The Local Voice Partner: A New Kind of Local Visibility in Hastings, Minnesota
AI image by HastingsNow.com
There’s a familiar feeling many Hastings business owners share—whether you’re running a restaurant, a shop downtown, a clinic, a studio, a home service company, or a nonprofit:
You know you need local attention to grow.
You’re willing to do the work.
But the “attention game” has become exhausting.
You post… and the algorithm shrugs.
You boost… and it feels like pouring water into sand.
You try to be everywhere… and you lose weekends and evenings you’ll never get back.
Meanwhile, your best customers—the people who truly love local—aren’t looking for more noise.
They’re looking for clarity:
What’s happening today in Hastings?
What’s open?
What’s new?
What’s worth doing this weekend?
Which places are trustworthy right now?
Where can I donate or volunteer this week?
Hastings doesn’t need louder marketing.
Hastings needs a better local signal.
That’s what HastingsNow is building: a daily utility brand for residents—and a fair, human, consistent channel for local businesses and organizations.
And the simplest “yes” we’ve found is this:
One Brand Week + year-round Soundbites — built for Hastings, MN
HastingsNow created the Local Voice Partner program for one purpose:
Help local brands stay discoverable and top-of-mind without having to “be everywhere” every day.
It comes in two parts:
Your annual Brand Week (a done-with-you feature package)
Unlimited Soundbites all year (your little mic for quick, useful updates)
Together, those two pieces create something most local advertising can’t:
a real story people remember, and
a lightweight way to stay useful in small moments throughout the year.
This isn’t “ads everywhere.”
It’s local presence with trust.
Part 1: What is a “Brand Week” in HastingsNow?
A Brand Week is one dedicated week on HastingsNow where your business or organization gets featured in a way that feels like Hastings—not like a billboard.
It’s done with you, then published by us.
What’s included in your annual Brand Week
During your Brand Week, HastingsNow schedules one on-site session at your location (up to 60 minutes), then publishes within about a week:
24+ enhanced photos (gallery-ready)
One edited 60‑second video (highlight clip)
A published interview/story on HastingsNow
A search-friendly Brand Profile (links, map, FAQs)
Optional reuse of the best pieces across HastingsNow formats (when appropriate)
That’s not a vague promise. That’s the deliverable set.
Why does this matter?
Because most local marketing fails for one of two reasons:
It never captures a memorable story.
It never stays current.
Brand Week solves the “story” problem.
Soundbites solves the “current” problem.
Part 2: What are Soundbites?
A Soundbite is a short (≤30 seconds) voice update from your brand with one clear call-to-action.
That’s it.
Not a perfect Instagram post.
Not a polished video.
Not a complicated campaign.
A useful voice update, recorded from your phone (or uploaded), that includes:
a title
an auto transcript
an image (optional)
one CTA button you control: Call / Book / Donate / Learn more
Why voice works when everything else feels noisy
Voice carries something text often can’t:
confidence
warmth
clarity
humanity
In a small city, that matters.
Hastings isn’t an audience. Hastings is neighbors.
Soundbites are built around a simple idea:
If your update is short, clear, and helpful, locals will actually listen—and act.
What you can control in Soundbites
Partners can edit and manage Soundbites anytime:
change the title
edit the transcript
update the image
update the CTA button and link
So instead of rewriting your website or inventing a new “post,” you just record a quick, current update and attach one action.
The real magic: Soundbites + HastingsNow’s local utility
The secret isn’t “posting.”
The secret is being findable at the right moment.
A local resident isn’t thinking:
“I wonder what this business posted today.”
They’re thinking:
“I need lunch.”
“My car is making a sound.”
“Who can fix my furnace?”
“What’s open late?”
“What do we do this weekend?”
“Where can we donate?”
If HastingsNow is building the daily local hub, then Soundbites become the living layer inside it—short updates that match the moment.
That’s why HastingsNow pairs Soundbites with a searchable Brand Profile and the editorial utility of LOCAL 10 / daily briefs.
“Okay, but do I need to post every day?”
No.
Most partners do best with 2–5 Soundbites per week.
This is intentionally designed to be sustainable.
The “2–5 per week” rhythm (easy mode)
Here’s a simple weekly rhythm that works for almost any Hastings business:
1 update: “What’s new this week”
1 update: “One specific offer” (with clear terms)
1 update: “One helpful tip”
Optional: “Weekend plan”
Optional: “Community note” (sponsor/partner highlight, volunteer need, etc.)
“What should I say so I don’t repeat myself?”
We provide weekly prompts so you never run out of ideas.
But here’s the deeper answer:
You don’t need new marketing angles.
