Evaluate and improve your digital marketing efforts and online presence

This 3-part virtual workshop is designed to help place branding, economic development, and foreign direct investment (FDI) professionals rethink their marketing and communications strategies. Through Design Thinking, participants will explore digital marketing, overhaul their online presence, and learn how to use KPIs not just as metrics but as storytelling tools that resonate with investors and stakeholders.

Session 1: Rethinking Digital Marketing and Online Presence 

Objective: Evaluate and improve your digital marketing efforts and online presence to better communicate with investors through a website audit.

You'll receive an overview of digital marketing best practices for FDI and place branding. Participants conduct a structured analysis of their organization's website and social media channels, focusing on user experience, messaging, and content that speaks to investors. Identify gaps and opportunities for improvement in digital communication.

Key Takeaway: Actionable insights for optimizing your online presence to attract and engage investors more effectively.

Session 2: Storytelling through KPIs: Going Beyond Traditional Marketing Metrics 

Objective: Learn how to transform KPIs into powerful storytelling tools that showcase the value of your location and services.

Participants list key performance indicators they currently track and explore how they can be reframed into a narrative that resonates with investors (e.g., job creation, sustainability, regional strengths).

You'll hear about how successful EDOs have used data-driven storytelling to build investor trust and market their region more effectively. Brainstorm new KPIs that go beyond traditional metrics to highlight long-term value, impact, and regional growth potential.

Key Takeaway: KPI ideas that can be integrated into your marketing communications to tell a compelling story about your location.

Session 3: Redesigning Your Online Presence and Communication Strategy

Objective: Develop a fresh digital marketing strategy that aligns with your organization’s goals and investor needs.

Participants redesign their online presence, working through the steps of empathizing with investors, defining key communication challenges, ideating innovative solutions, and creating a high-level strategy. In a Rapid Prototyping exercise, we make Mockups of website landing pages, social media campaigns, or email marketing templates that tell a story through KPIs, and test strategies with peers and refine them based on feedback.

Key Takeaway: Website redesign elements, storytelling KPIs, and actionable content strategies.