This is not a post about the future of newspapers or other local media. This is a post on reality and what this new economy and the emerging technology have created for the local business owner.

Business owners need to cut out their wasteful spending and increase their base of customers.

With the rise of Social Media and new ground being broken on Location Based Networks and the whole concept of the Implicit Web, do advertisers really need to turn to traditional media for anything?

If you are in business you want to do two things, promote new deals, products and services and generate more leads.

If you are selling specialty-racing bikes, chances are you have a customer that is connected to a Tribe of bike racing enthusiasts. Within that group is another enthusiast that has connections to another Tribe and within those Tribes and the many others that intersect there are the Habits of each individual.

Those habits from the intersecting tribes will connect the loyal customer to another one with similar traits thus increasing the distribution of your message and begin to take it virally across a network that is highly likely to buy a specialty-racing bike.

So, instead of paying $1,000 or more for an advertisement in the local newspaper that reaches the masses, this storeowner could give the consumer a discount on the purchase and a deal for all of his friends. A deal that can be tracked and measured. Measured not on clicks and phone calls but on redemption and purchase. Developing loyalty within your target audience and providing your loyal customers with very simple tools that help drive additional loyal customers will have a greater payback and will reduce the amount of wasted spend.

I don’t care what type of business you are in; grocery store, restaurant, auto dealer, realtor or plumber, this model will work for you.

All you need is a message, a distribution model, a showcase and a follow up plan.

• The Message- A coupon, a special, an event or a product.
• The Distribution Model (Social) Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, relevant location based networks. This is actually very simple to do today. A lot of tools like HootSuite will schedule and deliver your messages.
• The Distribution Model (Search)- Make sure your information is accurate on major search engines, IYP and social site. These profiles are a commodity now; so many places will give you free profiles with plug-ins for all the social nets.
• The Showcase (Blog)- The days of the static corporate site are over. Consumers want to know you are alive and kicking. Turn a blog into your corporate site and use all the easy widgets and plug-ins provided to enhance it. Set a blogging schedule and stick to it. Consistency is key; your followers will enjoy and respect it.
• The Follow up Plan- Keep tabs on your reputation, manage your connections, understand the network your consumers use and become a part of it, get your employees involved.

Don’t forget, the most important part of this process is to empower and reward your loyal customers so they can do the same to their Tribe.

The future is the interweb, it’s the smart phone, it’s location based and it’s about your loyal customers and their Tribes.