As a consultant and marketer for my own business, it is critical to stay on top of the myriad of breaking news stories, and how they can impact my clients and their competitors.
In the past couple of years, businesses have had to be guided towards more and more options in media that by themselves may seem inconsequential but cumulatively , and in a mix, can create some stellar results when it comes to engaging an audience.
If you have been a fan of Patch , either as a business owner or as a reader, then it may come as no surprise that Patch.com may be coming to an end.
When we lost our Hasbrouck Heights Patch Editor, Alana Quartuccio, that was a sign of what was to come. Our Patch site actually had good readership, and also paid ads.
However the issue is not whether there were enough paid ads ( there never are ), or if there was a readership ( depends on the writers)...the issue is simply economics and cost. In a nutshell, it costs a bundle to run Patch.
For my money, at least in Hasbrouck Heights, there are greater media efficiencies in local media such as local cable TV advertising, social media, email, and local newspapers such as The Gazette, The Community News, and The Observer.
When it comes to your business and your customers, take the time to find out what media THEY interact and engage with before assuming that money spent on a new medium or a traditional one is enough to get the job done.
Can you guess what the number one and number two ways to communicate directly with a customer are? That is, someone who knows you from having made a purchase? Text and email.
Having said that - how much of what is in your inbox right now do you have time to look at? All of it? Half of it ? One out of every ten messages, probably.
So as a business, you don't want to be " that guy" who sends an email every day with some nonsense in an attempt to go viral. No, you want to be seen as being relevant and vital to your customer's needs.
Make sure you get this right. Because Patch obviously did not and now they are possibly about to shut down.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2014/01/17/aol-patch-may-be-dismantled-source/
This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.
The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?