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6 ways rural locations win at marketing with technology

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Technology in marketing is definitely one of those areas in which "if you're not moving ahead, you're moving backwards."

Marketing is changing so quickly with the evolution of the internet that Tourism and Economic Development organizations are left with their heads spinning, not knowing what to do next.

The upside of this is that it levels the playing field for rural locations to compete more effectively. The key to winning is to stay ahead of the curve - or set the curve yourself! You can become the locality that everyone else looks to for "what to do."

Some of the things that our most aggressive clients are doing to win the marketing game include:

  • Using the web to help private businesses promote themselves while in turn promoting the region.
  • Developing multiple niche websites to create synchronicity, increasing exposure and search engine results exponentially.
  • Developing a means for localities across the region or state to communicate more effectively with each other and with their citizens and businesses.
  • Developing online programs to support and encourage entrepreneurialism.
  • Presenting integrated marketing workshops to help business owners and localities learn to integrate their digital and traditional marketing.
  • Using automated marketing technology to communicate with site visitors on a personalized, individual basis.

Looking at the largest cities in the country, very few are doing the types of things that these clients are.

Most localities, including metropolitan areas, emulate what others are doing instead of creating their own unique ideas. It's easier to imitate others than to do your own thing.

Whether you're marketing to companies looking to relocate or tourists planning a trip, though, they're not looking for a place that's like all the others. They're looking for a special place.

Richard Moe, president of the National Historic Preservation Trust, says, “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.”

I would argue that businesses looking to relocate are also looking for the same. They want to locate in a place that their employees will be happy to live in, a place that offers a sense of community and of being itself. Of course they're also looking for incentives and great sites, but that's also part of "being someplace."

How are you using technology to help your community stand out as someplace?

 

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