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

Podcasts: The New EDO Secret Weapon

Dane Carlson
Dane Carlson
3 min read
Podcast 139: From Tourism to Business Attraction - Podcasting in Economic Development with Adam Stoker

Table of Contents

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. 

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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.
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Launch Your Economic Development Podcast — Ready to amplify your economic development efforts through podcasting? The Econ Dev Show is partnering with destination marketing expert Adam Stoker to help economic developers like you launch successful podcasts. Whether you're looking to attract businesses, engage with investors, or showcase your community's unique strengths, we're here to guide you every step of the way.
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The Econ Dev Show is made possible by our Econ Dev Pro members (join now) and sponsors: EDOiQ, ResearchFDI, Jorgenson Pace, and SiteHunt. (Become a sponsor.)
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Dane Carlson Twitter

Founder/Host of Econ Dev Show. Also: Sitehunt CEO and economic development consultant in Greater Houston, Texas.


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