5 Types of Hyperlocal Bloggers
by Matt on Dec 9, 2008 in Blogging, MY BEST POSTS
As I’ve been exploring the world of hyperlocal blogging — which, I have to confess, is a lot bigger and wider than I expected — I’ve come upon several different types of local blogs and bloggers. I think many local blogs can be classified into five categories. Each category is essentially an answer to the question, Why are you running a local blog?
Here are my five categories, and I’ll invite you to add ones I’ve missed in the comments.
Five Types of Hyperlocal Bloggers
The Business Blogger
I’ll list this one first because it’s the type of local blogger I am, and the one I’m most familiar with. The hyperlocal business blogger is using his/her blog to attract leads and/or customers. This is why my wife and I started four local blogs earlier this year. I suspect many local bloggers in this category are in the real estate industry, like my wife is. (She’s an agent.) But other types of business owners could be local bloggers, too — plumbers, store owners, you name it.
The hyperlocal business blogger may have to be careful in how s/he blogs. Since the underlying goal is to attract customers, this type of blogger may want to avoid the types of posts that might offend or turn away some segment of the blog’s readership. Hyperlocal business blogging can be a delicate balancing act.
The News Blogger
The local news blogger is someone who keeps current on what’s happening in his/her area, and uses the blog to keep readers informed, too. This type of local blogger probably attends a lot of governmental and other organizational meetings in the evenings to report on important decisions being made. S/He may also own a police scanner and listen to it throughout the day, ready to grab a camera and head out to shoot photos or video of any noteworthy incidents in the neighborhood.
A successful hyperlocal news blog may be a group effort. It makes sense to have several people contributing to the blog, either as formal writers or at least as “stringers” who share news tips with the blog owner.
The Social/Activist Blogger
This is an off-shoot of the News Blogger. The social/activist blogger is also interested in current news and events in his/her coverage area, but really focuses mostly on a single cause, single group of people, or single issue. Examples would be a local education blogger who writes exclusively about what the local school district(s) are doing, or maybe an animal rights blogger who writes about what’s happening with local veterinarians, pet stores, animal-related groups, and even local parks (and the rights that pets have in them).
Passion is a must for this type of blogger. If done well, this type of hyperlocal blog can attract a loyal following thanks to strong word-of-mouth.
The Community/Connector Blogger
This type of blogger is all about using his/her blog to create connections locally. This often happens by promoting neighborhood events and attending/blogging about them. But it also involves some of the same types of content that other types of local blogs employ, such as reporting important community news (road closures, business closings, etc.) that you might also see a News Blogger doing.
Think of this type of blogger as someone who takes everything on the bulletin board at your local grocery store and turns it into great, local blog content. If you need to know when the next swap meet is happening at the local school gym, this blogger will be the kind to tell you.
The Casual/Personal Blogger
This is my catch-all category for hyperlocal blogs that don’t seem to fit any of the other categories. This blogger uses his/her local blog in the way that blogs were originally used — as a place to share personal thoughts and experiences in an informal setting. Blog posts here might be about favorite classes or teachers at the local community college, or random recaps of local shopping experiences. Some of the content doesn’t even count as “local” on these blogs. Off-topic? This type of local blogger doesn’t really care.
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Those are the types of local bloggers I’ve come across so far. Now it’s your turn to make this post better by telling me what I’ve left out. Comments are open.
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5 Types of Hyperlocal Bloggers…
As I’ve been exploring the world of hyperlocal blogging – which, I have to confess, is a lot bigger and wider than I expected – I’ve come upon several different types of local blogs and bloggers. I think many local blogs can be classified into five c…
I think my blog is a blend of the latter two. We cover local businesses and stuff, but do it from a personal perspective.
Anyway, thanks for this blog. It’s great!
That’s a good point, EG — chances are that a lot of local blogs might cross over into more than one of these categories.
[...] the local and the personal. Definitely related, and there’s plenty of room for both no matter what type of local blogger you [...]
I think there is one other category you can add to this list: The Community Information Blog. My blog is an information blog that is targeted toward travelers or people interested in visiting Gettysburg. I tell them the different things they can do while here besides visit the battlefield. Non-tourist communities can have similar blogs that might just include interesting tidbits about the history and culture of their locale.
I like that, Allen – good addition. In fact, it reminds me of a post a month or two ago on Chris Brogan’s blog where he discussed local bloggers working with their local tourism agencies to get information to visitors. Do you do anything like that?
I know they read my blog and I’ve offered them to send me releases, but I don’t get many. There’s enough information about goings on in this area that I don’t necessarily have to rely on the visitors center. I think it will come, though.
I’ve done very little off line promotion, mostly due to time constraints. But just a few sponsors makes it profitable and it doesn’t take a lot of time to write. I’m considering migrating it to a full community blog with a travel/tourist section.
[...] you’re in the Seattle area or not, if your local blog is news-based, this should be of [...]
[...] If you’re a small/local business owner, that question may be on your mind. It’s a smart question to ask if you’re thinking about using a local blog as a marketing tool. (Business bloggers are one of the five types of local bloggers.) [...]
[...] on around us with so many newspapers struggling. After all, local news blogs are just one of my 5 types of local bloggers. I don’t mean to ignore the other types, but we’re in a cycle now where the news [...]
Excellent post. I am going to link to it from Our Guide to Online Journalism at http://bighow.com/journalism
I think you did great in the categories. However I would like more info on suggestions/definitions of each category. Mostly interested in your results as a business blooger to get local targetted leads. Thanks!
Matt — one of these days I’m hoping to get around to posting an update, esp. since it’s been a year now since we launched our local blogs.
[...] content for your hyperlocal blog can tough sometimes, can’t it? If you’re a pure news blog, it’s probably a little easier — and that’s more true if you’re a big city [...]
[...] answers to those questions probably depends on what type of local blogger you are. Our blogs are indirectly designed to promote Cari’s real estate business, so we [...]
One category that’s missing from your list is “The Funblogger”. This would be the blogger that mashes up reality with frivolity, producing funny fake news while simultaneously facilitating community connections through participation in local events and patronage of local businesses.
Currently, the West Seattle Funblog is the only such blog, so I understand how this wouldn’t show up on this list. Just sayin’.
Thanks, Luigi. I’m sure there are a lot of off-shoot blog styles like you’ve mentioned. It just proves that there’s plenty of room in hyperlocal blogging for many different styles to come through.