & Nebraska
• Ages 30-50
• Moving to be in a “hometown” style community
Will they choose our town?
(Knight/Gallup study)
• Resident attachment promotes “It’s the perfect place to be”
• Hometown-style communities creates economic growth.
What creates resident attachment?
Three drivers – Openness, Social Offerings and Aesthetics

14. Google Survey, 2017 – Midwest, Ages 35-55, Have moved to a city of less than 20K

15. What we’ve
learned from
our outreach
experiences

16. 5 Types of Marketing Mindsets
The Starter
They’re trying to grow their business, they want
to market, but either don’t have the knowledge
or budget or both.
The Sponsor
They don’t want or need to grow, but are quick
to support community programs to help growth
The Show Off
They’ve made it and jump on the opportunity to
showcase their success
The Sophisticated
The dream business. They have a marketing
budget, are always looking for effective
channels, and support their local community.
The Scrooge
They’re the takers, enjoying success within
the community, but having no want or need to
market and no interest in giving back.
1
2
3
4
5

17. 3 Marketing Support Strategies
Professional
Largest impact
Need proof
Need management
Results driven
Educational
Transformative
Most time consuming
DIYers
Rewarding/frustrating
The Sponsor
The Sophisticated
The Show Off
The Starter The Scrooge
Minimal
Minimize negative effect
Volunteer effort required
Low expectations
$$ $

18. Collaboration is Key
• Shared resources and rewards
• Topical campaigns
• Stronger community branding
• Bring the buses

19. Lunch n’ Learn
Hands-on, demonstrate, workshop real problems
Dine n’ Do

20. • Free or low cost, No soliciting.
• Interactive, BYOL (bring your own laptop!)
• Free-form style conversation and consulting
• Marketing professionals giving back

21. 1. Facebook
2. Facebook
3. Google Search
4. Email
5. Video
6. Direct Mail
7. Twitter
8. Newspaper
9. Mobile app
10.Radio
Local Marketing Tactics

22. Questions?
Elizabeth.Collins@webcomresources.com
LinkedIn.com/in/elizabethacollins
913-370-7320