New marketing tool set to shake up local business advertising

September sees the launch of a new online service, which enables interactive communication between businesses and the communities they serve. Called thebestof ( http://www.thebestof.co.uk ), this website is set to shake up the current directory marketplace and allow businesses to target their marketing spend more effectively. The site offers substantial benefits to both site visitors and to advertisers in terms of content, functionality and cost.

Set up by the same company that has built a network of more than 700 local community magazines over the past two years, there are currently 64 towns/geographical areas throughout the UK which are listed by thebestof website. A further 250 are planned over the next nine months. Each of these local sites, which one navigates to either from the homepage http://www.thebestof.co.uk or directly following a specific search engine search, is run by a committed and knowledgeable person, known as the ‘site owner’, living in their local community.

Founder and managing director Nigel Botterill comments: “More people than ever in the UK are using the web – and it’s only going to get bigger. People overwhelmingly prefer ‘local’ providers of goods and services but there is currently nowhere on the internet where people can get detailed information about local products and services in their area. Sure there are ‘listings’ but they give little more than a name, address and a phone number and people want more than that so that they can make an informed choice.”

Thebestof is very different. Firstly, each local site is run by committed and knowledgeable people from within the local community. These site owners follow our extremely high standards in approach, delivery, content and look-and-feel. Having a ‘nose to the ground’ in each area ensures the information on each site remains fresh, up-to-date and relevant to the community it serves.

Secondly, the information available about individual businesses is unprecedented. With up to 400 words of text, photographs, company logo’s, headlines and the unique ‘Talking Ads’ - where businesses can actually record their own message to the public – the package becomes a compelling business tool and takes web marketing to a new level.”

All of this is available to advertisers from only £10 a month.

This combination of comprehensive information, provided locally, at low-cost prices provides an effective marketing tool for local businesses and self-employed individuals, many of whom have not yet embraced the internet as part of their business. The site will be helpful to both residents wanting local information on the area where they live and to people from outside the area wanting information on a particular location.

Botterill continues: “We knew we were on to a winning formula in July, when over 60 individuals across the UK came on board to run one of thebestof.co.uk local sub-sites. This was before any marketing of the business had taken place. We will now rapidly roll-out coverage across the country over the next few months”

“We look forward to officially launching thebestof concept and to continuing the growth of our remarkable company which provides an unparalleled service to local communities across the UK, and to the businesses that operate within them.”