Little Change in Online Conversation Leaderboard for Google's Fiber Initiative - Duluth, Minn., Grand Rapids, Mich., and Topeka, Kan., Still in Front

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest installment in a series of reports (http://bit.ly/cEDtS3) from Steketee Greiner and Company (SGC) measuring the digital conversations and online efforts by US cities hoping to be chosen for Google's ultra high-speed fiber installation, shows that Duluth, Minn., leads, but Grand Rapids, Mich., has overtaken Topeka, Kan., for second place. Fresno, Calif., has climbed two positions to fourth, and Asheville, N.C., moved from ninth to seventh place. In a little over a week, Baltimore, Md., fell off the top 10 list.

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100325/SF76612)

SGC analyzed over 90 cities across the US, measuring activity around online conversation, digital syndication, presence, involvement and activation, and builds on the first report issued last week (http://bit.ly/act3MW). The new report shows that the most successful cities are leveraging multiple channels to promote their efforts around Google's fiber initiative. For instance, Fresno, Calif., was able to increase its presence by 174% by expanding its number of "active" followers on Facebook – that is, followers that are not only following the initiative on the Fresno Facebook channel but also contributing searchable content.

"Having the most Facebook fans is not enough to raise a city's online share of voice," said Brian Steketee, CEO and partner at SGC. "Cities need to create compelling content, drive a coordinated outreach effort across a variety of searchable communications channels, and think beyond the obvious to engage citizens, especially as Google will be looking at multiple factors in its decision making process."

SGC uses a proprietary measurement and insight system based on data collected from Radian6, Census data, official Facebook fan pages and other sources between 2/17/10 and 3/23/10. For more information on SGC's methodology, visit http://steketeegreiner.com/.

About Steketee Greiner and Company

Steketee Greiner (www.steketeegreiner.com) is a full-service strategic digital communications and measurement firm based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The firm consists of consulting communications groups providing strategy and full-service digital creative, PR, multimedia, experiential and marketing support. They are committed to developing communication and business solutions that increase awareness, market share and profitability for their growing list of clients, partners and employees, as well as the communities they serve.

SOURCE Steketee Greiner and Company