A reader recently asked me how to generate buzz locally online. If you are going to promote yourself locally one of the first things you need to know is how to find a local audience. So I thought it might be helpful to put together this list of local online media:
- General Web Search Engines – Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. (includes local versions such as Google Maps)
- Traditional Media Sites – newspapers, radio, TV, etc.
- City Guides – SFCityGuides, etc.
- Local Search Engines/Internet Yellow Pages – Kudzu, Yelp, Superpages, CitySquares, etc.
- Local Government Sites – Convention & Visitors Bureaus, Economic Development Bureaus
- Local Business Associations – Rotary, Kiwanis, Chambers of Commerce, etc.
- Events Sites – Zvents, Eventful, etc.
- Classifieds – Craigslist, Oodle, Recycler, etc.
- Coupons – ValuePak, Zixxo, etc
- Local Groups – Meetup, Yahoo Groups, Freecycle, etc
- Lead Generation Sites – Service Magic, Matchpoint, etc
- Local Blogs – Infiniti of Pleasanton Blog, etc
- Local Social Media – Facebook, Plaxo, MySpace, Wayfaring, Topix, LinkedIn, Youtube, etc.
- Local Search Advertising – ReachLocal, Weblistic, Webvisible, etc.
I am sure there are plenty of others. You could make the case that online to offline co’s like Spotrunner and Dmarc should be noted here too. All suggestions welcome…
5 Response Comments
You could also use localized business directories, and localized web directories for that matter.
This is a great 30,000 feet overview of the local options.
Where would you put a MerchantCircle? Do you consider it a Local Social Media or Local Groups?
For the most part I think of Merchant Circle as Local Search because most of their traffic probably comes from organic referrals from local queries on Google & Yahoo. But you could make a case that all of these types of sites are merging into Local Social.
This is a great list. Thank you for putting it together. I think local networking has become forgotten lately but I do it as often as I can. I really enjoy getting out and talking to my neighbors.
Real estate agents can post their listings on Trulia for free to promote them for free.
See: http://www.trulia.com/submit_listings/