INVESTMENT PROMOTION Websites and social media

Transcription

1 INVESTMENT PROMOTION Websites and social media Workshop on Promotion and Facilitation of Foreign Direct Investment for Sustainable Development in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, 9-11 October 2018

2 Investment promotion tools: websites and social media

3 WHERE INVESTORS (CLIENTS) MEET GOVERNMENTS (IPAS): INVESTMENT PROMOTION Strategic Assessment Location Screening, modeling & benchmarking Cost comparison Site Evaluations Implementation Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5 Information & Sales Packs Investment plans Policies and incentives Procedures and requirements Progress and achievements Create awareness Image Building Lead Generation and Targeting Advertizing and PR Information & Marketing Missions & Events Company targeting Company visits Follow-up Information provision Assistance with contacts One-stop-shop services Assessment of manpower,, Infrastructure service needs Follow-up Investor Servicing Aftercare and Policy Advocacy Continued account executive attention Ombudsman role and trouble-shooting function Follow-up on manpower, infrastructure, service needs

4 1990 LOCATION SELECTION PROCESS Site visits Journals Newspapers Brochures Trade shows City City SIX MONTHS City City City City City City City

5 2018 LOCATION SELECTION PROCESS ARE YOU BEING FOUND? 85% of initial search = Internet Detailed info EIGHT WEEKS Services

6 WEBSITE USE AND PURPOSE The main purpose of a website is to: Educate and inform providing key information that investors need Market promote your location and the services you offer to potential investors Support function - deal with investor requests via , phone and feedback Support business - providing support information for an Investor application or business process Community - building a forum or community that Investors use to share ideas, experiences, issues, etc

7 EFFECTIVE PROMOTION MATERIALS In general, IPAs have found that excessively elaborate materials are less effective than updated and accurate information It is more important for investors to have good information than good graphics Given the very attractive cost element, most IPAs are now focusing attention much more on multimedia CD ROMs and websites One element that is often overlooked in promotion materials, and one that is critical for investors, is operating cost comparisons. Accurate information on cost comparisons must be included in all promotional materials

8 NINE COMPONENTS OF A WORLD- CLASS IPA WEBSITE 1. Authenticity of place branding and messaging 2. Clarity of navigation 3. User friendly 4. Depth and quality of content 5. User segmentation 6. Use of search marketing approaches 7. Use of marketing and news sections 8. Frequent performance tracking 9. Use of new media

9 AUTHENTICITY IN PLACE BRANDING IS Communicating a true and unique positioning of the region (USP) Utilizing recognizable national elements Capturing users attention to inspire them to use the site

10 SUMMARIZING 10 REASONS TO INVEST IN CHILE 1. Dynamic economy, with good performance and great capacity for growth 2. Highly competitive. Chile is ranked 33 among 137 countries for Global integration. 20 economic agreements with 57 countries in the world 4. Institutional and financial strength and the lowest risk country in Latin America 5. Friendly tax economy, one of the lowest in the world 6. High levels of transparency; ranks first in Latin America 7. Good business environment and economic freedom; first place in Latin America 8. Excellent quality of life 9. Highly trained and competitive human resources 10. Transport infrastructure and modern connectivity integrated into the world

11 CLARITY OF NAVIGATION IN WEBSITES IS... Use a simple top bar and/or side menus A prospect-specific section placed prominently Straightforward Navigation from users perspective Providing the top ten most requested pages Keeping all valuable content three clicks or less from the homepage

12 GREAT CONTENT IS Using a content management system that enables publishing of pages, downloadable documents, and data Weekly updates on news items and events Offering video content Direct one click access to Investment Guides

13 PROVIDE ONLY RELEVANT INFORMATION Information that is relevant for investors (e.g. operating costs, site and location advantages, incentives, business environment: taxes and regulations etc.) Sector specific information (manufacturing, services) Information that can be used for benchmarking and site selection Factsheets Include investment opportunities Categorize information Use multiple metrics and currencies for international investors If aimed at foreign investors it must be in English and language of other major investor home countries

14 KEY TO RELEVANT WEBSITE CONTENT 1. Understand your users. This is the key to developing meaningful and comprehensive content. 2. Segment your audience and prioritize your users (investors, site selection advisors, media, researchers, etc.). 3. Focus on helping each user type achieve its goals when visiting your website 4. Start with the content you have and evaluate it for relevance, quality, and comprehensiveness 5. Use reliable sources of content 6. Then, fill in the gaps

