7.2. HRSR 03-05-2018Request for Action
To Item Number
Housing and Redevelopment Authority 7.2
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
General Business March 5, 2018 Colleen Eddy, Economic Development Specialist
Item Description Reviewed by
Marketing Update Amanda Othoudt, EDD
Reviewed by
Cal Portner, City Administrator
Action Requested
Item presented for information.
Background/Discussion
Informational Marketing Meetings:
Staff will be coordinating two informational meetings with Central Minnesota Housing Partnership. The
meetings are proposed for the last part of April and the end of May at city hall and will include current
and past homeowners who have participated in the program.
Staff will send two separate direct mailings to homeowners in the targeted area. One mailing will invite
homeowners to the informational meetings and another mailing will promote the program showing by
showcasing before and after photos along with testimonials.
EDA/HRA Website:
Staff continues to work with Golden Shovel Agency on content that populates the news feed. We receive
quarterly analytic reports showing website traffic and page views.
Advertising:
In 2017, the HRA advertised the Rehabilitation Loan Program in seven, quarter-page Star News ads. Full
color and the same size ads will again promote the program in the May and June editions of Star News.
Video:
Staff is working with Jake Pace, our Cable Coordinator, to update the HRA Loan Program video, which
will be aired on the HRA website, the city’s YouTube page, and social media outlets.
Summer Card:
With the success of our holiday card mailing, staff will be sending out a summer card. This card will
include some colorful photos and an update on the rehab program.
Financial Impact
Funding for marketing and advertising are included in the 2018 budget.
Attachments
th
4 Quarter Google Analytics Report
Prepared for
City of Elk River Economic
Development
Quarterly Analytics Report
Q4 2017
Golden Shovel Agency
43 East Broadway Street
Little Falls, MN 56345
Phone: (320) 639-0110
Toll Free: (888) 266-4778
www.GoldenShovelAgency.com
Confidential: This report is intended solely for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential information. Any dissemination,
distribution, copying, or other use of this document is strictly prohibited.
Website: City of Elk River Economic Development I http://econdev.elkrivermn.gov
Economic Gateway Developments for your Website
Over the past year, we have accomplished a lot of developments that we hope you, as a valued client of
ours, are benefitting from. Last quarter was busy and exciting and as usual, we strive to bring you cutting
edge updates and new tools for your website. All of these developments and upgrades are available to you
at no extra charge, if you are interested in adding any of them to your website, please get in touch with us
and let us know. This time, the list of notable developments includes:
Universal Reporting Functionality
Economic Gateway's new Universal Report tool for responsive sites makes it fast and easy for users to
create customized reports using content from your website. Just use the 'add to report' link found on all
eligible pages to populate the content you need for your report. Once you're ready, view your report and
you can review and sort your content as well as adding a custom cover page content. Contact your Golden
Shovel representative to find out if your site is eligible for universal reporting and how to request it.
FAQ Template
The FAQ template for responsive sites is an implementation of the List Maker module. This template
displays items — typically Frequently Asked Questions, but it can be anything which suits this presentation
format — organized by category. Items and categories can be sorted to a custom order in the admin IF each
item is only assigned to a single category; items shared to/from other sites are not eligible for custom
sorting. Featured/key items can be highlighted to help draw the user's eye to important information. Each
item displays a title; upon clicking (or screen tapping, on mobile devices) the item's box will expand to
show description text, logo, and button links to additional information (when populated).
File Dump Template
The File Dump template is intended for use where a large number of files need to be made accessible to
users but no info other than the files themselves is available to populate and there is no need to be able to
perform searches of the files. It will list out the entire contents of a folder designated in the Page admin in a
table, allowing users to access or download the folder contents. The list of folder contents can be sorted by
name, upload date, or file type by clicking the column header.
Residential Real Estate Template
The Residential Real Estate template for responsive sites is a simplified implementation of the Real Estate
Module. It uses only those fields from the module which are relevant to residential properties. Users can
quickly filter results based on sale or lease status, and sort results by date or price. Advanced search
options include location, category, and price brackets. A toggle -able map allows users to browse by
location, while a gallery carousel and the inclusion of the full listing description in the results gives the user
a rundown of all the major features. In order to keep the content fresh and low -maintenance, listings are
only shown for 90 days after creation or their last edit date. A customized public submission form allows
you to let the public submit their property information without creating confusion over the module's
®Golden Shovel Agency
Groundbreaking Economic Development Communications Page 1
commercial fields which are not relevant in the context of residential real estate.
Conferences
Once again, our executive team was busy attending interesting events to stay on top of the best practices
and new trends in the economic development industry. Some of these include:
• Texas Economic Development Council (fEDC) Annual Conference - Houston, TX
• National Rural Economic Developers Association (NREDA) Annual Conference - San Antonio, TX.
• Kentucky Association for Economic Development (KAED) Fall Conference - Bowling Green, KY
• Mid-America Economic Development Council (Mid-America EDC) Competitiveness Conference & Site
Selector Forum - Chicago, IL
Last quarter we hosted excellent webinars including the following:
• Lead Generation in the Al Age: Marketing Strategies for Economic Developers - Presented by
Bob Lytle, President of rel8ed.to and Aaron Brossoit, CEO of Golden Shovel. We all know that
`facts and data' are important for Economic Development communication. But the game is changing
— Big Data strategies are now table stakes for innovative agencies and Al is the new buzzword.
