One of the things that I regularly address with clients and potential clients is the phenomal pace of change in local marketing, and that dealing with these rapid shifts is extremely challenging as a local marketer.  

As an illustration of these rapid shifts, Beloit College in Wisconsin publishes an annual Mindset List.  This list is intended to give its faculty a reality check to ensure that they are communicating in a fashion that is commensurate with the way incoming students communicate.
Read through the list and as you do, imagine yourself as a local marketer in a college town trying to reach the freshman class.  Are you going to use:

1. Newspaper - Nope. They don't read it.
2. Radio - Nope. They don't listen to it.
3. TV - Nope. It is too expensive for the few channels that students watch.
4. Online displays - That has to be a good fit, right? Well maybe, but if you are too intrusive or disruptive to their online experience, they will be gone in a flash.
5. Email - That is the ticket, right? Everyone uses e-mail, right? Nope. Try again. E-mail is "too slow" for this generation.

The reality is that the best way to reach these students is to use the evolving mediums that have only been around for months or at most a few years: 

1. Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp
2. SMS Text
3. Mobile Apps

So how many local marketers know how to execute well over these new and emerging media channels? Based on my experience, not many.

That is where a local marketing automation solution like Balihoo can make all the difference.  We take the pain out of staying up-to-speed on these technologies. We then identify the best channels to be utilizing according to your target and then execute your campaigns.

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