Digital visibility is powering up city brands
Digital visibility is helping US cities build their brands
In a globalised world, cities are more than ever competing for investment, talent, recognition and cultural clout. ING’s new ranking reveals the USA’s most talked about cities as well as those punching above their weight.
ING Global Cities Digital Visibility Series 2019
Following a study of Europe’s Most Talked About Cities, ING’s new ranking identifies how the USA’s Top 40 cities feature on social media and online news. The USA is home to more talked about cities (based on their digital visibility) than any other country. During the same period, the US also attracted more foreign direct investment than any other nation.
How people talk about cities influences investment, where talent concentrates and our travel choices. The challenge is to ensure the quality of conversations happening across all forms of media – including digital – helps cities activate their unique stories.
“Visibility matters to cities today more than ever before, with many US cities investing heavily into building brands that reflect their attractiveness as cultural, business and education centres.”
Measuring digital visibility provides a clearer insight into how these cities perform as brands compared to their peers, where their strengths and weaknesses lie, and how they can work to elevate their profiles. The analysis can inform future strategies around brand positioning, helping cities curate their unique story and better position themselves within the online conversation.
At the cutting edge of communications, PR, digital media and wider urban cultural dialogues, ING has an extensive track record of helping cities thrive in a connected world.
The USA’s Most Talked About Cities
Perhaps unsurprisingly, New York City is responsible for over a quarter of the online conversation for the Top 40 cities. London and Paris are responsible for 15 per cent each in the European sample, showing the remarkable concentration of soft power in the America’s most global city.
Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami round up the US’s most talked about cities, having the greatest share of the online conversation. But within the overall ranking, cities like Memphis, Cleveland, Tampa, Las Vegas and Columbus are punching well above their weight.
Places like Phoenix, Austin, Minneapolis, Orlando, Washington, D.C. and Honolulu, however, are not realising their comparatively stronger positions and have the most potential to grow their digital profiles.
While the USA has a greater number of cities near the top of global visibility rankings than any other country this position is not without challengers. Europe’s Top 40 cities generate roughly 40 per cent more digital mentions than the total for the USA’s Top 40.
The full ranking of The USA’s Most Talked About Cities is: New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Detroit, San Diego, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Tampa, Denver, Nashville, Cleveland, Baltimore, New Orleans, San Antonio, Memphis, Sacramento, Columbus, Minneapolis, Austin, San Jose, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Honolulu, Kansas City, Orlando, Richmond, Raleigh, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Charlotte.
If you would like to learn more about how ING works with cities email: cities@ing-media.com