You need new moments.
A practical Soundbites prompt list for Hastings brands
Use any of these—rotating through them makes your updates feel fresh:
Today’s availability: “We have 3 openings…”
One best seller: “If you’ve never tried…”
One “behind the scenes” detail: “Here’s what we’re making…”
One FAQ answer: “People ask us…”
One seasonal tip: “With the cold snap…”
One local collaboration: “Shoutout to…”
One community note: “We’re supporting…”
One deadline: “Last day to…”
One new hire / capability: “We can now…”
One myth-buster: “You don’t need to…”
Soundbites aren’t meant to be “content.”
They’re meant to be useful local updates that move one action.
“What do I actually get in the Local Voice Partner program?”
Here’s the full package, plainly stated:
Founding 52 includes:
Published story + searchable Brand Profile
Unlimited 30‑second Soundbites with CTAs
One annual on‑site Brand Week (up to 60 minutes)
24+ enhanced photos
One 60‑second video
Light outcomes reporting
That is the “bundle.”
It’s designed to be:
high trust
simple to use
easy to say yes to
fair to the community
“What about results—how will I know it’s working?”
HastingsNow provides light reporting focused on simple signals like:
listens/plays
clicks on your CTA
which updates performed best over time
You don’t need a 40-page marketing report.
You need to know:
Are people listening?
Are they clicking?
Which messages are pulling their weight?
Trust & fairness: why this doesn’t feel pay-to-play
HastingsNow is building a local utility, not a billboard.
That means trust is the product.
The Local Voice Partner program is designed to protect the resident experience:
Partner content is labeled when appropriate
Visibility rotates so no one brand dominates
The platform prioritizes usefulness and timeliness for residents
That’s a philosophical choice and a practical one.
In a small city, trust is everything.
Lose trust, and you lose the whole town.
“Will HastingsNow post my Soundbite to social media?”
Sometimes—when it’s timely, fresh, and useful.
And sometimes the best decision is not to post.
Because spamming followers with repeats destroys trust.
That restraint is part of the model.
“How does LOCAL 10 relate to Soundbites?”
LOCAL 10 is utility-first and editorial.
Soundbites can be featured when they are timely and helpful, with fair rotation.
That means you don’t “buy” LOCAL 10.
You earn attention by being useful.
Sponsorship: “Can I sponsor a nonprofit, sports team, or arts group?”
Yes.
You can purchase a spot and assign the Brand Week + Soundbites to the organization you choose.
This matters because communities like Hastings thrive on:
volunteers
donors
ticket buyers
sponsors
word-of-mouth
A sponsored Soundbites channel can become a lightweight “public mic” for community needs—without forcing the org to master social media algorithms.
“What about medical, financial, or regulated claims?”
HastingsNow requires plain-language, non-misleading messaging, and may request edits for clarity and compliance.
That’s not to make things difficult—it’s to protect trust.
AI mind map by HastingsNow.com
Pricing: why Founding 52 exists
There are only 52 weeks in a year.
If the program includes one Brand Week per partner, then it can’t scale infinitely without breaking its promise.
That’s why the program is limited.
Founding 52 rate
$595 for Year 1
Renews at $995/year after Year 1
If you’ve ever wished local marketing felt more like a relationship and less like a slot machine, that’s what this is attempting to build.
Who this is perfect for in Hastings, MN
This is a strong fit for brands and organizations that want consistent local attention without posting everywhere:
restaurants, retail, auto, home services, fitness, clinics, real estate
nonprofits, sports teams, arts/music groups (sponsored spots available)
If your business depends on local trust and local action, Soundbites is designed for you.
How it works (simple)
Claim your Founding 52 spot (checkout takes a minute)
Schedule your Brand Week (first come, first served)
Post Soundbites anytime (weekly prompts provided)
HastingsNow publishes + organizes it so locals can find it and act
That’s the whole workflow.
A simple way to decide: try this thought experiment
Ask yourself:
If a resident in Hastings needed what I offer…
what would I want them to hear, in 30 seconds, right now?
That sentence is a marketing strategy.
And it’s also a trust strategy.
Soundbites makes it easy to answer that question all year—without turning your life into a content calendar.
Ready to claim a spot?
Founding 52 is limited because there are only 52 Brand Weeks in a year.
If you want one of the remaining spots, claim it early—then you can schedule your Brand Week at a time that works.
(And if you’d rather sponsor a nonprofit or team, you can do that too.)
Includes: annual on‑site Spotlight (photos + 60s video + interview), GEO/AEO profile, unlimited 30‑second Soundbites with CTA button, and light outcomes reporting.
