Cicero Independiente’s goal in the Local News Accelerator was to develop a revenue generating partnership program for the local business owners of Cicero and Berwyn in order to boost the local economy for the community and increase community engagement and trust for the publication.
During the Accelerator, Cicero Independiente fine tuned its program, creating a tailored list of services that span expertise in digital marketing, social media management and community engagement to help clients broaden their online presence and reach more customers. The publication successfully partnered with an initial client, Cristal’s Treats. At the completion of the program, Cristal expressed thanks to the CI team, stating “I have seen my business grow on various platforms, such as views (and) new followers… I would definitely 100% recommend this program.”
As a result Cicero Independiente:
- Facilitated a mentorship program for local businesses in Cicero and Berwyn, helping with digital marketing, social media and community engagement.
- Developed the publication’s first-ever media kit.
This is the first time CI is focusing on its internal operations within its five years, and I think this program is setting up the framework of how CI will further operate in the future. So it's not an understatement saying this is definitely going to help greatly, because, you know, this is the first round of training that we've had as a staff regarding operations. So it's definitely well, well needed and will be used in the future in great ways.
Jesus J. Montero, Cicero Independiente Community Reporter