Nearly a year after being launched, weblocal.ca has truly surpassed its goals. It has become a company that sets itself apart by being close to its public in order to better assess their needs and foster relationships. From kiosks set up in summer festivals to television contests aimed at students, all are simply a means to an end.

Weblocal.ca is seeking to become closer to people by offering a quality Website, generated by users. “We have counted over 2 million unique visitors per month*, which is much more than our original goal of 600 000 visitors!

In fact, weblocal.ca is updated thanks to the users that represent our main reason for existing. We try to stay away from the rigidity of online directories that simply give contact information. The user and the ‘local’ factor are at the center of our strategy and we do so by offering content that matters and interesting tools, such as pictures, videos or comments”, explains Julien Perronneau, Communications coordinator for weblocal.ca.

A few numbers

Nearly a year after launching weblocal.ca, Google Analytics recorded some very positive numbers, sign of the site’s relevance and of its increasing popularity among users. The future seems very promising!

• - Over 2 million unique visitors per month*
• - Over 4.5 million page views (site + mobile)*
• - 2 500 videos
• - 20 000 pictures
• - 58 000 comments on the site
• - 50 000 tags (keywords: example: Mexican food + outdoors + bring your own wine)

A recent statistic was published concerning the degree of confidence people have in advertisements. Apparently, the second most reliable source for 70% of people, is the opinion shared by online consumers, following recommendations made by people we know (90%). This clearly means that weblocal.ca fills a need.

A Web site with a physical presence!

As virtual as it may be, the weblocal.ca Website is run by a team that seeks to answer the needs of individuals and to create relationships with them, by participating in local events in conjunction with the different Transcontinental community newspapers. Some members of the Marketing and communications team therefore go out to meet people. Where, you ask? All over Quebec. “We hosted a booth at Place Laurier (shopping center) and another one at the Festival Western de Saint-André-Avellin. With this proximity strategy, we noticed an increase in the number of page views and in the direct traffic in Canada, in recent months. We are increasing our visibility and will pursue this local course of action, close to people, and it will probably pay off in the long run”, explains Mr. Perronneau.

A television contest for the weblocal.ca community

“When the time came to advertise during the Canada Games, a community event that brings people together and is close to the values shared by weblocal.ca, we thought about creating a contest aimed at the weblocal.ca community, so they could explain to us how they perceive weblocal.ca. That’s how The spotlight is on you contest came to be.” The goal was to create a 30 second clip. The winning team, Matthieu Paré from Longueuil and Jean-Marc Grenier from Saint-Leonard, won a 10 000$ prize and saw their video broadcast on TSN and RDS during the Canada Games in August 2009.

Below, the winning video for “The spotlight is on you” contest.

And what does the future hold?

“The next big trend that we foresee for the coming months is mobility. The sale of iPhones in Canada reached over 500 000 units and people are using their smartphones as a reference tool. Weblocal.ca plans to launch its iPhone application this fall. It will be a mobile tool, adapted to the current needs in terms of local research. The application will improve the proximity relationship with the users that value our way of doing things, regardless of their location: at home, at work or outside », concludes Andrei Uglar, CEO for weblocal.ca about the future projects that are part of Transcontinental Media’s global strategy.
*Source: Google Analytics

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 4:14 pm and is filed under Articles, Case studies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Print this post .