ReachLocal Unveils ReachCast ‘Presence Management’ Platform
By Greg Sterling/Screenwerk
ReachLocal acquired SMBLive in March of this year. The company offered a product called “Cloud Profile,” which was a socially enabled stand-alone business profile. At the time of the acquisition, ReachLocal said the following about what it intended to do with the acquisition:
ReachLocal is developing a digital presence and reputation management solution designed to enable an SMB to publish multimedia content from a single interface to a business profile page hosted by ReachLocal, as well as to local directory sites, search engines and social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook. In addition, ReachLocal will provide automated monitoring of local review sites, social media sites, and local blogs for references to the SMB or comments related to the SMB’s business that will provide an SMB with feedback, alerts and analytics to assist it in managing its online reputation.
That is pretty much what ReachLocal is now delivering with its newly unveiled “ReachCast” product. It’s like a blog with a range of social and other value-added features:
- A Cast page, which is one centralized site that serves as the hub for the SMB’s Web presence
- A real-time publishing and syndication engine that distributes – or “casts” – content across the Web, including the Cast page and social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
- A content library that provides centralized management of business information, blog posts, rich media, social media engagement, offers, reviews, and testimonials
- A proprietary radar technology that features a single stream that monitors the Web for mentions, keywords, reviews, and more
- A reporting engine that tracks progress over time to empower robust Web presence optimization
Here are some additional examples:
- http://www.methodistsugarlandhospital.com/
- http://www.bluemartiniphoenix.com/
- http://www.dallasweddingphotobooth.com/
- http://www.thegentsplacetx.com/
This is a presence and reputation product that involves no media buy but operates at price points that are comparable to the $1,000+ monthly spend on the PPC side for Reach. In other words, there’s much more margin for Reach in this product. Objectively it also helps meet an expanding set of SMB needs in an evolving market; and it helps with retention.
One of the other things that Reach is doing — of equal or even greater significance — is creating dedicated account reps called “WPPs.” These people are not salespeople but specialists available by phone and who help with ongoing maintenance of the ReachCast profiles. They create content as well as represent a friendly human face for the service. I was told by Reach that all the content is unique to each client and not part of some library of templates or generic, “evergreen” articles that are recycled.
The “cast page” is much more dynamic than a traditional website (though it co-exists with SMB sites). It will also probably get more exposure and potentially rank better in search results.
I spoke yesterday at some length with ReachLocal CEO Zorik Gordon and Alex Hawkinson, SVP and GM, Digital Presence for Reach. He is presiding over the ReachCast product and was one of the founders of SMBLive. Both were, as one might expect, extremely bullish on this product and said that initial response from SMBs in the field has been very positive. They also pointed out to me that it represents a whole new side of the business.
One of the things I wondered about when Reach went public was whether it was going to be able to grow aggressively and retain customers. This product certainly helps with both objectives.
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Media Outlet:
Screenwerk
Publish Date:
Sunday, December 26, 2010
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