TMCnet News
Online revolution is local ; Sponsored column [Express & Echo (England)](Express & Echo (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) AS the internet has expanded, so have our ways of connecting and understanding our surroundings, and the people around us. Communication has been revolutionised by our lives online, and by doing so, we have seen a change in how we interact with our local media. Fifteen years ago, local media would have been your newspaper or even your local radio station. However, now with Twitter, forums and blogs, we are connected to our local media in real time, without even moving from our homes. Traditional media are gradually forming and changing into something that we haven't seen before, but this is good news. This form of media has also helped local communities evolve together - businesses can now easily connect with similar industries in an instant, and analyse competition within their area. Brands can connect with consumers and tailor their ads to reach people with specific interests and hobbies. This is all down to the fact that people are putting more information online about themselves than ever before - and this is helping brands target groups of people they may not have been able to reach. With this untapped pool of knowledge out there, how are you making local media work for you? Google has many different localised products which help local communities work together. However, many products such as Foursquare often go overlooked. Foursquare boasts that it "connects people to businesses" and is one of the most popular location based social networks, reaching over 2 million checkins per day. Businesses can benefit from Foursquare by claiming their physical location on the app. Once you've claimed your location, and branded it - you can then advertise to local people. The simplicity of Foursquare is what makes it work for so many businesses. Imagine seeing that your friend often visits a local bakery, has checked in three times this week, uploaded a photo of their product, and left a glowing review. Next time you walk past that bakery, it will catch your attention, and you may possibly go in and try it for yourself. This is the new local media, and this kind of simple synchronicity with real life and online life, is going to be the driving force in intertwining the two effectively. Local media are constantly changing and maturing, but together we can work in unison to create communities which are easily accessible. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |