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)

Thanks!

Matt Howard

mhoward@uchicago.edu

773-702-5071