Why Rural Economic Developers Need a Marketing Strategy—And What Happens Without One

The Risk of Marketing Without a Plan

Many rural communities struggle to attract business investment, site selectors, and workforce talent–not because they lack opportunity, but because they don’t have a clear economic development marketing strategy.

We’ve seen it happen time and time again. Economic developers in rural America rely on one-off marketing efforts, outdated websites, and word-of-mouth to promote their communities. But site selectors, businesses, and job seekers are making decisions based on what they find online.

Without a proactive economic development strategy, rural communities risk being overlooked for investment, losing workforce talent, and struggling to compete with larger regions.

The Problem With Reactive Marketing

Many rural economic developers take a reactive approach to marketing–only promoting a site when business is actively looking, launching a campaign after workforce shortages become critical, or updating a website when it’s already outdated.

The problem? These efforts are disconnected and ineffective over time.

Without a clear economic development marketing plan:

#1 Your rural community stays invisible - If site selectors can’t find you online, they won’t consider you.

#2 You compete on incentives alone - Instead of showcasing what makes your region unique, you’re forced into a race to offer bigger tax breaks.

#3 Business attraction and workforce retention suffer - The right messaging at the right time is critical for economic growth.

A strong economic development strategy solves these issues before they become roadblocks.

What Happens When Rural Communities Have a Strategy?

When rural communities take control of their economic development marketing, they start seeing results.

Take Falls City, Nebraska–a town of just over 4,000 people that landed a $5 billion investment. They didn’t do it by relying on outdated marketing tactics. Instead, they built a strong online presence and made sure site selectors could easily find them.

Another success story? The MakeMyMove program helped rural towns attract remote workers by running highly targeted digital marketing campaigns. Instead of waiting for talent to come to them, these communities took a proactive approach and saw an increase in new residents.

These communities had one thing in common: a strategic, digital-first economic development marketing plan.

How to Build a Strong Economic Development Marketing Strategy

If your community doesn’t have an economic development strategy, now is the time to build one. Here’s where to start:

#1 Define Your Comunity’s Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

• What makes your rural community a great place for businesses and workforce talent?
• Move beyond incentives. Focus on infrastructure, quality of life, and workforce readiness.

#2 Invest in a Professional Economic Development Website

• A dedicated economic development website is the foundation of all marketing efforts.
• It should be SEO-optimized, easy to navigate, and automatically updated with demographic data, real estate listings, and workforce stats.

#3 Leverage Digital Marketing to Increase Visibility

• Site selectors and business leaders research online before making decisions.
• SEO-driven content marketing, social media, and targeted digital ads help rural communities get noticed.

#4 Ensure Consistency Across All Marketing Channels

• Many economic developers in rural America struggle with scattered messaging.
• Your brand, messaging, and marketing materials should be aligned across your website, social media, and outreach campaigns.

#5 Use impactLOCAL to Simplify Your Economic Development Marketing

• Many rural economic developers don’t have the time, budget, or technical expertise to maintain a high-quality economic development website.
• impactLOCAL provides an affordable, professionally designed website with:
  • Automatic demographic and real estate data updates
  • Quarterly content recommendations to improve SEO rankings
  • Ongoing marketing support from a dedicated Client Success Manager

By investing in the right tools and digital strategies, your rural community can compete for business investment, workforce talent, and economic growth.

Start Now or Risk Falling Behind

The rural communities gaining investment, attracting businesses, and reversing workforce shortages are the ones taking a proactive approach to economic development marketing.

If your current strategy consists of sporadic social media posts, a rarely updated website, and waiting for investors to find you, it’s time to rethink your approach.

A professional, data-driven website is the foundation of any economic development strategy.

impactLOCAL gives rural communities the digital tools they need to compete. Let’s talk about how your community can build a stronger, more strategic marketing presence. Learn more and request a meeting here.

Want to dive deeper into the marketing strategies that are working in rural communities today? Our whitepaper explores how rural towns are attracting investment, retaining workforce talent, and overcoming economic development challenges. Download the whitepaper, “Proven Marketing Strategies to Grow Rural America” here.