Springdale Advertising And Promotion Commission Plans To Improve Social Media

Plan To Act As An Aggregate System For Other Community Accounts

STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Caroline Reddmann, director of tourism and visitor relations, composes a tweet Friday on the Springdale Chamber of Commerce’s Twitter account at the chamber in downtown Springdale.
STAFF PHOTO JASON IVESTER Caroline Reddmann, director of tourism and visitor relations, composes a tweet Friday on the Springdale Chamber of Commerce’s Twitter account at the chamber in downtown Springdale.

SPRINGDALE -- Residents and those outside the city may soon be able to get information about Springdale and activities in the city more easily and quickly through social media.

The Springdale Advertising and Promotions Commission approved Tuesday spending $8,000 for two meetings with representatives from Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods. The meeting should provide lessons about the use of social media and help the commission develop partnerships with other Springdale-based social media accounts.

By The Numbers (w/logos)

Social Media

• 67 percent of American social media users are on Facebook.

• 18 percent of American social media users are on Twitter.

• 15 percent of American social media users are on Pinterest.

• 13 percent of American social media users on Instagram.

• 46 percent of American Internet users use social media to research and make purchasing decisions.

Source: Springdale Community Management Plan

At A Glance

Explore Springdale

• Website: explorespringdale.c…

• Facebook: Explore Springdale

• Twitter: @VisitSpringdale

• Instagram: @explorespringdale

• Pinterest: Explore Springdale

Source: Staff Report

Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods is an advertising, marketing and public relations agency.

Those attending the meeting discussed other local social media accounts -- Live Springdale and Team Springdale among them -- which disseminate positive community news through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Officials want to create a system where the accounts can work together to share posts faster to more people.

The plan could also help disseminate information to more people outside the city, said Brad Bruns, an alderman who represents the City Council on the commission. Positive information could draw people to Springdale, cause them to move to the city and, ultimately, increase sales tax revenue.

The mission of the Advertising and Promotion Commission is to advertise and positively promote the city and its environs; to increase occupancy, revenues and visitation in Springdale hotels, restaurants, meeting facilities, attractions and businesses; and to enhance the cultural, recreational and economic environment of Springdale, according to the commission's website.

The plan is to create an aggregate program under the title of Explore Springdale, said Darin Gray, president of Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods. People could choose to follow specified accounts, like the ones for the Springdale School District or The Jones Center, if they only want specific information. They could also follow Explore Springdale to get information in one place shared from many local accounts. The specified accounts will also be able to share information from Explore Springdale.

Gray compared the accounts to highways, which need to be connected to make information more accessible. Each time a message is shared, the message's audience grows exponentially because of each account's followers.

One method officials could use is a keyword or hashtag, which is a searchable word that categorizes posts, said Perry Webb, Springdale Chamber of Commerce president. Officials could create an agreement with local accounts where they would share the message immediately whenever the keyword or hashtag is used.

"It's about creating a commonality among those who are good at social media, so we can all get better," he said.

Gray explained there are many social media platforms, but the most popular are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. The use of these platforms by companies and organizations is about building a brand.

"Not having a foot in social media anymore is not acceptable," he said.

It's important for the commission to have a strategy for their social media accounts, Gray said. Most of their audience is middle-aged or older, and that audience most often uses Facebook and Twitter.

The Northwest Arkansas Council began a similar social media program in November, said Rob Smith, communications and policy specialist for the council. The council's program is called Northwest Arkansas Digital Ambassadors.

People can sign up for the program, receive email with positive messages about the region and share those messages on either Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram, Smith said. Users earn points by sharing messages and can win prizes at the end of each month.

The program, similar to the commission's plan, also acts as a method to show people outside the region that Northwest Arkansas is a good place to live, Smith said.

"It's kind of our megaphone, I guess," he said.

The program had 526 people signed up as of Thursday afternoon, Smith said. When those people share messages, the information spreads quickly.

"It's just a clever way to connect to people," he said. "It's been kind of a rallying thing."

Smith said he recently sent a message out to the program users about a new exhibit at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. One-third of the people opened the message, 217 people shared it and about 150,000 social media accounts received the message.

There is a demographic of people who don't use social media, Smith said. One way to get information to those people is through television or newspapers.

"There are certainly people who have not embraced social media, but I think that number's getting smaller and smaller," he said.

The average age of people signed up to share messages through the council's program is 41.8, Smith said. Eighteen of the people are older than 65, and 223 of the people are between the ages of 25 and 44.

The Springdale Advertising and Promotion Commission is already using print methods, like brochures and newsletters, to spread information to those not on social media, Gray said.

The Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce mails some information to its members in case they are not on social media, said Tammy Thurow, vice president of marketing and membership services. One thing it mails is membership renewals.

People who don't use social media can also call the chamber for information, Thurow said.

The chamber became more active on social media five or six years ago during an ice storm, Thurow said. People were using Twitter to spread information during the storm. Chamber staff took notice and started to use the platform.

The chamber started using new software earlier this year that automatically sends out posts to its social media accounts about new members and events, Thurow said.

It also makes an effort to share messages from local organizations, Thurow said. Those organizations share their messages as well.

"To me, that's kind of like an unspoken rule in Twitter," she said.

NW News on 09/22/2014

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