Atlas and the economic development profession are “atwitter” about Social Media.  Here, we are really interested to shape how social media is changing the profession, and to further that aim, we have partnered with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and Marty Vanags, President and CEO of the Economic Development Council of the Bloomington - Normal area.

Join us on Thursday March 18, 2010 at 2:30 EST as we co-present “Leveraging Social Media for Low-Cost, Targeted Marketing.” Ben Wright, Atlas’ CEO, and Marty will cover the theory and practice of developing successful social media campaigns, from the expert and practitioner’s point of view.

Click here for more information, and to register!

The webinar will cover the following topics:

• How best to get started in social media?
• How to set goals for your social media initiatives?
• What efforts you can replace by being active in social media?
• How can you be engaging, but avoid controversy?
• How best to make the most of the time you spend on social media?
• What staff support do you need?
• What training resources are available?
• What tools to use?  Twitter?  Blogs?  Facebook?  Foursquare?

We hope you can join us!

Visit Atlas’ slidespace for two other presentations on the topic.

According to Gallup’s well-being index’s recent interviews, the happiest states in the U.S. (based on job satisfaction, healthy lifestyle, life evaluation, physical health, emotional health, etc.) are:

1. Utah
2. Hawaii
3. Wyoming
4. Colorado
5. Minnesota
6. Maryland
7. Washington
8. Massachusetts
9. California
10. Arizona

Congratulations happy states!

Read the article.

Here’s an interesting article on the rise of authorship due to social media and blogs. Knowing how many people are publishing their thoughts and how much that number grows every month, the question is: what are they saying about you? And what do you want them to?

More reasons to join the social media conversation.

Does your community make CNN Money’s Best Places to Launch list?

Best metro areas for small business startups:

1. Billings, MT
2. Bismark, ND
3. Fargo, ND
4. Rapid City, SD
5. Sioux Falls, SD
6. Midland, TX
7. Morgantown, WN
8. Dubuque, IA
9. Hattiesburg, MS
10. Missoula, MT

Congrats to those who made the list!

As you may know, most of our clients are connected with economic development or community development. And, thus, most of those clients are focused on an audience that is mostly composed of site selectors and business executives.

Of course, when I came across this fascinating research, I had to share it. Execs are saying this: the internet is the most valuable research tool they have. It ranks higher than word-of-mouth and every other type of media.

Since this is your intended audience, it makes sense to pay attention to their shifting habits and opinions. In this case, specifically, it makes sense to take a long, hard look at your marketing efforts. Are they split up so that their percentages reflect the preferences of your audience? How much time and energy (and resources) are you pouring into your online marketing? In comparison with print ads, public relations, radio, TV and such.

If you aren’t already really tapping into the online market, it’s probably time to start.

And if your economic development marketing strategies need an online upgrade, why not touch base and see what suggestions we might have? Contact us.