The world of on-line marketing is a dynamic and ever-changing medium which is always re-inventing itself.  Just when you think you're starting to get a grip on the status quo, the status quo quickly fades into yesterday's news archive.  From search engines, E-mail, and  lead generation to rich media, sponsorship,  and Ad-words, advertising formats are continually evolving in the hope of winning over the attention of the on-line consumer.

Within the last decade, the focus of attention seems to have been on the development and advancement of new and innovative Format for delivering the message. Recently there appears to be a paradigm shift that has started to gain a strong momentum in the on-line advertising arena.

The new focus is on the Substance of the message being delivered. The new focus is on Hyperlocal content.

So what is fueling this trend? Simple. First principles. Any introductory text on marketing will dedicate a chapter or two to the concept of ‘target marketing’, which simply speaks to concept of understanding who are the potential customers of your product. What was once thought of as the 'World Wide Web' with global outreach might soon become the 'Neighborhood Narrow Noose' with local insight.  Introducing Hyperlocal content takes this approach further by focusing on your immediate surroundings and neighbourhoods.

A simple analogy would be to look at sports coverage, say Football.

• "Football" = Global (although some of my Euro soccer friends may argue this point)
• "NFL" = National
• "AFC West"= Regional
• "Denver Broncos"= Local
• "JFK High Trojans"=Hyperlocal

If you want some evidence of this trend, you need only take note of the changes taking place before your very eyes. Take a look at a few new initiatives taking place on-line:

• Point2 agent shifts away from broader "selling areas" and moves toward local neighbourhoods.
• Point2 agen introduces Facebook Neighbourhood Application, aimed at connecting with your local community and their residents as the Neighbourhood Expert.
• ActiveRain introduces Localism focusing on delivering insightful local real estate information provided by local Realtors
• Yahoo launches Yahoo! Local, with an emphasis on having local readers provide local content.
• Interactive Community Newspapers - On-line newspapers in which the local residents and businesses take an active part in providing relevant local community content. Take a look at a great example.

What’s the call to action?

A good first step is to start to embrace the concept of Hyperlocal real estate content within your on-line platforms, be they personal, community or corporate websites, blogs, lenses or the like.

Don't just write about "Why it's a good time to buy in America".
Don't just write about "Why it's a good time to buy in Las Vegas".
Don't just write about "Why it's a good time to buy in Tinytown".
Write about "Why it's a good time to buy a home on Happysuburb Avenue.

The fact of the matter is, you and I will likely have a major hill to climb before either of us will be considered an expert in the global real estate arena. We will however, stand a much better chance of becoming the resident real estate expert in Tinytown which offers excellent neighbourhoods and homes on streets such as Happysuburb Avenue.

Give it a try and before long, you will add some significant Muscle to that ’97 pound website weakling’. I know I plan to.