Digital Media and the Branding of Downtowns: Strategies for New Business Development Using Paid, Owned and Earned Media November, 2013 | Page 24

have to talk about is parking. You’ve got to have to have roads and parking. It also has to be a safe
environment. In that regard it needs to be a partnership with the cities and the counties.”
Goodmon says it shouldn’t take long to see indicators of success or failure with a downtown incubator:
“Things have sped up; they’re faster now,” he said. “It used to be that you would have an incubator and
you’d spend a year or so trying to figure out if you have anything. Now they have what they call
accelerators, and you might spend 90 days before you decide whether you have something that’s good
enough to work on.”
Goodmon also says there is value in offering free internet in public areas and facilitating live music. Each
contributes to the positive atmosphere you work so hard to build online and offline.
WHAT’S NEXT?
No one knows exactly what digital media wi ll look like in five or 10 years, but we asked our interviewees
to predict what their future strategies might include.
Short Online Video
Video topped the list for many of them. The thought of creating an original video may be overwhelming,
but technology has made it easier. New tools make creating and distributing video much simpler, faster
and less expensive than it used to be. Newer cameras upload the tapeless video footage directly to your
computer where you can use editing software to put everything together.
“When I was working on an older PC it would take me a whole day to edit a video, and we’re talking
about a six minute video,” said Matthew Coppedge of Downtown Durham, Inc. “With newer technology
I can do it in an hour or so.”
Don’t assume that your creation has to be perfect. Viewers are pretty forgiving about technical
imperfections as long as the message is genuine. And don’t worry about creating a full 30-minute
program. Shorter messages are popular right now and will likely attract more views than a longer
version would.
With social media platforms like Vine and Instagram, your original video content can be posted to the
web within seconds. Your owned content will be easy for others to share with their friends.
“When you post video on the social media sites, the view rates are so much higher as opposed to just
links,” Coppedge said.
If your budget allows, you might buy an ad through Google or Bing that links to your video. Once again,
this is an example of your message being amplified through paid, owned and earned channels.
The trick is coming up with useful content. Maybe you could highlight a local business success story or
offer an inside look at an available vacant storefront. Keep it short and make sure the message
is simple.

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