Discovering places of all sizes has gotten easier in the last 20 years. When I was a kid, the best way to learn about or stumble upon a new place was through one of three mediums: a serendipitous encounter on an unpredictable road trip, a friend beaming about a recent expedition, or a brand with an established presence (think New York City, San Francisco or New Orleans).
Place branding has seen monumental transformation since Baby Boomers traversed Route 66. We now have the capability to “try before we buy,” or experience a place well before we actually plan a trip. Places are exceptionally shrewd and witty too, crafting marketing messages and taglines we simply cannot unsee or forget. Think about “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas” or “Virginia is for Lovers.” These clever remarks help us create visions of places that we remember. What’s more is that on websites like Yelp, TripAdvisor and other online travel research platforms, it is now easier than ever to digitally explore places before succumbing to persuasive marketing and embarking on a journey.
The act of marketing (read: selling) places is a lot like buying a home. Think about how you found your house. Maybe you used online sites like Zillow or Redfin to do research, learn about the real estate market in your area, and find homes that fit your specifications. It has never been easier or faster to discover your ideal community through a few simple clicks. The entire process can be done virtually.
So while we know that marketing a place or finding a home can be done by way of scroll and click, how do marketing agencies and institutions do it? Is there a secret sauce? Are there methods that only savvy, technical marketers know about? No. Place marketers use tools that are available, easy to use and generate a return on investment that impresses clients, stakeholders, boards of directors, residents and visitors.
Based on my experience working with clients in the tourism industry, here are four proven ways marketers can promote places and make the biggest impact for locales worldwide.
- Digital Strategies: Places develop digital strategies that set the tone for their organizations on a short-term basis (one to two years). A digital strategy ensures every marketing initiative deployed is tailored to a specific audience and that each initiative is not just measurable, but can show results. Sophisticated digital profiling techniques are what places use to hone in on their targets; this process starts with the development of custom personas.
One of our previous clients, Orlando Economic Partnership, uses targeted personas or detailed descriptions of their target sectors. You can create similar sectors by utilizing an age-old information-gathering technique: the five Ws. That is, understanding who your audience truly is, what problems they’re trying to solve, where they exist and do business, when the optimal time is to reach and influence them, and why they seek specific information and resources.
- Search Engine Marketing: For destination marketers and economic developers, digital marketing is pivotal. Utilizing sophisticated digital profiling techniques, marketers can send their messages to specific users on specific websites at specific times. This allows the penetration of a defined market that is more likely to consume and act. Organizations like the Tennessee Valley Authority and the city of Goodyear, Arizona, two of our previous clients, identified 4,000 companies as marketing qualified leads, and experienced a 400% increase in website traffic coupled with a 50% increase in marketing qualified leads, respectively. The net? Search engine marketing can swell digital activity in astronomical increments. (Side note: It’s as important to measure results as it is to get them. Seasoned marketers know that Google Analytics, Google Adwords, marketing automation software, analytics via custom dashboards, and custom web-to-lead analytics are crucial for understanding and improving on digital campaigns.)
- Mappable Databases: The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade uses a sites and buildings database to market the state's economic assets. A tool like this is particularly important because mappable databases give site selectors and other business location advisors immediate access to what’s available or ready for development in a certain area. And these individuals are the ones making location decisions that affect the future of places. Mappable databases provide a critical glimpse into what a place offers (sites, buildings, properties, companies) and a thorough application can mean years of profitability and prosperity.
- Mobile Applications: Once you have an impeccable-looking and high-performing website, what comes next? For many in tourism and economic development, it’s a mobile application or the technology that enables users to find what they need without ever having to navigate a website. Mobile applications are highly intuitive, easy to use, and in the palm of a user’s hand. One of our clients, Taos, New Mexico, uses their mobile application to stay connected with people who have already experienced their brand and want to keep up with what is happening in the community. The app features activities for both outdoor enthusiasts and artistic spirits alike and brings visitors and locals together over the best-of-the-best in the town.
When speaking at a lodgers tax advisory meeting, Karina Armijo, marketing director for Taos, said that “because we are not a huge municipality, we have to be smart about how we spend our marketing dollars. Our tax base pays for our marketing and, as a result, we have to make sure we show a good return on investment. The best way to do that is through digital.”
Some communities have hundreds of thousands of dollars to market their economies, downtown areas or cities. Others literally just have $100. Whatever your situation, whatever your budget, wherever your location, spend those dollars wisely. Spend them where people will find you. That’s online and digitally rendered for optimal viewing, consumption and influence.
