WHAT WOULD GOOGLE DO? Rethinking Economic Development

In the Internet Age

April 21, 2011EDCC Annual Conference

Why Are We Talking About Google?

A share bought for $1.00 in 2004 is worth $5.70 today

Over the Same Period, What has Been Happening in Economic Development?

• Vast growth in the availability of information

• Dramatic downturn that froze company and workforce mobility

• More global competition for business and jobs

• With the recession, declines in public sector funding

• More scrutiny from private sector investors

A Word About The Book and “Google Rules”

About this presentation • Originally given in September of

2010 at the IEDC Annual Conference in Columbus, OH

• Speakers included:

Google Rule #1

Everybody Needs Google Juice

“It isn’t what you say about yourself. It’s what Google says about you.”

Chris Anderson, Author, The Long Tail

WHAT’S GOOGLE JUICE?

• The magic elixir that makes Google value you more because the world values you more

• If your website can’t be found, you might as well not exist

DO I HAVE GOOGLE JUICE?

Log-in to Google and search for:• Your Community Name + “Economic Development”

• Your Community Name + “Business,” “Business Expansion,” “Business Relocation,” “Demographics,” “Foreign Direct Investment,” “Incentives,” “Maps,” “Office Space,” “Site Selection,” “Workforce”

• Your Organization Name (including variations and misspellings)

Google Rule #2

MIDDLEMEN ARE DOOMED

“For all middlemen the clock is ticking and the question of value is looming.”

Jeff Jarvis, Author, What Would Google Do?

Do you get value for what you pay these people? Are they worth it? (page 74)

• Car salesmen• Insurance brokers• Head hunters

• Advertising agencies• Travel agents • Real estate agents

ED Relationships – New ModelRole Old New

Information Gatekeeper Distributor

Relationship Broker Connector

Technical Assistance Bureaucrat Enabler

Process Convoluted Transparent Efficiency

Marketing Say it Be it

Economic Developer Middleman Leader

© GIS Planning Inc.

Google Rule #3

DO WHAT YOU DO BEST AND LINK TO THE REST

“…the link forces specialization.”

Jeff Jarvis, Author, What Would Google Do?

From general to specialized

• Linking is changing the structure – moving generalization in media to specialization

• Specialization creates:– Stronger USP’s – Mass of “niches”– Opportunities for collaboration

Mapping =Google

Mashup

Real Estate =Third Party

Examples of ED’s leveraging what others do best

Google Rule #4

BE A PLATFORM & LISTEN

“Stop callin’, stop callin’, I don’t wanna talk anymore.”

Lady Gaga“Telephone”

PLATFORMS

IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

flickr

Orlando Rocks

LISTEN

Google Rule #5

JOIN A NETWORK & THINK DISTRIBUTED

“We can’t expect our customers to come to us”

Quincy Smith, President

CBS Interactive

Expecting Customers to Come to You

© GIS Planning Inc.

Be Distributed: Where the Customers Are

© GIS Planning Inc.

Result: More Customers Come to You

© GIS Planning Inc.

How To

• Make sure your websites are linked from/to the right partners.

• Grow your social network. • Join online industry and economic development

networks. • Grow where the networks are largest. • Be where the networks are specialized.

Build a Digital Ambassador Program

• Identify savvy executives in your community with social media followings

• Provide with frequent updates that they can tweet, blog and share to their networks

Why Digital?

• The average economic development organization nationwide gets 10 times the interactions on their website than all of the following forms of communication combined:• Phone calls• Email• Drop in visitors• Trade show conversations

Google Rule #6

ANSWERS ARE INSTANTANEOUS

“Fast is better than slow.”

Ten Things Google Has Found To Be True

This week in ED… • Site Selectors reviewed hundreds of Cities,

in less than an hour. They threw out 95% of them.

• They then did deep dives in less than 5 percent of the Cities they considered.

• To do those deep dives, they did an average of 20 Google searches

• If they didn’t find your website, they went to someone else’s.

• If they came to your site and didn’t find what they wanted in 10 seconds, they left.

“Comprehensive List of Major Private Sector Employers

with Headcount”

ED Organization Website

Easy to Find

Difficult to Find

Not Found

Airdrie Economic Development

Athens County Economic Development PartnershipIowa City Area Development

Kilgore Economic Development CorporationMetro MSP

The Indy Partnership

Dennis Donovan WDG Consulting

Google Rule #7YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE

YOUR AD AGENCY

“In the 20th century, we did monologue marketing. In the 21st century, we’ve

moved to dialogue. Customers…will not tolerate not being heard”

Source: John Hayes, CMO, American Express

SHARE

Your Customers are varied – use them to develop and tell the story

• Real estate devleopers/brokers = inventory experts

• Local bloggers = local insight and color• Local CEO’s = your sales team• Site Selectors = the translators of your

message

Testimonial Example

Google Rule #8

MAKE MISTAKES WELL

“Oops. I did it again.”

Britney Spears“Oops. I Did It Again”

OUTSTANDING MISTAKES

Summing It Up

1. Everybody Needs Google Juice

2. Middlemen Are Doomed

3. Do What You Do Best and Link to the Rest

4. Be A Platform & Listen

5. Join a Network & Think Distributed

6. Answers are Instantaneous

7. Your Customers Are Your Ad Agency

8. Make Mistakes Well

Announcing the Atlas Smart City Economic Development Website • Developed for cities and counties

100,000 in population or less• At a budget that doesn’t break the bank• Includes the features the big cities have:

– Content Management– GIS Property Database– Demographic Report Generator

• Helps small and midsized cities and counties reach local, regional, national, and international audiences

http://www.atlas-advertising.com/smart-city-economic-development-website.aspx

To be able to brag to your friends about all you know…

Be the closest at your table to answer:

What percentage of U.S. Site Selectors use Social Media/Social Networks each week?

The answer…

86%

To get this presentation, drop your card with myself or Guillermo Mazier

To Continue the Conversation: • Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AtlasAd

• Tweet questions using hashtag #AskAtlas

To join a community of innovative economic development marketers across many continents:

• Next Gen Economic Development Marketers LinkedIn Group

Thank You!