On May 1, WRAL.com launched a new local events calendar and business directory called Out & About. The new section can be found from the main navigation bar at the top of every page.
With more than 2,500 entries at any given time, Out & About helps answer the ever-pressing question: “What can we do this weekend?”
Out & About pulls data dynamically from several different sources, including the community, to create a rich database of local events, restaurants, nightclubs and music venues that are plotted on Google Maps.
Since it launched, Out & About has delivered an average of 200,000 page views and 50,000 unique visitors a month.
Users of the site can help their friends and neighbors find interesting things to do in the Triangle area by recommending events and venues. Additionally, our WRAL.com editors list their top picks each week, and you also can see what happenings are being viewed the most by all visitors to the site.
The new site provides local advertisers with three value-priced options for promoting their businesses – Featured, Red Carpet and Marquee packages. With Out & About, businesses and nonprofits reach their target audience as their customers are actively seeking targeted information about dining, movies, music, plays and festivals.
John Conway is creative services director for CBC New Media Group.