Classifieds as content

The new print redesign of The Bakersfield Californian introduces many new features, including one I call “Classifieds as Content.”

The Californian’s tabloid-sized edition debuted Monday, Aug. 17, and I think brings a new vitality to the local journalism and advertising we’ve provided for more than 100 years. More space is devoted to community-generated content that’s more inclusive of the conversations, interests and concerns in our community. Some will come from our blogs, our affiliated publications and websites, and local conversations occurring on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Flickr and the like.

But we’ve taken a step back to some degree in tapping one of the oldest sources of community-generated content: classified advertising. Beneath the many tightly written ads on any number of topics are hundreds of stories waiting to be told. As my friend and former co-worker Mary Lou Fulton has said, “Every sofa has a story.”

Pets get prominent play. The ad in the lower right is a companion to a display ad that is on the facing page immediately inside the Classified sectionWith that in mind, the back cover of our new tabloid-sized weekday paper -- we're retaining the broadsheet format on Saturday and Sunday -- is dedicated to classifieds. We’re highlighting fantastic deals, the wonderful stories behind some of the ads and tap the great reader submissions to our new Bargain Betty blog, which focuses on our classifieds and otherwise saving money by tapping great deals throughout our community.

The concept of “Classifieds as Content” is not new.

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Cart before the horse or horse before the cart?

My team at bakersfield.com launched a new site this week called BakoDeals that features coupons from local businesses. As a website, it's not breaking any new ground in the world of local coupons. But what's different is the site is an offshoot of an @BakoDeals Twitter feed I launched months ago as an experiment in local advertising.

The @BakoDeals Twitter feedI launched the feed initially to experiment with a potential new form of ad delivery and soon began promoting local deals of all kinds, whether they were paid ads in The Californian or Bakersfield.com, or from competitors or elsewhere in the community.

Feeble attempts at advertising -- embedded "house ad" sponsorships, a bungled effort to sell a paid Twitter ad -- went nowhere. What did gain traction was our promotion of local deals, regardless of source. Our only guidelines were that the deals be genuinely valuable and of interest to more than a few people.

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