12 years of developing and managing a network of hyperlocal news websites. What have we learned so far?
Here’s a few recent thoughts on hyperlocal news and marketing powered by WordPress.
Local media is still very influential. Especially digital media. That’s why politicians and lobby groups financially incentivize publications to provide positive or no coverage of potential mismanagement or corruption.
Good thing the Internet was invented. WordPress too. Politicians hate non-centralized and independent news websites.
Many reducing over-reliance on Social Media like Facebook and YouTube. Organic reach declining too much. Fear of being shadow-banned, blocked or cancelled if you use the wrong words.
‘Pay to boost’ is an expensive trap to reach your own audience. This highlights importance of owning your audience relationship. Not many understand the risk of utilizing 3rd party platforms (Facebook) to grow your business.
Disappointed that Twitter X changed API rules. No longer can we easily feed live tweet streams into our websites.
Webcasting much easier thanks to streaming video platforms like Streamyard.
Watch example of our Hyper Local webcast for Margate, Ventnor, Longport and Brigantine NJ.
Video from DownbeachBUZZ.com
The Rodecaster Pro II audio mixer is well worth the $700 investment. All those nuisance tech issues went away; feedback, echo, etc.
Mailer-lite still our go-to email system. Crazy that most small business still not properly using email capture and newsletters.
Web hosting accolades go to Cloudways and WPengine. We use and trust both.
For CMS duties, WordPress is the winner hands down. This open-source content management system now powering 40% of the world’s websites. We are big fan of Gutenberg editor.
We are still using GoDaddy for domain management. Bit more expensive, but reliable and easy to use.
In order to survive, local newspapers cutting back on print publishing. Some, like The Press of Atlantic City, now only print 3x a week with a snails pace mail-only delivery system.
Hard to believe. The Press of AC shuttered once dominant AC Weekly entertainment publication. So called Alt-weekly’s used to be reliable money makers. This #EpicFail is telling.
Traditional media, especially newspaper, continue to misplay digital. see: craigslist, monster.com, etc.
Observation: Newspaper can’t afford adequate staff. Local coverage severely limited. Even more than before. Newspaper editorial content influenced by deep pocketed advertisers, thus skewing coverage of key issues like crime, municipal corruption, offshore wind, dangerous and deficient schools, etc.
Newspaper thought leaders and industry journals still compelled to cover DEI and social equity issues. This means less focus on sustainable business models for news.
Weak or no local media allows small town politicians to operate in dark without watchdog oversight. See: BrigantineNOW.com
Terrestrial Radio clearly dropped the ball with podcasting. ex: Joe Rogan is online-only.
See: Innovators Dilemma.
Local radio not adequately covering local issues. Most default to over-analyzed national and fleeting cultural issues.
Yes, Virginia. There is such a thing as INFO WARS.
