INVESTMENT PROMOTION
Websites and social media
Workshop on Promotion and Facilitation of Foreign Direct Investment for
Sustainable Development in Uzbekistan,
Tashkent, 20-21 December 2017
Investment promotion tools: websites and
social media
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
WHERE INVESTORS (CLIENTS) MEET
GOVERNMENTS (IPAS): INVESTMENT PROMOTION
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
• Information & Sales Packs
• Investment plans
• Policies and incentives
• Procedures and
requirements
• Progress and achievements
• Create awareness
Image Building
•Advertizing and PR
• Information & Marketing
•Missions & Events
• Company targeting
• Company visits
• Follow-up
Lead Generation and Targeting • Information provision
•Assistance with contacts
•One-stop-shop services
•Assessment of manpower,,
Infrastructure service needs
• Follow-up
Investor Servicing
• Continued “account
executive attention”
• “Ombudsman” role and
trouble-shooting function
• Follow-up on manpower,
infrastructure, service needs
Aftercare and Policy Advocacy
Phase 1
Implementation
Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5
Strategic AssessmentLocation Screening,
modeling & benchmarkingCost comparison Site Evaluations
Site visits
Journals
Newspapers
Brochures
Trade shows
City
City
City
City
City
City
City
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
1990 LOCATION SELECTION PROCESS
SIX MONTHS
City
City
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
2013 LOCATION SELECTION PROCESS
– ARE YOU BEING FOUND?
85% of initial search = Internet
EIGHT WEEKS
Detailed info
Services
� 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 email, 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
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
WEBSITE USE AND PURPOSE
� 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
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
EFFECTIVE PROMOTION MATERIALS
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 email marketing and news sections
8. Frequent performance tracking
9. Use of maps and GIS technology
10. Use of new media
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
NINE COMPONENTS OF A WORLD-
CLASS IPA WEBSITE
� Communicating a true and unique positioning of the region (USP)
� Utilizing recognizable national elements
� Capturing users’ attention to inspire them to use the site
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
AUTHENTICITY IN PLACE BRANDING IS…
SUMMARIZING 10 REASONS TO
INVEST IN CHILE
1. Dynamic economy, with good performance and great capacity for growth
2. Highly competitive. Chile is ranked 30 among 139 countries for 2010-2011
3. 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
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
� 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
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
CLARITY OF NAVIGATION IN WEBSITES 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
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
GREAT CONTENT IS…
� 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
PROVIDE ONLY RELEVANT INFORMATION
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
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
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
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
� Map of your territory
� Largest employers
� 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
EXAMPLE – INVEST IN SPAIN
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Invest in Spain is
considered a best
practice example
- Headlines
- Regions
- Key Sectors
- Business indicators
- Success story
- News items
� Use easy to read fonts, medium-sized (e.g. Verdana, Arial)
� Use graphics appropriately
� Easy of downloads of PDF documents
USER FRIENDLY
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
USER SEGMENTATION
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
� Search engines connect those who are already looking to you
� Clicks can be free (large list in main column), but ranking is harder to get
� Clicks can also be paid (ads at right), and be at the top of the list on the same day.
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING
EFFECTIVE USE OF SEARCH
MARKETING IS…
� Ranking #1 when
searching for “(your
location’s) economic
development”
� Ranking #1 for “your
organization’s name”
� Utilizing paid search
(pay-per-click or PPC)
to drive additional
traffic
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
TOP 9 SEARCH TERMS THAT DRIVE
TRAFFIC TO IPA WEBSITES
1. Your organization’s name
2. Your city/region/province name “economic development”
3. Incentive type offered in your region (depends on
community)
4. Resident company name (i.e. Boeing)
5. Region name (if different from city)
6. Organizational URL (without .com /.net .org)
7. Campaign name (initiative or fundraising)
8. City/region name “maps”
9. City/region name “industries”
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
� Monthly email
newsletter to
investors, prospects
� Tracking
performance of
those newsletters
� Posting newsletters
and news items to
your website
weekly or monthly
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
EFFECTIVE USE OF EMAIL AND
NEWS IS…
Invest Cayman Islands
STAY UP TO DATE – IF NOT IT WILL
BECOME COUNTERPRODUCTIVE
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
� 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
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE
TRACKING IS…
� Using maps with various layers (transportation, education, etc.)
