| Lessons from Local Motors-Part 3-Think Local! | | | | material that can actually be recycled. There is no |
| Luxury real estate marketing professionals often ask | | | | corrosive steel used that winds up on a junk heap. In |
| us what they should blog about. And, we answer: | | | | fact, a separate composite material is used for the |
| Think Local! Look for stories of local heroes and find | | | | nose cone and the rear fender that is stronger than |
| an angle that no one else is covering. For example, if | | | | steel. |
| you specialize in eco-luxury, look for stories about | | | | - This car has zero layers of paint! A vinyl car skin is |
| companies and people who are making news on this | | | | used that can be fully customized by the customer. |
| front. Local Motors is such a story. | | | | It lasts for years and is easy on the environment |
| In fact, the Local Motors story, in our opinion, holds | | | | because the color ink is sprayed close to the surface |
| the keys to the future of capitalism, enlightened | | | | and thus significantly reduces harmful chemicals in the |
| capitalism. It offers us hope that economics, society | | | | air. Ecology is much more than just the natural |
| and the environment can achieve a balancing act | | | | environment; it extends to the community that was |
| where everyone wins. It also makes us proud to be | | | | built online to design the cars and to engage |
| Americans because the story is unfolding right here. | | | | customers in the process. As such Local Motors is |
| In Part 2 of this series we mentioned that Local | | | | also a stellar social media story. By March 2009 there |
| Motors offers the unique ownership experience of | | | | were 2,400 active contributors to the site, uploading |
| actually building your own car in a local | | | | drawings, commenting on each others' work, and |
| "micro-factory", in just two weekends, under the | | | | voting on designs. Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors, |
| supervision of a Designated Builder Trainer. When you | | | | says that number has since climbed considerably. |
| assemble the parts you will find out, firsthand, the | | | | Social media channels on YouTube, Facebook, and |
| degree to which the actual components of the car | | | | Twitter add millions more people to the Local Motors |
| are eco-friendly. Here are a few examples: | | | | community. |
| - The motor used in the Rally Fighter, Local Motors' | | | | There are so many wonderful stories right in your |
| first model, is a BMW M57 clean diesel engine. It | | | | marketplace. You just need to present your story in |
| offers a fun experience with very low fuel | | | | your own voice, which is what a personal brand is all |
| consumption, achieving 36mpg on the highway, or | | | | about. If you can show your followers that there are |
| 30mpg in an off-road setting. The motor relies on | | | | exciting and interesting stories right "in their own |
| extremely high fuel-injection and combustion | | | | backyards" you will indeed become what we call |
| pressures to burn fuel more completely--dramatically | | | | "follow-worthy", and people will spread the word |
| reducing both soot and nitrogen-oxide emissions. | | | | about you. |
| - The body of the car is made of a composite | | | | |