hyde park chamber of commerce web site
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce (HPCC) Web Site
Matt Howard
Review of Current Site
• No recognizable target audiences• No clear messaging on
– retail development – the residential community – the neighborhood as a destination
• Text heavy; hard to parse• Lack of visual identity (e.g., people, place)• Not optimized for search engines
– No metadata– Not linked to other sites– Changed URL confusing– Cannot find in Web searches
Project Goals
Create an actionable project plan to• redesign and reconceptualize the site to better
– reflect the priorities of the Chamber– reach and serve core target audiences– represent the unique quality of Hyde Park– deliver benefits of membership
• create value through content and functionality • make site a tool for measuring marketing
campaigns
Target Audiences
1. potential / existing Hyde Park retail businesses
2. industrial and government entities looking to develop area
3. individuals / families who are considering or planning to relocate • (including graduate students of the University)
4. individuals / families who already reside within Hyde Park
5. tourists coming to Hyde Park as a destination
Core Messages
Hyde Park is a great place to…
• grow a business (e.g., retail, services, development)
• raise a family (e.g., housing, education, diversity, parks)
• find a community (e.g., the University, cultural institutions, events)
New Site Recommendations
• Structure site around target audiences• Emphasize core messages• Offer content that informs / changes behavior• Provide tools, such as calendars• List economic / demographic information• Create a searchable database-driven business
directory• Optimize for search engines• Measure web traffic and stats
Suggested Architecture
• Home– Welcome message, strong
graphics, clear sense of audience and navigation
• For businesses– benefits of joining, highlight
of major initiatives, banner program, info on real estate and regional development
– Membership application Web form
– Networking calendar– Economic development info
• For families– Relocation guide– Visitors guide– Event calendar
• Business directory– A-Z directory, category
directory, keyword search– Integration with Google maps
• Events calendar• About the chamber
Technical suggestions
• Add metadata to code (SEO)– describing the goals of the site – list of keywords
• Encourage member businesses to link back (SEO)
• Make business directory both browsable and searchable through a dynamic database
• Add community events and business networking calendars (e.g., Google calendar)
• Add Web form for membership requests (e.g., Freedback)
Marketing Suggestions
• Use a web analytics tool (e.g., Google Analytics) to track the numbers of visitors and click-throughs– Measure success of any campaign to drive
traffic to site; to increase membership
• Create banner ads, smaller graphics to link back to new chamber site– On City of Chicago sites, member business
sites, Board of Tourism site, Chicago Tribune, etc.
Design Suggestions
• Strong graphic elements that visually introduce Hyde Park (e.g., rotating photographs)
• Clearly defined navigational elements leading visitors deeper into the site
• Web 2.0 look and feel (new, not dated)
• Show people, families, streets
Best practices
• http://www.myjaxchamber.com/
• http://www.austin-chamber.org/
• http://www.charlottechamber.com/
• http://www.columbiamochamber.com/
Next Steps
• Consensus and funding• Create an actionable plan that can be submitted
to design and Web production firms – This includes a content document and making
decisions on how best into integrate functionality into the site.
– Recommended time frame for launch is end of September.
• Finding vendors, RFP• Selecting vendor• Project management (approvals)