Social Networking Gets Serious At New Local Business Listings Website,
www.touchlocal.comLondon, January 21st: TouchLocal (
www.touchlocal.com) is the UK’s fastest growing local business website that combines powerful local business search with practical social networking capabilities, giving consumers unparalleled levels of choice and trust.
As people tire of trivial social networking applications, TouchLocal offers consumers a better way of choosing local goods and services while businesses can benefit from targeted, cost-effective internet advertising campaigns.
Using its custom “Circles” social networking engine, TouchLocal users put other members into circles of trust that are graphically represented on screen. For example, a sibling or close friend is likely to be in the highest circle of trust whereas a colleague or acquaintance may be in another circle. These circles then combine to give users both expert knowledge and increased confidence in choosing the local companies they want to work with.
“There’s no substitute for local knowledge, but in the Web 2.0 era, trust has become the key differentiator,” explains Tamer Ozmen, CEO of TouchLocal. “As printed directories are replaced with on-line versions, consumers need to know the information they are looking at is genuine and trustworthy. Review websites don’t completely solve this problem as it’s hard to ensure third party opinion is genuine. TouchLocal solves this with its unique Circles social networking application which puts trust at the heart of every interaction between members.”
Built out of an established online business directory - which currently covers 114 UK cities and attracts 18 million visitors a year - the site will launch with 2.4 million UK businesses already listed. With so much content in place, TouchLocal offers businesses of all sizes significant benefits over other internet advertising models.
Unlike simple on-line directories, companies listed on TouchLocal can update and extend their entries free of charge including current information on pricing, stock and other offers. With user-generated reviews and recommendations being added at the rate of 5,000 per month and an estimated 136,000 registered users on launch, Ozmen believes TouchLocal offers companies the most targeted and cost effective internet advertising opportunity out there.
“Facebook fatigue is already setting in. Traditional social networking sites lack the new level of practicality that TouchLocal brings to a well known and understood concept. We anticipate great interest in our service from both end-users and companies keen to realize greater return from their online advertising investments.”
Investment firm Balderton Capital - the leading Venture Capital firm behind on-line success stories such as Betfair and Bebo - has invested £7m into TouchLocal, illustrating its belief in this new practical networking model. TouchLocal has a workforce of 100+ which belies its start-up heritage. The Guardian newspaper recently named TouchLocal as a hot UK company to watch while The Financial Times wrote about the unique business model of being both a local business directory and social network site.
Concludes Ozmen: “The success achieved in the on-line directory and business search market provides a strong platform for the launch of the practical community networking site. Our in-house team of developers has created an application that is both simple to use and engaging, giving users a reason to return to the site as well as to recommend to friends.”
