Google has named Nelson as one of New Zealand's top five most internet-savvy cities, saying the town is full of businesses making the best use of the internet, social media, and online marketing.
The search giant named Nelson as one of the country's top five ?eTowns', in the first such awards to be held in New Zealand. The other regional winners were Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown and Tauranga.
The awards, previously held in Europe, Australia, and Canada, highlight which areas' businesses best used the web to connect with customers.
A nationwide winner will be announced in May.
Google New Zealand communications manager Annie Baxter said cities were assessed on the proportion of their businesses with websites, listings with online directories, online marketing, and an active presence on social media platforms.
Nelson had come out strongly across the board, with plenty of artisans and creative people making use of the web to sell their wares, she said. On the web, small businesses could use the same kind of tools as big companies, she said.
"You can use online marketing to reach customers all over the world, you can make a website that can make you look a lot bigger than you are, and use social media to do some cool things as well."
Nelson had had fibre-optic internet connections for about a decade, so the high-level of online engagement had clearly made a difference.
A report by Deloitte Access Economics in Australia had found that businesses that were online earned twice as much revenue and were four times more likely to be hiring more staff than those that were not. Any business could be a web business, even a corner dairy could benefit from a website or directory listing, Ms Baxter said.
Businesses that were already online should now be thinking of their websites' performance on a mobile site, either adapting the site or creating a stand-alone mobile version.
In Nelson, Punk Baby Clothing owner Katie Bennett, who sells handmade baby clothing online, said without the internet she would not have a business.
She started her company in 2009 after posting pictures on her Facebook page of clothes she had made for her infant son.
She now sells through her social media business page and website, with customers in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and Britain.
Turnover was $60,000 last year and she hopes to expand Punk Baby Clothing later this year.
Ms Bennett began the business when she had a baby, so the internet gave her the freedom to work when she wanted and list things for sale without leaving the house. It also gave her business access to customers around the world, and gave it a reach it would not otherwise have if it was confined to a bricks and mortar store.
Nelson Mayor Aldo Miccio, who received a trophy as part of the award, said Nelson was an innovative city with passionate, creative people who found clever ways of doing business.
- ? Fairfax NZ News
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Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/8561687/Nelson-gets-Google-eTown-tick
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