Small Town Success
On October 17 Laurel Jones and I attended this great “marketing your community” workshop in Devils Lake. It was presented by Jim Beatty of NCS International. Jim made us think about how we sell our community and if we have thought about our “unique selling proposition” and “opportunity story”. He also shared 12 points that should be included in the design of an economic development organization’s website. The points that really resonated with me were: directory of available buildings and sites, current developments, testimonials, and comparisons to competitor locations. Contests can be used to generate traffic. We spent time viewing several communities’ websites and critiqued them. I learn best by seeing so I’m happy Jim included the activity. Rollette’s weekly updates were impressive, Crosby had a U-tube video, and Devils Lake had pictures changing with the four seasons. New Rockford had won a prize for its website and Laurel and I cheered because Amy Wobbema, the Economic Director, is from Bowdon. A panel of ND resource persons also shared pertinent information. Grafton’s unique housing incentives renewed my belief in the results of creativity. Lynette Flage shared about the importance of building “social capital”. Did you know that 1/5 of Americans move every year? I can see where the Horizons program in Bowdon has really increased our connections, trust, and interaction amongst community members. Infact I’m writing this in a computer class that Laurel is teaching in our technology/library room in our retired school. We are laughing and having a great social time!!! The ND ambassador program is doing well and we were encouraged to join and help meet the goal of 2000 ambassadors by March 2008. The program includes employer alerts on www.LUVND.com. We received a powerpoint of Jim’s presentation and passed it on with notes to Bowdon’s marketing committee and webmaster, Pam Hoff. Promoting and marketing our community ranked high on Bowdon’s strategic plan. Well I’m rattling so this will end. Just wanted you to know there are great opportunities to learn through Horizons!