July 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 43

By Thomas Venniro

future leaders

" Who, " Not Just " How, "
to Make Today's Marketing Tools
Work for Your Agency

acebook, Twitter, and blogs, oh my! For many pro-

fessionals, these terms can be intimidating, but the
fact is, social media and digital marketing tools are
becoming primary means of information distribution. Web pages, newspapers, phone calls, and televisions are taking a back
seat to Facebook, Twitter, group texts, YouTube, and blogs when
it comes to people's sources of information these days.
According to Tipping Point Media, there are over
500 million (1 out of every 13 people in the world)
Facebook users and over 50 percent of users log onto
Facebook every day. As of January 2011, an average
of 110 million daily tweets were posted on Twitter.
How do we tap into these captive audiences and
potential marketing tools to make them work for
recreation agencies? You can send your seasoned
staff to trainings in hopes that they can learn, master, and utilize these digital marketing strategies. But
the concern with this solution is whether or not those
trained truly understand social media tools and their
purpose, especially if some employees are not regular users themselves.
That said, maybe the question should be who
should tap into these potential marketing tools to
make them work for recreation agencies? The above
study also shows that 50 percent of all Facebook users fall between the ages of 18 and 34 years old.
Those who use these tools in their everyday life may
be the ones to successfully bring your department
into the new digital marketing age.
Kelly Eddlemon, 29, is the marketing communications coordinator for the parks and recreation
department in the city of Grand Prairie, Texas. Eddlemon has been in his position since January 2007
and oversees marketing for more than 50 parks,
5,000 acres of camping parks, three recreation centers, and many pools, trails, golf courses, as well as
an active adult center. His responsibilities include

website desig n, social
media management, email
marketing, publishing a quarterly magazine, event promotion, creating and maintaining the departmental
" brand, " and much more.
I met Eddlemon at the 2010 Congress after his presentation on " WOW " Marketing. Recently I followed
up with him to pick his brain. He had a lot to share:
Take us through a typical day at your job.
I usually start out each morning with checking the
department website. Then, we check and respond
to comments and questions on Facebook. Once you
jump out into the social media world, you have to
make sure you stay on top of it and engage your fans
or followers. Also, about once a week I will send out
an email to thousands of subscribers who have opted
in to receive information on various operations within
our department.
Where do you draw inspiration?
I think it's important to look at what the private sector
is doing and what trends people are responding to. I
think about how my family, friends, and I are affected by different marketing messages and promotions.
Then, I see how I can apply or adapt some of those
things into the marketing mix. I also try to subscribe
to various creative websites' email clubs. You'll be
amazed at how many cool things are out there that

www.NRPA .ORG

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July 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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