Standard marketing websites are giving way to interactive presentations that engage the user with
information and tThe rel8ed.to team uncovers AI -enabled advertising campaigns to increase
awareness and lead generation for real Economic Development.
• Place VR for Economic Development - Presented by Aaron Brossoit, CEO of Golden Shovel.
How do you reach a CEO sitting in a boardroom, a thousand miles away or across the world? How
do you capture the imagination and attention of a site developer sitting at their mahogany desk,
sifting through a mile -high stack of proposals? Elite communities have discovered the answer —
virtual reality. At IEDC in Toronto, Canada, Golden Shovel Agency unveiled the newest innovation in
business and workforce attraction for economic developers: 360 Virtual Reality Immersion Videos. In
this webinar, we learned how 360 VR technology is being used by economic developers as a
business and workforce attraction tool.
• Please Mind Your Business - Presented by Mark Hays, SizeUp LBI National Sales Executive. It is
widely known that the heavy majority of net new jobs created over the next 10 years will be from
entrepreneurship yet most economic developers are spending the majority of their time recruiting big
business. During this webinar we took a look at just how crucial small businesses are to a local
economy and found out different ways to help grow those businesses without having to change much
about how you currently do your job.
If you couldn't attend any of the above, please contact us to request a copy of the slides and/or the recording
link.
Save you seat for our upcoming Free Expert Webinars!
• Please Mind Your Business - Presented by Mark Hays, SizeUp LBI National Sales Executive.
®Golden Shovel Agency
Groundbreaking Economic Development Communications Page 2
January 18th, 2017, 11 AM - 12 Pm CST. Register here!
• How to Put Funding Muscle Behind Your Strategic Plan -Presented by Tom DiFiore, President
of National Community Development ServicesN( CDS). January 23rd, 12 PM - 1 PM CST.
Register here!
We hope that 2017 was truly a year of growth, innovation, progress, and development for you.
Certainly, it was that for us and we're now looking forward to a successful 2018 with our clients and
friends! Cheers!
The Golden Shovel Team.
Metrics
• Google Analytics - Page 4-7
Golden Shovel Agency
Groundbreaking Economic Development Communications Page 3
o # Total Visitors : 653
o # of New visitors : 472
o # Returning visitors: 181
twikker
o # of Followers: 819
Rank by Keywords
o # of Likes: 819
o Elk river economic development: #1 of
®
# of Wall posts: 17
446,000 competing pages
o Elk river economic growth: #3 of
874,000 competing pages
o # of Followers: 234
o # of Updates: 30
• Google Analytics - Page 4-7
Golden Shovel Agency
Groundbreaking Economic Development Communications Page 3
'Elk River
All Web Site Data
Audience Overview
UAll Users
100.00 % Sessions
Overview
• Sessions
80
40
November 2017
Sessions Users Pageviews
653 506 1,958
------------ ----------------------
Pages
Pages / Session Avg. Session Duration Bounce Rate
3.00 00:01:51 40.58%
% New Sessions
%2.28%
1. United States
2. Canada
3. South Korea
4. Peru
5. India
6. Mexico
7. Netherlands
8. United Kingdom
9. Trinidad & Tobago
10, Brazil
[;j" GO TO REPORT
Oct 1, 2017 - Dec 31, 2017
December 2017
■ New Visitor ■ Returning Visitor
Sessions % Sessions
610
93.42%
13
11.99%
7
1.07%
4
0.61%
3
0.46%
3
0.46%
3
0.46%
2
0.31%
2
0.31%
1
0.15%
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Groundbreaking Economic Development Communications Page 4
Top Pages
Page Title
Pageviews %Pageviews
1. Elk River Economic Development- Imap
520
26.56%
2 Elk River Economic Development
455
23.24%
3. Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority
111
5.67%
4. Elk River Economic Development Available Sites and Properties
90
4.60%
5. Elk River Economic Development Business Directory
56
2.86%
6. City of Elk River Economic Development Featured Projects
52
2.66%
7. Elk River Economic Development Staff
47
2.40%
8. Elk River City News
33
1.69%
9. Elk River Economic Development Community Profile
32
1.63%
10. Elk River Economic Development Rehabilitation Program
32
1.63%
1
463
Top States & Cities
®Golden Shovel Agency
Groundbreaking Economic Development Communications
Page 5
Region I Sessions • Sessions •
1. Minnesota
2. Illinois
3. Wisconsin
4. California
5. Virginia
6. Alabama
7. Texas
8. Massachusetts
9. New York
10. Kansas
1
118
590
% of Total: 90.35%(653)
Ok
®Golden Shovel Agency
Groundbreaking Economic Development Communications
590
% of Total: 90.35% (653)
463 78.47%
23 13-90%
12 12.03%
9 11.53%
9 11.53%
8 11.36%
8 11.36%
5 10.85%
5 10.85%
4 10.68%
Page 6
city I Sessions • Sessions •
582
% of Total: 89.13% (653)
1. Elk River
2. Minneapolis
3. Saint Paul
4. Maple Grove
5. Chicago
6. Ramsey
7. Duluth
8. Rice
9. Big Lake
10. St. Cloud
®Golden Shovel Agency
Groundbreaking Economic Development Communications
582
% of Total: 89.13% (653)
118 20.27%
79 13.57%
30 - 5.15%
20 = 3.44%
14 X2.41%
12 2.06%
9 01.55%
9 01.55%
8 1.37%
8 1.37%
Page 7