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FCEDC continues working on marketing efforts [The Garden City Telegram, Kan.](Garden City Telegram, The (KS) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 21--The Finney County Economic Development Corp. received an update Tuesday on Internet marketing efforts designed to attract workers to fill local jobs in a variety of sectors. Last month, the FCEDC board approved a six-month commitment for Internet advertising with KSN-TV that will target job seekers in New Mexico, southeast Colorado, Oklahoma and several counties in Kansas through development of banner and pop up ads that will appear on a variety of websites. As part of the package, KSN will create a website landing page containing specific information about FCEDC and local workforce needs and job opportunities, and would also place ads on KSN's Facebook page and other sites. KSN also would provide reports and statistical information about how much the advertising is accessed and where those hits are located. Advertising could be tailored to specific types of jobs, such as welding. Allie Medina, FCEDC project manager, said the ads and landing page have been reviewed and look good, but she was uncertain when the ads will begin running. When they do, the ads will provide a way to gather contact information, learn what industries visitors are interested in, as well as their zip code. The KSN package is similar to another Internet marketing effort the FCEDC has had in place for the past six months. Two months ago, the board voted to continue its contract with Hibu, an Internet services company, on a month to month basis since completing an initial six-month trial. Hibu provides Internet marketing and customized search engine services designed to promote Finney County job openings to potential job seekers. It allows FCEDC staff the ability to make unlimited changes to an online ad promoting Finney County, and keyword changes to direct Internet search traffic to its website. The ads have been targeted to states with high unemployment. The idea is that when people seeking the types of jobs Finney County wants to attract, such as welders, laborers and nurses for example, enter certain key words in a search engine, the FCEDC ad will pop up to inform the job seeker about opportunities here. Medina reported that 201 people clicked on Hibu ads in October, while Google Analytics showed 381 new visitors, and 162 returning visitors came to the FCEDC website. The top three states reached included Kansas, California and Georgia, with Missouri and Michigan close behind. Hibu provides information on the number of clicks on Finney County related ads, but Google analytics tells where those visitors to the FCEDC website are coming from, what they are looking at, and how long they stay on the website. FCEDC board members want to maintain both services for several months and see which one provides better results. The Hibu service costs $500 per month. The KSN package is $1,000 per month. "We need to run these parallel," board member Bob Kreutzer said. "I think we really need to compare month to month, are we getting the value here, are we getting the value there? With the Hibu, we're getting some 'stuff,' but we can't quantify it. It sounds like the other one is going to give us a lot more information, but maybe we don't get broadcast as far." Kreutzer said at some point, he would like to receive a recommendation from staff about what they think the better value is for moving forward. "Because we're getting close to the time of year where we have to create a budget again. We need to know whether we're going to need to run parallel for another six months, three months, or a year," he said. In other business, FCEDC President Lona DuVall said FCEDC has received a few proposals since issuing an RFP seeking someone who can produce a video that would promote Finney County, Garden City and Holcomb. The deadline for the proposals is Oct. 31. DuVall reported Prospect 4-14, a food processing company, had a site visit on Oct. 14 and also met with city and county staff regarding engineering and infrastructure. She hopes to hear more from the company by the beginning of the year. To protect a company's confidentiality, FCEDC does not release the names of prospects until their status is finalized. DuVall also talked about Prospect 6-14-1, which received approval for a Community Development Block Grant loan from Finney County on Monday. The prospect, Cornerstone Metal Recycling, LLC, received approval for a $150,000 CDBG loan through the county's economic development revolving loan fund. The company's nearly $2.2 million project will create 10 new jobs when it starts operation at 1724 Lincoln Road in Garden City. The loan will assist with buying an existing business, including real estate, machinery, equipment, inventory and working capital. ___ (c)2014 The Garden City Telegram (Garden City, Kan.) Visit The Garden City Telegram (Garden City, Kan.) at www.gctelegram.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |