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Muskegon, Michigan’s downtown website, exemplifies how a crisp, user-friendly web interface with dynamic, up-to-date content, and the utilization of multimedia and social networking features can help cities achieve their promotional goals. As the web is reaching its maturity, it is critical for cities to harness its power and take advantage of the opportunities that it creates for reaching internet users and keeping their attention.

The website is run by Muskegon Main Street, a non-profit that set up the site after being designated as a Michigan Main Street program by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority five years ago. It features updated news stories on what is happening downtown, a downtown blog, links to subscribe to a biweekly email newsletter, a live downtown development webcam, a regularly refreshed events calendar, an interactive map, and links to external social networking sites, including YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook.

The website is also packed with information about living, working, and moving to Muskegon, including commercial property listings, resources for home buyers, information about incentives, and a downtown business directory. However, its easily navigable structure, originally designed by Muskegon-based design firm Fineline Creative, includes drop down menus that neatly organize this information without overwhelming visitors by splashing it all over the main content of the front page.

“The front page is really important,” explains Muskegon Main Street Manager Dan Rinsema-Sybenga, who administers the website. Upon clicking on the website, visitors are immediately greeted with dynamic content. “We have to make sure that we are capturing them, so that they don’t stray,”
he says.

Reaching Out and Drawing Them Back In

According to Rinsema-Sybenga, networking tools like blogs with RSS feeds, email newsletters, and social networking sites are useful because they grab people’s attention and encourage them to link back to the main content of the website in order to find out more about Muskegon. “You still need to have your main website, because that’s the hub or central anchor. We see our downtown website as the authoritative place, and everything else goes out from there,” he says, however, “it works well to integrate these different features.”

“People don’t always check back to your site, just because they are too busy,” Rinsema-Sybenga says, however, “by them being able to be updated through RSS, Facebook, their YouTube subscriptions, or anything like that, when you post something new, they’ll be notified. It’s a great way to remind them and push them back to the website.”

The incorporation of multimedia is another significant feature of the website, which impresses Jason Piasecki, CEO of Muskegon-based multimedia firm Qonverge, who has served on Muskegon Main Street’s Promotions Committee. He sees value in utilizing a mixture of pictures, video, and audio on the website to inform people about downtown because, “different people respond to different types of media,” he said; some people prefer to read articles, others are much more visual.

One of the most popular features on the website is a development webcam, which shows real-time video of downtown Muskegon. Rinsema-Sybenga reports that the webcam regularly receives at least 1,200-1,300 views every month, and it is widely posted and linked across the internet. Other popular features are an interactive map, the blog, and the events calendar, which along with the business directory and commercial property listings, receive the most attention. “These are the things on the site that have definitely been worthwhile to build because people come back to the site regularly. We can count on page views from them every month, and keeping them up to date is not that difficult,” he explains.

No Need to Reinvent the Wheel

The onslaught of today’s newer web technologies may seem intimidating at first, especially if you are trying to incorporate them into an already busy promotional schedule. It may be difficult for some to take the plunge into the waters of blogging, posting, and sharing links without firsthand knowledge of what it takes to stay afloat.

The city of Muskegon’s City Clerk Ann Becker sees value in spreading information online, while keeping it practical in terms of time management. She relates, “When I actually go out there on Craigslist, or Facebook, or anything like that, all I do is write a little blurb about whatever it is I want people to know about, and I put a link back to our website to the exact page that I want people to look at. All I’m trying to do is direct traffic to our website. I’m not recreating the wheel, and I’m not sitting there typing a ton of things,” she explains.

“People don’t always check back to your site, just because they are too busy,” however “by them being able to be updated through RSS, Facebook, their Youtube subscriptions, or anything like that, when you post something new, they’ll be notified. It’s a great way to remind them and push them back to the website.” ­—Dan Rinsema-Sybenga, Michigan Main Street Manager

Becker admits, “In the beginning, when you first start, it does take up a lot of time, especially if you don’t know how to do it and have to learn it yourself. There is a learning curve you go through.” However, once she got the hang of it, “it’s just a matter of everyday life, and it’s actually very simple. I find that it doesn’t take up too much of my time at all.”

For Rinsema-Sybenga, time management is a major factor in his decisions about what web technologies to incorporate into his weekly routine. “I think you just have to look at each type of technology and evaluate how it’s useful, and how it’s actually going to be used. It all comes down to the fact that there is a lot to do, and you have to ask yourself, what’s the best time spent in terms of a return on your investment of time?”

His solution to spreading the word about downtown Muskegon, while keeping it practical, is to spend the greatest amount of effort and time compiling quality information to publish in a biweekly email newsletter. According to Rinsema-Sybenga, “I don’t spend a lot of time updating our status on Facebook or Twitter, but I do try to get things out there that all of those fans, followers, or subscribers are going to get on a regular basis.”

Muskegon Main Street follows the National Main Street model, which calls for marketing and promotions to be incorporated into the organization’s yearly work plan. “Websites definitely fall under the category of promotions,” he says. Having a comprehensive website and web presence, “makes it impossible for folks to say that they can’t find out about Muskegon. You are giving people the tools they need to make good decisions. It gives you a chance to make sure that all of the information is there and to present it fairly and accurately,” he concludes.

 

Jennifer Eberbach is a freelance journalist and professional copywriter. You may contact her at 734-929-2964 or jen@jenthewriter.info. Visit her online at www.jenthewriter.info.