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September 27, 2009

Learn this term: “hyperlocal”

My client called me to tell me how bothered she was by survey data indicating that employees like corporate communication vehicles (there were a lot of “agree” responses, not a lot of “strongly agree”), but what they really love are local publications.

“I’ve seen these facility newsletters,” said my client. “They’re not very sophisticated—kind of ugly, actually, and very homespun. But employees really seem to appreciate them. And I know employees read them—they get snatched up in cafeterias as soon as they’re distributed.”

My client sighed. “Our corporate communication vehicles are so much better than these local rags. Why do the locals get better ratings?”

The answer is simple: Local trumps global every time. As evidence, examine the newspaper industry. The big national and city papers are circling the drain, while weekly community newspapers are at least surviving—and some are even thriving.

In fact, the big media players (like The New York Times) are exploring ways to make money in “hyperlocal” news at the town or even neighborhood level. They know that people are most interested in the events that occur right on their street, and they’re trying to find ways to tap into that interest as a business model. (See this Fast Company article to learn more about this trend.)

What does this mean to you? Smart communicators know that hyperlocal represents a golden opportunity. For example, a client of ours at a big retailer worked with us to develop a system for adapting company-wide information for store newsletters so that employees would get local perspectives on big-picture issues. And we worked with the same client to create bulletin boards near time clocks that combine both hyperlocal with company-wide information.

Don’t fight hyperlocal; figure out how to make it work for you.

Posted by Alison Davis at September 27, 2009 11:58 AM