Toronto Financial District BIA. Leveraging LinkedIn to Reach Targeted Audiences and Build our Brand

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1 Toronto Financial District BIA Leveraging LinkedIn to Reach Targeted Audiences and Build our Brand

2 A UNIQUE VOICE FOR A UNIQUE DISTRICT Formed in 2012 and beginning operations in 2013, the Toronto Financial District BIA is the first area-specific voice for Canada s most important business centre. The Challenge Expanding our reach to our targeted audience via social media. A dedicated team of experts looking for a way to share their collective knowledge to an interested audience. Writing relevant content that is adaptable for downtown organizations and businesses. An opportunity to expand our already thriving social media presence on a platform where we were already posting links to relevant articles for our members, 55% of who are active weekly on the platform. The Solution Each team member writes quarterly posts on their LinkedIn profiles sharing their individual area of interest. A team approach to talking about the work the Toronto Financial District is doing, advocacy efforts and general knowledge to be shared with area businesses and other downtown organizations. A collective 1841 readers, 2902 followers, 471 interactions in less than six months.

3 BACKGROUND Working with LinkedIn: After being invited to attend an exclusive LinkedIn conference in San Francisco in 2014, we developed a strategy to leverage this important platform to establish the Toronto Financial District BIA as a thought leader in the industry, highlight our accomplishments and programs, and provide valuable tips our members and other downtown organizations can adapt to fit their own needs. The team at the Toronto Financial District BIA was excited about the prospect and underwent training with Jill Jones, Corporate Communications Manager at LinkedIn s head office in Mountain View, California via telephone and webinars. Using LinkedIn in this way is very timely and was implemented in to our overall strategy within a short timeframe to take advantage of all of its benefits.

4 FIRST STEPS Updating LinkedIn Profiles New profile pictures Branded cover images Added relevant images and links Strong summaries that explain our roles at the Toronto Financial District BIA Linking profiles to portfolio examples and awards

5 A STRONG ONLINE PRESENCE

6 NEXT STEPS: SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION Quarterly Each team member is requested to participate on a quarterly basis with a different topic for their LinkedIn post. Amplification After each post is live, all team members like and share it on their own social media profiles, shares it on our LinkedIn Page and our Twitter to maximize our reach. Representation We are able to effectively share case studies from all parts of our organization including: leadership, organizational growth, urban planning, communications and social media. These case studies are excellent examples and easily adaptable to any other downtown organization and many of our members. Paperless and Sustainable In addition to our enewsletter which is published quarterly, our LinkedIn posts provide further insight in to how the Financial District functions, and offers tips and case studies for other similar organizations. The Toronto Financial District BIA will continue to post content on our LinkedIn profiles with timely and relevant case studies that are easily replicable and scalable.

7 BENEFITS TO OUR MEMBERSHIP Building Owners and Commercial/Retail Tenants Showcases our experience, key projects and programs, and the benefits of having the BIA in place. Many shared ideas are adaptable to member businesses and other downtown organizations and in some cases can be implemented immediately. Tenants Staff, General Public and Business Connections provides a central information point to promote the area s benefits and services to a broader audience and our LinkedIn business page provides relevant links, our individual LinkedIn presence shares our team s ideas and leadership practices in case study format. Connecting resources and knowledge to an audience much broader than our 15 square blocks. Providing information to our target audience in a place where they are already very active. 55% of our membership use LinkedIn more than once per week

8 WHAT WE TALK ABOUT Leadership PAYE program works for both businesses and job seekers Evaluate Operations Regularly to Leverage Resources and Maximize Effectiveness Execution Timeline Q Q Q2-Q Q Updating of individual LinkedIn profiles and familiarization with the platform. Community Development Small details matter when ranking as a big city 3 Effective Ways to Recruit Youth Volunteers Urban Planning Small, Sustainable Improvements Can Transform Your Public Realm Implementation > Approval! 6 Tips for Developing Urban Planning Tools First round of publishing begins. Communications and Social Media Did our branding work? Measuring perception and engagement A Quick Start To A Social Media Strategy For Your Business Instagram: Your pretty pictures become strategic Monitored which style of writing has seen the best results and moved forward to the second round of publishing. A year end review of our analytics and a summary of best practices to be put in to place for 2016.

9 AS THOUGHT LEADERS The Toronto Financial District is very much a place where people work and representing those people effectively is a huge part of our day-to-day operations. More of our time is spent advocating on behalf of our members rather than telling them how we are working on their behalf. LinkedIn allows for a platform to tell them how we are working to their benefit. `

10 REPLICATION With little more than a computer, internet and a camera, other downtown organizations can put this strategy into practice. Be consistent in posting Set timelines Respond to comments and questions Work as a team to ensure the messaging is clear Let your personality shine through

11 RESULTS AND RESPONSE A collective 1841 readers, 2902 followers, 471 Interactions within the first 6 months! The future? We re evolving as trends change. We continue to experiment with LinkedIn best practices to keep up with current trends. Staff consults bi-annually with area advisory team to ensure online presence stays on message and up-to-date.

12 100 King St. W. (First Canadian Place), Suite 5700 Toronto, ON, M5X 1C