Any economist will tell you, confidence – from the consumer to the business operator – is an essential pillar of economic growth. As the body responsible for driving economic growth in Halifax, the Greater Halifax Partnership (GHP) has an obligation to act and speak with a confident voice, and to encourage confident attitudes and approaches with its stakeholders.

In early 2009, I was hired by GHP to lead the private-public organization into the new world of social media.

At that time, GHP needed to communicate a message of “confidence”. The situation in 2009 was the decline of the US economy and many in Halifax at that time believed that our city was also suffering an economic decline when in fact GHP’s research had proven otherwise. This needed to be addressed. Fast.

Straight away I realized that the organization needed to be trained in social media. Time was invested by delivering one-on-one executive coaching sessions and staff lunch & learns. These were good opportunities to explain the possibilities of social media and how GHP’s mandate could be delivered.

Social Media Strategies and Content Plans were created and aligned to the organizations business plan. Also, a reporting structure was designed to measure the success of the social media program.

As early adopters,  we concentrated on building a Facebook Page, Twitter and Linked In, YouTube and SlideShare. There was also the SmartCity Blog that was created to showcase the excellent research and expert knowledge that GHP had – it also was a platform to profile investors in the organization. Each channel meant a different audience and some were more popular than others. We learned very quickly that these properties allowed GHP to further it’s reach to new audiences. A tailor its message to meet the needs of each group.

Here are projects I worked on where national and international recognition was received:

2011
Intelegia
Canadian Cities Online Marketing Index
Ranked 1st among Canadian Cities’ economic development agencies via web and social media.

Economic Developers Association of Canada:
2011 Marketing Canada Awards
Digital Media – Niche/Specialty Microsite – “Being Greater Halifax”
Digital Media – Interactive Media – “Embedding Social Media” (Partnership’s social media program)

Export Development Canada – Excellence in Economic Development Awards
New Media – “Increasing Participation in Social Media”

2010
Intelegia:
Canadian Cities Online Marketing Index
Tied for second place for best practices using social media for economic development purposes.

Economic Developers Association of Canada:
2010 Marketing Canada Awards
1. Advertising Campaign: SmartBusiness Supplements
2. Digital Media- Interactive Media: SmartCity Blog

International Economic Development Council Awards
New Media: “Greater Halifax Partnership Engages in Social Media”