Stations Getting Local, Local, Hyperlocal

Navigating local platforms — particularly hyperlocal — can be daunting to a marketer with no natural roots in a community. Fortunately we’re long past the days of having to rely upon newspapers, Yellow Pages, and direct mail to deliver extremely local targeting.

Today, local television broadcasters are much more than a single voice speaking to an entire market.

The digital assets of television stations provide that strong local online presence for brands to connect with consumers. According to the latest Media Comparisons Study by Knowledge Networks, 55% of Adults 18-49 turn to their local TV station’s website for their news and information, well above the 39% delivered by the number two local online medium, newspapers. And the current state of Patch is well known.

Station websites are just the beginning of the online resources that are available through local TV stations. More and more, broadcast groups are adding hyperlocal to their online mix, giving marketers the ability to reach deep into a marketplace with precise targeting. You get who you’re targeting where, with hyperlocal resources that can be tapped into right now — not in some unwritten future.

Stations are using a mix of digital integrations, including both station-generated and consumer-generated content via social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest, to bolster their connection to community interests and drive brand affinity. They’re also leveraging mobile, both in their own custom station apps and with secondary mobile-centric apps.

And stations across the country are adding mobile DTV to their portfolio, giving marketers the ability to reach local consumers through the latest media hybrid — traditional, Over-the-air television, on the go. Dyle and Watch ABC are good examples of digital connectors that will extend a brand’s reach — significantly shortening the distance between the consumer, message and transaction. If viewers can see your ad as they pass by your product, they’re more likely to become a consumer.

Local stations provide the resources to be complete on air, online and on-the-go local consumer relationship partners for advertisers looking to build their brand at a market and community level.

Abby Auerbach is executive vice president and chief marketing officer of TVB, a not-for-profit trade association of America’s commercial broadcast television industry. Visit its homepage here.