� Using integrated real estate searches/GIS mapping software
� Generating dynamic demographic and business reports
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
EFFECTIVE USE OF MAPS AND GIS
TECHNOLOGY IS…
� Integrated with your IPA website
� Provide more transactional and analytical information than normal web pages
� Include the following:
– Available infrastructure, companies and properties
– Existing FDI companies
– Community assets such as international schools, business parks, ports, and airports
� Utilize maps such as Google or Bing
� Are updateable without programming
� Are available in versions for mobile devices
� Should be translated into multiple languages
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS
OVERVIEW
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
THE BENEFITS OF GIS FOR INVESTORS
� Comprehensive data investors
demand, delivered online
� FDI property database that
highlights trophy properties in a
location
� Database of successful
companies doing business in a
location
� The location’s assets on an
accessible, updateable map
� Locational data comparing its
competitiveness to that of other
locations nearby
� 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
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
VIRTUAL FAMILIARIZATION TOURS
� Providing links between your website and your LinkedIn profile
� Keeping an active Twitter account
� Having a blog and updating it four times per month
� Incorporating “share” features on your site
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
EFFECTIVE USE OF NEW MEDIA IS…
Key web 2.0 tactics
for investment promotion:
Social media and other modalities
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
MOST RELEVANT SOCIAL MEDIA
SOURCES
New media that are valuable for site selection and investment promotion
WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA/NETWORKS ARE SITE
SELECTORS USING?
� By far, LinkedIn was the most
used source for information
� Facebook, RSS Feeds and Twitter
are increasingly becoming more
popular
� Blogs are less frequently used
(hard to verify trustworthiness)Source: ICA Research 2012
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
� Shareslide (www.shareslide.net), owned by LinkedIn:
– Access to many slide and PDF presentations: great way to market the IPA message visually
� Soundcloud: (www.soundcloud.com):
– Distributes the IPA message by voice through podcasts, smartphone and iTunes
� Youtube: (www.youtube.com):
– Distributes the IPA messages online by video (visual and sound)
� Twitter: (www.twitter.com)
– Social networking and microblogging
– The SMS of the Internet
� Web-blogs and webinars
OTHER ONLINE MEDIA TO REPURPOSE
YOUR MESSAGE
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
EXAMPLES OF TWITTER AND YOUTUBE –
INVEST IN INDIA
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
BLOGS
� Advantages:
– In-depth content
– Authority
– Search Engine
Optimization
� Disadvantages
– Time consuming
– Requires continuous
blogging, otherwise
limited public
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
SUMMARY: PAST & PRESENT OF INVESTMENT
PROMOTION STRATEGIES
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Without web 2.0 tactics With web 2.0 tactics
� Branding and Image
building
� Cold calling
� Phone book
� Surveys, data requests
� Face to face meetings
� Site visits
� Blogs, LinkedIn, You Tube
and websites
� Google search engine
� GIS and websites
� Online webinars
� Virtual familiarization tours
� Online tracking of
performance
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
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
� 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?
DISCUSSION ISSUES
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
� ESCAP – Handbook on Policies, Promotion and
Facilitation of FDI for Sustainable Development
(2017)
� UNCTAD iGuides and eRegulations:
– http://www.theiguides.org/public-
docs/guides/bhutan
– https://bhutan.eregulations.org/
Some resources
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
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HANDBOOK ON POLICIES, PROMOTION
AND FACILITATION OF FDI FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
http://www.unescap.org/resources/handbook-policies-
promotion-and-facilitation-foreign-direct-investment-sustainable-0
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
CONTACT DETAILS UNESCAP
Presentation available at:
http://www.unescap.org/events/training-workshop-promotion-and-facilitation-foreign-direct-investment-uzbekistan
Your questions please?
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific