Investing in Community Storytelling: Why the Oct 2025 – Feb 2026 Season Is Hastings’ Moment | Ep. 04

Image Photo Credit: HastingsNow.com/ashley
Style: Lo-Fi / Analog Film Nostalgia
What It Looks Like: Grain, light leaks, muted tones; feels 90s camcorder
Why It’s Hot: “Imperfect is authentic” ethos plus viral lo-fi beat playlists
One-Line GPT-4o Prompt Template*: “Friends on rooftop at golden hour, 35 mm film grain, warm light leak, lo-fi aesthetic.”

For Hastings businesses and organizations, there’s never been a more powerful – or more timely – way to connect with locals than joining the new HastingsNow content season. Here’s how the STIVA storytelling packages can amplify your brand’s voice and why acting now can pay off for years to come.

A New Kind of Marketing for a New Era — Refreshed for 2025‑26

When HastingsNow launched its very first content season last summer, local brands quickly learned the difference between renting attention on social platforms and owning a lane in the community feed. Now the platform has refined its offerings into a clearer four‑step ladder:

Tier | What it is | Ideal for | Price

• Spark Badge
  365‑day auto‑share of one social handle into curated Hastings social media feeds
  “Always‑on” awareness, side‑hustles, nonprofits
  $11.95 / yr

• Sprint Bundle (Mini‑STIVA)
  72‑hour turnaround: 1 podcast + SEO blog + image carousel from your raw assets
  Events, launches, quick promos
  $495

• Story‑Day (On‑site STIVA)
  Half‑day shoot, long‑form feature, podcast, photo set, multi‑clip video
  Flagship brand story, milestones
  $995 (stand‑alone price; free inside Season‑Pass)

• Season‑Pass
  Ten pro podcasts, ten companion blogs plus free Story‑Day
  “Own the conversation” Oct – Feb
  $2,995 (only six slots)

Why October 2025 – February 2026 Is the Sweet Spot

1. Community Attention Peaks Twice – Holiday shopping momentum (Nov–Dec) rolls straight into cabin‑fever “let’s get out” energy (Jan–Feb). Publishing weekly stories across that stretch keeps your brand front‑of‑mind exactly when locals are spending. hastingsnow.com

2. Ground‑Floor Cred – Season‑Pass slots are capped at six to avoid feed fatigue. Being one of the inaugural Oct–Feb storytellers gives you permanent “first‑mover” status. hastingsnow.com

3. Built‑in Scarcity Marketing – The Season‑Pass landing page literally shows a sold/available meter. That visual FOMO does half the selling for you.

4. Content Flywheel – Spark auto‑sharing keeps drip‑feeding micro‑content while Sprint, Story‑Day and Season‑Pass deliver episodic tent‑poles. Together they give you both reach and depth.

Barb Hollenbeck offers summer fun as a sponsor of Rec+Art+Police and is FREE and open to all ages! Barb’s toy shop SC Toys is located in historic downtown Hastings, Minnesota.

Package Deep‑Dive & ROI Angles

Spark Badge – $11.95 / year

• “From algorithm‑buried to omnipresent in 72 hours.” One link, zero maintenance, constant hometown exposure. Great as a baseline or for nano‑budgets. hastingsnow.com

Sprint Bundle – $495

• Upload an afternoon’s photos or voice notes; get back a 12‑minute podcast, 700‑word SEO blog, and gallery—deployed in the LOCAL‑10 network without an on‑site shoot. Typical single‑channel podcast editing alone costs $200+, so the bundle pays for itself instantly. hastingsnow.com

Story‑Day – $995

• The “mini‑documentary” option. The crew films 10 AM‑2 PM, then delivers a polished long‑form article, podcast, photo set, and video clips within five days—a $2,600 value when bought à‑la‑carte. Perfect for milestone anniversaries, product launches or capital campaigns. hastingsnow.comhastingsnow.com

Season‑Pass – $2,995

• Ten episodes (audio + blog) scheduled on your cadence, plus a complimentary Story‑Day. That’s $3,600 worth of content production for $2,995, spread across five months. Even one incremental sale per week for many Main‑Street businesses covers the fee. Slots are already booking for Oct 2025‑Feb 2026. hastingsnow.com

The Investment

• “Ad spend turns off; stories live forever.” Because HastingsNow posts are evergreen and SEO‑optimized, they keep attracting visitors long after a campaign ends.

• Multi‑purpose assets. A single Story‑Day yields website hero video, print‑quality photos, email‑newsletter copy and social snippets—effectively a full marketing kit.

• Brand‑safe environment. AI + human moderation means your stories sit next to uplifting local content, not click‑bait or trolls. hastingsnow.com

Recommended Next Steps

1. Lock in a Season‑Pass if you want top billing October–February (only six available).

2. Schedule a Story‑Day now if you have a time‑sensitive milestone this fall; it can later be credited toward a Season‑Pass upgrade.

3. Activate Spark immediately even if you’re “just exploring”—it starts building awareness today for the price of one latte.

4. Use Sprint Bundles tactically for holiday flash sales, winter events, or New‑Year product drops.

Seize the Oct–Feb Wave

Last year proved that community storytelling beats generic advertising. This year the ladder is shorter, the price of entry lower, and the canvas (five full months) bigger. Will your voice be part of Hastings’ collective narrative, or will the conversation move on without you?

Reserve your season, claim your story, and let’s make local history—together.

Make history like this trailblazer. Image credit: HastingsNow.com/ashley