BIA/Kelsey Launches ‘Social Local Media’ Advisory Service
Focused on the Growing Significance of Social Platforms in Local Media
Underscoring the influence of social on local media, findings from
the firm’s Local Commerce Monitor study indicate 48 percent of
SMBs surveyed use Facebook and 19 percent use Twitter for advertising
and promoting their business
CHANTILLY, Va. (Feb. 23, 2011) - 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. SLM was created to address
the rapidly developing social segment of what the firm 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-sized businesses (SMBs), conducted with
research partner ConStat. LCM reveals intense use of social media by
SMBs, as 48 percent of respondents said they are using Facebook for
advertising or promoting their business. Among those surveyed, 40 percent
said they have a Facebook page specifically for their business. Additional
findings indicate that among respondents, 25 percent use other social
networks, 22 percent use a blog and 19 percent 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 of 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 forward customer relationships. This analysis
across the ecosystem is imperative 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 highly respected 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 utilizing social channels. To learn more about the
Social Local Media advisory service, visit http://www.biakelsey.com/Advisory-Services/Social-Local-Media,
or contact Steve Passwaiter at (703) 802-2973
or spasswaiter@bia.com.
As part of this week’s launch of the SLM advisory service, BIA/Kelsey
will host a free webinar at 1 p.m. Eastern 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. For
webinar details and online registration, go to http://www.biakelsey.com/Events/Webinars.
Social local media will also be a focus area of the firm’s upcoming
Interactive Local Media
East conference, March 21-23, where top innovators
from leading social companies will be attending.
About Local Commerce Monitor
Local Commerce Monitor is BIA/Kelsey’s
annual tracking survey of small and medium-sized
businesses, conducted since 1999 with research partner ConStat. The
survey measures where SMBs are spending their advertising and promotional
budgets and how their media usage and spending habits are evolving.
Local Commerce Monitor draws its sample of business respondents from
a mix of nationally scoped MSAs, which include first- and second-tier
markets. Local Commerce Monitor Wave XIV was conducted in November
2010 via an online survey of 307 SMBs.
About BIA/Kelsey
BIA/Kelsey advises companies in the local media space through consulting
and valuation services, research, Continuous Advisory Services and
conferences. Since 1983 BIA/Kelsey has been a resource to the media,
mobile advertising, telecommunications, Yellow Pages and electronic
directory markets, as well as to government agencies, law firms and
investment companies looking to understand trends and revenue drivers.
BIA/Kelsey’s annual conferences draw executives from across industries
seeking expert guidance on how companies are finding innovative ways
to grow. Additional information is available at www.biakelsey.com,
on the company’s blogs at www.biakelsey.com/blogs, Twitter (http://twitter.com/BIAKelsey
and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/biakelsey.)