15 IPA WEBSITES WHAT CORPORATE INVESTORS AND SITE SELECTORS NEED What they (really) need: Contact information Incentive programmes Tax rates and cost info Recent announcements Testimonials Industry-targeted info Relevant maps Largest employers, sectors, suppliers Area colleges and universities What they don t (really) need: General labour statistics Secondary source wage information General rankings Distance to other major cities General climate and weather conditions

16 WEBSITE EXAMPLES Invest in Spain is considered a good practice example - Headlines - Regions - Key Sectors - Business indicators - Success story - News items

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22 USER FRIENDLY Use easy to read fonts, medium-sized (e.g. Verdana, Arial) Use graphics appropriately Easy of downloads of PDF documents

23 USER SEGMENTATION

24 Search engines connect those who are already looking for you Search engine marketing is a way to create and edit a website so that search engines rank it higher than other pages. Keyword selection SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING Goal = end up high / first page

25 EFFECTIVE USE OF AND NEWS IS Monthly newsletter to investors, prospects Tracking performance of those newsletters Posting newsletters and news items to your website weekly or monthly Invest Cayman Islands

26 STAY UP TO DATE IF NOT IT WILL BECOME COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

27 EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE TRACKING IS Receiving a performance report (of the region and of the IPA) once per month Not using hits (i.e. no. of searches by search engine for the website) bad indicator Tracking unique investor visits (resulting in follow-up), web references (by search engine) and no. of downloads Integrated tracking of advertising, web and PR effectiveness

28 VIRTUAL FAMILIARIZATION TOURS Contain a rich experience of your geography Can be static images, dynamic flash maps, or database driven Can use commercially available photography from sources like Google

29 EFFECTIVE USE OF NEW MEDIA IS Providing links between your website and your LinkedIn profile Keeping an active Twitter account Having a blog and updating it Incorporating share features on your site

30 Key web 2.0 tactics for investment promotion: Social media and other modalities

31 MOST RELEVANT SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES New media that are valuable for site selection and investment promotion Which one is the best? Depends on your profile, target group, country, sector, etc.

32 MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FOR MARKETERS WORLDWIDE AS OF JANUARY 2018

33 EXAMPLES OF TWITTER AND YOUTUBE INVEST IN INDIA

34 BLOGS Advantages: In-depth content Authority Search Engine Optimization Disadvantages Time consuming Requires continuous blogging, otherwise limited public

35 SUMMARY: PAST & PRESENT OF INVESTMENT PROMOTION STRATEGIES Without web 2.0 tactics Branding and Image building Cold calling Phone book Surveys, data requests Face to face meetings Site visits With web 2.0 tactics Blogs, LinkedIn, You Tube and websites Google search engine GIS and websites Online webinars Virtual familiarization tours Online tracking of performance

36 RECOMMENDATIONS: INVESTMENT PROMOTION 2.0 The rules of the game of location selection and investment promotion have changed Key Web 2.0 tactics for today s investment promotion can facilitate your work Your website is considered your shop window : if it looks appealing and offers up to date information you significantly increase the chance of attracting more investment Various web 2.0 tools can support all your IPA activities However, the implementation and maintenance of all tools require discipline, continuous updating, hard work, dedicated research and an innovative mindset

37 DISCUSSION ISSUES How do you generally consider the quality of your IPA or investment promotion website? Is there more than one website? Could the contents and lay-out of the website be improved? Does the website of the national level IPA differ from those of local IPAs? Have you undertaken any evaluation of the use of the website and other investment promotion tools? What do investors think of your website and quality of other used tools? Does your IPA engage in reactive or pro-active investment promotion? Considering all your investment promotion efforts, are they focused and cost-effective? Do you make active use of social media? What is your experience with this?

38 Some resources ESCAP Handbook on Policies, Promotion and Facilitation of FDI for Sustainable Development (2017) UNCTAD iguides and eregulations:

39 CONTACT DETAILS UNESCAP UNITED NATIONS BUILDING RAJDAMNERN NOK BANGKOK 10200, THAILAND TEL: FAX: HANDBOOK ON POLICIES, PROMOTION AND FACILITATION OF FDI FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:

40 Presentation available at: Your questions please?