Preliminary Social Media

Proposal
3/22/16

PRE 314: Campaign Planning and Development

Reflecting on the situation
Strengths

Promising website

Adirondack Coast

Destinations with web presence

Reflecting on the situation
Weaknesses

Low web visibility and social media presence

Underdeveloped website

Absence of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Dial-up

Insufficient interaction

Among constituents and the Town

Reflecting on the situation
Opportunities

Reach out to other publics

Geographically well-positioned for business development

Optimize web visibility and social media presence

Enhance collaboration with city

Reflecting on the situation
Threats

Reaching residents without high speed internet

Other tourist destinations/markets with web presence

Potential negative feedback on social media

Key players
Primary Stakeholders

Residents

Businesses/Business owners & operators

Employees

Tourists
Key players
Secondary Stakeholders

Part-time/Seasonal Residents

Developers

Neighboring Towns

Transient Travelers
Key players
Potential Stakeholders

Future residents, businesses and tourists

Thinking about the problem
Town of Plattsburgh website is underdeveloped

Needs more of a positive angle

http://townofplattsburgh.com/master-plan.html

Town needs expertise and staffing to keep up with web visibility and social media
presence

Web visibility and social media affect communication with residents and promotion of
economic development and tourism/recreation

Limited web visibility and social media presence hinders the Towns recognition on a
local, regional, national, and even international scale
Defining the problem
Town needs to demonstrate a commitment to building its web visibility
and social media presence

Town has an opportunity to reach an even larger set of audiences

Residents

Businesses

Tourists

Master Plan on the Towns website provides an occasion for the Town to
feature/highlight its future plans
Defining the problem
Effective tourism is more and more dependent on web visibility and
social media presence

Residents, businesses and tourists need a reason to come here

Where will they find that reason?

Whats important to know
As of 2015, in America

72% of adults use Facebook and 23% use Twitter

90% of 18-29 year olds use social media

64% of urban dwellers and 58% of rural residents use social media

http://www.pewresearch.org
Residents

81% of people say social media helps them feel better informed when
buying or receiving services

62% of people say social media is how they learn about their local news
How are the Town of Plattsburgh residents getting their information?

http://www.pewresearch.org
Businesses

97% of most businesses use the internet to attract and retain customers
What is the Town of Plattsburgh doing to attract business?

69% of employees have individualized social media profiles used in their

capacity as a representation for their organization

http://www.pewresearch.org
Tourists

Over 50% of todays travelers use the web to book travelings

How are tourists finding out about the Town of Plattsburgh?
Where are they booking their trips?

http://www.pewresearch.org
Concerns
Will there be sufficient high speed access to optimize web visibility and
social media presence?
Will the Town be able to address stakeholder needs more satisfactorily?
Will there be a way to handle negative feedback when problems arise on
social media?
Will the Town have enough staffing expertise to manage when problems
arise?
Why web visibility & social media are of concern
The web and social media have the potential to be a major driver to the
economic development and growth of the area.

Underdeveloped web visibility and limited social media presence can

compromise the Town of Plattsburghs ability to reach out to multiple
stakeholders.

In the digital age, the Town competes with destinations and markets
around the world.
Strategic Directions
1. Measure the Town of Plattsburghs web visibility and social
media presence
2. Conduct analytical assessment of the Towns web visibility and
social media presence
3. Develop measurable web and social media goals for the Town
4. Optimize Towns web visibility and social media presence
through specific tactical recommendations