This is not a content strategy It's a people strategy for content strategy Winning locally online begins from winning people in real life. Content that is collaboratively created and shared and fed and watered will help you win local online niche segments This works if you build a community and make it a community initiative This works if you keep the content alive and if you encourage many people to share and embed the content It's about building a local content ecosystem

1. W OF …
THE HO
RT II PA
EATE
to CR
How
STEM:
ECOSY
NTENT
AL CO
A LOC
GUIDE
STEP
A 17
Copyright by dh87 on 2011-2013
Image Boomylabs Flickr via CC
Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013
local
content

2. How TO
create Local
CONTENT
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"
LOCAL CONTENT
IS A GAME OF
MARATHON
COLLABORATION
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This is part II of the III part series
This deck focuses on the HOW of local
content creation with an 17 step plan
This deck aims to help you solve the three
core challenges of creating socially
compelling local content
•
Finding your audience
•
Scaling the creation of
cc
socially compelling content
•
Keeping your content fresh
The goal is to build a local ecosystem

3. Can You
Satiate Local
Curiosity?
Local is a source of eternal curiosity
Local knowledge exceeds Local Content
More content exists than is findable in a
useful form on the internet
•
"
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LOCAL IS
NEVER
DONE
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Local changes daily
•
Local is niche and specialist
•
Local is local
•
Local is relevant in time and space
•
Local is both fast and slow changing
People, places, events, venues come & go

4. Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013
THE YIN & YANG
OF LOCAL
CONTENT
"
WIN BY
MEETING
TWO NEEDS
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Why should I
post my <local
content>?
Where should
I look to solve
my <local
need>?
SUPPLY DEMAND

5. SUPPLY
CHALLENGES
Only 1% of people are content creators
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WON’T CREATE
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Big stuff is posted everywhere/
many times
•
"
The cool local stuff isn’t posted
anywhere formal [lack of reward/
incentive]
•
CAN’T FIND,
•
Nobody is taking out the trash
[more content in - nothing leaves]

6. local blogs
of global
niche apps?
Where do you look for local content?
•
Ebay, Meetup, Eventbrite,
Plancast, Craigslist, Kijiji etc
Do niche apps leave you bewildered?
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Lisly lists are extensible, shareable,
findable & embeddable anywhere
"
REWARD CREATORS
WITH DISCOVERY TO
UNLOCK THE CONTENT
SUPPLY PROBLEM
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This deck applies to local content with or
without Listly.
Using Listly just simplifies the
collaboration & enhances organic search

7. Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013
DEMAND =
QUESTIONS
"
WHAT’S
HAPPENING
HERE TONIGHT?
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Just about any local question has unique
complexities. Each question requires
unique local knowledge
Local is a challenge because so many
people /brands businesses have a self
interest. True local collaborative content
has yet to emerge
•
You need to search in many places
•
No single destination. Need to know
sites specific to your location
•
Google alone is not enough

8. DEMAND
HAS MANY
FACES
Think about your target persona
Give each segment a name and paint a
picture with words
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"
IS MULTIPLE
PERSONA?
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What do they need?
•
What words do they use?
•
YOUR CUSTOMER
•
What will entice them to join you
and become helpers and content
contributors?
Find real people that fit each persona &
make them your friends and allies

9. 17 STEP PLAN TO CREATING A LOCAL ECOSYSTEM
SUPPLY
DEMAND
8. Leave 2. BE AN
7. GLOBAL- 4. Content 1. LOCAL
Gaps /Go ACTIVE
NATIONAL Audit Community
Audit
Niche CONSUMER
CONTEXT
3. MEET N
5. Finders
12. Embrace
GREET
Keepers
Competition
9. Celebrate
11. Seek out
13. BE THE
& SHARE
DIVERSE CONTENT
LOCAL
OFTEN
14. FEED & TORTOISE & COLLABORATORS
WATER
16. TERMS OF
6. Reviews,
15. CARE FOR THE
VICTORY
AWARDS &
YOUNG & OLD
STORIES
10. ACT WITH
17. Find sponsors/
GENEROSITY
get funding
in mind
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10. 1. LOCAL
Community
Audit
Connect with people and ask for help
making these lists:
"BEFORE
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CONTENT
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Local bloggers & news sources
•
Local connectors
•
PEOPLE
•
Local good doers (charities/causes)
•
Local Gov, Bodies & Groups
Who can help you? Who can be your
allies? Discover the local back story/
back channel. Infiltrate to locarati
Be a helpful local resource & social
connectors. Help people by listening

