Tag: marketing

GMG Q1 Report

by Patrick Baker, posted in Agriculture, Business Development, GMG Events, Marketing & Communications, News and Media, Public Affairs, Talent Development

GMG_TM_4C_300dpiOur entire team at Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. works each day to bring value to our members and drive increased vitality to the Greater Mankato region. To ensure that we’re effectively updating our partners and the community on our work, we recently revamped our annual report. Instead of a once-a-year 40+ page document, we’ve transitioned to a quarterly report in a new, condensed infographic layout. This has allowed us to streamline and considerably reduce staff time as well as printing costs all while making the content easier to digest, more immediate, and more impactful. I invite you to take a look at our Quarter 1 report.

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Partnerships with local businesses provide meaningful experiences for Travel Writers

by Brittany Junck, posted in Feature, Marketing & Communications, Membership

Visit Mankato working with influencers to promote Greater Mankato as a travel destination

It’s no secret that “word of mouth” has always had a strong effect on consumer behavior. If John Doe is patronizing a business and just scarfed up the #WorldsBestPizza, social media is going to know about it. On the contrary, the door of publicity can swing both ways especially if Mr. Doe had to wait a few extra minutes in line to receive his car rental and then plasters his negative review all over the Internet. So in reality, influencers are everywhere sharing their #BestTimeEver and #NeverDoingThatAgain experiences. Anyone can be a critic, but who’s to say they are a credible source? Some have even gone so far as to “arrange” negative reviews on their competitors (UFF DA!).

wander-olives-pasta-1Influencer marketing has been a strong initiative of Visit Mankato and developing effective strategies through research of our local markets. We have built relationships with notable influencers from around the country that align with our destination’s assets. From there, we work with local businesses to build an itinerary and create an experience for these influencers to promote Greater Mankato by sharing their story through various mediums to followers from all around who share similar interests.

Continue reading “Partnerships with local businesses provide meaningful experiences for Travel Writers” →

Are You Too Busy for Business?

by Greater Mankato Growth, posted in Business Insights & Inspirations, Marketing & Communications

are-youEver heard the saying, “If you need something done, give it to a busy person.”?

While that may work for errands, many business owners are finding they’re too busy for business anymore. Small business has changed a lot over the past decade and the demands on a business owner’s time have multiplied like rabbits. Continue reading “Are You Too Busy for Business?” →

Why You Need to Grow Your Personal Brand and It’s Not to Land a New Job

by Greater Mankato Growth, posted in Business Development, Business Insights & Inspirations, Marketing & Communications

Business owners rarely see a reason to build on things like their LinkedIn profiles. “I’m not looking for a job.”, is a common response when asked why they don’t have one. But in today’s uber-competitive business climate, where even mom and pops are potentially competing on a global level, it’s more important than ever to be able to differentiate your business, and yourself, from the competition. This is done through personal branding. Continue reading “Why You Need to Grow Your Personal Brand and It’s Not to Land a New Job” →

Grow Your Content Through Re-purposing

by Greater Mankato Growth, posted in Marketing & Communications

l1In order to rank your business highly, Google expects quality content; quality as judged by your audience through shares and interaction. But creating good content takes time, time many business owners simply don’t have. Here are a few ideas on how you can use existing content to increase your content offerings with a minimal amount of time. Continue reading “Grow Your Content Through Re-purposing” →

Four Tips to Creating Viral Content for Your Business

by Greater Mankato Growth, posted in Marketing & Communications

Tips to Creating Viral ContentMaybe you’ve heard the old saying, in order to win the lottery you first have to play. That’s about the extent to any advice someone can give you on how to win. Yes, there are superstitions out there and number theories, but in the end, the only way to guarantee you could win the lottery is by playing.

The same can be said for viral content. There is not guarantee your content will go viral but if you do these things, it could go viral. While I can’t make any guarantees about lightning striking in the viral content lottery, I can tell you if you create content your audience finds valuable or entertaining, you’re more likely for it to happen.

Here are a few suggestions on how to create content people love:

Continue reading “Four Tips to Creating Viral Content for Your Business” →

Eight Ways to Get Noticed on Social Media Today

by Greater Mankato Growth, posted in Marketing & Communications

8 Ways to Get Noticed on Social MediaThere’s a lot of noise on the social media channels and getting noticed can seem a task akin to pushing a large boulder up an icy slope in gale-force winds blowing down off of the mountain. But it’s not as hard as you think. Here are several tips to help you get your business noticed today. Continue reading “Eight Ways to Get Noticed on Social Media Today” →

4 Beginning Twitter Tips for Business

by Greater Mankato Growth, posted in Marketing & Communications

4 beginning twitter tips for businessFrom 2014-2015 the number of Twitter users grew by 50 million, and it’s estimated that close to 1/5 of Internet users have Twitter accounts. The average Twitter user follows five businesses so if you’re not trying to reach your customers on Twitter you’re missing an opportunity.

Twitter is easy enough to understand, just share something 140 characters or less. You can share links, images or videos. Here are a few other tips for businesses just starting out on Twitter: Continue reading “4 Beginning Twitter Tips for Business” →

Pulling back the curtain

by jimsantori, posted in Business Development, Membership

CRAFTWe at Greater Mankato Growth (GMG) can sometimes look pretty mysterious. What does GMG do? It doesn’t hold property, make anything or have a profit stream. Just what is it anyway? Continue reading “Pulling back the curtain” →