New Digital Directory Launch in Partnership with Decoded Advertising
Mosco and Mott, Designed by Decoded
As we look to build upon our mission of bringing long-term sustainability and recuperation to Chinatown’s small businesses, we pilot-launched a Small Business Digital Directory focused on Manhattan Chinatown in February 2021, which you can check out here.
The Digital Directory was borne out of a need we saw from our Longevity Fund applicants:
57% of applicants don’t have a social media presence
67% don’t have a website
...even if some of the businesses did have a website, it was poorly maintained and hard to navigate.
Language comprehension is a huge reason for these gaps in their digital presence, which we saw through ⅓ of our applications submitted in a language other than English.
Chinatown also suffers from negative reviews on public forums as well as poor search algorithms, due to the increasing reliance on ad revenue by popular review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor.
This is why we set out to create a hyperlocal digital community, by the community, that provides updated and useful information for residents, New Yorkers and tourists alike, while also capturing data and insights to produce best practices for businesses that often have no digital presence. Local advertising agency Decoded Advertising generously donated their time and resources to help us launch this initiative through their Small Business Accelerator Program
Our Goals for the Digital Directory:
Be a single source of truth for Chinatown small businesses and their services
Drive sustainability for businesses by capturing data and insights to produce best practices for small business
Eliminate toxic review culture cluttered by sponsored posts or reviews for “earning influential clout”
Uphold our mission to help amplify the voices of the community through storytelling and sharing business information through the eyes of those who know Chinatown best -- its community.
To help us reach a wide audience, Decoded partnered with Welcome to Chinatown to create an exciting campaign to bring the directory to life on social media. As part of their Small Business Accelerator Program, Welcome to Chinatown received a grant and a dedicated team to help promote the Digital Directory to a wide audience. Decoded brought their love of Chinatown and their passion for Welcome to Chinatown’s mission into everything they did - and it showed.
The directory launch coincided with Lunar New Year, so Decoded’s team did robust research on the holiday. They studied common traditions, NYC Chinatown culture, and the memories and experiences of many of their own team members who grew up celebrating. The campaign centered around those who already knew Chinatown and those who wanted to explore the neighborhood. Can you spot insider favorites through our various pieces? Let us know by leaving a comment!
From the Decoded team:
“COVID has been a stressful time for everyone, not to mention debilitating for businesses. This collaboration has been an amazing opportunity to work on something with an important social impact to promote the energy and hope of the Lunar New Year while also helping to further the WtC mission to sustain Chinatown businesses.”
Thank you to the Decoded team and the Welcome to Chinatown team that made this Directory launch a success! We hope you have a chance to check out our Digital Directory, and share your feedback. As we are still in the pilot stage, we’re fine-tuning the directory to ensure it’s a helpful tool for all who plan to (re)discover Chinatown. Visit our digital directory regularly as we will continue to add new small businesses throughout the spring.
