Podcast 139: From Tourism to Business Attraction - Podcasting in Economic Development with Adam Stoker

Episode 139 of the Econ Dev Show Podcast is live.

In this episode Dane sits down with Adam Stoker, president and CEO of Relic, and host of the Destination Marketing Podcast to discuss the intersection of economic development and destination marketing. Adam, whose company specializes in creating podcasts for Destination Marketing Organizations, shares insights on how the strategies used in tourism promotion can be effectively applied to economic development efforts. 

The conversation explores the similarities between attracting tourists and attracting businesses, with both aiming to bring outside money into specific geographic areas. The discussion then delves into the power of podcasting as a marketing tool for economic developers. 

Adam emphasizes how creating valuable, educational content through podcasts can help build relationships with potential investors and businesses without resorting to direct sales pitches. He shares success stories from his experience, highlighting how inviting guests to share their stories on a podcast often yields better results than traditional outreach methods. 

The episode also addresses common objections to starting a podcast, such as fear of poor performance and lack of time, with Adam encouraging economic developers to overcome these barriers and prioritize audience building for long-term success in their community promotion efforts.

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Actionable Economic Development Strategies

Based on the conversation between Dane Carlson and Adam Stoker, here are 10 actionable strategies for economic developers:

1. Leverage podcasting as a marketing tool to build relationships with potential investors and businesses.
2. Create educational content that showcases why your community is a great place to work, live, visit, or start a business.
3. Use storytelling to build a case for your community, providing potential investors with "ammunition" before formal conversations.
4. Extend an olive branch to problematic stakeholders by giving them a platform on your podcast, potentially turning critics into advocates.
5. Focus on building an audience consistently over time, viewing it as a form of compounding interest for long-term success.
6. Overcome common objections to starting a podcast (like fear of poor performance or lack of time) by focusing on the long-term benefits.
7. Utilize podcasting as a way to interface with both target businesses and the local community simultaneously.
8. Take advantage of the unique accessibility of audio content, which can be consumed in various situations where other media formats are impractical.
9. Recognize and leverage podcast platforms as major search engines for additional discoverability and audience growth.
10. Consider partnering with marketing experts to help launch and maintain your podcast, ensuring professional quality and consistent output.

Episode Links

• Adam Stoker | LinkedIn
• Relic Agency: Holistic Marketing Partner for Destination Organizations
• Destination Marketing Podcast
• 336: Why Destination Marketers Should Think Like Economic Developers with Dane Carlson — In this episode, Adam talks with Dane Carlson, host of the Econ Dev Show and CEO of Sitehunt, about the crucial link between tourism and economic development. Dane shares his journey from blogging to economic development, including how he transformed Mariposa California by adding an escape room to the visitor center. Dane also emphasizes the importance of collaboration between economic developers and destination marketers to create meaningful visitor experiences and drive local economic growth.