GSA strengthening South Aussie communities
IN September 2023, two country chicks with a big heart for regional South Australia and a knack for putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboards) officially unleashed an online business, with a vision to unite all corners of SA and help strengthen the state’s fabulous country communities.
Luckily passion won over hindsight, which is no doubt the key to success for most start-up businesses! And Greater SA is not only celebrating a first birthday but also welcoming some fellow regional South Aussies to the team. And Amen for that! Six hundred published stories, while navigating a new business and still maintaining a life has been a big undertaking for two. Those two being myself, Abbie Tiller, and the equally passionate, but forever juggling farm mum and member of every committee in Balaklava, Melissa Smith.
What’s Greater SA all about?
Greater SA is about moving with the times when it comes to communication, yet maintaining grassroots connections. There’s never been a better time to start a small business in downtown Buckleboo or host a fancy fundraiser in Farina, but the information super highway is a busy place, and not every entrepreneur is also an expert in communication and promotion. Greater SA’s website and social media channel is a valuable tool to help regional South Aussies to keep their finger on the pulse with what’s happening in the regions. An important factor for us, is that it’s free-to-read, with no strings attached. There’s so much information coming through that superhighway, no one wants to pay a toll!
How is GSA FREE-to-read when other outlets have a pesky paywall?
Not only is Greater SA free-to-read, the majority of content is also written and published for free. We are passionate South Aussies too, and we want readers to know about volunteer-run events, regional services, and awesome people doing awesome things. We do however offer cost-effective and wide-reaching promotion and relatable, AI-free content, with a self-imposed ban on over-used words like nestled, discover, and vibrant. I mean, how many “hidden gems” can SA have?
Greater SA’s paid promotions also have the added benefit of longevity compared to other forms of advertising and can be targeted to specific SA audiences. Having the ability to access analytics is also a great way to keep tabs on promotional performance.
How you can help strengthen regional communities in SA
If you’ve ever seen the movie Jerry Maguire, here’s where we’re channeling Tom Cruise, by asking you to “help us, help you”. While Greater SA might still be the “new kid on the block” (you can tell we’re in our 40’s right!) when it comes to media organisations in SA, unsurprisingly, our audience is often more engaged than some of the bigger players.
We’ve put a lot of heart and soul into creating a tool to help strengthen country communities and ensure they remain fabulous places to be as the world moves forward with technology and information sourcing. Country newspapers remain a valued community resource, but the landscape has changed for them too. Greater SA is the only free-to-read regional media platform embracing the entire country SA community, and you can help add value just by using the tool we’ve created.
We ask you to do what country folk do best – use it to find out what’s happening in the regions, share it with your mates, reach out to us if you know of something worthy of a spotlight, and “help us, help you”.
Thanks for being here. We can’t wait to delve into more of the wonderful things happening in our great state.