11. 2. BE AN
ACTIVE
CONSUMER
Follow all people you discover & the
places they write
•
Read and share their content
•
Comment on their blogs
•
Apply to guest blog or be a regular
contributor
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!
"
COMMENT
LIKE A LOCAL
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!
lead
follow
lurk

12. 3. MEET ’N’
GREET:
Local &
Often
Online Social Media is great, but locally
you have no excuses
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"
& HUGS
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Listen, learn & ask curious
questions
•
Help people solve their needs by
connecting people.
•
HANDSHAKES
•
Go to events. Create your own niche
event(s) if they don’t exist
•
Form alliances & build social bonds
Be visible. Let others find you. Anchor
your content in hugs & handshakes not
backlinks

13. 4. Content
Audit
Which local content exists? Who uses it?
Make the following lists:
"
SPECIALIZED
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APPS
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Local news sites for <location>
•
TOO MANY
•
Local event sites for <location>
•
Local deal sites for <location>
•
Local resources for <location>
•
Local Experts in <location>
Don't complete the list yourself. Share
your lists, add 2-3 items to begin.
Ask people to help. See Step 1

14. 5. Finders
Keepers
Your local initiative will fail if you expect
quick wins & instant glory
Don’t do all the work yourself, this will
drain your energy, emotions & resources
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•
"
HELP THE
HELPERS: BE
THE GLUE
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Help the finders find you
•
Help the finders help your
blossoming local community
•
Help people realize they can help
and be a helper
Getting found organically you will retain
your local rankings (you’ll get found
more)

15. 6. Reviews,
AWARDS &
STORIES
Very few people stand out
See the 1% rule - 90% of people lurk
Make them care. Make them want to be a
contributor to the community at large
Think about a bigger pie
Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013
Think Tom Sawyer & whitewashing
RECOGNIZE THOSE
Make contribution look like fun and
people will want to play
ANYWHERE
Tell stories about the people in your local
community. Help others find them
"
WHO CONTRIBUTE
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16. 7. GLOBALNATIONAL
CONTEXT
Find national or global content & give it
local context
Translate why national & global issues
can be applied to your location
!
"
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EMBED & REUSE
!
GREAT CONTENT
Often this means repurposing a vidoes,
slides, images, lists & even audio (aka
embedding)
CONTEXT
You bring value to your community by
adding content & meaning
BY ADDING LOCAL
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17. 8. Leave Gaps
/Go Niche
To win locally you need to avoid the
obvious don’t duplicate. Own something
unique and build from there
•
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"
BECOME A
TR
USTED
SOURCE
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Go niche/specialist/quirky/fun
•
Being too helpful disinvents people
from contributing (leave gaps)
•
The more people who help the more
trusted your content will be
Focus on providing utility, focus on
becoming a project people want to
associate with & participate in

18. Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013
9. Celebrate
& SHARE
OFTEN
"
High utility local content is not a solo act
It’s a contact sport. Involve people.
Celebrating victories has multiple
benefits. Helpers feels valued &
observers learn you need/want/
appreciate help
DON’T
CREATE IN
SILENCE
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Celebrate when:
•
People add content, people vote,
when they share , embed & when
your list hits key milestones
Sharing your content is also celebrating

19. 10. ACT WITH
GENEROSITY
in mind
"
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FOCUS ON
WHAT YOU
GIVE
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Bring value &
utility to all
you meet
Rewards will
come over
time
GIVE
GET
advice
help
feedback
connections
introductions belonging
attention
ideas
suggestions
inspiration
writing/
support
content
traffic
commenting
included
sharing
participation

20. 11. Seek out
DIVERSE
CONTENT &
COLLABORATORS
You will have more impact by offering
unique & high utility content
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" &
QUIRKY
ECLECTIC
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Obvious is boring
•
Unique is interesting
•
FUNKY
•
Useful is valuable
•
Helping is sexy
When your content solves someone’s pain
in their moment of need, you will likely
pick up a fan and a new helper

21. 12. Embrace
Competition
Competition is good
Competition is proof of demand
Competitors can be allies
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Who does what you do in other locations?
"
LENS OF
THE LIKEMINDED
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Don’t just think direct competitors
Seek out competitors locally & in remote
markets
Test the water & see if they have an open
mind to exploring & collaborating

22. Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013
13. BE THE
LOCAL
TORTOISE
"
LONG+SLOW
vs
SHORT+FAST
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SLOW: Stream
of unique
local content
FAST: Random
grabs for
attention
REMEMBER FORGET
safe, loyal
trusted
content
source
episodic,
serialized &
expected
organic
search
stream
no
connection
to audience
link bait
lightening in
a bottle
spikes of
traffic (that
need
replacing)

23. 14. FEED &
WATER
The best local content is conceived by
many and grows slowly over time
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"
CONTENT, LIKE
PRODUCTS, HAS
A LIFECYCLE
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Your content is the hook to find
more contributors and helpers
•
GREAT
•
More helpers bring you more
embedded content
•
More embeds = More discovery
Plan to revisit and add to your content
slowly over time. Ask your community
to do the same. Keep promoting &
extending the life of your content
This is how your dominate local niches

24. 15. CARE FOR
THE YOUNG
& OLD
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"
KEEP YOUR
CONTENT
ALIVE
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Keep planting
new seedling
content
Extend &
prune mature
content
SEED
FEED
There are
always new
content crops
that you can
plant
Mature
content can
flourish
again with
some love &
attention
Plan your
schedule to
include
revisiting

25. 16. TERMS OF
VICTORY
Local content is all about picking search
terms that people will use to answer
their questions & solve immediate needs
•
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"
QUESTIONS
ARE THE
KINGS OF
LOCAL
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What terms/questions does your
target persona x about?
care
•
What does victory look like?
Make a list. Which search terms would
you like to occupy the No.1 spot on Pg 1 of
Google for your location?
We will dig deeper into what local content
to create in Part III of this three part
series

26. 17. FIND
sponsors/
get funding
"
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SOCIAL
UTILITY
HAS VALUE
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LOCAL
SPONSORS/
FUNDING
LOCAL
CONNECTION/
COMMUNITY
EXPOSE CONNECT
Funding exists People want
for local
to connect to
content
locals &
tourists
Tourism
Today’s &
Local Govt
tomorrow’s
Economic
Development
Chambers of
Commerce

27. 17 STEP PLAN TO CREATING A LOCAL ECOSYSTEM
SUPPLY
DEMAND
8. Leave 2. BE AN
7. GLOBAL- 4. Content 1. LOCAL
Gaps /Go ACTIVE
NATIONAL Audit Community
Audit
Niche CONSUMER
CONTEXT
3. MEET N
5. Finders
12. Embrace
GREET
Keepers
Competition
9. Celebrate
11. Seek out
13. BE THE
& SHARE
DIVERSE CONTENT
LOCAL
OFTEN
14. FEED & TORTOISE & COLLABORATORS
WATER
16. TERMS OF
6. Reviews,
15. CARE FOR THE
VICTORY
AWARDS &
YOUNG & OLD
STORIES
10. ACT WITH
17. Find sponsors/
GENEROSITY
get funding
in mind
Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013

28. Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013
listly = Social
collaborative
embeddable
lists
"
PEOPLE LOVE
LISTS
Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013
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Lists are quick to consume
Lists are highly shareable (item or list)
Lists are embeddable on blogs as
interactive content
Lists are optimized for organic search
results
Lists are designed as social collaborative
content
Lists are designed to change over time &
become more valuable as more people
contribute

29. Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013
TRY LISTLY NOW
put the 17 steps
into action in
your community
Lists can be a great tool to help you build
your local community
Lists help you get found and help the
people who helped get found
Listly lists are highly reusable content
that bloggers can use to create posts
LISTS
Lists can be used to curate existing
content. They can be used to create
original content
=COMMUNITY
Lists can just be used to help you
organize ideas, but you will quickly see
the value of the ideas that Lists = Content
"
=CONTENT
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30. Copyright Boomylabs 2011-2013
LOCAL LISTS =
JUST ONE WAY
TO UTILIZE
LISTLY
"
LISTS
=TOOL
=UTILITY
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Listly has many uses
What’s your Listly?

31. was this guide (Part II) valuable ?
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We’d appreciate you
liking, sharing &
embedding this
deck (or list)
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Don’t miss Part
I of this three
part series:
The Why of Local
Don’t miss Part III
The How of Local
PART I Part III
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