BIA/Kelsey Offers Local Social Media Service

BIA/Kelsey, adviser to companies in the local media space, today launched Social Local Media (SLM), a new advisory service dedicated to covering the growing and dynamic social media ecosystem and the best opportunities for driving revenues with social platforms. BIA/Kelsey said SLM was created to address the rapidly developing social segment of what it estimates will be a $23 billion digital advertising market in 2011.

Confirmation of the significance of social platforms for local media and advertising comes from the latest wave of BIA/Kelsey’s Local Commerce Monitor (LCM), an ongoing study of the advertising spending habits of small and medium-size businesses (SMBs), conducted with research partner ConStat. LCM reveals intense use of social media by SMBs, as 48% of respondents said they are using Facebook for advertising or promoting their business. Among those surveyed, 40% said they have a Facebook page specifically for their business. Additional findings indicate that among respondents, 25% use other social networks, 22% use a blog and 19% use Twitter to promote their business.

“Social local media, as a marketing, customer-care and content agent, has crossed the mainstream threshold,” said Neal Polachek, president, BIA/Kelsey. “As with any growing marketing channel, the use of social platforms brings questions and concerns about where companies should allocate their efforts and budgets. By concentrating on social local media, we are using our resources to help our clients make sense where this new ecosystem is headed and how they can participate effectively, both strategically and from a revenue perspective.”

SLM will spotlight buyers, sellers, platform developers, vendors, practitioners and thought leaders engaged in the use of social media tools and techniques to drive customer relationships. This analysis across the space is imperative, the company says, as the social media space “evolves from search, display, mobile and directory platforms, and organizes into its own distinct personality and value proposition as part of the local advertising mix.”

SLM will focus on helping media companies and social platform suppliers identify the best integration strategies for implementing social across media, marketing and advertising channels in a manner that drives revenues.

The SLM practice will be led by Program Director Jed Williams. Williams joined BIA/Kelsey in 2010 as an industry analyst with more than 10 years of experience on both the business and content sides of media. Through a partnership with BIA/Kelsey, Andrew Shotland of LocalSEOGuide.com will work with Williams as associate program director. Shotland is a social and local SEO expert, whose experience includes heading up online initiatives in directional media and cable television organizations.

SLM coverage will center on the following key themes: new local monetization models for social networks; metrics that measure social initiatives; social media transactions; social media valuations and valuation models; social commerce; Facebook’s continued evolution; social’s role in e-mail, reputation and presence management; next steps for check-in services; and industry analysis of how various media segments are utiliizing social channels.

As part of this week’s launch of the SLM advisory service, BIA/Kelsey will host a free webinar at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 24, titled, “Social and Local: The New Killer Platform.” In this session BIA/Kelsey analysts will examine how the social local landscape is evolving. Webinar details and online registration can be found here.

Social local media will also be a focus area of the firm’s upcoming Interactive Local Media East conference, March 21-23, featuring representatives from leading social companies will be attending.