Web marketing for First Nations on FoundLocally

Get the highest online visibility for First Nations, and their Economic Development Offices and Visitor Bureaus and band-owned businesses using the FoundLocally.com free listings. Your goal is to create the highest traffic and visibility for your First Nation and its members to increase economic opportunities.
Native Dancer at Calgary Stampede's Indian VIllage 
Note: FoundLocally recognizes the status and roles of First Nations can be a combination of federal, provincial, and municipal governments, so we have always had several distinct First Nations categories in our Government and Public Service categories.
 
FoundLocally is a great way for First Nations to raise their own visibility, not just by adding themselves to the high-traffic community directory, but by posting news, jobs, events, and savings to increase the number of pages on their FoundLocally listing, and therefore the number of link-backs to their website. This is especially handy for those hosting events and festivals, or those taking a lead in community business advocacy.
FoundLocally.com has two sister sites of great interest to First Nations: MovingInCanada.com for those developing residential or recreational properties on their lands, and TransCanadaHighway.com for those promoting tourism with attractions, accommodation, and activities centered around the culture, history, and resources of the First Nations. A listing in the FoundLocally directory is automatically included in the sister site’s information when appropriate.
 
This approach is very effective for SEO (search engine optimization): the more pages on FoundLocally the more link-backs you have, and the higher your ranking and findability! Many Economic Development and Tourism Offices are seeing the business opportunity for member businesses, who SHOULD ALSO increase their online footprint by participating in as many directories as possible (and especially the free ones!) With a little effort, First Nations can have effective online marketing to support their operations: posting jobs, promoting events, promoting sales, discounts and coupons, posting news announcements. Help your member businesses reach an ever-increasing online customer base, save money [on traditional media], increase revenues and become more profitable,
 
FoundLocally provides additional opportunities for editorial promotion of your communities.
 
Good websites for First Nations, Economic Development & Tourism Offices not only promote the organization itself, but also have a directory of area businesses, with links to their web sites (if there are no links, insist they add this, its not “rocket science” technology!), typically organized by category.
 
See Tips for Economic Development Offices and Visitor Bureaus
 

Making the Most of Your PROFILE

  • You can add an organizational listing to promote the First Nations, Economic Development Offices & Visitor Bureaus:
  • Use the Name fields to list yourselves as you wish to be known
  • Use the Name2 field to list all alternative spellings (misspellings?) so they are searchable, but are not displayed in the search results
  • Use the two Address lines to use one for a mailing address, and one for driving directions
  • Use the Description field to talk about your First Nation, its history, population, and what makes it unique
  • Use the Products/Brands to identify key groups of businesses and industries your First Nation focuses on.
  • Link to the organization’s website, and include the organizational/community logo (or a photo)
  • In the Contact field, insert you website’s Contact Us webpage instead of an e-mail address, to reduce chance of spam e-mails.

TIP: Have your various agencies, departments, and member businesses add themselves to the Free Listings as well, so they are also included in FoundLocally’s directory and can also post their own News, Events, Jobs, and Savings items.

 
TIP: When advising your members to add themselves, remind them that they should insert the First Nations name in the Address2 field, so that users searching by area name (just like with a mall name) can find all local businesses. If your First Nation is recognized as a community by Canada Post, then use the City field instead for this purpose.
 

Selecting CATEGORIES for your organization

  • FoundLocally has First Nation specific categories in our Government & Public Service categories
  • Be sure to select any other functional categories, that relate to your organization’s activities and facilities:
 
     Visitor Accommodation: ACCOMMODATION
     Tourist Attractions: TRAVEL - Attractions
     Festivals: TRAVEL - Attractions
     Recreational Facilities: CONSUMER SHOPPING - Sports
     Social Agencies: HEALTH - Counselling
     Retail Stores: CONSUMER SHOPPING (various)
     Real Estate Development: HOMES & GARDENS – Buy/Sell/Rent
     Business Parks: BUSINESS - Space

Multiple CONTACTS to Update Listing(s)

  • Set up multiple contacts per listing using the CONTACTS tab and “Add New”, to add additional staff people in your organization, so each can post items to your listing, or login and ad additional clients and their websites & locations.
  • You can also add client marketing, HR, and Operations persons who can login and update the operational components of their FoundLocally listings, letting you focus on web marketing and website design.

Posting NEWS Announcements

  • You should post announcements (using the NEWS tab of each respective listing) to FoundLocally listings at the same time as it is sent out to other media outlets.
  • Announcements posted to FoundLocally listings are not filtered editorially, like they may be with other media outlets. You get to tell your story, your way, and in your words.
  • Announcements stay posted until you take them down. On FoundLocally, news has a long shelf life. FoundLocally news is not thrown out or recycled the next day, like with a newspaper!
  • News postings can dramatically improve your findability by increasing the association of keywords in the news story with your/your association’s web site and name. In addition this can improve your/your organization’s creditability as an industry information resource.

Posting EVENTS

  • You can use the EVENTS tab to post any special events, like Festivals and open houses. EVENTS postings can link to their own web page (or even another website) if you have an event that people need to RSVP for or buy tickets.
  •  See special tips for Festivals & Community Events

Posting JOBS to fill staffing needs

  • You can recruit people for a variety of job types using the JOBS tab.
  • You can also use the JOBS tab to post volunteer opportunities, either under their FoundLocally listing or yours.

Add Your First Nation to the FoundLocally Directory

Add your band or band-owned organization to the FoundLocally directory where you are located.

Don't forget to also post any News, Events, Jobs, and Savings to promote all aspects of your First Nation band and its business operations, (using the respective tabs in your listing).

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