Several hundred people at a Hyatt in LA this week think so.
And by “local online,” I’m referring specifically to the opportunity for marketing local businesses, not publishing local journalism. Although, as we’ve learned during the almost-completed decade, the latter will have trouble surviving without the former.
I’m at the Interactive Local Media conference in Los Angeles through Friday, analyzing the state of local business marketing online.
I’ll be posting updates to Twitter and you can find the conference stream by searching the hashtag #ILM09. If the morning sessions are any indication, there will be loads of good information presented here.
Already this morning, we heard about data that says that still only 42% of local businesses have a website, only 7% advertise online and only 14% have claimed their free profile page on Google. Clearly, there is opportunity here to connect buyers and sellers online. (And don’t even get me started on mobile.)
The question I’ll be seeking to answer is: will the local business marketing opportunity support new forms of journalism? The last time I attended a Kelsey conference, I bemoaned the fact barely a handful of newspaper companies sent representatives. Now, I’m not wondering where the legacy media companies are today, but where the independent journalism startups will fit into this landscape as they flourish in the future.
Many of the companies here are disintermediating the traditional publishing model. They work directly with local businesses to improve performance on Google, perform email marketing and mobile services. Some work to help publishers with directory listings and other products and services.
Newspapers funded their journalism for decades by connecting local buyers and sellers. If the next generation of journalism models succeed, they will have to compete with – or partner with – the innovative companies and concepts that will be presented at this conference during the next 48 hours. I’ll keep you posted.
Mark Briggs 
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